I will give thanks unto the Lord,
for He is good, for His mercy endureth forever. O give thanks unto the God of
gods, O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His mercy endureth
forever. To Him who alone doeth great
wonders, To Him that by wisdom made the heavens, for His mercy
endureth forever. To Him that stretched out the
earth above the waters, to him that made great lights for his
mercy endureth forever the sun to rule by day the moon and stars
to rule by night for his mercy endureth forever. Who remembered us in our lowest
state, and hath redeemed us from our enemies for His mercy, endureth
forever. Who giveth food all flesh, O give thanks unto
the God of heaven. For His mercy endureth, for His
mercy endureth, for His mercy is everlasting. Thank you, Caleb. I know most of y'all probably
thinking that Caleb and I talked this week about where I would
be preaching from. We did not. Lord gave us that
tonight or this morning. So thankful. Will you turn with me in your
Bibles to Acts chapter 11? Acts chapter 11. The term Christian is found three
times in the Word of God. The first one here is in Acts
chapter 11 verse 26. When the scripture says at the
end of that verse, and the disciples were called Christians first
in Antioch. The second time that the word
Christian is found is in Acts chapter 26. when Paul had just
finished preaching the gospel to King Agrippa, and Agrippa
said to the Apostle Paul, almost thou persuadest me to become
a Christian. And the third time is found in
1 Peter chapter 4, when God says to his people, if any man suffer
as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. I want us this morning
to look at those three passages of scripture and try to answer
from God's word what exactly is a Christian. And more importantly,
am I a Christian? Or Am I like the other 4.5 billion
people in this world who claim to be Christians but are really
not? Most of the people of the world
would refer to this great nation that you and I live in as a Christian
nation. It is not. I understand that there are tens
of thousands of Christian denominations around the world. Does being
a Christian mean that I'm part of one of those? That's not the
definition I'm interested in. I'm interested in what God says
about what it is to be a Christian. Some would say, well, to believe
in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is what it is
to be a Christian. Well, it certainly involves that,
but it involves much more than just believing in the historical
events. The scripture says that Israel
knew the acts of God, they had seen everything that God did
and they knew that it was the hand of God that did it. But
Moses knew his ways. So saying that I believe in the
death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ makes me a Christian. That's not the biblical definition
of Christian. When Paul speaks of that in first
Corinthians chapter 15, He says, well, turn with me to that passage,
1 Corinthians chapter 15. Look at verse three, for I delivered
unto you, first of all, that which also received. How? that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures and that he was buried and rose the
third day according to the scriptures. Don't miss that word how. That
has to do with the way in which he died and the purpose for which
he died. And then those will say, well,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. And yet, if you
listen to them, you'll know that they have redefined many of those
words. They've redefined Jesus, they've
redefined Christ, and they've redefined God into something
that is less than successful and less than sovereign. And
so, What does the Bible say a Christian is? And more importantly, am
I a Christian? In short, I want to answer that
question at the very beginning and then we'll look at more scripture. In this passage that we're opened
to right now in Acts chapter 11, the disciples were called
Christians first in Antioch. A Christian is one who looks
to Christ for their salvation. In the second passage where Agrippa
said, almost thou persuadest me to become a Christian, a Christian
is one who looks to Christ for their faith. And thirdly, when
Paul said, if any man or Peter said in first Peter chapter four,
if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. A Christian
is one who looks to Christ in all their trials and tribulations
and sufferings in this world. In short, a Christian is one
who is looking to the Lord Jesus Christ for their everything. That's the definition of a Christian.
Now, we cannot define Christian without first defining Christ. They are inseparably linked. A Christian is one who is united
to the Christ, the Christ. Christ, as you know, defined
means the Messiah. It means the anointed one. And so a Christian is one who
has been anointed with the gift of grace in Christ. They are one who is found in
Christ. They're looking to Christ for
their election. for their predestination, for
being chosen in Christ. We cannot be a Christian without
looking to Christ for our election. We cannot be a Christian without
looking to Christ for our redemption. It is in Christ that we have
the hope of our salvation. We are crucified with Christ. So when these, by the way, in
Acts chapter 11, this word was not given to them as a compliment. It was a term of derision. It was, they were being, they
were saying to them, well, these are just little Christ. They're just followers of Christ.
