a series, Foundations of the Faith, in the book of Acts, and we're in Acts chapter 11 today. Acts chapter 11, we'll read that in just a moment, well part of it. I preached a little long last week. I got started earlier because of our new time change and so I guess my internal clock made me just go ahead and preach to the regular time. I don't want to ever be tied to the clock. I want the Holy Spirit to have control and say whatever He wants to say for however long He says it. respect your time, and I'll try to be a little more succinct this morning, maybe, maybe, and we'll give it a try. We tried it before, haven't we, Brother Paul? And he says, every time I say I'm preaching a shorter message, I've just jinxed us again. In The Mask Behind the Mask, biographer Peter Evans says about actor Peter Sellers, that he played so many different roles in his acting career that sometimes he was not sure, even of his own identity. Actors tend to really get into what they're acting about, and they kind of take on the character of the person they're playing. And so he'd done that so many times, he was not always sure exactly who he was. And so one day, he was approached by a fan and said, I recognized him and said, are you Peter Sellers? He said, well, not today. And he briskly walked on. So I guess a lot of times in America today, we hear people talking about their identity. And a lot of people, I think we have more people today maybe than I can ever remember, people don't really know who they are. They don't know their identity. They identify as this, that, or the other thing. But we'll read in our text today about the identity of a Christian. And we'll preach on this subject, embracing our Christian identity. And we'll read, if you want to look in the Word of God with me, we'll read in Acts chapter 11, verse number 22. Acts 11, verse number 22. Now we'll cover the subject material in the whole chapter, but we'll just start off by reading this one passage that will give us the essence of what we want to talk about today that we believe is the theme. that we want to expound upon. And it says in Acts chapter 11, 22, then tidings of these things, speaking last week of Peter taking the gospel to Cornelius' house, to the Gentiles. It says, then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem. Now those are just Jewish Christians, and only the Jews have been receiving the gospel up to this point. And so they hear about Cornelius and Peter going there. And it says, and they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch. who when he came, now remember Antioch is now becoming the center, the hub of Christianity. The Christians have been scattered from Jerusalem and they're going all over everywhere and so now they're moving way up north, north of Israel into the area of Syria and into Antioch. Antioch is a large city. It's a big place. It's probably third or fourth largest city in the Roman Empire at this time and so it's big. It says that they sent Barnabas to Antioch, verse 23, who when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, speaking of Barnabas, he was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. And much people was added unto the Lord, People are getting saved right and left. Verse 24, or 25. I say that again. They assembled themselves with the church. And we're assembled with the church this morning. We are the church. If you're saved, we're the church this morning. And this is what they're doing here. So we're following the pattern that they set. And it says, and it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught much people. Teaching. We don't go to church just to get our emotions stirred, although that may happen. We don't go to the church just to learn more about biblical history, but hopefully that would happen too. And we don't just go to church in order to fellowship, and we certainly hope that will happen. We don't go to church just to do our duty, but I believe it is our duty as Christians. But we go to church, we gather with the church because he says, and they taught much people. When we leave church, every time we leave church, we ought to leave church having learned something. having learned something. And to learn something, we have to go to church with a prayer in our heart and asking God, Lord, let me hear something that I didn't know when I came in today. Lord, stir my heart. Even if the preacher didn't say anything specifically to change me or to challenge me, Lord, let the Holy Spirit, because I've been assembled with people and under the Word of God, let the Holy Spirit Stir my heart so that something will be different and I'll know to do something differently than I did before. And now notice what it says after they taught much people that last phrase is really fits into our title and our message today. And the disciples, the disciples, those who are following Christ, the disciples who had previously been known as the way or that way or those Jesus people. He says, then the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. Christians. That word gets thrown around lightly today, Christian. It means Christ-like, a follower of Christ, someone who tends to be like the Lord Jesus. Let's look into this subject today, and we'll pray and then get started. Father, I pray that you'd bless us, fill us, Lord, use us. Have our hearts to be tender, Lord, and make it a fertile ground upon which the precious seed of the Word of God is sown this very day. Lord, let our hearts be drawn very close to you, closer than ever before. Lord, stir our hearts together to be the people who identify with you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Well, identity shapes who we are, describes