Mustard on My Blue Suit — E.A. Johnston

A Mustard Stain That Stood Out

Years ago, I was invited to preach the Sunday morning service at a Baptist church way out in the country in rural Mississippi. I had just bought a brand new suit, a blue pinstripe suit, and I thought I'd break it in by preaching in it that Sunday.

It took me two hours driving to get there, and when I got to that church and got into the pulpit, I preached a message on the subject of revival. And after the service, which is often the custom down south, we made our way to the fellowship room for food and fellowship.

These folks took a great deal of pride in their mealtime, and there were all sorts of delicious potluck dishes sitting on long tables. And you just grabbed a plate and made your way down, picking whatever you liked.

I filled my plate, and as I went along, I finally put a hot dog on my plate and put some mustard on it and made my way to a picnic table to sit down with the deacon and his wife, who'd asked me to join them.

And as I approached the table, I saw a look of horror on the faces of the people seated there as they stared at me. I looked down at what they were looking at, and I saw why they looked so shocked. My new blue suit that I had just bought was covered in yellow mustard.

I had leaned into the mustard and got it all over my suit. The deacon looked at me sadly and shook his head and replied, Well, at least we know now that you are human. It was a two-hour drive home, and that mustard stain set in on that blue suit.

And even after I'd had that suit dry-cleaned, that mustard stain never came out. And every time I wore that suit, it had a greenish glow where that mustard had left its mark. A mustard on a blue suit stands out.

And that's the title of my message today, friends, A Mustard on a Blue Suit. And that is the thought, friends, I'd like you to hold in your minds as we turn to our text today. We will be in 2 Kings 4.

You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. We will be in verses 8 and 9. And allow me to read us this important passage of Scripture to us at this time. Here now is the Word of God. And may the Spirit of the Lord attend the reading of His Holy Word.

Elisha as a Holy Man of God

And it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem, where there was a great woman, and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, which passes by us continually.

Holiness That Is Visible Without Self-Promotion

I will stop there. Here we have the story of the prophet Elisha, on whom rested a double portion of his mentor, the prophet Elijah. Here is the servant of God passing through town. And he stands out. He is noticed, not because he draws attention to himself.

I used to know an evangelist who wore outlandish clothes that made him stick out like a sore thumb. And he liked to draw attention to himself, even though he looked ridiculous. I saw a sign outside a church that read, God is looking for spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

I'm not talking about that kind of standing out in the flesh. I'm looking at this passage of Scripture where a stranger comments on a servant of God. And she remarks, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, which passes by.

In other words, the prophet Elisha stood out, stood out among men like mustard on a blue suit. It was obvious he was a man of God. And that's what I want to bring out from this passage today, friends, and apply it to our lives.

George Whitefield's Holy Witness

There's a story about George Whitefield, when he was first sailing from England to America. And as he made his way through the cabin area of the ship, he had passed a group of men sitting at a table playing cards.

And they were loud, for they were drinking and cussing. But as George Whitefield walked by them, and they saw the holy solemn look upon his radiant face, one by one they put down their cards and liquor, and were silent as he passed by.

They knew they were in the presence of a holy man of God, if I may so speak. Whitefield stood out like mustard on a blue suit. Let me ask you, friend, when you are at your secular employ, do you stand out for God, or do you just blend in?

Do people know you are a Christian by your behavior? Do you have a silent witness among them, like Lot and Sodom, who, when he finally did stand up for God, he was not taken seriously and was mocked? Do you stand out in society as a person of faith?

I needed a referral for a rent application, and I was new to town, and had been working a secular job only for a brief time. I asked my boss, who was not a Christian, to write a referral letter for me, and he wrote the following.

He said my name, and then he said, he's a hard worker and has proved himself to be a man of faith. I did not ask him to say a word about my Christian character, but that's what he wrote. That's what stood out in his mind when he had to describe me.

Can that be said about you? If a lost person came in contact with you on a daily basis, could they say, as the Shunammite woman said of Elisha, I perceive that this is a holy man of God which passes by us continually.

The Influence of Godly Men

I've had the privilege to know some great men. Men have been used greatly of God, and I don't believe you can spend time on a regular basis with a man of God without being under that person's influence for good in your life.

It's an impact and relationship. I'm thinking now of Dr. Stephen F. Olford, my late homiletical mentor, colleague, and friend. That's how he described our relationship. In a forward he wrote to my book on revival, Reality's Revival, he said I was his colleague and friend.

Dr. Olford had a significant impact upon my life to such a degree I would not be preaching to you now, friends, had I never known him. When Stephen Olford entered a room, you knew you were in the presence of a holy man of God.

Stephen Olford's Visible Godliness

There is a story about him that pertains to our subject today, about standing out for Christ in a godless society like mustard on a blue suit. Stephen Olford had been invited to preach at a Baptist church in Dallas, Texas, and the pastor of that church was telling an intern to go and pick up Dr. Olford at the airport that day, and the seminary intern asked to see a photo of Dr. Olford so he would recognize him, know what he looked like when he saw him at the airport terminal.

The pastor replied, No need for that. Just go to the airport and take your place where the plane will unload, and look at the passengers, and as you look at them, look for a man who has God all over him.

And the intern did as he was told, and as the passengers disembarked from that plane and filtered out through the terminal, the young intern's eyes fell upon a man carrying a briefcase with his overcoat draped over his arm, and he looked like God was all over him.

He stood out in the crowd. It was easy to see he was a man of God because Stephen Olford stood out like mustard on a blue suit. Can that be said of you, friend? Can it? Should we not stand out for God in a God-hating world?

Should not the love of Christ permeate through our very lives so as to be a means of blessings to others? Should not we live our lives unto God in such a way as to be unobstructed channels of grace that his rivers of blessings can flow through?

I perceive that this is a holy man of God which passes by. Why? Because he is a nut with a bumper sticker on his forehead that says, I love Jesus? No, it's the inner man coming through the outer man making an impression upon a godless society that needs to know about the one who came down here so we can go up there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Authentic Christianity Rather Than a Mere Name

I like a story that Charles Spurgeon enjoyed telling, and I will relate it to you now, friends, as I close this message. It's entitled, Christians, So Called. Spurgeon would relate. A boy in the streets selling apple pies kept crying, hot apple pies, hot apple pies.

A person bought one of them and found it quite cold. A boy, he said, why did you call these pies hot? That's the name they go by, sir, said the boy. Then Spurgeon remarked, there are plenty of people who are called Christians, but they are not Christians.

That's the name they go by, but they have no heat, no substance, only a name. I don't know about you, friend, but I know life is short and Christ will be soon returning. And in the meantime, I want to stand out for him like mustard on a blue suit to this godless generation that needs Christ Jesus or they perish into hell.

Let us pray.