Being a R.E.A.L. Christian
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
One thing I have learned since becoming a Christian is that there are many Christians who are compromising the authority of the Word of God. It is too easy for people to become agreeable and non-offensive to others due to the desire to “keep the peace,”...they want to be peacekeepers.
However, Jesus says,
Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of god.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
The difference between a peacemaker and a peacekeeper:
A peacemaker is someone who is willing to resolve both outer and inner turmoil in order to establish peace with others and within themselves.
A peacekeeper, on the other hand, desires to maintain peace by avoiding conflict
Our life calling as Christians is to be making peace between a holy and just God and sin fallen man because there is no peace that exists there.
Psalm 7:11-12
God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation everyday. If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.
God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day. If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.
Hebrews 9:27
And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment
Acts 17:31
because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.
The very real reality for all people is that judgment before our Creator awaits us. And there is a world full of people who are living their lives, day-in and day-out, without any understanding of that fact. We are peacemakers needing to resolve the conflict that exists between God and man.
Many of these folks are desperate for hope, love, and acceptance.
The Gospel offers what they need to escape judgment and what they want in the form of hope, love, and acceptance
Being a peacemaker is not an easy task to take on in our lives. In fact, when we stand firm on the authority of God’s word, there can be backlash and ridicule from Christians and non-Christians, family and friends.
Matthew 10:34-36
Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. “For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
We are in a battle!
The only way that we can win in this battle is by making sure that we are R.E.A.L. Christians.
In the letter to the Ephesian church, the Apostle Paul has given us instructions on how to live up to the expectation of being a R.E.A.L. Christian
STAND AND READ: Ephesians 6:10-20
The first part of being a R.E.A.L. Christian is that we need to be
READY to stand against the schemes of the devil (v. 10-12)
READY to stand against the schemes of the devil (v. 10-12)
Paul’s admonition is to be strong in the Lord! (v. 10)
It is too easy for us to be self-dependent based on what we know to be the norm in our lives.
Whether it’s the strength we find in our familiarity and knowledge of our workplace or the knowledge we possess from scripture and other Christian influences, it is easy to become dependent on what we already know.
P.S. this is called complacency and not a good place for a Christian to reside
Paul tells us that our battle is not against flesh and blood (v. 12)
The need for quiet time with the Lord through Bible reading and prayer does not seem urgent because life is all “hunky dory,” and oftentimes' falls by the wayside.
Even if we haven’t neglected our Bible reading and prayer time, the Devil will use his tactics to try and distract us and take us away from that precious time.
As Paul mentioned, our struggle (battle!) is not against flesh and blood, as these are the things that we can see on our own.
Rather, our battle is against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places which is why we absolutely need the help of the Lord every day!
We need to be Ready to stand strong against these schemes, as we are reminded by the Apostle Peter:
1 Peter 5:8
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 3:15
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.
Being Ready for what we are going to encounter takes quite a bit of preparation on our part. We need to be careful not to become entrenched in our day-to-day lives. Familiarity is a mindset that Satan wants us to become comfortable with because it can lead to complacency; however, a well Equipped individual will find that familiarity has no place in their lives. We must be...
Equipped for the battle we are engaged in everyday (v.13-17)
Equipped for the battle we are engaged in everyday (v.13-17)
Oh sure, we can become used to and confident in our day-to-day work without it causing us to become complacent in our walk with the Lord. However, it is the mindset that we know what to expect each and every day that can get us into some deep trouble.
We can be blindsided by unexpected natural disasters
Or a car accident that we did not expect to happen…either due to poor road conditions, vehicle mishap, other driver, or poor decision making on our part
You never know when someone might go off the deep end and start hurting some people
Or someone decides that life is no longer worth the pain and stress they are enduring, and decides to end it all
Notice that the Apostle Paul says to take up the full armor of God
This is not a list that we can just pick and choose what we want to have or what is convenient for us.
The truth is that we need the whole armor in order to be properly equipped to fight the battle.
Whether it is the belt of truth (ESV), breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace (ESV), the shield of faith, or the helmet of salvation, we cannot sacrifice any of our defensive armor lest we have a weakness which will be targeted by the enemy.
