Real Christianity in the Real World:
Living Authentically for Jesus
in the 21st Century.
January 9, 2005
Introduction
Do you know what "buzzwords" are? They’re those words or phrases that are used in popular culture and elsewhere that are easily recognizable and have durability.
For instance, a huge buzzword a few years ago was "paradigm." Remember that one? Everyone was looking for a new "paradigm" for their business, life, or even ministry.
Another one that’s pretty popular now is "mentor." It seems that everyone either needs one or is one.
At times, buzzwords can be good. Let me give you a couple: faith, and compassion. Now, both of these can be over-used and mis-used, but they are never out of date or irrelevant, unlike many catch-phrases of today.
Here’s another one that I’m sure if you’ve been here over the last year or two have heard me use: authentic.
I believe we should be people who are authentic in our relationship with God and others, and that’s what we’re going to discuss today.
Before we go on, I want to mention that I’m not really into long titles. Lots of lectures and stuff look like this - Bald and Beautiful: the Inherent Attractiveness of the Follicly Challenged.
Or Nose Hairs: the Who, What, Why, and How to Get Rid of Them.
I’m afraid the title might give the impression that my message to you today is just something along the "intellectual" plane, but that is not my intention.
I just wanted to communicate where I hope to go with the message. And while no one’s accused me of being a dope, it’s also true that I have never been accused of being an intellectual, at least as that’s defined by society.
But back to being authentic. This is a huge deal in our times. Why? Because there are plenty of people around who call themselves Christians, yet don’t live for Him.
They might go to church and do all the stuff that their church might require, but there is no real love for Jesus, and no desire to please Him.
And if we hope to reach people in our times for Jesus, we need to be people who are authentic, especially when discussing our relationship with God.
But I want to start by giving you a definition of authentic. This is not Webster’s definition, but it’s mine, and it will give you the basis for why I think as I do, and for what’s coming up for the rest of the message.
PB’s definition of "authentic": being real for Christ in both form and substance. In other words, not just talking about Him, but actually living for Christ.
Some synonyms include "genuine" and "bona fide." If you are a genuine Christian, or a bona fide Christian, then your walk will match your talk, right?
So today I want us to explore 5 areas in which we must be authentic, if we want to claim to be genuine, or bona fide followers of Christ.
Ready? Here we go. Let’s look at what it means to be an authentic Christian. First...
Being authentic means...
1. ...being authentically saved.
Are you a child of God - a genuine, bona fide child of God? Here’s what I mean by that: accepting what Christ did for you at Calvary as your only hope of heaven.
John 1:12 -
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
This does not mean: being baptized, being confirmed, or being a church member, or being a nice person who talks about Jesus.
If your hope is in any of these things, then you are not a child of God. Only those who have received Christ by placing their trust in Him have this status as children of God.
Years ago, I heard a pastor say this, "How would you finish this sentence: I’m going to heaven because..."
The natural response for many people is along the lines of, "because I go to church," or, "because I give to charity," or even, "because I prayed to receive Christ."
The problem with all that is the one small word, "I." You see, you cannot do anything to get to heaven.
All we can do is accept what Jesus did for us. So have you done that? If not, then you’ll have the opportunity to do that at the end of the message.
Folks, if you don’t have this taken care of, then there’s no sense on even bothering with the rest of what I’m talking about today, because you can’t do it without this first part.
So listen. Don’t assume that just because you’ve been coming to this church or any other church all your life that you’re in.
Examine yourself. Is your hope - is your faith in your own efforts, as religious as they may be, or is your hope - is your faith in Jesus and what He accomplished for you.
You cannot be an authentic follower of Christ if you’re not a child of God through Jesus!
But here’s the great part! If you are a child of God through Jesus, then take heart! You can be used of God in mighty ways, if you will allow yourself to be used by becoming useable.
And the key to becoming useable is to be authentic in your relationship with God, which is what I’ll be focusing on for the rest of the message.
Being authentic begins with being authentically saved. Second, being authentic means...
2. ...being consistent in your talk and walk.
Folks, this is where the rubber meets the road. I’ve already discussed the fact that plenty of people call themselves Christians, but have nothing in their lives to back it up.
And it’s for that reason that I rarely even use the term "Christian" in most settings, because it means almost nothing anymore as far as telling someone about where your allegiance lies.
1 John 2:6 (NLT) -
Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did.
Years ago, singer Gary Paxton sang a song asking, "If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to put you away?" Or words to that effect.
How could you respond to that? Does it show in how you live? And I don’t mean in how many Bibles you have around your house.
I mean in things like your speech. Is it clean, is it building others up instead of tearing them down? It is gracious? Can you tell someone how to get to heaven?
How about in your finances? Can someone look at your checkbook and see that you believe in supporting God’s work through the church? Giving is a mark of a sold-out Christian.
What about your priorities? Does God get shoved aside when it’s convenient, or are your priorities in line with Biblical principles?
And what about your recreation? Is how you spend your free time honoring to God, or is it your opinion that God has no business influencing that area of your life?