They're just, consumed with Christ. Well, what is Christ? The Jews, even to this day, would
never conceive of a Messiah who was not successful in securing
the salvation of all Israel. If you have a Jewish friend,
you ask him about it. When Messiah comes, even that
woman at the well in John chapter four, she said,
we know. And all she had, she was a Samaritan.
All she had was the first five books of the Bible. That's all
she had was the books of Moses. And she learned in those books,
that when Messiah comes, he's going to make everything right.
We're waiting for Messiah. And the Lord said, oh, if you
knew who it was that speaketh unto you, you would ask of him
eternal life. You would ask of him of water,
and he would give you abundant life. The Lord Jesus is that
Christ that was speaking to her. He was the one. He is the one
that she was waiting on. The disciples. At the Ascension. Yet there in Acts chapter one,
when the Lord was ascended back into glory and took his rightful
place at the right hand of God, he. They said, Lord, is it time now
for you to set up your kingdom? We know that you're the Christ.
And we know that what you came to do was to establish Israel
as the sovereign nation over the whole world, the chosen of
God's people. And is it time now for you to
take your rightful place on the throne of David? Well, the Lord
said, my kingdom's not of this world. It wasn't until Pentecost
that they really understood the full meaning of what Christ was. Philip, when he went to Nathanael,
said, we have found him of whom Moses and the prophets have spoken,
Jesus of Nazareth. We found him, the long-awaited
Messiah. See, this idea of Jesus being
the Christ in modern-day Christianity is foreign to everything in the
Bible. A Jesus that would suffer a death
that would not be successful in securing the salvation of
every person in Israel is foreign. to everything in the scripture. So when we say that a Christian
is looking to Christ for their salvation, we're saying that
we believe what the Bible says about Jesus being the Christ.
that he is the successful sovereign substitute, that he actually
accomplished the salvation. And if I'm going to stand in
the presence of God and have acceptance, I'm going to have
to be found in him. I'm not going to be able to add
anything to what he did. I'm not going to be able to add
my will or my works. What is a Christian? They call
these people little Christ. A Christian is one who is looking
to the Lord Jesus Christ as the successful, sovereign, omnipotent
savior of sinners. If what Christ did on Calvary's
cross is not sufficient for my salvation, then I have no hope. That's what a Christian is. He came in the full power and
purpose of God without any mixture of error or without any degree
of failure. He was sent by the Spirit of
God to perform perfectly the will and the purpose of God to
glorify God in the salvation of God's people. That's who Christ
is in the scriptures. That's who we believe. That's
who we're resting our hope in. And anything less than that is
another Jesus. It's another gospel. It's another
spirit. And it's unable to save. They were first called Christians
in Antioch because they were looking to Christ. The word Christian has been redefined. It's not what the scripture means
when it speaks of being a follower of Christ. Same way with the cross, isn't
it? Why do men put crosses on the top of their buildings? Why
do they wear them as jewelry around their neck? Why do they
put them as decorations on their things? Why do they do that?
One simple reason. The cross has lost its offense. The cross has been redefined
as a God of love and sympathy and sacrifice and all of the
justice and holiness of God has been stripped from the cross.
The cross no longer means that God hates sin and that all men
are nothing but sin. The cross no longer means that
man is unable to do anything to save himself. The cross does
not declare God's glory in accomplishing his salvation for his elect by
offering himself to himself. That's what the cross was, and
that's what it is. Paul said we will glory in nothing
but the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he went on to say,
if I still preach the law, if I preach works, if I give man
something to do in order to achieve their salvation or in order to
make what Jesus did as an offer work for them, then the cross
has lost its offense. The cross is not offensive anymore.
That's why people wear it. That's why they put it on there.
They're trying to, they're attracting people. You see the cross is
nothing more than a symbol of love and sacrifice. That's all
it is. It's been stripped of its justice
and of its satisfaction and of its purpose and of its meaning. So it is. with the term Christian. They were first called Christians
in Antioch. Am I a Christian? Am I resting
all the hope of my salvation on the Christ, the Christ, the
son of God? Is he everything to me in election? Am I looking to him for my only hope that God would
choose me. Chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world. That's what the scripture says.
Am I looking to him for all my redemption? Is the shed blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the Lamb that was
without spot and without blemish, is Christ in the full power of
the Spirit of God. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
42. These disciples were called Christians
because they were looking to, following after, resting in,
and hoping for all their salvation in Jesus as the Christ, the Son
of God. That's what a Christian is. Isaiah chapter 42 verse 1, behold
my servant, now God is calling on me and you to look to Christ.
