Do you realize that God has called every Christian man to a great calling?
Matthew 5:14-15 (NET) 14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
- Men in Christ are ordinary men, but those in whom Christ dwells. He dwells in them, not as a guest, but as the landlord. Christ is allowed to live His life through them. When we meet Men In Christ, we can accurately say we have met Christ in men.
The greatest problem of the world is sin. All of humanity’s challenges, all of nature’s struggles can be traced back to man’s fall in the Garden of Eden. Humanity came under a curse. The earth, representing all of nature, was also cursed for man’s sake.
When God wanted to solve the problem, He sent His only Son, Jesus, fashioned in the form of a man. When Jesus arrived, He called men, made them His disciples and sent them to make disciples of other men.
Since the establishment of Christianity, Christian men have done the most to improve the lives of their fellow men. They have done this in every sphere of human existence, from philosophy to architecture, technology to modern medicine. Every difficulty has been confronted, and if not solved, reduced significantly.
Whereas the Greeks had philosophy, and the Romans had engineering and architecture which they used for their own advantage, it has taken only Christian men to adapt those instruments for the benefits of humanity at large.
When at their worst, Christian men have also been responsible for some of the worst things to have happened to human life in the last two thousand years. This should not be a surprise though, because since Christian men are God’s proffered answer to humanity’s biggest problem(s) their failure cannot be less than catastrophic. We all acknowledge the truth in concepts such as “with great power comes great responsibility,” “noblesse oblige,” and the like.
Christian Malpractice
The failure of Christian men has led many to the rejection of the Christian faith and of God altogether. But using the failures of Christian men as reason for rejecting the faith is as ill-advised as it would be to attempt to cancel the practice of medicine because patients sometimes die from medical malpractice.
The failure of Christian men is Christian malpractice. We have failures, not because our faith is flawed. Our faith is not broken. When practiced as prescribed, Christianity provides the answers to the questions of our origin, our present life and our future destiny.
Christianity As Prescribed
- Christ stands at the door, waiting to be invited in.
Revelation 3:20 (NKJV) “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
- Many want to treat Jesus to stay like a squatter, with no rights.
- Some more charitable men will treat Him like a guest… welcome to stay but only at the pleasure of His host.
- Most treat Jesus like a renter. He has rights, so long as He pays His rent and abides by the owners rules.
- Men have a problem with Jesus because He is the ultimate Alpha male.
Revelation 22:13 (NKJV) “I am the Alpha and the Omega, [the] Beginning and [the] End, the First and the Last.”
- When Jesus comes in, He comes in to become the landlord. Your house becomes His, your career, your family, your money, your very life becomes His.
Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
- Our charge today is to let Jesus in on His own terms and not on ours. That is practicing Christianity, as prescribed. Put simply, Follow Christ and lead like Christ.
- What qualifies us to lead is the quality of our followership of Jesus.
What do you think makes you better than other people? What makes you the head of your family?
How well we follow Jesus… not how well educated we are, not how wealthy or any other human advantage. It is how closely we follow Jesus. My followership is the quality upon which my leadership is founded; is the quality upon which my leadership will be tested.
- God entrusts leadership only to those who follow Him faithfully.
When God gives you instructions, you obey. In your obedience, you are learning from Him and about Him. God can trust you because He knows your heart.
- Followership molds our hearts.
You are molded by whom you follow. As you follow God, your heart is molded to be more and more like His.
- The only plan God trusts is His own plan.
Perhaps the most definitive thing God said to Moses is the statement, “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” Exodus 25:40 (NKJV)
God does not need us to come up with our own original, inventive plans. God does not trust your plan or my plan. God’s plans are good enough. The only plan God trusts is His own plan, therefore the people God trusts are those who follow His plan.
Invitation:
- Will you trust Him that His plans are better than yours?
- Will you agree that His perfect life is better than yours?
- Will you let Him live His life through you, as your owner, your Lord and your Master?
- Are you willing to give up the leadership of your own life and yield to Jesus?
- Are you ready to trust Him at a deeper level?
Isaiah 60:1-2 (NKJV) 1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.