I think you get the picture. God is not happy only being your God on Sunday mornings. He wants to be your God all week long, 24 hours a day.
Remember, He is not limited to the church building. You are in His presence at all times, so why not live like it?
When you do that, you will find yourself living authentically, because you will be consistent in your walk and talk for Jesus.
Our heart’s prayer should be that shown here in Psalm 119:5 (NLT) -
Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your principles!
I’d say that’s the kind of prayer God likes to hear and that he’ll answer - what do you think?
Be a person who is consistent in life.
Thirdly, living authentically for Christ means...
3. ...being honest w/God, yourself, and others.
I’m talking about being honest regarding what’s going on in your life.
You know what I’ve found in my own life? It’s that when I’m going through things, it’s hard for me to admit it.
Believe it or not, pastors live in the real world --we don’t live in some "higher plane" of existence. We have the same issues everyone else does. But we don’t feel the freedom to admit that many times.
I’ll bet you’re the same way. I’ve found few who are real comfortable telling others what’s going on in their life. And those who are really comfortable sometimes share too much, know what I mean?
"You know, I’m just really struggling. I can’t seem to get over this...athlete’s foot. The itching, burning, peeling, and the smell! Hooooeeeee!"
And we’re like, "Yeah - whatever. I’ll, uhh, pray for that. Just leave your shoes on around me, okay?"
But look, we need to be more real with whatever we’re going through, the good times and the bad.
It starts with being honest with God, yourself, and others about what’s going on in your life. Here are three areas in which most people can learn to be more honest:
* Your fears and worries.
Folks, we all have them. The Bible says we’re not to worry, and I’m all for that. What I’m saying is that no one is above the hassle, hardships, and even tragedies of life.
And so often we’re afraid that if we admit these to anyone, we’ll be seen as someone less than spiritual, and we’ve spent all this time trying to come across as someone just short of the apostle Paul in terms of "having it together for Jesus."
Let me tell you something. There is nothing in Scripture that says we’re to keep everything bottled up, pretending everything’s just great when it’s not.
You’re only hurting yourself - I know from personal experience.
Psalm 139:23 -
Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts.
David wrote that Psalm. You think he didn’t have anxious thoughts of worry at times? You better believe he did!
Folks, my point here is that it’s okay to admit your fears and worries, especially to God.
Maybe you’re not ready to admit them to others, and that’s okay. Besides, there are some things better kept to yourself or your counselor.
But at least admit them to God. Say with your mouth or in your mind, but form the words and say, "God, I’m worried about this. I’m scared about this. I know I’m not supposed to be anxious, so I need your help to get me through this."
And you know what? God’s ready to listen. He’s not waiting to beat you up about your issues. He loves you and wants to help, but sometimes help is stymied by our inability to admit our fears and worries.
Next, you need to be honest about...
* Your doubts.
I’m going to be very frank here. There have been times in my life when I doubted whether Jesus really is the way, and if the Bible can be trusted.
Thank God, those times didn’t last very long, and God used lots of things to help me come back to the point where it was not an issue. And I stand before you today completely assured in all that stuff.
But one of the reasons my faith is strong is because I was willing to admit and wrestle with my doubts. And the result was that my convictions are stronger than ever.
Doubts are a part of life. Not just about God, but about people, about our economic situation, about our emotions, and all sorts of stuff.
And just like in the area of fears and worries, doubt is oftentimes hard to admit, especially to others.
But can you be honest with God and yourself about them?
In the book of Matthew, we find the episode where Jesus is walking on water in the storm. You know the story, right?
Jesus is walking on the water, the disciples are freaking out because it’s storming and they think they’re seeing a ghost, and Jesus says, "Don’t panic! It’s me!"
And Peter says, "Oh yeah? Then call me out to walk on the water to you."
And Jesus say, "Bring it." So Peter steps out, and whaddya know, he does it for awhile, then gets scared and begins going into the water. Then this verse comes up:
Matthew 14:21 -
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
Can anyone here tell me what happened just a few hours earlier? The feeding of the five thousand! And he had already performed a number of miracles before this one. And still Peter doubted.
So here were these guys who had been hanging out with Jesus, and they still had doubts.
Folks, Jesus won’t hate you for that. Admit them to God, admit them to yourself, and you can even admit them to me, and I’ll do everything I can to help you.
You don’t need to worry about what I’ll think. I’ve been there, remember?
The last area where we need to be more honest with God, ourselves, and others is in the area of...
* Your joys.
Psalm 28:7 -
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
Hey, did you know that it’s okay to have fun being a Christian? God has done some incredible things in my life, and I don’t think he’s done, if the last four years are any indication.
I’ve said before that one of the biggest oxymorons I can think of this one: grumpy Christian. It goes right up there with "jumbo shrimp," "awful good," and "plastic silverware."
That’s not to say Christians don’t get down at times, because we do. I’m just saying that we should live as people who have hope, not people without it.
In Christ, we have hope for today and for eternity, and we have God himself living in us to keep us until we meet him face-to-face.
We’re supposed to experience the joy of salvation, not the hassles of it! John Wesley said that "sour faced religion is the religion of the devil."