You can take those first three words of that verse and we're
not changing the meaning of scripture by saying look to Christ. Look
to Christ. Whom I uphold. God the Father
saying I have upheld my son, you look to him. He is mine elect. He is the one in whom my soul
delighted. This is my beloved son. In him
I'm well pleased. I'm not pleased with you. Most
people are resting the hope of their salvation and thinking
that God is pleased with them because they accepted Jesus or
they did something or they're not doing something or doing
the other or what. No, this is my son. Him I'm delighted with. You look to him. I have put my
spirit upon him. He's the anointed one. He's the
Messiah. He's the Christ. And he shall
bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He's going to satisfy the justice
of God. That's what the cross is all
about. Cross is all about justice being satisfied. And that's what
a Christian is. He's looking to the accomplished
work of the Lord Jesus Christ for all the finished hope of
his redemption. He shall not cry nor lift up
his voice to be heard in the streets. He's not going around
pleading men to let him have his way in their hearts. Oh,
won't you give your heart to Jesus? Won't you follow after
it? You listen to the kind of dribble
that comes out of modern day Christianity and it's shameful. I mean, who would have any respect
for such a God who's going around begging men to let him have his
way? If that's your idea of God, then
you're not a Christian, period, simple. I don't know how to make
that any more clear. A Christian believes that Jesus
is God and that he has fully satisfied everything that God
requires. And we behold him, mine elect,
in whom I put my spirit upon him. A bruised reed shall he
not break. Oh, there's my hope. Oh, Lord,
I'm in a low estate. I'm a bruised reed. I'm poor
and needy. My sin will overcome me if you
don't help me. Lord, don't break me the rest
of the way. Heal me. Bind up my wounds. Do for me
like the Samaritan did for that man who was left on the roadside.
Take me to the end and anoint my wounds with the oil of your
spirit and teach me your word. And a smoking flax, and you know
what flax was used as a wick in an oil lamp. And so the flax
is sticking out of the oil lamp and the oil gets low and the
flax begins to, the little flame gets smaller and smaller and
smaller until it's just barely, normally what would you do? Psst. Oh Lord, don't do that. Sometimes I feel like the flame
of my faith is just a faint, faint spark. Lord, don't put
it out. Pour more oil in the lamp. Lord, give me the oil of
gladness. Give me your spirit. Enable me
only by your spirit. Can I look to Christ for all
the hope of my salvation? I can't look to him without you
giving me your spirit. A bruised reed shall he not break,
a smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. He's going to bring forth judgment.
He's going to fulfill the law. He's gonna put away, put away
sin, sew it up in a sack, the scripture says, hide it in the
depths of the sea, separate it from us as far as the east is
from the west, cover it by the blood of Christ. He's going to
be successful in doing that. He's the Christ. He must succeed. And he shall not fail. You listen
to what most quote Christians and we don't refer to ourselves
as Christians because of the way it's abused and in the world. But this is what the Bible says
about what a Christian is. We refer to ourselves as believers.
You know, if we say Christian, we've got to go into this, give
them a sermon. Here's what a Christian is. Who
wants to do that? I don't want to identify myself
with what the world's calling a Christian. I can identify myself
with what the Bible calls a Christian, but not what the world calls
a Christian. He shall not fail nor be discouraged
till he has set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait
for his law. Somebody asked me recently, is
America in the prophecy of the Bible? Yep, there it is right
there. I-S-L-E. We're just one of those far-flung
isles in the Bible, and every island and every continent is
occupied by people, and that's the only the isles will hear,
and they'll believe. The judgment has been satisfied,
and God's people will believe on Christ as the Christ. He's everything to me in election.
He's everything to me in redemption. He's everything to me in regeneration. If the Lord didn't open my eyes,
if he didn't give me a new heart, if he didn't give me faith to
believe, I wouldn't come. He's the Christ. I'm dependent
upon him. I can do nothing. He has to do it all. That's what a Christian is. Christian. And if he doesn't keep me and
sanctify me and present me faultless before the throne of God, I'll
fall away. This idea, you know, well, I
just pray a prayer and I'm good to go. No, I'm calling on him
every day. Lord save me. His life. is my life. He is all my wisdom, my righteousness,
my sanctification, my redemption. And the disciples were called
first Christians in Antioch. Antioch. A Christian is one who is looking
to Christ to provide for them everything that God requires. He's their sin bearer. He's their surety. A surety is one who takes responsibility
for all the debt. He's all their satisfaction.