who we are. Identity is who we are. And in Acts chapter 11, the early Christians began to be called Christians as an identifier. Christians, because they were noted to be like Jesus. And it signified a very close association with Him. Going to church is a great thing, but being associated with Christ is the ultimate goal. Today we'll explore what it means to embrace our Christian identity. A person's identity is revealed in his attitudes and actions, the way he conducts his life. And culture has a great deal to do with our identity. And I think that's why there's a great big change in the way some people identify themselves today, for better or for worse. People tend to be influenced by society around them. Let me tell you how society was, oh, a century or two ago. Listen to this. Here's a sample requirement sheet, a list of requirements for a schoolteacher. You'll like this. You've probably read it before, I bet. For a schoolteacher in the early or late 19th century, early 20th century. Here's requirements for a schoolteacher. Moral character. If you're going to apply for a job as a teacher, here's the list you'd get and you'd have to read this. Moral character. Teachers must be of good moral standing and must be a role model for students. A teacher must attend church regularly and be active in their religious community. Teachers must refrain from drinking alcohol, smoking, gambling, and other vices. Personal conduct, teachers should dress modestly and professionally at all times. Male teachers may not visit public houses or taverns. Teachers should not engage in any behavior that might bring disrepute to the school or their profession. living conditions. Teachers must live within the community where they teach and be available for extra duties such as tutoring or supervising extracurricular activities. Female teachers were often expected to live in a boarding house so there would be supervision for them. Work ethic of a teacher. Teachers should arrive at school early. Why like that one? Don't you church members? Teachers should arrive At school early, prepare the classroom and ensure that it is kept in order. Teachers are responsible for maintaining discipline in the classroom and ensuring that students adhere to the rules. I wonder if that's happening today. Teachers must maintain records of student attendance and performance and report regularly to the school board or trustees. Academic responsibilities. Teachers must be well-versed in reading, writing, arithmetic. Boy, that's a novel idea. and other subjects required by the curriculum. Teachers are expected to continue their own education by attending teachers' institutes and reading professional literature. Teachers should use proper and effective teaching methods to ensure that students achieve high academic standards. Financial responsibility. Boy, they really get nosy, don't they, back in those days? The teacher's financial responsibility. Teachers were often expected to be thrifty, manage their modest salaries carefully. In some cases, teachers were expected to provide supplies or contribute to the upkeep of the schoolhouse. Public service. Teachers were often expected to contribute to the community by participating in local events and serving as a model citizen. In rural areas, teachers might be asked to perform additional duties such as leading Sunday school, helping with town events, or providing basic medical care. That's teachers' responsibilities back in those days. Boy, that was pretty rigorous, wasn't it? I mean, that's what society wanted out of them. And they reflect what our culture was at that time. Now, I've thought about this a few times. Gentlemen, I can see a change in what is considered being gentlemanly today than it was back then. Like in the mid-20th century, these standards of a man to be called a gentleman. This is what a gentleman was in the year I was born, 1951. Politeness and courtesy. A gentleman was expected to be polite, respectful, and considerate in all social interactions. He would use proper manners, hold doors for others, and be mindful of social etiquette. He removed his hat when entering a house or in the presence of a lady, and certainly at meals or prayer. That's changed, hasn't it? I know we probably wear hats a lot now, maybe we didn't wear maybe 20-30 years ago, but in the fifties nearly every man wore a hat. Maybe not the same kind of hat, maybe not a baseball cap, but they wore a hat. But it was just men always, when they'd walk through the doors of their home or house, they'd take off their hat. Or if they met a lady, they'd always take off their hat to speak to a lady. And if prayer was said, man, if they didn't take their hat off, somebody'd whack it off their head like that. They knew to be a gentleman. Then also the gentleman was expected to show integrity and honor. A gentleman was known for his strong moral character. He was honest, kept his promises, and acted with integrity in both personal and professional matters. Respectful for women. A gentleman treated women with utmost respect. This included being chivalrous. I think that's a word about forgotten. Chivalrous, offering his seat. walking on the side of the street closest to the traffic. See, nobody knows that anymore. My wife, when we're walking in town, I'll always try to make sure I get on the side next to the curb instead of the building. And she said, why are you doing that? That's the way I grew up, that's what they taught, you know. We saw that even in the old black and white movies. We knew the gentleman was supposed to walk on the side next to the traffic. That way if a car drives by and splashes the water, it'll hit the gentleman and not the lady. He's