What is a Christian: By Definition

Father, we thank you for today. We are so grateful, Lord, for

the opportunity to give us in the middle of the week to study

Your Word and realize, Lord, that you open doors and You

close doors. And we realize, Father, that You

are sovereign. You rule over all.

So tonight, as we gather together and spend time in the

Word, we pray that You touch our hearts and cause us, Lord, to

really search our hearts and to know that which is true in Your

Word. Everything revolves around Your

Word. Everything about who You are is

spoken in Your Word. All that we need to know is in

Your Word. So we pray, Father, that we

would be master students of the Word of God, and that Lord, the

things that you teach us, may they grow on us each and every

day. And maybe You walk in obedience

to Your name. I pray for everyone in the room

tonight. I pray Lord for their situation.

I don't know what's happening, their own personal lives, but

you know, and I just pray for them tonight.

They would be able to set aside all distractions, all those

things that are encumbrances, and just receive the truth of

your word this evening and move them on to maturity in Christ

for the glory of your Kingdom until you come again, as you

most surely will, in Jesus name, Amen.

What is a a Christian? That's the question.

Last week we looked at the Christian for the standpoint of

the fact that he's known by his decision.

Luke 923 says that if any man came after me, let him deny

himself, take up his cross and follow after me.

His decision to deny himself, Self denial.

His decision to take up his cross, self sacrifice, his

decision to follow the Lord. Submission, That's the decision

that he makes. Self denial, A refusal to

associate with yourself any longer.

Why? Because you're sold out to doing

all that Christ has asked you to do.

That's the decision that He makes, The instruction that

Christ gave us all throughout the New Testament.

When he come to the end of his life, He gets an illustration

about that. When Simon and Cyrene and Luke

23 was compelled out of the crowd to carry the cross beam of

our Lord all the way to Calvary, in there you see a living

illustration of what it means to take up your cross and and

follow the Lord. He wanted to have an image

placed in the hearts and minds of everyone on the road to

Calvary that they would understand not just of the

message that he preached, but of the model they lived and those

who followed him lived. And Simon of Cyrene was that

perfect model. And of course, he was compelled

to follow the Lord as you and I are compelled to follow the Lord

by his irresistible grace that calls him, calls us to Himself,

that we might embrace all that He is.

That was last week, this week. The Christian is known by by his

definition. How do you define a Christian?

Would you be able to go to the Bible and give an accurate

definition of a Christian so people would know that you

understand definitively who and what a Christian?

Really is I told you on Sunday that that some say well a

Christian is defined by by being a believer in the Lord Jesus

Christ because the Bible says that Acts 1631 believe on the

Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

And yet Jesus says these words in John chapter 2 verse 23.

John 2:23

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast.

Many believed in his name observing his signs which he was

doing. But Jesus on his part was not

entrusting himself to them for he knew all men and because he

did not need anyone to testify concerning man for he himself

knew what was in man so early on in the mystery of Christ.

Many believed in Jesus. It doesn't mean that they were

Christians, It doesn't mean that they were saved because Jesus

was not entrusting himself to them, because he knew it was

exactly inside of man. Others would say, well to be a

Christian means that you are a disciple of of Jesus.

That would be a good definition of a Christian.

And yet the Bible says in John 6 verse 60.

John 6:60

Therefore many of his disciples when they heard this said, this

is a difficult statement, who can listen to it?

But Jesus, conscious that his disciples grumbled at this, said

to them, Does this cause you to stumble?

What then if you see the Son of man ascending to where he was

before? It is a spirit who gives life.

The flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to

you are Spirit in our life, but there are some of you who do not

believe. For Jesus knew from the

beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that

would betray Him. And he was saying, For this

reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it

has been granted him from the Father.

As a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew and we are

not walking with him any longer. So just to say that someone is

the disciple of Jesus does not necessarily define genuine

Christianity. Just because someone says they

believe in Jesus doesn't necessarily define the essence

of Christianity. Notice what it says.

It says many believed many were disciples, but they walked with

him no longer. Then see a few a little here

smattering there. It says many would not walk with

him any longer and some would say, well, a Christian is

defined by the fact of his, his ministry and service, service

for the Lord. Yet Jesus answered that early on

when he said not everyone who says to me, Lord Lord will enter

the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father

who is in heaven will enter many.

Again many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not

prophecy in your name and in your name cast out demons and in

your name perform many miracles? Again, the word many is used.

Why? Because many, most are self

deceived. Most believe that they're on the

way to heaven. Most believe there are

Christians, many who believe, many are disciples, many who say

we did this, we did that, we went here, we went there and

Christ says to them, I never knew you depart from me.

Those of you who practice lawlessness, that, that's just

astounding to me. The words of Scripture are very

particular. When the Lord speaks, he doesn't

mumble His words. He speaks very clearly as to

what He wants to say. Many believed but would not walk

with Him anymore. Many were disciples but would

not not associate with Him anymore.

