https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBommCD5Hwg
Profile
of a Christian
Well,
praise Jesus today everyone. Have you ever thought about what it means to be a
Christian? Or maybe think of it the other way. What do people in the world
perceive a Christian to be? A lot of us have put Jesus in a bad light through
being a hypocrite or a bad testimony. But all of us in some way represent Jesus
Christ if we call ourselves Christians. So the best profile of a Christian is
actually you to someone else that you are influencing. We can say that what it
means to be a Christian is a Christ follower, or someone that keeps a set of
morality, or someone that goes to church or reads their Bible or just does good
in their community. But at the end of the day, the light is you. Jesus said, “you
are the light of the world. Let your light so shine before men that they may
see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” You are a light to
someone and you are an example to someone. And the profile of a Christian is
your channel, your Facebook, your face on the internet, your face at work, your
face at home. You are the example of what a Christian is.
And
if you are giving Christianity a black eye, you will be held accountable to
setting up an example of a Christian in a false manner. You will be held
responsible for your hypocrisy. That is why Jesus hated hypocrites more than
sinners, more than people that the Pharisees thought …were sinners. Jesus was
against the hypocrite. I remember when I was in high school, all four years I
did track and field. And I wasn't always the best influence to my friends. However,
there was a certain young man who came from a hard background, possibly gang related,
that he joined our track team. And at that time, I was in a certain church and
that high school student also started going to my church. And the best I could,
I tried to be a good example to him. And again, I wasn't the best influence
always when I was in high school, but I was trying to live my faith in a
genuine way. And when that guy, his name was Daniel, saw me choose to do things
that were moral, he took note of it even though he never told me. Some years
later, my mom told me that she had a conversation with that guy's godfather, or
the people that were taking care of him. And that kid Daniel had made a comment
about me that really made me think. It was a blessing to me to encourage me in
the right way. And Daniel had said something to the extent of, if you want to
know what to do that's right, just look at Andy Tiner. And that meant a lot to
me because it made me want to be a real profile of a Christian, someone that
really stood up for Jesus. It made me want to do what was right more because I
knew even though I didn't think people were watching me, people were watching
me to see what a Christian was really all about. I had become the definition of
what a Christian was. So if I was drinking alcohol, then it was okay for
Christians to drink alcohol. If I was going to take part in theft, it was okay
for Christians to sometimes steal. But if I stood against marijuana, if I stood
against theft, if I stood against profanity, then that's what it meant to be a
Christian to my classmates, to my peers, to those that were on the track team. And
when I realized that, that made a huge difference for me.
And
so what I am here to tell you today is you are that profile also of a
Christian, either for good or for evil. Either you're a good example to your
peers, to the people that live around you, or you're a bad example for Jesus. Because
for some people, the only Christian they will see, for example they will see of
Christ is you. Maybe you are the only good influence in their life. Or maybe
you're the only one that claims to be a Christian in their life, but you're a poor
example and you're basically making a black eye for Christianity. And if that's
the case, you really need to shape up and repent so that you can start serving
Jesus and being a good example. I want to read to you what Jesus said in
regards to this, and what the profile of a true believer should be. And this is
found in Luke chapter 6. So you can look at this with me. This is Luke chapter
6. And I'm going to start in verse 20.
20And
he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours
is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be
filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. 22 Blessed are ye,
when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company,
and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's
sake. 23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is
great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. 24
But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. 25 Woe
unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for
ye shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you!
for so did their fathers to the false prophets. 27 But I say unto you which
hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that
curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 29 And unto him that
smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away
thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. 30 Give to every man that asketh of
thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31 And as ye
would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 For if ye love
them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love
them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye?
for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to
receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as
much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for
nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of
the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye
therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall
not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye
shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure,
pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your
bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to
you again.
These
have to be the virtues we have as a Christian. This has to be our profile,
doing good to others even if they are not doing good to us. Loving others even
if they don't love us. Praying for our enemies, praying for those that speak
evil of us, not returning evil for evil, but returning good even when people do
evil to us. So think about Jesus' words here. Are you aligning with this
gospel? Are you aligning with these words? Because this is what Jesus spoke. And
if we are not aligning with this, this needs to become our new attitude. It
needs to become the people who we are, not the people that we just think about
that we want to be. But this is the profile of a Christian, a Christ follower.