chivalrous. Or if a car hits somebody and kills them, it'll kill the man. They're a dime a dozen. That's supposed to be funny. Integrity and honor and respect for women, then dignified appearance. The gentleman took pride in his appearance. He dressed neatly and appropriately for different occasions, often in a suit and tie. Grooming was also important. Attention to details like polished shoes and a clean shave." Boy, we've got to skip over that one in a hurry. Self-control and composure. Sorry, men with a beard. Self-control and men wore beards back then, too. They groomed them, of course, if they were gentlemen. self-control and composure. A gentleman maintained self-control in difficult situations. He was calm under pressure, rarely displayed anger or impatience, and handled challenges with grace and composure, generosity and kindness, humility. Despite his accomplishments, he was still humble in his attitude. Responsibility and dependability. A gentleman was responsible and could be counted on to fulfill his duties, whether in family, work, or community. He was reliable and consistent in his actions. If he said he'd meet you at a certain time, he was there. Civic-mindedness. A gentleman was often involved in his community and took his civic duties seriously. Culture. in days gone by had a large impact on the identity of a person. These are just two examples, one of a teacher and one of a gentleman. I just threw those in there just to show an example of somebody's identity in times past and it might be different according to culture now. We could describe different people's identity. If I was to describe Paul Place's identity, I'd say he's a retired Air Force colonel whose career has carried over into his personal life in retirement. I would say that he's a man of detail, memory, hard work, stability, honesty, and loves his family. And he's a man that can eat more burritos than Zachary Brown. Sorry, guys. Not sorry. As for the identity of Kamala Harris, I guess I would say nobody knows her identity. Well. Three and a half years ago, she was Karl Marx. Last week, she turned into Ronald Reagan. So identity changes, I guess. What would we say? What we say, what we say and do becomes our identity. That's how people identify us, by what we say and what we do determines. And even the Bible says that what's in the well will come up in the bucket. And I didn't say it in those words. That's my hillbilly slang for that. But out of the heart, the Bible says, are the issues of life. And so whatever issues out of our life generally reflects what's in the heart. And in this message, we're going to see that Christians have an identity too. Now we've just been talking about identity in general, but we want to talk about the Christian's identity. With me? Everybody on board? Anybody asleep yet? Okay, do I need to stand on my head or swing across the auditorium on a grapevine or anything like that? Cartwheels? Now, you're the alert crowd. You're the crowd that woke up and got here this morning. We titled the message, Embracing Our Christian Identity. And by necessity, we need to look first at the foundation of our Christian identity. Last week, we talked about Cornelius receiving the gospel through Peter, and so this laid the foundation for this Christian identity. Now the gospel is for everybody. It's not just for those Jews who were considered the people of God at first. kind of shunned the Gentiles. Now the door of the gospel is open to everybody, and that's part of our Christian identity. We don't have those barriers anymore that says, well, this one can get saved, or that one can get saved. You can't get saved because you're of the wrong ethnicity. You can't get saved because you're of the wrong race. You can't get saved because, well, we're Calvinists, and just not everybody can get saved. You have to be one of those that's chosen before the beginning of time. Well, none of that is true. But that's the barriers that you and I see as a foundation that's broken down in Acts chapter 10. Now the gospel is open. And in verses 1 through 4, in our chapter 11, it says, And the apostles and brethren that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him. Contended with him. Here's the gospel coming to Cornelius and his bunch up in Caesarea and the Jews, the Jewish Christians down in Jerusalem hear about it and they're a little bit ticked off about this, letting people into salvation that weren't even Jews and it says, They contended with him, verse 3, saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning and expounded it by order unto them. Now we'd have to read all of chapter 10 again and half of chapter 11 to get all that in in context, but here is basically what is being said. Peter goes back, and man, the Jews at Jerusalem hear about the Gentiles getting saved, and they're kind of hacked off, and they say, look, we're the people of God. Nobody else got no business taking the Word of God to other people. And so that's part of our foundation. You and I, part of our Christian identity is that, yes, we believe the gospel is for everybody. Anybody's got a breath of life in them, whoever and wherever they came from. The vision symbolizes the vision of Peter that he had when he went up to Cornelius in Caesarea. That vision symbolizes the inclusiveness of the gospel. Now when I say inclusiveness, I'm not meaning it in a way that means that God just looks down and says, okay, you're all saved, whoosh. No, it means inclusive in the fact that no matter who you are, we'll allow you to hear the gospel, we'll give you the gospel, and if you trust Jesus as Savior, you're included. It means we're all even, we're all level at the foot of the cross. It