“But to keep this thing from spreading, we will warn them never again to speak to anyone about the name of Jesus.”  So they called the two apostles back in and told them that they must never, for any reason, teach anything about the name of Jesus.  Peter and John answered, “Do you think God wants us to obey you or to obey him?  We cannot keep quiet about what we have seen and heard.”  Acts 4: 17-20 CEV

Do you know someone with an infectious smile or a contagious laugh?

The very first date I ever had with my husband, George, was to see the movie, “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.”  My date laughed and laughed so loud and so hard at every scene in the entire movie that pretty soon I was just laughing because he was laughing.  Laughing with him.  It was contagious!!

One of my friends from NJ has a contagious laugh, (well, more like a cackle!) which you can hear all the way down the hallway! You start laughing even before you see her because that laugh is just downright contagious!

But then there are those things that infect or contaminate you and stay with you long after you can tolerate them.  Like one of my school principal’s cologne.  I could smell his nauseating (sorry!) aroma as soon as he stepped out of his office and came toward my classroom.  It was an early warning sign for, “You-better-look-busy-when-I-come-around-the-corner!!”

Or, how about the Jerry Seinfeld episode where the “stink” gets in his car and gets on everything and on everybody.  No one can get rid of it…it literally attaches itself to everything!!

If you’ve ever actually had an infection or a contagious disease, you know how people just stay clear of you!  Especially in hospitals! Wow, are they paranoid about germs or what?  When I was a child, maybe 10 or so, I had ingrown toenails that got infected and had to be removed.  Ouch!  Well, my little roommate and I decided to play cards together on my bed and we were happily playing, when the head nurse walked in to check on us.  She completely flipped out.  My infected toe was draining and oozing (sorry, again!) and would contaminate the other little girl, who was there to get her tonsils out.  She quickly separated us, changed the sheets, and made us vow to remain completely apart for the duration of our stay.  What a bummer!!  I guess she felt I was seriously contagious.

What is the definition of contagious?  “Caught or communicated by contact, infectious, easily diffused from person to person, capable of infecting.  To pour out and spread, to circulate, to proclaim.  To widely spread.”  The easiest way to catch most infectious diseases is by coming in contact with someone who has one, such as, person-to-person, or mother to unborn child.

But, Church, when we talk about the Gospel, we’re not spreading a disease…we’re spreading a cure!  Spreading positive instead of negative, spreading encouragement instead of discouragement, spreading joy instead of sadness, spreading hope instead of hopelessness.  The easiest way to spread the Gospel is to communicate it.  Catch it yourself and spread it around.  Circulate it.  Pour it out.  Proclaim it!

Listen to the words of a song by the Newsboys.  “I’m Not Ashamed” from the album “GOING PUBLIC,” copyright 1992.  “I’m not ashamed to let you know, I want the light in me to show.  I’m not ashamed to speak the name of Jesus Christ.  What are we sneaking around for?  Who are we trying to please?  Shrugging off sin, apologizing like we’re spreading some kind of disease.  I’m saying, “No way!  No way!”  This one says it’s a lost cause, save your testimonies for church time. The other one states you better wait until you do a little market research.  I’m saying, “No way!  No way!”  I’m not ashamed to let you know, I want this light in me to show.  I’m not ashamed to speak the name of Jesus Christ.”

Powerful words.  Right?

Church, are we doing this?  Or, are we sick and spreading a disease?  Is our joy, or our stench, contagious?  Are we too shy or too intimidated to spread the glorious Gospel?  Do we fear rejection too much to infect the world with God’s story of love?  Are we sorry that we have to share the truth with others? Are we sneaking around, afraid we’ll offend?

Your opinion, your knowledge of God matters.  Your opinion, led by the Holy Spirit makes a huge difference in this world.  It’s a Spirit thing!  It’s what empowers Christians to be contagious, so that the tiny germ, or seed, has power to grow and spread.  It’s how you look at life through the Holy Spirit that’s contagious.