So
how can we become these people? We have to receive the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Now
there are some people who receive a false spirit, a false spirit of giving that
comes from manipulation. Or even a spirit of feeling that we need to give
because an organization asked us to. So it's giving out of this compulsion of
guilt rather than giving out of love. And there are some Christians that really
think that they should always be physically poor because that's how they
translate Luke chapter 6. David was not poor, he had money. Solomon was not
poor, he had money. And a lot of the patriarchs had a lot of money. But what
separates a good man from an evil man is if they are doing the will of Jesus Christ.
And someone that is poor spiritually, meaning they realize they need God, they
will cry out to the Lord, they will say, Lord I need more of your virtues, I
need your salvation, I need your help. And if we are poor in spirit and we are
asking the Lord for his virtues, that is the kind of person we need to be. Not
the kind of person that says, I'm already good enough, I'm already wealthy
enough, I don't need you, Lord. So that is why Jesus here in Luke says, blessed
are the poor, blessed are those who hunger now. He's not talking about just
being poor, not having an American dollar, or being physically hungry, but that
we hunger for righteousness. And that we are poor in the manner that we are
asking the Lord for our provision, not being filled with the things of the
world. See a lot of people, a lot of Christians are full on religion. And they
feel like they don't need anything. They're the ones that Jesus said that he
didn't need to come for because they're already healthy, they're already rich. Jesus
didn't come for the rich and the healthy, but he came for those that needed a
physician, those that know that they're spiritually sick and need true
repentance.
So if you are truly seeking for the Lord, you
will know that you need something from God. You won't be the kind of Christian
that says, I don't need you Lord, I already have enough money, I already have
enough spirituality, I have all of this figured out, I don't need you. If you
really are a disciple of Jesus, you know that you need the Lord, and without
him you are poor. So that needs to be our heart guys. We need to daily be
coming before the Lord saying, Lord I can't do it on my own, without you I have
nothing, I need you to fill me up, I need you to give me the true riches from
heaven, that I will be spiritually rich in you, because you have blessed me
with riches, but it's not me that have filled myself up with religion of the
world, or just thoughts that I have from the Bible, or from a pastor at church,
or something like that. We need to be gaining our wisdom and our love from
heaven, from the Holy Spirit.
Now
as you read through this, you will notice some things that a lot of Christians
don't have. A lot of us just want to do good to those that do good for us, or
we want to give to those that we know will give back. And Jesus says when you
give, make sure you are giving to people that you know are not going to give
back to you. When you are inviting guests over for dinner, do things that are
good for people that can't repay you. Now in the world, you never do that. If
you have a business, you make sure that you do business favors to clients that
you know are going to give back to you, and it's all so that you will be able
to build your business and your image in the world. Now with Jesus, it's a
completely different kingdom. We're not supposed to be becoming anything in the
world, but we're supposed to be becoming everything in Jesus Christ. Jesus has
called His disciples out of the world to be separate from the world, so that we
can serve Him in His kingdom. So either we're about our Father in Heaven's
business, and working on this profile for Jesus being the people He wants us to
become, or we're working on our profile and our image in the world, and doing
something in the world.
As
for me, I want to make sure that I'm nothing in this world. I'm not built up by
this world. I'm not trying to become something that people respect in this
world in the worldly sense, but that really I'm getting glory from God because
He is giving me riches from Heaven, and giving me what I need to promote the
gospel and to be a good example of what it means to be a Christian. The second
verse, or verses that I wanted to look at, was Luke chapter 6 verse 43. So
Jesus says this, starting in 43,
“43
For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree
bring forth good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of
thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 45 A
good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is
good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that
which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”
You
know, a lot of Christians are focused on the world, and one day of the week on
Sunday or on Wednesday they get together and they try, as they might, to be
Christian. They try to uphold an image of Jesus one day a week, but as soon as
they're out of the context of church they slip up, they start cussing, cursing,
taking the Lord's name in vain. They start gossiping, speaking evil of others,
and the reason why that is, is because they are literally bringing the evil out
of the evil treasure of their heart. A good tree produces good fruit, but a bad
tree produces bad fruit. And you can know each Christian's fruit by what they
are saying. If a Christian is cursing, using profanity, taking the Lord's name
in vain, gossiping, speaking evil jokes, talking about things that are
pornographic, or just speaking about things that are worldly and nothing to do
with the kingdom of God, you can know that they are an evil tree that is
producing evil fruit.
