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How Should We Live?
1. What Do You Say You Are?
2. What Do They Say You Are?
3. What Are You Really?
4. Called To Be Different
5. How Do You Get There?
1. Who are you? How do you introduce yourself? Do you give your occupation? How about hobbies? Are You Bill the sports guy? Or maybe Lisa the Market Analyst? Are you a Christian, or are you just another average person? Republican or Democrat? What are you? How do you define yourself? What do you prefer to be known for?
2. We all interact with countless non Christians every day. What do they know you for? When someone asks about you, what do they say? Do they talk about how you're in church every Sunday, or does that not even begin to cross their mind? Do they talk about your great work ethic and good attitude, or do they detail every wrong you've ever done to anyone? Do they even know who you are? Can they even put a face to your name?
3. You are what you think, say, and do. What is the focal point of those things? What is always first to your mind before you do something? What is your tone when you speak to people? What is that thing that you can never quite get out of your mind? Is your entire life centered around god, or is it only sometimes? Is He ever the center of your actions and thoughts?
People see how you live, and they hear what you say. Your thoughts always come out at some point in one of those two forms. What you do in public is constantly watched and what you do in private never stays that way. Does what you think you are match up with what others think you are? Does what you say you believe match up with how you live your life?
1 Peter 2:9:
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
4. In First Peter 2:9, we Christians are called out to be different from this world in which we live. People are born with sin, and the world is therefore born headed in the wrong direction. Christians are headed in the right direction, eyes on Jesus and living life boldly. It only makes sense then to say that Christians are literally against the world. If you claim now to be a Christian, think about how you live. Does what you say you believe match up with how you live? Christians are supposed to be so different from the world that people instinctively know. Do your coworkers know where you are right now? Did they guess that you were a Christian before you told them? That's how it should be. Christians are supposed to be a peculiar people. (Earth at night, find florida, then find the congo). Christians are to be like Florida on this map. We are supposed to stand out from the world so much that by simply looking at us, people know what we are. Do you stand out this brightly? What do you need to do in your life, what needs to change, for you to stand out this brightly?
The point of these questions is this: We Christians have but one job on earth for Christ, and that is to spread the word of his love and sacrifice to the world so that more may come to salvation with us. Christ came to save the WORLD, not Lee Spears.
Pastor has said this before, and it is that relationships with people are crucial. People are affected most by those with whom they are close. A man is much more likely to take bad advice from his wife than good advice from a random man on the street. This is because of the relationship that has been built up between the man and woman in this scenario. He knows her, and he knows that she knows him deeply, and he believes that her opinion and plan is to his benefit. Even if its bad advice, he will take it over that of the stranger because of this relationship. As Christians, if we want to have any impact on the world, we must get to know the people around us. We are all people. Being a Christian doesn't mean you have any more lungs, arms, or brains than anyone else, Christian or not. However, to form lasting, impacting relationships with people, you must be real with them. You must live what you say, and you must say what you think. God has placed the people in your life around you for a reason. You are going to impact people in your life, you may even be the first Christian that they've ever met. How can God use you to bring them to salvation? People must know, from the onset, what you are.
Ephesians 2:10
10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
God has placed us where we are to do a work for him. You are here because someone in your life at some point was doing what God would have them do. This is your opportunity to do the same. This is your calling as a Christian.
6. If Jesus has truly touched your life, it should show. People should be able to tell that there is something different about you, that there is something you have that they don't have, and they should want it. When your neighbor gets a new car, or your friend gets a new phone that has one more feature than yours has, you sometimes get this feeling of desire. You want what they have. What you have is functional, but what they have is better, and you want it. That is how life is. When people are born, their life is functional, when they are born again, their life becomes purposeful. If you are a Christian here today, your life has purpose and meaning. That should shine out of everything you do. People should see you and want what you have, because what you have is that much better than what they have.
All of this, and so far you haven't even had to talk to them about Jesus. That is just what people should know by watching you live. However, people don't come to church because they see you go. They go to church and get saved because of those aforementioned relationships in their lives. First people have to see what you have and want it, then you have to offer it to them. That is your job as a Christian.
Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
A few years ago I worked at starbucks. It was a fairly easy, and certainly fun job, but drink combinations could sometimes get rather complicated, so my boss made sure to point out that if I ever forgot how to make a drink, there was a reference book under the espresso machine. This book holds the recipe for every starbucks drink on the menu, and is highly confidential. Heather looked at me when she showed me the book, and said “This is our bible. Do not show this to anyone.” And I found that a little bit funny, because sometimes we live that way as Christians. We fear offending people, so we don't mention Jesus around them at all. Our job is to reach out to ALL people and ALL nations. We cannot do this if we are too afraid to even mention that we go to church to our closest friends.
In Conclusion, what do you need to do to get to this point? Do you live what you say you believe? That's the best place to start, because if your mouth and your heart don't match up, people will see that and they wont listen to what you have to say. You must always watch what you think, say, and do. Second, keep in mind that Christianity was never meant to be a secret, and look for opportunities to spread the word. Remember, the best witness is your life, not your words. Lastly, realize that in becoming a Christian, you took a stand for Christ. You have accepted the call to be different, even though it can be hard at times. By putting yourself into the Christian life, you are not a normal person. Be proud of that, and make sure people know that by the way you live.
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