Many would say we did this, we did that, we served you, we were

faithful to you, we committed our lives to you.

Christ is saying Luke chapter 6. Why do you call me Lord, Lord

Luke 6 · chapter mention

and yet do not do what I say? Because you see, obedience and

salvation go hand in hand. Those who are saved obey, but

just because you obey doesn't mean you're saved.

And people say, well I'm so confused.

I believe I'm a disciple, I serve the Lord, I know the Lord

and Jesus said these words. I would declare to them, I never

knew you. It's not so much that you know

him, it's just that he knows you.

And again you'll say, well, wait a minute, I know the Lord.

What do you mean he doesn't know me?

I'm a disciple of the Lord. What do you mean?

If I if I walk away from him, does that mean I don't believe

any longer? Was I never really truly born

again from the very beginning? Again, the Bible says many, many

and many. There are many on the broad road

to destruction. Few are on the narrow Rd. that

leads to life, but many are on the broad road to destruction.

And so it's very important for us to understand, listen, every

pastor needs to be concerned with the spiritual condition of

his flock. Every pastor needs to be

overwhelmed by the fact that there are many people in this

church that profess Christianity but don't possess the Christ who

is the author of Christianity. And every pastor who's concerned

about his flock is going to continually warn them over and

over again, compel them to match their life to the standards of

the Scriptures. What does the Bible actually

say? That's why Paul said for three

years that Ephesians church, I warned you day and night.

I never ceased to not warn you. I was always compelling.

You and Paul all throughout his letters would talk about the

examination, the testing, the learning, the growing.

Are you sure you're saved? John and 1st John, James and

James's epistle, Peter and Peter's epistles, everything was

the same. Jude and his epistle, it's over

and over and over again. Christ would even say to the

Pharisees, the religious elite, everybody thought the Pharisees

were going to heaven. Everybody thought the Sadducees

were going to heaven. These were the religious people

of His day. Everybody knew that they were

close to God. And Christ says to them in

Matthew 23 verse #27 Who? Woe to you, scribes and

Pharisees, you're hypocrites. For you are like whitewashed

tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside

they are full of dead men's bones, and all in cleanness.

So you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly

you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

You you have all the outward trappings, but none of the

inward transformation. People can look a certain way on

the outside but never be changed on the inside.

And and Satan is a master at deception.

That's why in 2nd Corinthians 11 he's called or he disguises

himself as an Angel of light. That that's why.

But even in justice chapter 3 was so easily deceived.

That's why the Bible says in in Revelation 12 verse #9 that

Satan deceives the whole world. That's why John says he's the

Prince and the power of the air. That's why Peter says he goes

about like a roaring lion seeking Who made me devour?

We, we can't set aside the Wherever there's the true, there

will always be the counterfeit. Wherever there are the wheat,

there will always be the tares. Wherever there's the genuine

believer, there will be the false believer.

Wherever those who who possessed the Christ, there were those who

professed the Christ, but no possessed the Christ.

That's the way Satan works. He's a master deceiver.

And any pastor that doesn't compel his church to search the

Scriptures to measure their lives against the standard of

the Scriptures should, should step out of the ministry.

That's that's his, his ministry because he doesn't want anybody

to be deceived. He doesn't want anybody to end

up in hell. He wants everybody to know for

certain that they are on their way to glory and that there is

no discrepancy about their walk with the Lord, that they know

Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That is just so important.

And all the while, Satan gets people to believe that because

they do believe in Jesus or they're a follower of Jesus, or

they serve in the church for Jesus, that that's good enough

and that they're OK and that he can he can solve their

conscience by getting into believe that you're doing all

the right things. But having the outward trappings

is no guarantee that there's been an inner transformation.

And Paul would address this in in great detail.

He does it in a very unique way, which gives us the the supreme

definition of a Christian. So if you got your Bible term

with me to Philippians chapter 3, Philippians chapter 3.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention Philippians 3 · chapter mention

So many religions are designed around human achievement,

whether it's Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness,

Christian Science, liberal Protestantism.

It's centered around the things that I am doing that gave me

merit before God. But in Christianity, it's it's

all about the work of God. It's all about what God does in

the life of a person because God is a savior of man.

And so Paul wants to make that very clear.

And so he says these words in verse #1 or chapter 3.

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.

Now he says that several times throughout the book of

Philippians because he wants them to have joy in the Lord.

Because that's the only place you really have joy.

It's not joy in your job or joy in your marriage, although

hopefully you have joy in your marriage and hopefully you find

some kind of sympathetic joy in your job.

But real joy comes because of your relationship with the

living God. So, so Paul says rejoice in the

Lord because that's the relationship that matters.

That's the relationship that counts.

That's the relationship that that gives you security.

That's the relationship that gives you all the grace and

mercy and love that you can possibly ever understand because

it's the Lord himself who grants it.