We
need to make sure that we are a profile of a true Christian, not the false
Christians that just look Christian outwardly. We have to make sure that we are
different. And we need to make sure that we separate ourselves from false
Christianity, the sort of Christianity that says you can be a Christian one day
a week, or you can just be part of a social club and be a Christian. Rather we
need to be a Christian by our deeds. We truly need to be a good tree that has
good fruit. A lot of Christians will say, you can't know my heart, brother. Only
God can know my heart. But that's not what Jesus said. Jesus plainly says that
you will know a tree by its fruit. And it's impossible to have bad fruit but a
good heart. So if you know someone is producing bad fruit, that is coming from
a bad tree.
If
you realize today that you have bad fruit but you are calling yourself a
Christian, evaluate your heart and repent of your sins. Repent and get right
with Jesus that you may actually be salt and light and be a good testimony to
people. Because again, how the world perceives a Christian is not going to be
out of the Webster's dictionary. They are going to perceive a Christian defined
by your life. You are the definition of a Christian. And so is that definition
hypocritical? Does it mean you are a liar? Does it mean you don't keep your
word? Does it mean you are actually hateful or bitter or you are very, you
know, you are just short with people and you don't have love in your heart? Or
do you truly represent what it means to be a Christian? When people think of a
Christian, would they actually say your name and go, this person is a
Christian? Would they bring you up in conversation as someone that is truly
living for Jesus? Because if they wouldn't, maybe you are actually a bad tree
with bad fruit. Maybe you have fallen from grace. Maybe you are straight up
working for the devil.
A
lot of Christians are working for the devil and they are just trying to appease
God by giving tithe through a church, by listening to sermons, by reading their
Bible. But we actually need to uphold what it means to be a Christian. Are you
right with the Lord? Are you encouraging others to really live for the Lord? Well,
I want to pray for you today, if you want your life right with Jesus Christ and
if you want to be right with God, so that you yourself can be saved, that you can
be edified but also that you can start edifying others and bringing people into
the true church.
“Lord Jesus, I pray for my fellow brothers and
sisters. I pray that someone truly repents of their sin and that they come into
the light of your truth, that they stop playing the hypocrite, that they would
not be a bad example of a Christian but that they could start acting in a way
that the world around them knows that they are different. So I pray that people
can break the chains of addiction and false religion, hypocrisy, all the sins
that are in this world and that we could be severed from ungodliness, that we
could cleave to you, that we could be filled by your Holy Spirit and truly be a
temple of the Most High Living God. I pray that you indwell us and that we
could live without the leaven of hypocrisy and that we could do good work for
you Lord. I pray that you bless your children, that they could get their eyes
set on you and off of other brothers and sisters and what other people are
doing and what other people are saying, that they could stop seeking people for
counsel and that they would start praying out of the sincerity of their heart
in the quiet place and waiting on you Lord to hear from you, that they may hear
your voice, that they would hear your word and then obey you. In your name I
pray Lord Jesus, Amen.”
If you're hearing this message today and you
know that you're not right with God, maybe you're wondering, will God hear my
prayers if I'm a sinner? The answer to that is yes. God will hear your prayers
even if you're a sinner, even if you have not repented yet, if you desire
repentance. God came for the sinner. He sent His Son for you. Jesus wasn't sent
for the righteous but for those who are poor of heart, just like you, that know
your prayers have not been answered, that know that you have made mistakes,
that you have offended God, that you have offended the children of God and that
you need a new life, that you need to be regenerated. Jesus is for you and He
will hear your prayers and answer you if you have a contrite heart, if you have
a humble heart before Him to say, “Lord please save me from my sins, please
cleanse me from my unrighteousness and please come into my heart.” If you can
pray this simple prayer as a child, the Spirit of God will come into you, He
will cleanse your heart, He will purify you from your unrighteousness, He will
give you a new mind and a new heart, He will regenerate you that then you can
come alive and be a true son or daughter of the Kingdom of God. So I pray for
you that you can really repent and enter into God's Kingdom. None of us know
how much time we have left. We don't know when Jesus is going to return, when
we're going to die and have to stand before God. And so we need to make sure
that we get our lives in order today. May the grace of Jesus be with you.
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