If we opt to not be equipped with one of these defensive pieces, then we are permitting Satan to attack that area with his fiery arrows (Ephesians 6:16).
The only offensive weapon that we are permitted to have is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
Honestly, that is plenty of offense to have:
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Isaiah 55:11
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
So will my word be which goes forth from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
The question now becomes: “Are we allowing ourselves to be equipped for battle with the Word of God?”
As great and awesome as creation science is to learn and teach,
It is the Bible that tells us about the Creator of all that great and awesome stuff.
It is the Bible that helps us understand the world around us and properly interpret the scientific observations that are made.
It is the Bible that reveals to us that sin is the reason why we are all destined to die and that we will be separated from God for eternity.
It is the Bible that explains that God loves us so much that He took the punishment for our sins so that we can have a relationship with Him forever.
It is the Bible that tells us that we have to trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as sufficient for the forgiveness for our sins.
We are expected to be equipped from the Bible for the battle that we are engaged in and we know that the Lord has provided people to help us meet that goal:
Ephesians 4:11-12
James 1:22
But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
Matthew 7:24
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
It is most important that we hear from the Lord through the reading of the Bible and that we act accordingly.
It is the Bible that gives us the proper instructions for being equipped for the battle that we are engaged in on a daily basis. It is the Bible that helps us to be…
ALERT to our own weaknesses (v. 18)
ALERT to our own weaknesses (v. 18)
Warren Wiersbe has some helpful insight into understanding this verse a little better:
[“Praying always”]. This obviously does not mean “always saying prayers.” We are not heard for our “much speaking” (Matt. 6:7). “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17) says to us, “Always be in communion with the Lord. Keep the receiver off the hook!” Never have to say when you pray, “Lord, we come into Thy presence,” because you never left His presence! A Christian must “pray always” because he is always subject to temptations and attacks of the devil. A surprise attack has defeated more than one believer who forgot to “pray without ceasing.”
It is important that we keep the line of communication open with the Lord at all times throughout the day. You never know when that prowling lion is going to pounce!
As long as we have an open line of communication with the Lord, we can speak with Him when we are feeling a moment of weakness coming on or He can show us areas of our lives that need some fortifying.
We ought to be evaluating every aspect of our lives to be sure we are glorifying God in everything we do (1 Corinthians 10:31).
It is during that evaluation process that we can see where we are letting our guard down. Are we having quiet time every day? Are we talking to the Lord on a regular basis? Are we participating in gossip? What kind of witness are we to others? What about our thoughts?
All these areas need to be fortified!
Remember, Satan is prowling like a lion, seeking whom he can devour. Typically it is the weakest in the bunch that is targeted for attack. It is important that we are Ready for anything that may come our way and that we are Equipped to engage in battle, always being on the Alert for weaknesses that the lion who is looking for his next attack may focus on. Now we are able to start…
LOOKING for opportunities to share the gospel and serve others (v. 19-20)
LOOKING for opportunities to share the gospel and serve others (v. 19-20)
Paul was looking for an opportunity to share the gospel with others, even though he was facing great opposition.
Satan had made Paul a primary target and was doing all he could to discourage and distract him from the gospel.
However, Paul requested that prayer be made on his behalf so that wouldn’t happen.
We need to be lifting each other up in prayer on a regular basis and praying that we would be bold in sharing the gospel with others.
We need to proclaim like Paul did in Romans 1:16,
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Let’s conclude this study by look at what the Apostle Peter says our purpose is now that we are followers of Christ.
1 PETER 2:4-12
CONCLUSION
As those who are in Christ Jesus:
Who have been raised up and seated with Him (2:5-6).
Who have been created for good works (2:10)
Who are being built up in the body of Christ (4:12)
We need to be making peace between a holy and just God and sin fallen man. And it starts with us being a R.E.A.L. Christian.
Ready to stand against the schemes of the devil
Equipped for the battle we are engaged in everyday
Alert to our own weaknesses
Looking for opportunities to share the gospel and serve others
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