So he says rejoice in the Lord. He says to write the same things

again to you is no trouble to me.

And it is a safeguard for you. See, Paul's concerned that he

protects the people at the Church of Philippi.

We should be protecting the people of God, giving them as a

safeguard. What does the Bible actually

say? And so Paul says what I'm going

to write to you. I, I, I've said to you before

and but it's not a problem for me to say it again.

It's not a problem for me to repeat myself.

It's not a problem for me to re emphasize things I've already

talked to you about. Why?

Because this is a safeguard. This is a protection for you.

This is how you watch out for your life.

That's the way pastor should be. So he says this pursue, beware

of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the faults,

circumcision, beware, beware, beware the words of warning,

stand alert, watch out, be careful.

There are dogs that are out there.

There are evil workers that are out there.

There are the false circumcision that is out there.

And you need to beware of this, He warns them.

Because that's what pastors do. They want to make sure that

their people are alert to the dogs.

Well, why would they say dogs? Well, Jews call Gentiles dogs,

and here is a Jew, Paul, calling Jews dogs.

Now, these are not little pet dogs.

I have two of those, OK, really nice fluffy, smell good kind of

dogs who lick you and love you and that kind of stuff.

This is not a pet dog. This is a, this is a ravenous

dog. This is a rabid dog.

This is a dog filled with disease because in those days

most dogs were, were scavengers, scoundrels who ate from garbage

bins, who were filled with diseases.

He's calling these false people. He gives a command, rejoice in

the Lord always. Then he gives the caution,

beware, beware, beware. And then he gives the contrast

and the contrast in between the false circumcision and the true

circumcision, the false marked ones and the true marked ones.

He gives a contrast because he wants them to understand that

the unbelievers are dogs, evil workers, and they are the false

circumcision. And so he's warning them about

these, these people who are diseased like people because the

ultimate disease is the disease of sin that leads you to hell.

And you want to be aware of those people.

And then he says beware, beware of the evil workers.

And the word is cacaos, which is evil at its core, evil at its

core. Earlier, Paul would talk about

ravenous wolves. In in Matthew Chapter 7 he would

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

say that that these false teachers are purveyors of demon

doctrines. Here he calls them dogs because

they're they're scavengers who who feed on innocent lives.

He calls them evil workers because at the depth of their

heart they are vicious. They don't care for your soul,

they only care about their own lives.

And then he calls them the false circumcision.

The literal translation would be the mutilation, which is more of

an explanation of what he's trying to say.

This is very, very important. To understand true circumcision,

you must understand false circumcision.

Therefore, you must understand what circumcision is all about.

And if you know anything about the Abrahamic covenant in

Genesis chapter 17, in fact, let me read it to you.

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

Genesis chapter 17 verse #9 God says this.

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

God said further to Abraham, Now As for you, you shall keep my

covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout

your generations. This is My covenant, which you

shall keep between me and you and your descendants after you.

Every male among you shall be circumcised, and you shall be

circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the

sign of the covenant between me and you.

And every male among you who is 8 days old shall be circumcised.

Throughout your generations. A servant is born in your house,

or who is brought with money from any foreigner who is not of

your descendants. A servant who was born in your

house, or who has bought with your money, shall surely be

circumcised. Thus shall my covenant be in

your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of

his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people.

He has broken my covenant. The sign of the Abrahamic

covenant was circumcision. That was a sign.

Now note this. It's a marking.

It marked three things. One, it marked the Jews

identification with God #2 it marked the Jews separation from

the world. And that marking symbolized

their commitment to purification.

So let me explain that to you. It's a mark of identification.

The Jews were responsible to their God, and they were

responsible in such a way that they were to obey and honor

their God. And because their God was holy,

they were to be separate from sin.

Because they identify with His Holiness, so their

identification was with His Holiness.

Their separation was from their sinfulness and their

purification would would affect their eternal destiny.

But over time, the Jews messed that whole thing up.

You see, what made a Jew a Jew was was was was circumcision.

That was the identifying mark of a Jewish man.

And all the Jews revelled in this, so much so that the

identifying mark of circumcision became more important to them

than what that mark actually symbolized.

And the word is circumcised means to, to, to cut away.

And it's the, it's the cutting away of the foreskin of, of the

male organ. Now, now, why would God do this?

What was so unique about this? Who would know this?

The Jews would. But you see, it's very, very

important. Let me ask you a question.

How is sin passed from generation to generation?

Through the procreative act, right?

You know why Jesus was born of a virgin?

Because no man could conceive A sinless child.

It's impossible because man's a Sinner.

Man's a Sinner not because he sins.

Man's a Sinner because he's born a Sinner.

It's in his DNA. That's who he is.

And ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin, everybody born after

that is born into sin. You're born separated from God.

