Bumping into yourself and not recognizing you!

There is a story of a very rich man at a banquet, seated with him were all kinds of famous people, including what was considered one of the world’s most beautiful women. He wrote a note and passed it to her, it said; “will you sleep with me for $100,000?” She looked over and said, “yes”. He wrote another note and passed it to her, it said; “will you sleep with me for $50?” Incensed, she looked at him and said, “what kind of woman do you think I am?” He said, “we established that with the first question, now we are negotiating price!”

What you are is not what the outside always shows. The real you is what’s inside! This is one of the reasons the world is so confused about what a “Christian” is. They see too many people putting on a surface look, but when the real person inside shows up, their image does not match their reality. We are looking at what that inside should look like; we have discussed two:

{1} True Spirituality

{2} Deep Humility

The third quality is the real edge that a Christian has concerning life.

{3} Self Discipline

This does not mean that we cannot enjoy life, or have a sense of humor. Life has been very fun for me and I laugh a lot. What this does mean is that we understand what is at stake for everyone in life when it comes to eternity. No matter where we are or what we are doing, we carry that reality in us, and it will make a difference in our life. Even in our leisure time, we will not blow every minute as some do.

2 Timothy 2:3  Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Paul states it well – “a soldier" approach to life:

·      You work - while others waste time

·      You will pray – while others play

·      You will study – while others sleep

You are not after applause – You just desire to run your race well and finish.

{4} Vision - See beyond today

The ability to allow the Holy Spirit to show you the “Big Picture.”

It’s real easy to give up the potential of tomorrow…for the glory of today

Two scriptures illustrate this well. King Saul was commanded by God to destroy the enemy completely, but he chose to compromise. No matter his intentions, Samuel expresses to the King what is Important to God:

1 Samuel 15:22–23 But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

One of the saddest stories is about King Asa, who ruled Judah. Baasha, king of Israel, came up against Judah to make war. Asa, instead of turning to the Lord, turned to Ben-hadad, king of Aram

But the prophet Hanani confronted him:

2 Chronicles 16:7–9 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. “Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.”

I remember what the brother that was teaching said that day and it has never left my consciousness:

Don’t sacrifice the ultimate, on the alter of the immediate!

Remember the truth about Judas:

“Still as of old, Man by himself is priced.

For 30 pieces, Judas sold himself,

not Christ!”

{5} Clear and convicted decisions

This simply means you know where you are going! Not necessarily the final temporal destination, but you have a clear sense of purpose and destiny.

Our Lord and the apostle Paul understood this:

Luke 9:51 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;

Acts 16:10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

A very famous example is Cortez; after unloading his supplies and men on the coast of Mexico. Legend has it that he sent a boat out to each ship hand had them burned! His men and his enemy now knew it was conquer Mexico or die!  

I am not saying we agree with what happened, but the example of a committed person is clearly made!

CHALLENGE: Take some time to ask yourself just a few questions: What do I see when I look inside? How close is it to what people see outside? Of these five descriptions of the Christian life, which one is my strongest? Which one is my weakest? What do I need to do to continue to grow the strengths I have? What do I need to do to confront and change the weak areas? Who can I be accountable to, to better help me see this all happen?