Will the Real Christian Please Stand Up!

Back in the day, there was a show called "To Tell the Truth" in which a panel of contestants would give facts about their life and the role of the judges was to figure out which one was telling the truth and which were telling lies. Their goal was to be the one to tell the best lie. Just like in the world today, we can tell the marks of a true believer in Christ but certain things that are prevalent in their life, kinda of like looking at a tree and based on what you can see, you can identify what type it is, like an apple or lime tree. All the real Christian would do is putting his faith in Jesus Christ alone.

In the lives of a believer such traits like the ability to worship, might be one indicator as to what they believe, but appearances can be misleading as well. To tell the truth, heaven would be a place where people go who love to worship the Lord. From sea to shining sea, Christians around the world love to worship God. Yet it is also something we take for granted here in the United States where we have that right and freedom to worship, at this time, without any repercussions. I guess you might say, one of the earmarks of a true believer might be those willing to die, not to give up worshiping Jesus Christ as Lord.

In our last three lessons we learned about Jesus Christ, being fully qualified to be the ONLY One to redeem us based on a number of things. (1) Jesus has become our salvation by Himself being God's authorized agent' (2) by Himself alone He became our performance; (3) He has done what no other man could ever do, by Jesus Christ, man's hope is restored; (4) By Jesus Christ, man's salvation is realized; (5) It means that Jesus Christ has meet all the requirements, by being faithful to the commitment to save; (6) by being obedient to the death of the cross.

We know that Jesus Christ had taken the scroll, the Last Will and Testament of Jesus Christ if you will, and took it from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. We know that when Adam sinned he basically gave the escrow papers of the earth and handed it to Satan. He now has 51% of the controlling powers of the earth. Many people blame God, but the blame is truly on the real enemy. God will one day, take back control over the pain and sufferings of all the people on the earth from Satan. Judgment is coming and soon! We win in the end if you read all the way to the end of the Bible.

Revelation 5:8-14 ~ "And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: "Yo are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels and numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousands times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to received power and wealthy and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and powers, for ever and ever!" The four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped."

This study should provoke you to a stronger worship of Jesus Christ in your life.  It's like the saying, "On your mark, get set, fall down! in this case. "On your mark," means having an active, day by day, living relationship with Jesus Christ. "Get Set" means establishing a biblical understanding that Jesus is coming back. "Fall Down," means willfully applying yourself to be a worshiper of God. Now let's look at it in even greater detail.

"On Your Mark!" - Heaven is in your sights, with Jesus Christ as the object of your affection. Put your citizenship and mind on the things of heaven cause that is where we are going one day. As a Christian we should be asking ourselves that, Is Jesus Christ, the object of our affection? Why, you are going to join a crowd of people in heaven, who will be worshiping Him for all eternity. Jesus does not want to be number 1 on a list of 10. He wants to be number 1 on a list of 1. "No other gods before Me," says the Scripture. He and He alone is to be worshiped, we see everything in all of heaven worshiping Him. And it is the will of God the Father, that we should worship His Son, Jesus Christ.

Revelaton 5:8 ~ "And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints."

A great shift in power is happening here. Now when he (the Lamb - Jesus Christ) had taken the scroll. It means there has been a radical announcement, like a lightning bolt. It has interrupted what has looked like gloomy and foreboding. This is an awesome and exciting moment, frankly, this could be the most important statement in the Bible, because there was no one found worthy in heaven or on earth  and John weeps much! So lost is the world, that is why it is trying to find it's way, drugs, alcohol, find other sources of happiness, they are saying we will try everything they can, like telescopes looking out into intelligent life. Wouldn't it be awesome, for God to stick His face out and say, "I'm right here." The world is searching for an answer, and the answer is Jesus, not a religion or a church. When a church says that they are the only way to get to heaven, beware! Jesus is the only answer. He has to be the love of our life. You can put your fingers in your ears all you want, but you can't escape this question. Jesus steps forward because He alone was found worthy to take the scroll!

In Revelation 5:8 ~ "And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb" 

Notice it is before the Lamb, not before anything else. Not a host of angels, not before anything else. They fall down before the Lamb. The star of heaven is the Lamb. Jesus is the central figure here. Is he the central figure of our soul?  Noah Webster states that "mark" or "to mark" means that it is a place of beginnings. It is a port of origin for a journey albeit a quick sprint or global journey. Like never before the Christian must keep his "mark" true. The mark is where you begin. Doesn't that dovetail what Jesus already said to the churches?  "You have left your first love." You have left your mark. 

If you have ever seen a sprinter before he runs the race in the Olympics? Before you sprint, what do you do? Before the gun goes off, where are you? You are in the blocks! You take your time getting adjusted to where you need to be, you get in and out until you are set. Why do they do this? Because the race is won in the blocks. It is where it all happens. You don't want to stick to the block. You want to be off the block! But how you position yourself on the block, determines the mark or point of origin. We know the one that presides over the event, says, "On your mark!" How many Christians are on their mark? I'm not asking how you feel. Are you asking yourself how are you spending your time lately? Is it serving Jesus or serving yourself? Are you taking time to spend time in church fellow shipping and worshiping with other believers or doing things you want to do? We should be spending our time here, rehearsing for heaven. We don't want to spend our time wondering what to do in heaven, practice now! Right now, we need to be asking ourselves honestly, "Is Christ the object of your affection?"

Doesn't the Bible tell us that we need to be ready? Are you on your mark? Keep Jesus as the target of your life. There are a lot of people in assumed titles that are exalting themselves over Jesus.They love the benefits and power that come from being in that position. Keep Him ever before You, not some man. It's Jesus. He is the only one.