What separates you from those who are merely “good” people doing “good” things? They don’t possess the Spirit of God that empowers us with the boldness to evangelize His world.  You’ve obeyed God by receiving His Truth and by being led by His Holy Spirit.  You’re willing to be constantly corrected and renewed.  You’re willing to be pushed beyond your human capabilities to where God’s strength kicks in.

Listen to the words of one more song by the Newsboys.  “Spirit Thing” from the same album, “GOING PUBLIC,” copyright 1994.  “It’s not a family trait, it’s nothing that I ate, and it didn’t come from skating with holy rollers.  It’s an early warning sign, it keeps my life in line, but it’s so hard to define.  Never mind, it’s just a spirit thing, it’s just a holy nudge, it’s like a circuit judge in the brain.  It’s just a spirit thing, it’s here to guard my heart, it’s just a little hard to explain.  It pushes when I quit, it smells out counterfeit.  Sometimes it works a bit like a teleprompter.  When it’s teleprompting you, I pray you’ll let it through, and I’ll help you with the how, but for now, it’s just a spirit thing.  It’s just a holy nudge; it’s like a circuit judge in the brain.  It’s just a spirit thing, it’s here to guard my heart, it’s just a little hard to explain.”

Says it all, doesn’t it?

It’s your sensitivity to that holy nudge, that circuit judge in your brain that makes the difference.  You can hear that early warning sign that keeps your heart in line.  The Holy Spirit helps you smell out counterfeit, it’s that spirit thing that guards your heart.  Don’t try to explain it, just spread it around.

For a germ to get into someone’s blood stream, it can’t be a weak germ, or the body’s healthy immune system will not let it get in.  To get the Gospel spread into the heart of someone who has built up immunity to that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, you can’t be a weak Christian.  Some people in the world have sanitized themselves from the Gospel.  They’ve used anti-infectious walls to contain what they think of as the contamination of the Gospel.

Church, you need to be contagious.  Spread it around, because then the world can see Jesus through you.  Yes, people need to find Jesus for themselves, but by being a contagious Christian, you can show them where He lives.  Point the way.  Start the germ of belief; plant the seed of hope.  Tell them it’s okay to trust Him.  If they’re hungry, they’ll find Him.  It doesn’t always mean they’ll agree to come to your church.  But, that they may want to become a part of His Church, the family of God.  Teach them, by your life, that it’s okay to believe in prayer, in truth, in right and wrong, and in integrity.  If He lives in your heart, let people look in there and see Him.  Show them by your everyday lifestyle, not just your Sunday best.

Spread your germs…the seeds of the Gospel.  Get it into their bloodstream where it can really do its work.  Jesus’ blood covers us.  Let it flow.  Something that’s infectious changes us.  Be infectious.  Keep growing ‘til you’ve become a full-blown infection, a liberating contamination.  You’re spreading the Good News, not a disease.  Jesus offers people freedom from the disease of sin.  He’s the way to wellness.  Be so contagious that you spread it by just being in the same room with someone.  Where it will just float in the air and be inhaled by someone.  You can spread our contagious Gospel everywhere, all the time, even when you don’t see a “sick” person.  Don’t try to be a contagious Christian with unclean hands, or you’ll be prime target for satan’s contamination.  Be a healthy Christian who’s as infectious as a smile and as contagious as a laugh.

As all germs are different, so all Christians can be contagious in different ways.  Use what God gave you to invade the world’s defenses.  Max Lucado explains in his book “Cure for the Common Life” (W Publishing Group, 2005) that God packs our bag with all the tools we need to serve Him.  Max says, “God did not drop you into the world utterly defenseless and empty-handed.  You arrived fully equipped.”  So, use the unique tools, talents, and passions God gave you to be contagious in His Kingdom.

Who are the contagious Christians you know?  The ones you go to when you need prayer, or the ones you seek when you need encouragement?  Whose joy of the Lord can you feel just by being in the same room with them?  Where are the “prayed up” Christians around you?  Can you feel that “spirit thing” when they’re around?