And so the Jews were the people of God and the people of God

were to model the way to to what it means to be a follower of

God. And so God gave them a very

unique and distinguishing mark of identification with God in

His Holiness and separation with God from their sinfulness.

But it didn't take that course with them.

But it should have. Because you see, every time man

would procreate, he would pass on sin and more sin and more sin

with everybody who came from the womb of a woman.

And yet, and yet that circumcision was to remind every

drew that cleanliness on the outside was no substitute for

cleanness on the inside. And that's why Christ always

emphasized the circumcision of the heart.

Leviticus 2641 talks about the circumcision of the heart.

Deuteronomy 6 Excuse me 10 verse #16 circumcise the heart.

Deuteronomy 30 verse #6 circumcise the heart.

Jeremiah 4/4 circumcise the heart.

Ezekiel 34 or Excuse me 44 seven circumcise the heart.

But over time, the Jews saw this as their as their badge of

eternal security. We are children of Abraham.

We have been circumcised. We are children of God.

This is our way into eternity. But it wasn't.

It was it was a sign that led to something else.

It was a sign that led to the ultimate symbol of inner

purification that they needed to have, that needed to be pure

from their own sin. And the only way that would

happen is through the arrival of the new covenant.

And that new covenant was ratified by the blood of Jesus

Christ our Lord. And so Paul says, I want you to

beware of the dogs. I want you to beware, beware of

the evil workers. Now I want you to beware of the

mutilation because all these false Christians who claimed

that circumcision gets them into heaven, all they are is

mutilating themselves. It means absolutely nothing.

They're like the prophets of of Baal in first Kings 18 who used

to cut themselves open, try to get their God to to pay

attention, but he did not because there was no God except

the one true God. So there's a mutilation.

That's how Paul says that in Romans chapter 2.

Romans 2 · chapter mention

Listen to what he says, For indeed circumcision is a value

if you practice the law. But if you are a transgressor of

the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

In other words, your circumcision means nothing as he

speaks to help Jews understand, because all these Judaizers

would follow Paul wherever he went.

Paul would go into a city. He'd preach the gospel.

Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ

alone. And people would give their

lives to Christ, and the Judaizers would come in and say,

hey, you know what? It's more than that.

We believe in Jesus and we believe in grace, and we believe

that Jesus died on the cross. But there's more to it than

that. You got to be circumcised.

You got to keep the Mosaic law. You got to keep the ceremonial

law. And Paul says those are dogs,

those are evil workers. They're they're, they're the

mutilation, they're the false circumcision.

They're not the true circumcision.

And they were adding works to the saving grace of God.

And whenever you add works to salvation, it's an error.

Let's let's say someone says to you, OK, are the 7th day

Adventists saved? Are they going to heaven because

they go to the 7th Day Adventist Church?

They may be, they may be. But if they believe that going

to church on Saturday gets them to heaven, they're not.

It's like the person in the Catholic Church.

I don't care what church you go to.

That's the irrelevant If God's going to save you, he's going to

save you. But if you're going to a

Catholic Church, can people in the Catholic Church be saved?

Yes, they can be. But if you believe as going to

the Catholic Church that what I'm doing by taking Mass and by

being baptized as an infant or particularly the sacraments,

then that's going to get me into heaven, then then you're not

saved. You can't add works to grace,

can't do that. And Paul's very, very concerned

that you need to be aware of these people that are trying to

add something to the true essence of the Gospel.

So then he defines the Christian for them, makes it very clear.

He says we are the true circumcision.

Oh, by the way, Paul goes on to say this in Romans chapter 2.

Romans 2 · chapter mention

He says this for he is not a Jew who is 1 outwardly, nor a

circumcision, that which is outward of the flesh, but he is

a Jew who is 1 inwardly. And circumcision is that which

is of the heart by the Spirit. The true Jew is one who is

circumcised in the heart inwardly.

Just because you've been circumcised on the outside,

because you've done the external trappings, if there's been no

internal transformation, the external trappings mean

absolutely nothing. And so Paul says this, he says

very clearly, we are the true circumcision, we are the true

marked ones who are the ones that are marked by God.

OK, these are the false marked ones, but these, these are the

true marked ones. He says this who worship in the

Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no

confidence in the flesh. There's your definition of a

Christian. It's the best concise definition

in the Bible of a Christian. They worship God in spirit or by

the Spirit. They glory only in Christ Jesus,

and they put no confidence in the flesh.

In other words, the true believer has a heart adoration,

a heart exaltation, and a heart humiliation.

We are the ones who worship in the Spirit of God or by the

Spirit of God. The word worship with trio is an

all-encompassing term. It's more than just singing

hymns on a Sunday. It's more than going to church

on a Sunday. It's about true worshippers.

Remember the conversation that Jesus had with the woman of

Samaria in John chapter 4? We told her that there's coming

John 4 · chapter mention

a day where you're not going to worship on this mountain, Mount

Garrison, or in this temple, but you're going to worship in

spirit and in truth, because God is seeking true worshippers.