If the law is gonna be met, Christ is gonna have to meet the law
for me. I cannot meet it on my own. Colossians chapter 3 verse 4
says, when Christ who is our life shall appear, then we shall
also appear with him in glory. Christ is, he's my salvation. You want to call me a Christian?
Fine. Make sure you define it by biblical
terms. Make sure you define it by what
God says a Christian is. Am I a Christian? Well, I hope
the Lord is answering that question in your heart right now. Acts chapter 26. You see, that first passage tells
us that being a Christian means that Christ is everything in
your salvation. You cannot add to and you cannot
take away from the accomplished, successful, finished work of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And if he doesn't save you, being
a Christian doesn't mean that you believe you're saved. That comes and goes, doesn't
it? Are you gonna lose your Christianity when you begin to doubt whether
or not you're saved? No. But even when a Christian
begins to doubt whether or not they're saved, they never doubt
whether or not Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the successful
Savior of sinners. They always believe that. even
if they doubt whether or not he did it for them. And they're
brought to that place where they say, Lord, if you don't save
me, I've got no place else to go. Acts chapter 26. Paul is brought before Festus,
and Festus is the governor, and he's the one who said to Paul,
he said, much learning has made thee mad. And then he calls on
King Agrippa, and Paul preaches the gospel to Agrippa. He was
the reigning king of Judah, of Judea, of the family of the Herods. He was a Herodian and he was
the grandson of that Herod the Great. You remember that had
the baby slaughtered in Bethlehem and the Lord had fled to Egypt? That was his grandfather, now
Herod Antipas. The second is reigning king,
and his name here are Herod Agrippa, I'm sorry. And so in Acts chapter
26 at verse 28, 27, King Agrippa, believest
thou the prophets? I know thou believest. See, the
Herods were half-Jews, and they had the Scriptures, and they
professed to believe that the Scriptures were the Word of God.
And so Paul wasn't telling Agrippa anything that he didn't already
know. He said, I know you say you believe the Bible. If you
believe the Bible, this is what the Bible says. And Agrippa, unable to defend
himself against Scripture, says to the apostle Paul, then Agrippa
said unto Paul, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Well, I want to draw from that,
that a Christian is one who not looks, who does not look to the
persuasion of a man for his faith. but looks to the persuasion of
God. You see, whatever a man teaches
you, another man can teach you out of. You know that. But when
God teaches you the truth, if you're left standing all by
yourself and nobody else believes it, if God's taught it to you,
you're not going to be untaught. They shall be taught all of God. Agrippa said, almost thou persuadeth
me to become a Christian. I know the emphasis on that is
often put on the point that he was almost a Christian and you
can't be almost a Christian, you have to be a believer or
not a believer, but I want you to look at the word thou. Almost
thou persuadest me to become a Christian. If you've been persuaded
to profess Christianity because of something you learned from
a man, then you're not a Christian. Plain and simple. If God hadn't taught it to you,
if you haven't seen it in God's word and come to the conviction
that this is of God, You see, many of us thought we were Christians
before we were Christians. We were talking about that. Tim,
you and I were talking about that during the break. There was a lot of
things. I believed in total depravity, I thought. I believed in Jesus
being the Son of God, I thought. But I was just parroting things
that I had heard other men say. But when God taught it to me,
Then I wasn't just parroting what other men say, I knew, I
knew that this was true. I'm not just following, isn't
it amazing how how Christian churches who say, Sola Scriptura,
only the Bible is our source of authority, and then they'll
turn right around and write up a confession and a creed, and
then they will test the Bible by their creeds and their confessions.
A confession is nothing more than the words of a man. We don't
have any creeds. We don't have any confessions.
We don't have any denominational mandates. We've got the word
of God and we just believe God. If God says it, amen. And the Lord said, father, I
thank thee that thou has hid these things from the wise and
the prudent, the well-educated, the ones who have been to cemetery
and got all their degrees and they stand as the experts. You
know what an expert is, don't you? An ex is a has-been and
a spurt is a drip under pressure. And that's about what they are. No. Father, I thank thee that
thou has hid these things from the wise and the prudent and
you've revealed them unto babes. Lest you become as a little child.