To be contagious, get to really know people, so you can find out how satan’s lies have permeated their spirit.  People who don’t know Christ are highly susceptible to satan’s tricks.  They haven’t been exposed yet to the Truth of God’s Word.   They haven’t built up resistance or immunity to satan’s fiery darts.  They have habits that promote the spread of the enemy’s lies; and their hearts are deceived.  That’s how they become contaminated.

The Bible says, in II Corinthians 4:3-10  (CEV), “If there is anything hidden about our message, it is hidden only to someone who is lost.  The God who rules this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers.  They cannot see the light, which is the good news about our glorious Christ, who shows what God is like.  We are not preaching about ourselves.  Our message is that Jesus Christ is Lord.  He also sent us to be your servants.  The Scriptures say, ‘God commanded the light to shine in the dark.’  Now God is shining in our hearts to let you know that His glory is seen in Jesus Christ.  We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored.  The real power comes from God and not from us.  We often suffer, but we are never crushed.  Even when we don’t now what to do, we never give up.  In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again.”

Church, shine with Jesus’ light, and then let your light become contagious.  We all need to work together to spread God’s Word.  Obey God.  Speak about Jesus now, so others can find Him now.  It’s imperative that we do it now, while there’s time left.   We cannot keep quiet about what we’ve seen and heard.  Spread God’s story of love. Manifest the Gospel.  Church, the Body of Christ should be a contagious force in this world.  Let God shine in your hearts to let the world know that His glory is seen in Jesus Christ.

Don’t wait until you think you’re perfect to be contagious, we’re like clay jars (maybe even cracked clay jars!) in which this treasure is stored.  Every time you encourage a child to read the Bible and trust in the Lord, every time you pray for a need, believing God will answer, every time you rejoice in the Spirit even in a crisis, you’re being contagious and spreading God’s Word.  You’re sharing yourself, your passion and your faith for the glory of God.  Do it!

The Director of Vacation Bible School at my church in NJ, taught me many things.  I was new to the Christian walk and I was hungry to find out how to live it.  Just in passing during one of our conversations about VBS, she commented that our meeting would need to be after her morning devotions because she spent that time with the Lord.  I’d never heard about devotions and thought, “Yes, I need to do that, too!”  I could see how that kept her in tune with God.

How contagious she was without even trying!  Perhaps she didn’t even realize she was being infectious.  Maybe you won’t know either.  Do it anyway!  Be contagious from your overflow.  Spread God’s love because you’ve received it abundantly.  He’s infected you with joy unspeakable.  You’ve received much more than you’ll ever need.  Give it away.

Let’s not keep this thing from spreading.

Gracious Heavenly Father, You’ve infected us with your joy.  And it’s our joy to honor you.  Thank you for all your blessings.  Help us share your love wherever we go.  Make us bold, contagious Christians in your Kingdom with your message of hope.  Fill us to overflowing with the gift of your Holy Spirit, so we can be your servants to a lost world.  We’ll never stop proclaiming the name of Jesus.  In Jesus Name we pray.  Amen

“Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.”  Zephaniah 1:7  KJV

 “So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.”  Matthew 22:10  KJV

      Many of you have traveled, taken vacations, stayed in hotels, gone on a cruise, slept on trains, roamed the country in your RVs, and been away from your home for extended periods of time over the years.  But, I think the most difficult thing is to be an overnight guest in someone else’s house!

Feelings and concerns come up because we’re the outsider in another’s territory and domain.  We’re living in someone else’s world.  In another’s space.

Just recently, I hopped on a plane in Florida by myself to visit with my sister in New York City for a week.  Though I’m originally from New Jersey, so I’ve only spent day trips in the City over the years.

Everything I experienced on this trip was technically new to me.  When I compared the two locations, nothing was the same.  Nothing!

House in Florida vs. Co-op in the City.  Palm trees, golf courses, and blue water vs. tall buildings, small cafés, and beautiful architecture.  Sunshine vs. rain.  Quiet single-family homes  vs. crowded city streets.  Driving vs. riding taxis, subways, and buses.  Early birds vs. night owls.  Peaceful silence vs. hectic, lively clamor.  Lush landscapes, beautiful horizons, and awesome sunsets vs. Broadway’s glittering lights, the harbor’s spectacular skyline, and the City’s cultural aspects.  A different world.   Different sounds, different flavors, different noises, different feelings.

