A Portrait Of A Godly Christian

A Portrait of a Godly Christian

The Tools God Uses to Develop His Character within Us

INTRODUCTION:

- What makes a man of God? A woman of God?

- Certainly he must be saved and a committed follower of Jesus Christ, but what are the traits or marks that distinguish that person as being different to a lost world.

I. The Stamp of Integrity

Proverbs 20:7, “The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.”

- If you want to leave a legacy, you must do so through integrity. (“The righteous man leads a blameless life.”)

- “…Blessed are his children after him…” – If you and I are not impacting those at home, what difference does it make what impact you make elsewere.

- If you can’t be a good Christian at home, you can’t be a good Christian anywhere (and vice-versa).

o The most difficult place to live the Christian life is in the home (and yet it is the most important.)

What does it mean to have a life that is stamped with integrity?

- You must be Truthful and Honest

o I believe that the devil really works on us in the area of being honest and truthful

“A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who speaks lies will not escape.” (Prov. 19:5)

Many times it is easier to tell a partial truth than it is to tell the whole truth

This is a snare that can that the devil can use to keep you from being what God wants you to be.

o ILLUS: Unemployed young man in desperate need of a job. A desperate Zoo Manager needed to replace his recently deceased gorilla. Hired a man to dress up in a gorilla costume and be swinging from the trees. He lost his grip, and fell into the lions cage. The lion straddled the scared young man and it looked like he was looking for a snack. Being scared of the lion and fearful of his life, he began yelling, “HELP ME.” The Lion immediately put his paw over his mouth and said, “SHUT UP OR YOU’RE GOING TO GET BOTH OF US FIRED.”

It’s just best to tell the truth isn’t it!

o The best lie is the one that most closely resembles the truth.

If I could use 1 word to describe God – Holy

If I could use 1 word to describe Satan – Deceptive

• Telling a half truth is deceptive. If you are being deceptive you are being like the devil.

o Prov. 12:22, “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.”

o Leviticus 19:11, “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.”

o ILLUS: A lady was being interviewed on TV and she was asked, “What would you do if you found a million dollars in cash lying on a sidewalk?” The woman thought about it and replied, “Well, if it belonged to a poor family, I’d return it.

- You Must be Pure

o You cannot spell integrity without spelling purity. (They are so intermingled)

o Not only purity in Motives but purity in Morals.

o P/T: Counsel to me as young pastor: 2 Areas that demand integrity from the Man of God:

Money and Morals

Gold and Girls

Finances or Females (I want you to get it in your mind).

One will bring you down just as fast as the other.

ILLUS: Man who committed adultery. 5 minutes of immorality cost me a 21 year testimony.

- If you want to go the distance and be the person God uses, you have got to have the stamp mark of integrity over your life.

II. The Crayon of Care

- The very nature of being a Christian is being a Care-giver.

o P/T: I love doing hospital visits.

- People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

- People know if you really, genuinely care for them or not! (They are perceptive about that).

o QUOTE: “A man can be no bigger than the number of people for whom he genuinely cares!” (Sherm Williams)

- To care is to set yourself aside and put others in that place!

o QUOTE: Dale Carnegie (This might be worth the trip), “You can make more friends in 2 months by becoming genuinely interested in other people than you can in 2 years by trying to get other people interested in you.”

- QUOTE: “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” (Leo Buscaglia)

- DYK…Caring is often spelled T.I.M.E.