doesn't matter how religious a person is, or of what background they are, of what race, ethnicity, or previous beliefs. We're all the same when we come to Jesus. He includes us all in the invitation. Come unto me, for whosoever will may receive the water of life freely. I'm glad about that, aren't you? You can't witness to the wrong person. You can't do it. You tell the gospel to somebody, It doesn't matter who they are. They can hear the gospel and they can receive Christ as Savior if they choose. You say, well, what if they're already saved? Well, you didn't hurt them, did you? I tried to witness a few people over the years that they stopped me immediately and said, now wait a minute. Wait a minute, mister. I'll have you know I'm already a Christian. And they were offended that I was witnessing to them. Well, I'm sorry. Sorry. Would that make them go to hell if I witness to them and they're already saved? I don't think so. You know, I have to tell you that in all of my years, all of my nearly half century of being saved, I think I might have had one or two people to try to witness to me. Do I look like that good of a Christian to you that nobody, everybody would assume, he is saved, man. You can just tell the glow, that glow off of me is the nice that I took this morning. It flushes me. It's not anything to do with Jesus. But I've had maybe two people to witness to it. You know what I'd like to happen? I wish people would walk up to me quite often and say, do you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior? I'd be glad if they asked me that. Why? Because that means they're trying to get the gospel out to anybody and everybody. And if somebody's already saved, they ought to just thank God somebody's witnessing. Amen. These people, Peter and those who were taking the gospel to the Gentiles were obedient to the Lord. You know, the Lord said to Peter through the Holy Spirit, He said, you take a trip up here with these men to see Cornelius. Now we're talking about the foundation of our identity in Christ. He said, you take the gospel up there to Cornelius and I want him saved just like I want the Jews saved. I don't care. I want everybody saved. So you witnessed everybody. And at first, Peter was a little bit reluctant because of his Jewish background. But after he went and saw the Holy Ghost fell upon them, they began to speak with tongues. That's why I say it's kind of another Pentecost. I mean, there's only one Pentecost, but this is kind of a Gentile Pentecost, if I can use that term, because the original Pentecost was all Jews there, and it was to convert the Jews and to become the church and now when Cornelius gets the gospel man they all do kinda the same thing that the Jews did at that main original Pentecost and so we see the foundation established and the witness of our Christianity if you look with me verses 23 and 24 we see the witness of our Christian identity it says who when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, and much people was added unto the Lord." Much people was added unto the Lord. Barnabas comes up here to Antioch. Jerusalem sends Barnabas up to Antioch to see what's going on. We hear those Gentiles getting saved up there. Go see, check it out, Barnabas. He gets up there and he sees it. Hey, this is real. Those people are really getting saved. And so he catches on fire, and he wants to tell everybody else around how to get saved, all their neighbors and their community. Remember, Antioch's a big city. They got plenty of people to witness to. I don't think we've reached everybody in Searcy yet. And so they're witnessing all these people, and, man, Barnabas is on fire for the Lord. He's a good man, full of the Holy Ghost. He wants to get the gospel out. He's a witness. He's a soul winner. And so he's doing all of that, and pretty quick, he realizes Man, this is a big city. I can't get them all. I need help. So he goes over to Tarsus where Saul, and I remember Saul got saved on the Damascus road back in chapter nine. And so now here's Saul, he's been trained by the Lord himself, and he's hanging out over at Tarsus, and Barnabas says, we need somebody else. I can't teach all these people, man, we're trying to teach the people in the church, and we're bringing new converts in, we're trying to disciple them. I can't do all of this, I need help. And so he goes over and gets Saul and brings him back. Now this is where we see Saul, who becomes Paul, And by the way, he didn't get his name changed to Paul just because he got saved. Saul is a Hebrew name and Paul is the Greek equivalent. And so, it just became natural. He was in the Roman Empire which was largely still of the Greek culture. And so his name Paul would naturally be used more within that Greek culture. And so Paul now, he's coming on the scene a little bit stronger. We're going to see him really flourish a little bit later on. But now he's going to help Barnabas out. And it says that a lot of people are getting added to the Lord. And that's the way it ought to be. When a church is on fire for God, there ought to be people getting added to the Lord. There ought to be new people coming into the church. There ought to be people getting in the baptistry. There ought to be new people getting discipled. There ought to be people catching on fire for God and saying, man, I want to do something in the church. Let me help. If it ain't nothing but cutting the weeds in the flower bed, let me help. Let me stay in the nursery. Let me help a Sunday school teacher. Let me do something. If you'll let me know that you want to do something, I'll see that there's something you can do. I promise you that. Those early witnesses, They acquired the