You see, what am I saying? I'm saying that we believe God
in the same way A two-year-old or a three-year-old or a four-year-old
believes its parent when they tell them something. They don't
say, well, now, wait a minute. My experience is otherwise. Let
me re-evaluate this and consider other things. No, they just believe
what you tell them. Don't they, Logan? Just believe
you. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Well, that's what it is to
be a Christian, just to be a little child and just believe God. I just believe God. Almost thou persuadeth me to
become a Christian. No, if we're going to be persuaded
to become a Christian, God's going to have to persuade us.
For by grace are you saved, not by education. By grace are you
saved through faith, not by decision or by works or by knowledge. By faith are you saved, through
faith. And that faith and that grace
is not of yourself, it's a gift of God, not of works, lest any
man should boast. A Christian is one who is looking
to Christ for their faith, for their faith. Lord, if you don't
help thou mine unbelief, Lord, increase our faith. Lord, if
I'm going to have faith, you're going to have to give it to me.
I can't achieve it. I can't work for it. I can't
learn it. I can't get it from another man.
You have to give it to me. I am a Christian is one who is
looking to Christ for all their salvation and looking to Christ
for all their faith. That's why Paul said, I didn't
learn this from a man. I know whom I have believed and
I'm persuaded that he's able to keep that which I've committed
unto him against that day. He's able to save to the uttermost.
Faith is a gift of God. I would say to you, What I know
Brother Mahan used to say to his congregation, don't take
my word for it. Don't take my word for it. What's
the scripture say? The Bereans were more noble than
those at Thessalonica. Why? Because they received the
word of God with gladness and they searched the scriptures
daily to see if these things were true. You see, if God gives
you a desire to know the truth, then when you see it and God
reveals it to you in the scriptures, you know, the first thing that
God teaches one of his children is that the Bible is the word
of God. It's just God's word. Without it, we have no source
of authority. Without it, we have, what are
we gonna believe? We'll believe God. We are looking to Christ for
our faith. If the Lord doesn't fetch us
from Lodivar, like he did in Mephibosheth, that word, that
term Lodivar means a place of no bread, and if If the king
doesn't send his servant, the Holy Spirit, to fetch us, like
Abraham sent Eleazar to go get Rebekah, you know, Lord, if you
don't come get me, I can't get to where you are. You're gonna
have to, I live in Sodom and I'm like Lot, and I'll linger
here if you don't take me by the hand and pull me out, I'll
be destroyed by the fire that rains down from heaven. Lord,
I'm not just dependent upon you for my righteousness and for
my justification. I'm dependent upon you for my
faith. You must make me to believe.
You've got to open my eyes. That's what a Christian is. Someone
said, well, I'm trusting Christ for all my salvation, but I did
something in order to come to Christ. I know. No, a Christian
is one who knows. that coming to Christ is a work
of grace in the heart and that the Lord Jesus Christ himself
gets all the glory for that work. You can't boast in it. You can't
say, well, you know, I did this or I did that. You ever thought about the difference
between what the Lord said to Adam and what he said to Cain? Adam, someone questioned recently
whether Adam was a believer. Of course Adam was a believer.
The Lord clothed him. He covered his nakedness and
Adam taught his boys about the gospel. But when the Lord, and here's
the best evidence, when the Lord came to Adam, he said, Adam,
where art thou? The Lord wasn't looking for Adam.
He knew exactly what tree he was behind. He knew exactly where
he was. But Adam needed to acknowledge
where he was. And so what did Adam say? Lord,
I was afraid, so I hid myself. Well, there's your problem, Adam.
There's your problem. Sin brings about fear. And what
you need is you need the fleece of this lamb to cover your nakedness.