When we’re guests, everything we do takes longer.  We don’t know where anything is and we don’t know the routine of the house.  We’re not self-assured, because we’re off our schedule, even if it’s a laid-back one.  We can’t find a thing, because nothing’s in its usual place.  We carried some of our essential shampoo and bathroom stuff with us, but we have no room to lay it out properly; or time to organize it.

We don’t live here; we’re just visiting, so we don’t feel completely comfortable.  We seem to tiptoe around trying to accommodate others and their schedules.  While we can have a wonderful time, we don’t know our way around, so we need constant assistance.  It’s disorienting and frustrating.

The majority of our belongings are at home…often we only have our traveling gear with us.  It’s sufficient for the trip, but we long to have all our treasures.  But those things are back home.

Since it’s not our home, we don’t have any of our normal responsibilities or chores.  We try to help, but we don’t know how things work; we don’t know where things go, or where anything is located.  We’re afraid we’ll mess up something, or break something.  Perhaps we’ll let the family dog out when he’s supposed to stay in, or let the kitty cat in when she’s supposed to be out.   We’d rather just leave the chores to the homeowner…we’ll be going back to our own home shortly anyway.  It’s annoying to both of us to have to keep asking about everything.

Sometimes, we’re afraid to venture out of the house.  Often, we don’t understand the language, or the subtle nuances of this place we’re visiting, so communication is very difficult.  We look at the architecture, scenery, and people, in a new way, which is different from the way our host views them.  We’ll hear sounds, smell fragrances, and see sights they don’t notice anymore.  On the other hand, we don’t always see pitfalls, hazards, or things to avoid that a resident or local would see quickly.  Traffic patterns, road signs, rules, and regulations may all be drastically new to us.  We may react too slowly; or we may overreact.  We’re naive…we’re unaccustomed to the area.

It would take longer than our visit to become used to our surroundings.  We’re not living here, so we depend on the one who invited us for wisdom.  To show us the ropes.  Give us a crash course in living at their house, in their neighborhood, in their city, their state, their country, their world.

When we’re visiting, we have lots of downtime on our hands.  So our host or hostess has planned all sorts of fun stuff for us to do, like tourists.  Though we bond with new people and we’re willing to try new things; often, we feel compelled to tell them things like:  “At my house, we eat at 5pm”, or “When I’m home, I go to bed at 10 pm.”  Or, “I’ve never eaten Sushi before!”   We feel we should justify ourselves, as if we’re only doing these unusual things because we’re visiting…we’re not at home!

We tend to eat improperly and develop stomach issues, because we’re “away!!”  We don’t usually follow our exercise routine either, whether we’re on vacation or on a business trip, we’re away from home!  Our stay here can be exhausting…we’re weary, but we can’t stop, we might miss something!  We’re only here for a short time, so we’ve got to keep going to get in all the sights.

At each new sight, we’re thrilled and amazed with what we see, but cautious at the same time.  It’s all different and thrilling, but we’re not sure we could “live with it!”  Perhaps it’s too quiet, or too loud; too much activity, or too little.  Too unlike home.  We like it here, but we’re not sure we’d want to live here.  It’s not our home!  We may purchase a few souvenirs, (we want our memories) but we’re lonely for our “stuff,” our house, our neighborhood, our city, our state, our country, our world.

And especially, our loved ones.  Our way of doing things.  Our pace.  Our lifestyle.  This stuff and this place were created for our host.  We want to go back to the place that was created for us by us.  Our hearts are there.

When the visit is over, we can’t wait to get home!!