A sour face does not equal spiritual health.
It’s okay to admit that we’re in love with Jesus and that we’re enjoying living for him, and that he’s showering you with blessings.
Be honest about the joys of life.
You know, being honest about these things can be kinda tough if you’re not in the habit of doing it. So start by being more honest with God, then you will be more able to be honest with yourself and others.
You can’t hide from God anyway. He already knows your issues, so why not just admit it to him, letting him work in you as you work through them with the Bible and the Holy Spirit.
Start with the baby steps of talking to God more honestly about everything going on in your life. It is extremely freeing in your spirit.
Okay - to be authentic means to be authentically saved, be consistent in your walk and talk, and to be honest with God, yourself, and others about what’s going on in your life.
Fourth, to be authentic means...
4. ...embracing God for your own.
What’s that supposed to mean?
What I mean is that you need to grab God for yourself - making him your God. Not "church’s God," not "Youth Group’s God," not "political party’s God."
Your God, directly from your personal encounters with God in the Bible and prayer, through the Holy Spirit.
That’s the kind of relationship God wants with you and me. In his great study, Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby lists seven major principles for understanding how to become useable for God and being used by Him.
The second principle is this: "God pursues a continuing love relationship with me that is real and personal."
Did you hear that? God pursues that relationship with you! How’s that for cool?
Hey, let me give you a huge hint here: don’t play "hard to get!" Let yourself get caught in this pursuit. Embrace God and let Him embrace you.
But listen. You need to understand something that’s very key here: don’t embrace the God of society, or of convenience, but the God of Scripture.
Only the God of the Bible can give you everything you need to love God and live with him.
But make Him your own. Don’t just take my word about God, don’t just take your Bible study leader’s word about God. Get into the Bible yourself and experience for yourself who God is and what he’s all about.
And the last area we’re going to look at today about being authentic, is that to be authentic for God means...
5. ...adopting God’s priorities.
God has two main priorities:
* His glory.
Did you know that God’s a jealous God? He is! God says in the Old Testament that he is jealous. What is he jealous about? His glory! He refuses to let anyone have the glory that is due him.
We’re commanded and expected to live lives that bring God glory, by the applying of God’s word to our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 10:31 -
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Quick quiz: what part of "whatever you do" gives an opening to live life for yourself instead of God? No part. We are to do it all for God. Eating, drinking, sleeping, dressing, working, playing, whatever. We are to do it all so God will be honored by it.
Can you look at your activities in the last 24 hours and say that everything you did brought glory to God, or that you intentionally lived your life with the idea of glorifying God?
Probably not. But guess what? I’m working on this one, too, believe me.
But I’m learning to surrender more of these things over to him, and I’m finding that the more I do that, the happier I am, and the more I find the blessings of God.
Our first priority should be his first priority - his glory.
His second priority is...
* His people.
And really I mean people in general, not just followers of Jesus, although I think God has a special love for His children.
What I mean here is that people are at the forefront of God’s mind, second only to his glory.
He cares for people so much that he sent Jesus to die for us, because he would rather see his son suffer than spend eternity without us.
2 Peter 3:9 -
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
I spent a good bit of time on this a couple weeks ago, so I won’t go into it much, but let me just say this:
Putting a priority on other people runs so counter to what the world says. And when you’re intentional about this, people notice, and they want to know what’s going on to make you so un-selfish.
I hope you’re ready to tell them that it’s the overflow of a genuine, bona fide love for Jesus.
Conclusion
Why is this whole deal about "being authentic" so important?
Because there are enough phonies in our world, and more than enough in the church of God.
When the world looks at you, what will they see? Someone who’s just like all the other "religious" people they see, who talk a good talk but don’t live it out?
Or will they see someone who’s genuinely in love with Jesus and striving to live for Him with the help of the Holy Spirit?
I hope it’s the latter. I hope when they look at you, in the good times and the bad, that they see someone who is genuine in their love for Jesus, and it shows in everything they do and say.
I’m convinced that if more Christians would be intentional about this, then we’d see people flocking to our churches, and more importantly, flocking to Jesus, because they see that he’s really in the business of changing lives for the better.
So won’t you make a decision that from this moment on, you’ll strive to live a life that displays an authentic love for Jesus?
I mentioned earlier that the first step in all of this is to make sure you’re authentically saved.
"Saved" means that you are saved from the punishment you deserve for your sins. The Bible says that we have all sinned and that the punishment we deserve is eternity in hell.
When you place your faith in Christ, you are no longer under that punishment. You are forgiven of all sin, and given the promise of eternity in heaven.
So how does that happen? Basically, it happens when you get to the point when you say to God, "I need you to forgive me; I need what Jesus did for me."
If you’ve never done that, then now’s the time! I can’t think of a better way to end the service than to give you an opportunity to walk out of here knowing your sins are forgiven and you have a home in heaven.
So that’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to lead you in a prayer that you can say along with me in your heart, if you want to become a child of God, set aside for heaven. And after the prayer, I want everyone to keep their heads bowed, okay?
Pray.
Response.