Everybody's a worshiper, right? Everybody worships something.

Everybody worships someone. There's, there's an idol,

there's a God in our lives that we bow down to, maybe not

physically, but it it governs our lives.

All of us are worshippers. Man by nature is a worshipper,

but the true worshipper worships in spirit or by the spirit.

And God is seeking true worshippers.

Remember First Thessalonians 19, They turn to God from idols to

serve the true living God. That's the true worshipper when,

when you become a Christian, right when you give your life to

Christ, you turn to God and you turn away from idols, you turn

away from that which you worshipped before, you turn away

from that which was governing everything that you did before,

and you embrace the Messiah. And so those in Thessalonica,

they turn to God from idols in order to serve, worship the true

and living God. So Paul says we are the marked

ones, we are the true circumcision.

We are the ones who worship in spirit.

So how do you know that's you? What are the characteristics,

the marks of someone who worships in spirit or by the

Spirit? How do you know this is you?

There are certain qualities that make up your worship.

Listen, if you don't worship God Monday through Saturday, don't

think that you can come in here on Sunday and truly worship God

because worship is a lifestyle. The adoration we have for God

happens not just on Sundays, it happens every day of our lives.

And so there are certain characteristics that that make

the worshipper distinguish the true worshipper, distinguish

from the false worshiper #1 I'll give you several words here.

First word is recognition. Recognition.

You recognize who God really is, and you bow before Him.

Matthew 17 Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration.

And God the Father speaks from the from the cloud that envelops

everybody, saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well

pleased. And Peter, James and John fell

flat on their faces before the Lord and worshipped him.

All, all true worship stems from a recognition of who God is.

The reason you bow before Him is because of His identity.

He's the God of the universe. In fact, the Bible says in Psalm

211, worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with

trembling. This is very important.

Why? Because from recognition the

second word is trepidation. Trepidation Worship the Lord

with trembling. Everybody who's a true

worshipper trembles under the authority of God.

Psalm, Isaiah excuse me 66 verse #2 To this man will I look to

him who's broken and of a contrite heart, and who trembles

at my word. This is the man I look to the

one who trembles at my my word. Over in Isaiah chapter 8, the

Isaiah 8 · chapter mention

Lord says this. It is the Lord of hosts whom you

should regard as holy. He shall be your fear, He shall

be your dread. Then He will become your

sanctuary. It's the Lord of hosts whom we

regard as holy. It's a recognition that the Lord

of armies, Yahweh Sabatath, is, is holy.

Well, if that's the case, if he's a holy God, the more I see

my holiness or see His Holiness, the more I'm able to see and

view my sinfulness. Therefore, I rejoice with fear

and trembling. So once there's a recognition,

there's also a trepidation. The Bible says in Psalm 33 verse

#8 that all the earth fear the Lord, that all the inhabitants

of the world stand in awe of him, stand in awe of him.

Two worshippers are marked by recognition of who God really,

truly is. That recognition is followed by

a by a trepidation. That trepidation is followed by

an examination. An examination.

Why is that? I love what AW Tozer says when

he said no worship is wholly pleasing to God until there is

nothing in me displeasing to God.

That is just so good. No worship is holy pleasing to

God until there is nothing in me displeasing to God.

That's true worship. That's the examination.

That's why David said search me, O Lord, Psalmist Psalm 139,

search me, O Lord, try me, see if there be any wicked way in me

and lead me in the way of righteousness.

David would say over in Psalm 55 created me a clean heart, O Lord

and and renew a right spirit within me.

There's the cry of the true worshipper is Lord, cleanse me

from within deal with my sin. I want to confess my sin to you

knowing that you are faithful and just to forgive me of all my

sin and because there's a recognition of His Holiness.

There is an absolute enormous task of seeing nothing but my

sinfulness. That's how you know you've truly

seen and recognized God. That recognition leads to a

trepidation. That trepidation leads to an

examination. Search me, O Lord, try me.

See if there'd be any wicked way in me.

And then that examination leads to an affection for him, a love

for him, great affection. Why?

Because you let you serve a forgiving God, a merciful God.

And there's this great affection for for the Lord.

Hero is with the Lord, our God is 1.

They should love the Lord of God with all your heart, soul, mind

and strength. The intensity that's there, the

inclusiveness that's there. You love him with all your

heart, all your soul, all your mind.

Not just partially. That's why.

That's why at the end of of the ministry of Christ, after he had

been resurrected, he found Peter on the Sea of Galilee.

And what was the question he asked Peter?

Peter, do you love me? Why?

Because the essence of worship is an affection for the God you

say you recognize as the supreme Lord of host, the Holy One of

Israel. The answer Three times.

Peter, do you love me? Because if you love me, you're

going to follow me even to your death.

But the affection for God is so strong.

I love again what Tozer says when he says this.