Those fig leaves aren't gonna work. And then when Cain killed his
brother Abel, what did the Lord say to Cain? What'd he say? Where is Abel,
thy brother? And what'd Cain say? What am
I, my brother's keeper? And the Lord said, your brother's
blood cries out from the ground against you. And God cursed Cain. Now I want you to think about
Cain and Abel being a picture of Christ and the unbelieving
world. And God says to the unbeliever,
what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? Where is he? And the unbeliever says, what
am I, my brother's keeper? And God says, your brother's
blood cries out from the ground against thee. What a blessing it is for the
Lord to say to each one of us, Robert, where art thou? Where art thou? Caleb, where
art thou? Where art thou, Michael? Isn't that a blessing? Lord,
I was afraid. I didn't know what to do but
to hide myself. Lord, you're going to have to
clothe me. You're going to have to make
things right for me. These fig leaves aren't working. The last time that Christian
is used in the Bible is found in 1st Peter chapter 4. Will
you turn with me there? 1st Peter chapter 4. What is a Christian? And more importantly, as am I. A Christian, not according to
the definition of the world, who has changed the definition
of every word. But according to the scriptures,
am I a Christian? A Christian is one who looks
to the Lord Jesus as the Christ for all the hope of their salvation,
having accomplished everything that God requires for them. A
Christian is a person who looks to Christ for their persuasion,
for their faith, for their understanding, for their new heart, for their
new birth. The Lord is going to have to
do it. If it's going to be done. And finally, a Christian is one
who looks to Christ. In all their trials and sufferings
and persecutions, the Lord Jesus is the only one that can deliver
me. Look at first Peter Chapter 4
beginning at verse. Twelve, beloved, think it not
strange concerning the fiery trials, which is to try you as
though some strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice in as much
as you are partakers of Christ's suffering. He's talking about
the affliction that came upon them because they were Christians. the persecution, that when his
glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding
joy. In all things, be thankful for
all things of the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Now, brethren, I know there's a lot of things that's hard to
be thankful for. When you're in the midst of a
great trial, It's hard to say, Lord, thank you for this. It's
not what the scripture says. It says in all things. And even in the midst of the
hardest times, the hardest trial, God will give faith to be thankful
for his care. We cast all our care upon him
because he cared for us. We have not a high priest who
is unable to sympathize with our afflictions. He was in all
ways tempted, even as we are, yet without sin. He's touched
with the feelings of our infirmities, isn't he? Lord, I'm in a hard
place and I've got no place else to go. I believe that Christ
is everything in my salvation. And I believe that the faith
that I have was given to me by divine sovereign grace. It wasn't
anything I earned. Lord, you're going to have to
help me now. I'm in a difficult place. Verse 14, if you'd be reproached
for the name of Christ, happy are you. For the spirit of glory
and of God resteth upon you. On their part, he has spoken
evil of, but on your part, he is glorified. Lord, this world is not my home. Lord, the values of this world
and the direction of this world and the hatred of God in this
world and the unbelief of this world, Lord, I just, I don't
fit in. But let none of you suffer as
a murderer or as a thief or as an evildoer, or even as a busybody
in other men's matters. Don't think if you suffer because
of something you did wrong, don't, you know, don't, don't think
that's because you're a Christian, that came because you did something
wrong. Okay? Sin has its consequences. Yet, If any man suffers a Christian. Let him not be ashamed. But let
him glorify God. On this behalf. We do suffer
in this world. And the greatest suffering that
a believer. Has to endure. Is their own sin
and unbelief? Really is. That's the. That's the sin that does so easily
beside us. That's the one that never goes
away. That's why we're always in need of Christ. If all we needed was relief from
pain. A doctor could help us with that. If all we needed was. help in
a legal trouble, an attorney could help us with that. If all
we needed was some more knowledge about a subject, an educator
could help us with that. If all we needed was financial problems
or trouble, maybe a banker or someone could help us with that.
But we have a problem that no man can help us with except the
Savior, for He came to save sinners. There's my problem, Lord. There's
my trial. Oh, this old man that's strapped
to my back, this dead flesh, who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? Oh, thanks be to God. Thanks
be to God. Through Christ Jesus, I am free
no other way. I'm looking to Christ to deliver
me from all my trials and troubles and persecutions. The Lord Jesus
Christ, the only one that can help me. And what a help he is. What is a Christian? They were first called Christians
at Antioch because they identified with the Christ. Agrippa said, you almost persuaded
me to become a Christian. A Christian is one who is persuaded
by God. They're looking to Christ for
their faith. And a Christian is one who knows
that all the trials and persecutions and all the sufferings that they
have in this world have been given to them by their wise,
loving, heavenly Father. And he remembereth that they
are of dust and they flee to Christ. They flee to Christ. He's the only one can help. Are you a Christian? Our Heavenly Father, bless your
word. Make us Christians in the definition
that you've given us. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Number 212 in the hardback tent,
now let's stand together.