Walking Christ Like

Walking Christ Like

Illus: During a trial, in a small Missouri town, the local prosecuting attorney called his first witness to the stand. The witness was a proper well-dressed elderly lady, the Grandmother type, well spoken, and poised. She was sworn in, asked if she would tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, on the Bible, so help her God.

The prosecuting attorney approached the woman and asked, Mrs. Jones, do you know me? She responded, Why, yes I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a young boy and frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, cheat on your wife, manipulate people and talk badly about them behind their backs. You think you’re a rising big shot when you haven’t the sense to realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper-pushing shyster. Yes, I know you quite well.

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?

She again replied, Why, yes, I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He’s lazy, bigoted, has a bad drinking problem. The man can’t build or keep a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. Yes, I know him.

The defense attorney almost fainted. Laughter mixed with gasps, thundered throughout the courtroom and the audience was on the verge of chaos.

At this point, the judge brought the courtroom to silence, called both counselors to the bench, and in a very quiet voice said, If either of you morons asks her if she knows me, you’re going to jail.

Neither of the attorneys nor the Judge seem to be walking CHRIST LIKE

Text: Eph 4:14-24

14 We must stop acting like children. We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings, which are like winds that toss us around from place to place. 15 Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head 16 of the body. Christ holds it together and makes all of its parts work perfectly, as it grows and becomes strong because of love.

17 As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. 18 Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, 19 and they are so greedy that they do all kinds of indecent things.

20-21 But that isn’t what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about him and learned about him. 22 You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. 23 Let the Spirit change your way of thinking 24 and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.

If our behavior is to match our belief, then we must be different, so different that the world notices. How are we to be different?

1. We are to THINK differently from the world.

THE LOST

1. The lost live according to a polluted minds.

2. The unsaved man’s thinking is polluted because his mind has been darkened by satan

3. Their hearts are hardened to God

4. The unsaved man dwells on sinful things because of his sinful nature

THE SAVED

1. The saved person thinks about Godly Things

2. Salvations begins with repentance, a changing of the mind in the way we think

3. The whole way we think changes when we come to Jesus, the old self has been cast off

4. Physically you are what you eat; spiritually, you are what you think

We are to think differently from the world if we are in Christ Jesus.

2. We are to TALK differently from the world.

THE LOST

1. The unsaved lie because they are children of the devil , the father of lies

THE SAVED

1. Christians are to speak the truth.

2. Christians should be known in their community as honest, reliable people who can be trusted.

3. We are not to let any unwholesome word come out of our mouths

4. The mouth and the heart are connected. Jesus said, For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart

5. The word unwholesome literally means rotten.

6. Sometimes we may join in when others are talking about things we know we shouldn’t be talking about.