He says true worship is to be personally and hopelessly in

love with God, That the idea of a transfer of affection never

even remotely exists. That's worship.

The transfer of an affection from my God to something else or

someone else doesn't even remotely exist in my life

because I am all enamoured, all encumbered with the Lord God of

Israel. That's a true worshipper.

And Paul says we are the marked ones.

We are the ones who worship God in spirit or by the spirit.

Very important. The characteristics of that is

1A recognition, second, a trepidation, third, an

examination, 4th an affection, and 5th a jubilation.

Rejoice in the Lord. There is great joy in worship.

Numbers 8 verse #10 the joy. The Lord is your strength.

Romans 1417 The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy

in the Holy Spirit. That's why that Matthews 5-6 and

seven are so important. Remember in Matthew chapter 4,

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

Christ is going around healing all the paralytics, all all the

blind, all the lane. He's healing everybody and

people are coming to him in droves.

Thousands upon thousands of are all around him.

Why? Because they were sick and

diseased and they wanted to be healed.

And Christ healed them all because he was graceful and

merciful. And then he sits down and

chapter 5 of Matthew and says, blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for

they and they only shall be satisfied.

And he goes on and gives all these blessings.

Why? Note the context.

He says, look, I know you're happy because I healed you.

I know you're ecstatic. You're on cloud 9 because you

feel better. You know, it's like to be sick

and all of a sudden you feel better.

Or you've had surgery, you've been in pain.

All of a sudden, no more pain. Things are great.

I feel wonderful, right? Crisis.

I know you're feeling good physically, but you're not

feeling good spiritually. I'm going to heal you

physically. But guess what?

I got bad news. You're still going to die.

You're still going to get sick and die.

OK? But here's the good news.

You'd experience the true joy of the Lord by coming to me on my

terms. That's what the Sermon of the

Mount is all about, true blessing and joy and coming to

know Christ. And the Lord knew that.

He knew that their physical healing was not enough.

They need to be spiritually healed from the inside out and

therefore, once they were, joy would envelope them and listen,

what's the fruit of the Spirit? It's love, that's affection,

joy, that's jubilation, peace, that's consolation that that's,

that's the next word of an outline Why?

It's all produced by the spirit. All of it's produced by the

spirit. How do I, how do I recognize who

God is? What, what did Christ say to

Peter? Flesh and blood do not reveal

this to you, but my Father in heaven revealed this to you.

Revealed what? That I'm the crisis of the

living God. There's a recognition that

recognition leads to trepidation.

That trepidation leads to examination.

That examination leads to affection, that affection to

jubilation, that jubilation, great consolation, peace,

serenity, knowing I'm a child of the living God.

That's why you let the peace of Christ rule in your Christ said

in John 1426. My peace I give unto you, not as

the world gives, give I unto you, but my peace.

There's the consolation there, there, there.

There's the comfort. It comes because of the peace

that God gives us. That's why we let the peace of

Christ, as we talked about on Sunday, rule in our hearts.

I'm at peace with God. I'm on God's side.

He's going to he's going to dictate which way I go and what

I say and where I live and where I work because he's the empire

at peace with God. Isaiah 26 three.

He says what I will keep him in perfect peace.

Whose mind has stayed on me? What are the distinguishing

characteristics of one who worships in spirit or by the

Spirit, one's recognition of who God is to his trepidation before

the God you've recognized? With that comes an examination

of my life, because I don't want there to be any wicked way in me

when I know that my God Forgives because of His grace and mercy.

There's great affection for my God, great love for the Lord, so

much so that the transfer of affection never even remotely

exists. How about you?

Who's vying for your affection as we speak?

What's vying for your attention as we speak?

With that affection comes jubilation, great joy in the

Lord. For that jubilation comes great

consolation. From that consolation comes

great satisfaction. Psalm 73.

Psalmist said these words, Whom have I in heaven but you?

And besides you I desire nothing on earth.

Why? Remember Christ told Abraham in

Genesis 15 verse #1 I am Abraham, your very great reward.

I'm it, I'm it, I am your very great reward.

That's why Peter says, quoting from Isaiah 28 in first Peter

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 verse #6 He who believes in him will never be

disappointed. Why?

Because two worshippers find their satisfaction in Christ,

that's why. And lastly, devotion.

I'm not sure how many that is. 8 The great 8 devotion.

Devotion when? When Satan came to tempt Christ

in the wilderness in Matthew chapter 4.

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

I will give you the kingdoms of this world if you just bow down

and worship me. Bypass the cross.

You don't need the pain. I'll give you all the reward

without the pain. That's what Satan always does,

right? You can have the blessing, the

joy without the pain. Whenever you think that you can

have joy without the pain. No, it's Satan and not Christ.

And Christ says, the Bible says that you shall only worship the

Lord your God, in him only shall you serve.

Every true worshiper has a supreme devotion to their God.

