5 Marks of a 24/7 Christian
The Christian life is not a roller-coaster ride!
- Feeling high on Sunday and low on Wednesday
- It is a daily consistent walk with a living Saviour
- ’He walks with me and talks with me...’
- Notice the word ’daily’ in these passages of Scripture
1. A 24/7 Christian Is Hungry For Fresh Revelations (Luke 11:3; Acts 17:11)
- Fresh bread vs Stale bread
- Logos: Written Word vs Rhema: Inspired Word
- The Lord is an ever speaking God and He longs to communicate with His people
- Prayer is not a monologue; it’s a dialogue
2. A 24/7 Christian Is Passionate About The Cross
(Luke 9:23; Hebrews 12:2)
- The passion of Jesus is linked to his suffering and death. The only place the translators of the King James Bible chose to use the English word passion is Acts 1:3, "To whom he [Jesus] showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."
- From this verse, we have come to associate the passion of Christ with the final hours of suffering he endured from the last supper through the crucifixion.
- Of the forty times this Greek word is used in the New Testament, all but three of them are translated "suffer" in the King James.
- Historically passion has always been associated with suffering in one way or another.
- For Jesus, taking up the cross represents…
Pain and sufferings
Trials and testing
Betrayal and denial
Inconvenience and discomfort
Sacrifice and death
- Yet it is also a reflection of His obedience and an expression of a beautiful life.
- The cross is the ultimate revelation of the love of God.
- Oswald Chambers writes, "In the Cross we may see the dimensions of Divine love. The Cross is not the cross of a man, but the exhibition of the heart of God. At the back of the wall of the world stands God with His arms outstretched, and every man driven there is driven into the arms of God. The Cross of Jesus is the supreme evidence of the love of God."
- The ultimate test of passion is what price we are willing to pay to pursue it? (Mark 10:21-22)Taking up the cross means letting go of our possessions, priorities, people and personal agendas.
1 Corinthians 2:2 – For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3. A 24/7 Christian Tells Lost People About Jesus At All Times (Acts 5:42; 19:9)
- As believers, we are called to advance God’s kingdom on earth, “plundering hell to populate heaven,” as Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke says.
- As believers, we are called to be a prophetic voice, to express the heart and mind of the Spirit, to convict, to warn, to cry out; to comfort, to heal, to help.
- The reason why Satan has been winning the battle for this generation is that his servants are more hungry, more committed, more serious, more devoted than most of the servants of the Lord.
- This must stop now! Let us today, in the words of Count Zinzendorf, go and win for the Lamb the reward of His sacrifice. He is so worthy and His work is so wonderful!
- Just think of the fruit of His labors: Hopeless sinners become holy saints. Lost perverts become loving parents. Murderers become missionaries and the debilitated are liberated. The hurting are healed, the wounded made whole, and the outcasts finally find a home. Sin stains are lost in His life-giving flow. The work of Satan is destroyed. What a message we have! What a Master we have!
- Our gospel is a gospel of liberty from sin and all its entanglements, a declaration of freedom and forgiveness, a message of hope with the promise of heaven.
- It is a pronouncement that Almighty God is ready to make the most rebellious sinner into His very own son or daughter. It is not just good news. It is extraordinary news, almost unbelievable news. It is the best news human ears could ever hear. And it is our privilege to make it known!
- What stops us from proclaiming it? What hinders us from declaring it? Who or what is holding us back?
- We have the most wonderful, revolutionary message that the world has ever heard. Let us shout it from the rooftops. And let us live it on the campuses, in the workplaces, in the schoolrooms, on the streets, in the homes.
- Let us demonstrate to the world once and for all the true potential of the gospel of Jesus. Dare we live and die without finding out just what God could do through a truly dedicated life?
4. A 24/7 Christian Inspires Others To Holy Living
(Hebrews 3:13)
- The Power of Words. They can heal or kill; strengthen or weaken
- Barnabbas: The ministry of encouragement
5. A 24/7 Christian Dies A Little Bit Every Day (1 Corinthians 15:31)
- Nate Saint and Jim Elliot also knew what really mattered. Saint and Elliot, along with three other American missionaries, were martyred in 1956 by the Auca Indians in Equador. They recognized that life was far more meaningful, far more rich, far more significant than most of us ever realize, even if we live to be 100 years old.
- As Nate Saint wrote: People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget they too are expending their lives and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted.
- Yes, everyone’s bubble will burst one day. The dust will return to dust and the spirit will return to God who gave it (see Ecc. 12:7).
- On that day, only one thing will matter: Did you fulfill the purpose of God? Did you make a lasting impact for Jesus? Did you leave behind a blessed legacy for the generation to come?
- All the silly little things that seemed so important to us during our few years here on earth will seem utterly insignificant when they are viewed in the light of eternity.
- How wise it was for Jim Elliot to write these now-famous words: “That man is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
- And how wise it was for him to lift up this petition before the Lord as a young man in college: “God, I pray, Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.”
- That all of us would lead truly full lives!
Deep in your heart, I believe you can sense the rightness of Jim Elliot’s petition. At the same time, you may be wondering how in the world you can break away from the mundane routine of mere earthly subsistence. How can you lead a truly meaningful life?
- Sometimes it seems that all this lofty, spiritual talk about revival, about holy revolution, about radical renewal, about the fulfilling of the Great Commission, about impacting the society is completely unrealistic and unattainable.
- Not so! With Jesus, it is totally realistic and attainable.
Conclusion
Let us receive an infusion of His grace that we may live day to day fully pleasing Him!
