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SELLING
OUT or HOW TO AVOID BEING VEGAS CHURCHBOY
By David Pierce
Lets say you are really beautiful. (When I
see beautiful people I make myself feel better
by saying "Well, they must be stupid.
They look nice but they have no brains.")
But lets say you are not only beautiful but
you're also very intelligent. In fact you
are so smart you get a full scholarship to
the best university in the country.
Then when you finish with your study you have
a guaranteed job waiting for you in a palace.
This is when 99% of the population work outside
in the fields in the mud and live in mud huts
like in Braveheart.
Now and this is almost the best part. When
you attend school you have an unlimited food
allowance. Food was a big part of my problem
when I went to university. I would always
try and make friends with girls with money
for this reason.
To make things even better, you get the best
food. Gourmet food every day.
You can go to any restaurant and order whatever
you want anytime and not just bad food, the
best food.
This is the situation Daniel found himself
in. But in Daniel 1:8 it says "Daniel
resolved not to defile himself with the royal
food and wine and he asked the chief officials
for permission not to defile himself in this
way."
But for Daniel eating the Kings food met compromising
with the world. He didn't want to be seduced
by the world's system and values. He didn't
want to be defiled by its pleasures.
Now come on Daniel, see the big picture, just
eat the food. Just eat the meat and drink
the wine, don’t be so legalistic. Relax,
you’re free. Look at this position God
has given you. Don’t make such a big
deal out of a little bit of meat and a little
bit of wine. Just do it.
Am I defiling myself with the king’s
food and wine? Have I defiled myself with
the king’s entertainment? The king’s
music, the king’s videos and movies,
the king’s value system?
I know a band that had one of their records
go platinum on the secular record charts.
They were seeing two thousand people a week
give their lives to Jesus at their concerts.
They were invited to the biggest secular festivals.
Like Daniel, God gave them a huge platform
all over the world. But then their manager
started telling them they needed to loosen
up a bit. Stop talking about Jesus all the
time in their interviews.
"You don't need to be so hardcore. Your
influence will be even bigger if you are not
so blatant in your message" they were
told. So they stopped talking about Jesus
in their interviews. They started to live
the "rock & roll" lifestyle
and developed a taste for the world. As
a result God took His hands off them and their
band and ministry came to an end.
I know another musician. He was invited to
play at the new music seminar in New York
City. His band had a number one hit on the
secular charts in Europe. While he was touring
with our band he gave his life to Jesus. Soon
after he started singing about Jesus in his
concerts. The only problem was his band would
sometimes be so drunk they could barely stand
up on stage. My friend would be singing about
Jesus and his band would be shooting up drugs
backstage and be drunk on stage.
Finally after one concert I said to him "you
need to decide what you are going to do. Are
you going to follow Jesus or not? You can't
have it both ways. You can't sell out to the
world and at the same time say that you are
a radical follower of Jesus." That night
he made a decision that he was going to follow
Jesus no matter what the cost. And there was
a cost. Soon his whole band quit and the television
show that he was a presenter on was cancelled.
He was on Polygram record label and they were
no longer interested in him because of his
bold stand for Jesus. But that is not the
end of the story.
Soon after he and his friend made an independent
album with their kids that ended up selling
over 2.5 million copies and God has blessed
him with a bigger platform than he ever had
before. Now that doesn't mean that if I do
things God's way its a guarantee that I will
make an album that goes double platinum. It
may mean that I have no commercial success
whatsoever. In fact commercial success can
be a sign of failure because Jesus said be
careful when men speak well of you because
that's how they spoke of the false prophets.
So God's measure of success is not the world's
measure of success. But success in God's eyes
is the only success that really matters.
[Luke
6:26 Woe to you when all men speak well of
you, for that is how their fathers treated
the false prophets."]
So
be careful don't be seduced by the king's
value system because it will suck you dry
and take away the great plan that God has
for your life.
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