They don't want to compromise. They don't desire to do that.

They are completely undivided. They know they can't serve 2

masters Matthew 624 Because if you love one, you're going to

hate the other. You can't serve 2 masters.

It's like trying to go to two churches.

You can't go to two churches and go to one church.

You can't serve 2 churches. You only serve one, right?

You can't be married to two people.

You only be married to one. Everything's divided.

You're going to love one and hate the other, so you got to be

completely devoted to Christ and that's the way it should be for

every single one of us. Remember Genesis chapter 22?

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

Genesis 22 is the first time the word worship is mentioned in the

Bible. It's mentioned in this context,

Abraham says to his fellow travellers as he come to the

base of Mount Moriah says, wait here and I and the lad will go

up and we will worship and we'll return to you.

I I find that so remarkable because that's in Genesis

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22. The Decalogue wasn't given to

Exodus chapter 20, right? Years later about worship, you

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

shall have no other gods before me, right?

But Abraham knew in Genesis 22 what it meant to worship his

God. What there was supreme devotion

in Abraham's life. There was supreme affection for

his God. He so much so that he would be

willing to sacrifice his son on the altar for the sake of his

love for his God. When he says, take now your son,

your only son, your only begotten son, the son of your

love, take him and sacrifice him.

And Abraham said, I would do it because I'm devoted to you.

My, you are my affection. You are my complete and total

adoration and Genesis chapter 22 embodies all of the 8

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

characteristics I just gave you. And if we had time, we'd go back

to Genesis chapter 22 and show you how each of them are

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

manifested in the life of Abraham and Isaac on Mount

Moriah. Because that's a characteristic

of a true worshipper, because he worships by the Spirit.

And then it says second characteristic defines him.

He glories in Christ Jesus. What a great statement.

It's it's a word that means to boast with exuberant joy.

We we think of boasting as as a, a negative term and it is in the

human realm, but in the divine realm it's a great term because

you're glorying, you're boasting in Christ.

Paul said these words in Galatians chapter 6.

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

He said, But may it never be that I would boast or glory

except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the

world has been crucified to me, and I to the world, for neither

a circumcision anything nor uncircumcision, but a new

creation. Far be it from me that I should

I should glory in anything other than the Christ, because I've

been crucified with him. And what's the true believer do

he? He boasts in Christ Jesus.

He has great joy because of Christ.

He glories in Christ Jesus. We live in a age today where

where man is so enamored with himself.

He wants to receive all the glory, all the attention, all

the praise, but not, not the genuine believer, not the

genuine worshipper, not the genuine Christian, Oh no, the

believer. He doesn't want praise coming to

himself. He doesn't want a recognition

coming to himself. He doesn't want admiration

coming to himself that if if that's you, you got to check

yourself at the door and ask yourself, am I truly wanting to

glory in Christ Jesus or do I want to be glorified?

Do I want to be seen? Do I want to be recognized?

The true believer glories in Christ Jesus.

He boasts in Christ. That's why Jeremiah, God said to

Jeremiah, Jeremiah and 23 and 24.

Let not the the wise man boast in his wisdom, neither let the

rich man boast in his riches, or neither let the mighty man boast

in his might, because that's what we boast in.

I like the glory in my riches, my wisdom, my intellect, my

education, my PhD or my double PHDI want to boast in those

things. I want to glory in those things.

I put them on my wall so when everybody walks in, they can see

Doctor this and Doctor that. We want everybody to see who I

am and what degrees I have, because I want to boast in my

wisdom. I want to boast in my riches.

I want to boast in my might, my power, and my strength.

And God says to Jeremiah, Let not the mighty man boast in his

might, or the rich man in his riches, or the wise man in his

wisdom, but let him who boasts boast in this.

Then it stands and knows that I am the Lord who exercises his

loving kindness and mercy and justice on the face of the

earth. You want to boast in something,

you want to glory about something during the fact that

you just know who I am, you recognize me for who I am, and

you give all the praise and direction to whom it is due.

The true worshipper, he wants no glory.

He wants no praise. He wants no honor.

He wants no recognition. He wants God to be put on

display. He wants God to be seen.

He wants God seen in his family. He wants God seen at work.

He wants God seen on the field. He wants God seen in the

operating room. He wants God seen at church, all

he cares about. Do people get a clear glimpse of

the Christ? It's all that matters.

Nothing else matters. See we live in a world where

that is just so hard today because we are so self absorbed.

We are so into us. To me, we just can't stand it if

somebody doesn't recognize me throughout the day.

We can't stand it if someone doesn't like my Instagram post,

we can't handle it. That's why you got to ask

yourself, are you a true child of God?

Many believe that we're not saved.

Many were disciples who walked away.

Many will say and Christ will say, depart from me.

Never knew you. So a true worshipper.

He's the one who worships in spirit.

He's the marked one. He's the one who glories only in

Christ. And I love this next one.

