Fresh Bread # 102
CREAM OF THE CROCK
“Homogenized Christianity”
EVERY ONE KNOWS
THE BEST PART OF MILK IS THE CREAM…AT THE TOP.
Christians are in
this world but not really of this world. They have a higher call on their
lives. On days that I feel overcome by the troubles of the world, the Holy
Spirit gently reminds me to “Lift Jesus Higher.” When I do this, my focus
returns to things that are important and eternal.
As His disciples,
we must know that we are the Cream of His Crop. We are the chose ones to work
in His fields to witness to the world about Him and His Love.
But the Holy Spirit
drew another picture for me. It was actually The Cream of the Crock.
THE WAYS OF THE BELIEVER
The first thing
Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:1-2 is to be followers of God, as dear children;
and walk in Love as Christ has loved us….”
Then in verses 3-6,
he basically is telling us to not do the things unbelievers do when they walk
the way of their fallen nature.
A POINT OF SEPARATION
For people with
mercy hearts, this next verse can be a point of confusion. When our Lord said
to go into all the world and preach His Gosper of Good News, He never meant for
us to become a part of that world. Ephesians 5:ll says, “Have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness.”
AS A CHILD
As a child, my
brother and I would fill a pint jar with fresh milk from our cow and put it in
the refrigerator. It wasn’t long before that rich, thick, smooth cream, would
rise to the top. It separated itself from the average milk.
We would fight
anyone who tried to steal our cream. We knew it was the best part of the milk.
HOMOGENIZED CHRISTIANITY
But times changed.
Now, unless you have your own cow, any milk you find in the store says,
“homogenized”.
Christians too,
have flooded into the world, becoming mixed with them so much they have lost
sight of themselves as being above average milk. They forget what it is like
to be…The Cream of the Crock.
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Yes, we go into the
world. We love the people of the world, but we must protect the cream (who we
are in Christ Jesus). We are never to be haughty, selfish or rude. But, to
have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
Often, Christians
form unholy relationships with people of the world. Paul is cautioning us
against this. The Bible says, “Friendship with the world is enmity with God.
You cannot serve two masters at the same time.
We must love
everyone, but be cautious as to whom we chose to fellowship with on a regular,
consistent basis.
To be prepared to
go out in public, this is like another piece of the Armor of Christ. We must
see ourselves as the cream that does not desire to become contaminated by
homogenation with the world.
Pharisaical Spirit
No one but Jesus
hates the haughty, self-righteous spirit the Pharisees exhibited more than we
do. This is not being proud and haughty. It is bieng wise and productive.
It’s a lot like the
salt verse, except using the word “cream”. If the salt (cream) has lost it’s
flavor…it will become just like the rest of the world.
SEPARATE YOURSELF
Cream Is Better
You are the Cream
at the TOP. Not because of anything you were able to do, but because of the
Grace of God. It’s not something to puff you up, but to keep you
humble…because it is such an awesome gift from God.
You should never be
ashamed to see yourself as the Cream of the Crock. To be ashamed of where God
has placed you in His family, because of what Christ did for you, is like
saying you are ashamed to be a Christian…to be different from the world of
un-believers.
FOR YOUR OWN GOOD
When our Lord said
for us to be separate, it was for our own good and for the effective promotion
of His kingdom.
Paul said in 2
Corinthians 6:14, “Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath
light with darkness?”
[Don’t homogenize with the world.]
UNEQUALLY YOKED?
Homogenized: transitive verb to emulsify the fat particles
in milk or cream so as to give it an even consistency and prevent cream from
separating from the rest of the milk
Pasteurized: to treat a liquid such as milk by heating it
in order to destroy harmful bacteria
 BEST PART OF THE
MILK IS THE CREAM…AT THE TOP
           
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