identity of Christian because they were telling everybody about Jesus. They were talking about Jesus all the time, everywhere they went. And they recognized the hand of God. It says in verse 25, Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul. And when he had found him, He brought him unto Antioch and it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves together with the church and taught much people. Well, if they taught much people, there must have been a bunch of people coming. People were hungry for the Word of God. And that's part of the identity of Christ. If somebody is really identifying with Christ, they're hungry for the Word of God and they want to get in on it. And where do you hear more of the Word of God proclaimed than in the church? The church that Jesus is building is for that purpose, to educate and train and instruct and to encourage the people of God. That's what the church is. And so they're all coming together And our Christian identity, like theirs, should be evident to those around us because we're talking about Jesus. I said, we're talking about Jesus. And that ought to be an encouragement to us to say to ourselves, I need to speak more about Jesus. More about Jesus would I know. We need to speak more about Him because people need to know more about Jesus. Now let me give you a third point and this will last about an hour. I'm just teasing. The name of our Christian identity. Let's read verses 25 through 30. Well, let me just read one verse. We won't take time to read all of those. We'll read verse 26. And when he had found him, he brought him into Antioch. And it came to pass that the whole year they assembled themselves together in the church and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. So this is the first time the term Christian has been used. And it was in Antioch that the believers were called Christians. Why? Because they were following Christ, man. Whatever they did was a result of the Holy Spirit leading them in the way of Christ. And the evangelism was a natural outgrowth. When you get saved, you want others to know what you've got, and that's what they were doing. That was part of their identity. They were called Christians because they're talking about Jesus, and they're telling people about that gospel, that Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins, that he rose again the third day to prove that he was God. And he is alive today, and he says, whosoever will, may come. And these people had a passion for sharing the gospel of Christ. And let me show you something else. This is interesting. Generous giving was a dynamic demonstration of their identity according to this passage. Now I'm not throwing this in because I'm a Baptist preacher trying to get offerings. I'm throwing it in because it's there in the text. I like to preach what's there instead of what I want to be there. Correct? What's there? Watch this. In verses 28 through 30. And there stood up one of them named Agabus. Now if you're looking, you're gonna have a baby boy and you're looking for a name for him, here's your boy's name, Agabus. And there stood up one among them named Agabus and signified by the Spirit that there should be a great dearth throughout all the world and which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren which dwelt in Judea. which also they did and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul." Do you see what's going on here? Now listen, don't tune me out right here because I know people don't like to hear this a lot of times, but I can't help it if God put it in there. I just got to preach it. And so giving, being generous, was one of the identifying marks of these believers. Agabus gets up and says, there's coming a great dearth. There's going to be a famine. And sure enough, it came to pass. And so here's these believers up at Antioch. And they hear about the saints down at Jerusalem and Judea. And it's their brethren. And they want to help their brethren. Now, these people at Antioch weren't rich people. They were poor people. I said, they're poor people. But you know what they did? They said, those people down there in Judea need help. And they started taking up offerings. You can read about it in some of the other books of the New Testament where they did this, but they took up offerings from the church. The church gathered together and they were taking up offerings to send down to the brethren to help out. Giving occupies a major part right here, several verses, attention, getting, giving. I mean, they were not doing it to get attention. They were doing it because they loved the Lord. But giving helps tell who we are. I'm a Christian. Therefore, I give. I do not give in order to become a Christian. I give because I am a Christian. That's part of my identification. I and you, who are Christians, are givers because that's what Christians do. I say that's what Christians do. Tithing is a method of giving according to the Bible all the way from the very beginning of humanity. I mean you can start even way back before the law. Abraham tithed, Jacob tithed, Those old saints, long before the law, tithed, gave to the Lord, sacrificed. And during the law, it was brought into the law as part of the law that it was mandated that they give. And now that Jesus has died on the cross, the law is done away. The handwriting of ordinances was done away with His cross, so we're not under the law. I mean, if you don't give, you won't go to hell if you're saved. I mean, if you're saved, you're not going to hell, period. And so you can not give, but it's a mark of who we are. And when a person gives a tithe, 10% of one's income to the Lord's church, it's doable, it's doable, it's possible, and it's an opportunity. Because it's based on a percentage, not on an amount. If Paul makes $10,000 this week, I want him to give it to me. No, I'm just kidding. If Paul makes $10,000 this week, and he gave a hundred of it to the church for the Lord's work, he'd be tithing, right? Did I get my math right? Is that right? 