He puts no confidence in the flesh.

None, no confidence in the flesh.

I think it, Paul says to those in Galatia in Galatians chapter

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

3 verse number 30. You foolish Galatians, who has

bewitched you, thinking that you could be saved by the Spirit,

but now try to perfect yourself in the flesh, that somehow you

can grow yourself without the work of the Spirit of God.

Can't do that. See, everything in the spiritual

realm is energized by the Spirit.

I'm going to talk about this on Sunday, because Sunday we're

going to talk about how how you don't quench the Spirit.

First Thessalonians 5, verse #19 we're making our way slowly

through the end of the chapter, one verse at a time.

And we'll look at verse #19 how you don't quench the Spirit.

You'll be surprised how many times you go through the day and

you quench the working of the Spirit in your life.

How you stifle the work in the Spirit, how you smother the work

of the Spirit, how you dampen the work of the Spirit in your

life. You'll be surprised how many

times that happens throughout each day.

And for the most part, we don't even recognize it.

And then we wonder why my marriage is as bad as it is.

My ministry stinks. My life is in shambles, not even

knowing that we've stifled the work in the Spirit in our own

lives. But that's for Sunday.

I'm not going to talk about tonight.

But the bottom line is that you put no confidence in the flesh,

no confidence in the flesh. The flesh profits nothing.

God doesn't want the spiritual, the Christian life lived in by

fleshly means. And you can, you can judge this

by just ask yourself about your prayer life.

Just ask yourself about your prayer life and ask yourself do

do I We talked about on Sunday a couple weeks ago.

Pray without ceasing unceasing prayer.

It might be seeking the feeling of grace.

Am I in prayer about everything but but but as you go to prayer,

you are relinquishing you are relinquishing your involvement

in begging for God's involvement to do everything.

It's it's the spirit controlled life and and to believe the the

genuine Christian, the true marked 1.

He puts no confidence in his flesh.

Paul would say I, I am nothing. I am nothing without Christ.

I like what John the Baptist said he must increase.

I must decrease that that should be tattooed on your forehead.

Put it there. He must increase.

I must decrease. So every time you look in the

mirror, you can see it. You have to read it backwards,

but you'll be able to see it at least in the mirror.

OK, so that the God gets all the glory and that I don't put any

confidence in my own flesh, but I just Lord, I trust you, I I

believe in you. That's why the Bible says for by

grace are you safe to faith that not of yourselves, it's the gift

of God, not of works, lest than imagine what boast, boast.

There's no works involved in salvation except the work of

God, right? Not by works of righteousness,

which we have done, but by the washing of regeneration and by

the renewing of the Spirit of God.

Titus 35. That's how a man is born again,

not by works of righteousness, which we have done.

And the true genuine believer, he puts no confidence in the

flesh. Why?

Why? The false circumcision is

putting all their confidence in their flesh, in their heritage,

in their lineage. The true believer has no

confidence in his flesh. That's why we've said the

Christian is defined by heart adoration, heart exaltation, and

heart humiliation. That's why I, Psalm 21st #7 says

some boast in Chariots, others boast in horses.

But we, we will boast in the name of the Lord our God.

We're not going to put our confidence in human things.

We're not going to put our confidence in armies.

We're not going to put our confidence in Chariots and

horses. We're not going to put our

confidence in the things that man does.

We're going to put our confidence in God.

We're going to, we're going to boast in God, in the name of the

Lord our God. They will be brought down and

fall, but we will rise up and stand firm.

That's the mark of a genuine believer.

Christian is known by a definition.

He's the one who worships by the Spirit of God.

He's the one who glories only in Christ Jesus, and he puts

absolutely no confidence in his flesh.

Is that you? I would trust that it is just

another way you can examine your life in light of what God's Word

says so that you are not a part of the many who said they

believed, or the many who said they were disciples, or the many

who said they served And the Lord said, I never knew you.

Don't be a part of the many, be a part of the few.

The few that find the narrow, the narrow road and enter into

glory. Let's pray together.

Father, we are grateful for today all that you do.

Thank you for your word. Your word is so clear.

It makes it so, so understandable.

And I pray Lord, for everyone in the room as they match their

life against the word of God. They would ask themselves, am IA

genuine worshipper of my God? Am I the one who glory is only

in the Christ? Am I the one who puts no

confidence in my flesh but completely and totally trust in

the Lord God of Israel? That should be us.

Lord, I pray that it is and that Lord you encourage us.

Lord, none of us are perfect. Do we worship you perfectly?

We do not. Do we glory in Christ Jesus

perfectly? No, we don't do that either.

Do we put confidence in our own flesh?

Many times, Yes, we do. Yet Lord of Hearts, desire is to

do what you've asked and what you've commended, and because it

is we want to serve and follow our King, maybe faithfully do so

until you come again, as you most surely will, in Jesus name,

Amen.