1-1-18<\/p>\n
There is a pop-music classic, and American show tune, that has been covered by every great singer, at least of the Jazz Age. Written by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen, and its first recording by Mercer \u2013 a terrific vocalist whose own singing has been neglected through the years \u2013 it has been a hit for many artists. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve Got to Accentuate the Positive\u201d is sometimes spelled with the song\u2019s lilting \u201cAc-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,\u201d but often referred to by its catch phrase, \u201cDon\u2019t Mess with Mister In-Between.\u201d From a 1940s musical, the lyrics were inspired by, and made reference to, a revival sermon:<\/p>\n
Gather ’round me, everybody \u2013 Gather ’round me while I’m preachin\u2019, Feel a sermon comin’ on me. The topic will be sin and that’s what I’m against. If you wanna hear my story, Then settle back and just sit tight , while I start reviewin’ You’ve got to accentuate the positive, Eliminate the negative, And latch on to the affirmative! Don’t mess with Mister In-Between…<\/em><\/p>\n Performed in a variety of styles, many Americans today are familiar with it, and it lives in playlists and even commercials. It was background music in the movie L.A. Confidential<\/em>, and Jerry Lee Lewis frequently uses the phrase \u2013 perhaps preaching to himself \u2013 in soliloquies at the piano. Its message is deeper than the lyrics of many show tunes, and has applications for revival congregations, moviegoers, and anyone with ears to hear.<\/p>\n Is it grist for a New Years essay? Like any good gospel message, its points are pertinent any day of the year \u2013 just as Christmas and Easter sermons ought to be re-visited in seasons apart from those holidays\u2019 traditional festivals. <\/p>\n But if this is a time of year when we all look backward, look forward, and make resolutions (even if, like many promises and laws, they are made to be broken), then it is time indeed to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative\u2026 but most importantly, look out for Mr In-Between.<\/p>\n Why should Mr In-Between be avoided? <\/p>\n Jesus Himself provides the obvious answer \u2013 obvious and usually ignored or avoided by Christians \u2013 speaking to John in the Book of Revelation: And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.<\/em><\/p>\n This advice is harsh because it cuts to the core of our souls\u2019 sincerity, our position before God. We cannot be lukewarm about spiritual things! <\/p>\n Either God exists, or He does not. <\/p>\n Either Jesus is His Son, and believing in Him, confessing our sins, leads to forgiveness and eternal life, or not.<\/p>\n Either there is a Heaven and Hell, or there is not. Either Jesus is the only way to achieve salvation and eternal security, as He said, or not.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t mess with In-Between. These things cannot be almost<\/em> true; or mostly<\/em> true. It\u2019s like being almost<\/em> pregnant. In the Book of Acts, Chapter 26, Paul\u2019s appearance before King Agrippa in Rome is recorded. He defends himself against charges of the Jews; he relates his own persecution of Christians; his conversion; and his evangelism, the miracles he had seen; and the powerful presence of Christ in his new life.<\/p>\n Agrippa, listening and absorbing all this, admits to Paul that he was \u201calmost persuaded\u201d to become a Christian. This was meant as a compliment to Paul\u2019s testimony.<\/p>\n But a preacher once said that to be \u201calmost\u201d persuaded is to be not persuaded at all; to be \u201calmost\u201d saved is the same as being totally lost. In these times we all seem to seek for compromise\u2026 the Golden Mean\u2026 the middle position, to satisfy everyone. <\/p>\n But Jesus would have us hot or cold, not lukewarm. To compromise with evil is to be evil. He will spit us out!<\/p>\n The American hymnodist Philip P Bliss heard a Dwight L Moody sermon on this subject, and wrote one of the powerful exegetical songs of the American church: Almost Persuaded<\/em>.<\/p>\n At New Year, it is a good time to examine where we stand with God\u2026 with ourselves, our standing in Eternity. To be almost<\/em> persuaded is to be certainly nothing<\/em>. We fool neither ourselves nor our God. Be hot or cold \u2013 one of them! Choose today; do not be lukewarm in life. Don\u2019t mess with Mister In-Between.<\/p>\n + + +<\/p>\n
\nThe attitude of doin’ right.<\/em><\/p>\n