10%? He made $1,000, he gives $100 to the church, he gave his tithe. You say, yeah, man, he can do that. He made $1,000. Anybody can do that. Well, if I make $10 this week, I'm going to ask the church for a raise. If I make $10 this week, only $10, if I give 10%, that's only $1. Now, he gave a lot more in amount than I, but we gave equally in opportunity and percentage because I have the same opportunity to give a penny out of every dime I make and so does he. So God doesn't require me to give $100 if I just made $10, only $1. Isn't that a good thing? God knew what He's doing. God's smarter than the government, did you know that? And I keep, you ever notice, I keep raising the amount we're supposed to customarily give as a tip in the restaurant. You know, it used to be nobody, people I were around used to didn't tie the, I mean, didn't tip at all. And then, then it kind of became customary to give 10 percent and then it went up to 15. Now they, now they rail on you if you don't give 20 or 25. And, and if you go in up to a counter and order your own food and they turn the iPad around. And you don't click on giving them a tip just because they stood there at the counter and took your order and you carry your own food to the table. If you don't give them a tip, they kind of stare at you. So, tips have gone up, but God never raised His amount. He just still asked the believer to give 10%. Whether you make $1,000 or whether you make $10, you can give a tenth of it to the Lord at high. That's what we're seeing here is a mark of identity for the Christian. So how do we wrap all this up anyway? Well, they were called Christians because of the foundation they had of taking the gospel to whoever, everybody. A mark of a Christian was wanting and desiring, a flaming desire to get the gospel out to others. And then they were Christ-like in their character. They acted like Jesus. You're, when you speak words of kindness, encouragement, you're acting like Jesus. When you're giving the gospel out, you're acting like Jesus. If you're cussing and complaining, criticizing, you're probably acting more like the devil. We're talking about being Christ-like. These people were, and they were giving, so they were witnessing, behaving themselves in a Christ-like manner, and they were giving. So they were called Christians. A drunk staggered up to D.L. Moody, the old evangelist, a couple centuries ago. And Moody was a great evangelist, preached all over the country and around the world. He had big crowds in Chicago, and he was out walking one evening after dark. He walked down the street, and under the street lamp was an old drunk leaning up against a post, and he recognized Moody. And the drunk walked over and said, Is that you, Mr. Moody? He said, I'm Mr. Moody. He said, I want you to know I'm one of your converts. He said, You look about like one of my converts. You're certainly not one of the Lords. When we get saved, we ought to be acting like the Lord. Following Jesus is identifying with Him and this hymn says it so beautifully. Listen to this. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me, still will I follow. The world behind me, the cross before me. No turning back, no turning back. That's the Christian song of his heart. The one who identifies with Christ says, if nobody else goes with me, I'm still following Him. I'm gonna be like Him. Whether they turn back, whether they forsake Him, or whether they don't care, I'm still going with Him. That is an identity with Jesus. As you go about your week, Consider how your actions and your words reflect upon your identity. Do people know you well enough at work to accuse you of being a Christian? If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Do you have Jesus in your heart? did you trust him as your savior instead of just kind of attaching yourself to the movement there is no back door to heaven there's one door Jesus said I am the door no man cometh unto the father but by me and I may be speaking to people online right now who Never come to Jesus by trusting what He did on the cross. There's no other way. You don't get saved by just acting like Jesus. There's a lot of people doing that today, and a lot of churches teach that. If you act like Jesus, you're a Christian. No. You have to be saved, and then if you act like Jesus, people will recognize that you're a Christian. But the only way to become a true, genuine, authentic Christian is to believe that He bled and died on Calvary's cross because He loved you. He died in your place, vicariously suffering for you. He took your punishment for you, and He rose again. If you believe that message, and you place your faith in Him, for by grace are you saved through faith. And the knot of yourselves is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. Do you know Him? If you know Him, do you act like Him? Let's pray together. Father, I pray that you'd help us to identify more and more as our Christian life progresses with the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, I pray that we'd assess our own personal life and ask ourselves, am I more like Jesus than I was when I got saved? Am I more like Jesus this year than I was last year? Lord, do people know I'm a Christian or do I try to be an undercover agent for heaven? Lord, am I outwardly and openly unashamedly a Christian in my identity?