Church, this is how we’ll feel when our visit to Earth is over!  It was great, but our home is in Heaven.  This world is not our home…we’re guests here.  It feels strange, we feel like foreigners.  We’re just traveling through.  Like nomads.  “Our bodies are like tents that we live in here on earth.  But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live.  These homes will not be buildings that someone has made, but they are in heaven and will last forever.  While we are here on earth, we sigh because we want to live in that heavenly home.” (2 Cor. 5:1 &2, CEV)

Church, are you sighing?  Are you waiting?  Are you cherishing our blessed hope?  Are you ready?  Are those around you ready, too?

The Message words it this way “…When the time comes we’ll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming.”  2 Cor. 5

Since this world is not our home.  We’re uncomfortable here.

John 17:15 & 16  (CEV) says,  “Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of this world, but keep them safe from the evil one.  They don’t belong to this world…”

We’re outsiders in another’s territory and domain. It would take longer than our stay on Earth was meant to be, for us to become used to our surroundings.  We must depend on Jesus for wisdom, since He has overcome the world.   We must keep asking Him to show us around.  We’re dependent on His direction.  Without Him, we’re lost in a strange place.  It’s okay for us to ask, because we’re just guests.  We aren’t expected to know our way around this place.

“Don’t love the world or anything that belongs to the world.  If you love the world, you cannot love the Father.”    1 John 2:15  (CEV)

The Scripture says in 1 Tim. 6:7 (CEV), “We didn’t bring anything into this world, and we won’t take anything with us when we leave.”  No souvenirs.  Nothing lasts forever here.  God’s prepared a place for us.  Heaven is a better place.  We’ll see Jesus there.  We long to go home.  The home He created for us.

1 Peter 2:11  (CEV) says, “Dear friends, you are foreigners and strangers on this earth.  So I beg you not to surrender to these desires that fight against you.”

1 Cor. 29:15 says,  “We are only foreigners living here on earth for a while, just as our ancestors were.  And we will soon be gone, like a shadow that suddenly disappears.”   In Lev. 25:23  (CEV) God says, “…It all belongs to me—it isn’t your land and you only live there for a little while.”

Psalm 39:12 (CEV) says, “Listen, Lord, to my prayer!  My eyes are flooded with tears, as I pray to you.  I am merely a stranger visiting in your home as my ancestor’s did.”  Psalms 119:19 (CEV) says, “ I live here as a stranger.  Don’t keep me from knowing your commands.”

The Bible teaches in Hebrews 11:13-16 (CEV), “Every one of those people died.  But they still had faith, even though they had not received what they had been promised.  They were glad just to see these things from far away, and they agreed that they were only strangers and foreigners on this earth.  When people talk this way, it is clear that they are looking for a place to call their own.  If they had been talking about the land where they had once lived, they could have gone back at any time.  But they were looking forward to a better home in heaven.  That’s why God wasn’t ashamed for them to call him their God.  He even built a city for them.”

God’s built us a city.

John 17:25 (CEV) says,  “Good Father, the people of this world don’t know you…”

1 John 5:4 in the Message says, “Every God-begotten person conquers the world’s ways.  The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith.  The person who wins over the world’s ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God.”

“On this earth, we don’t have a city that lasts forever, but we are waiting for such a city.”   Hebrews 13:14 (CEV)

We desire Heaven while walking on this earth, because our hearts are there.  We’ve laid up treasure there.  Too many earthly treasures here will weigh us down.  We’ve packed up eternal treasures and sent them to our new home in Heaven, so only our traveling clothes are needed for now.  In a little while, God will call us home, until then, our tents are good enough.

Rise above the earth.   Come up, live higher.   We’re kings and priests; meant to live in the spiritual realm.  Bring another guest with you to the wedding feast.  Go out and compel them to come in.  See the world from God’s perspective:  We’re the outsiders in someone else’s territory and domain.  As C.S. Lewis put it, Christians on the earth live in “enemy occupied territory.”  Mere Christianity (New York:  Macmillan, 1943), 36.

In New York City, I got homesick for the sunshine.  As Christians, we get homesick for the Son, too.  Anxious to get home.

While we’re here, we must tell others about the Heavenly home waiting for us.  We must make sure others are going home with us.  Don’t get too comfortable here, we’re only guests.