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The earliest revival experience I can remember occurred when I was a small boy growing up in a town very much like Stanfield. My family and I attended the local United Methodist Church. I remember one of my favorite times at that church were the strawberry socials. Whenever strawberries were ready for picking, our church would always have a strawberry and home-made ice cream social. It was wonderful! It was there in that church that I had my first revival experience.

I was walking up the center aisle to go home with my parents when the man who was preaching the revival stopped me. To me he seemed like a giant of a man. I was in fact intimidated by his very presence in "my space." When he spoke to me I became very frightened. "Young man? Are YOU a Christian?" My response was totally indicative of my lack of understanding of what it truly means to be a Christian. "No sir. But next year I will be twelve years old and then I’ll be old enough to join the church and THEN I’ll be a Christian!" What’s even more puzzling is the revivalist’s answer. He patted me on my head and smiled as he said

"Okay young man. That’s great!"

One of the greatest problems I see in the Church and our world today is a misconstrued understanding of what it means to be a Christian.

Some people equate Christianity with church membership. If we took a survey and went from place to place asking one question, "How do you know that you are a Christian?" the answers we’d get would be diverse to say the least.

There would be those whose thinking is much like that of an eleven-year-old. "I know I’m a Christian because I belong to First ABC Church."

There would also be another answer. Once my family and I moved to North Carolina we began the search for a new church. When we visited the local Baptist church, the pastor never asked us if we were Christians, but rather had we ever been baptized by immersion.

There are many people who equate Christianity with baptism. I have a very dear friend with whom I had a very serious conversation about the subject of Baptism. He told me "Ray, I truly believe the moment I Baptize someone they become a Christian." We love each other enough to agree to disagree. There are many people who truly believe that Christianity is acquired through the ordinance of Baptism.

But what IS REAL Christianity?

One of the hottest trends among Christian people lately is the WWJD craze. You see it everywhere. WWJD apparel is hot! I even wore the bracelet this morning just in case some of you haven’t seen it. WWJD. It is an acronym for What Would Jesus Do? The problem I have with the WWJD apparel is that while it poses the question of what would Jesus do, many people who wear the stuff have no earthly idea of what Jesus would do. Peter had no idea of what Jesus HAD to do.

Christianity is not about church membership. It’s not about the ordinance of Baptism. Christianity and all about relationship and lifestyle. The only person having the right to call their self a Christian is the individual who has an intimate relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life.

What is Real Christianity? It begins with the acceptance of God’s forgiveness and salvation by inviting Jesus into our life.

Another problem that I see in the Church and the World today is the lack of spiritual growth and commitment in the lives of the people of God.

In our Scripture lesson this morning Jesus announces that he must suffer, die, and be raised. Peter rejects this. It’s interesting that Jesus had such an open relationship with his disciples that Peter, at least, felt free to disagree. But Jesus stands his ground. In the space of a mere three Bible verses, Peter plummets from rock to block. He goes from foundation to obstacle, from founder to flounderer.

Jesus openly and quickly rebukes Peter! Peter didn’t even have a grip on what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus yet alone a Christian.

To be a Christian means that we not only have that intimate relationship with Jesus as Savior of our lives but it also involves committing ourselves to growing up in Jesus and becoming more like Him every day!

Of Jesus John the Baptizer said: "He must increase and I must decrease." (John 3:30 NRSV)

The Apostle Paul wrote the church of Ephesus:

"we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love." (Ephesians 4:15-16 NRSV)

Christianity is a life in the midst of production. As Christians we are never at the stage of being all we should be. Our lives are to be involved in a process of Spiritual Growth. A life that grows closer to Jesus everyday. A life that is gradually becoming conformed not to appear like the World, but like Jesus.

In a chapter about rethinking discipleship James Emery White states:

Some of you may rememebr comedian Yakov Smirnoff. He said when he first came to the United States from Russia, he wasn't prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, "On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk--you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice--you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to my self, What a country!"

One of the most basic assumptions made about life change is that it happens instantly at salvation. According to this belief, when someone gives his or her life to Christ, there is an immediate, substantive, in-depth, miraculous change in habits, attitudes, and character. As a result disciples are born not made.

. . .The question for rethinking discipleship is this: Are these assumptions valid? If they are, then working this formula in the life of the church should consistently give the same result: a new community of people who are becoming increasingly like Jesus in their life and thought. If that is not the answer a church gets when it works the equation, then it needs to rethink whether the formula is sound.

Unfortunately, many churches are not getting the correct answer. In fact, a Search Institute study has found that only 11 percent of churchgoing teenagers have a well-developed faith, rising to only 32 percent for churchgoing adults.

A Christian is someone who is called to commit his or herself totally to Jesus. Even if that commitment causes some discomfort in our lives. We have to lose our old lives to find our new life in Jesus. He has said:

"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it."

Jesus also has said: "And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, 'The old is good." (Luke 5:39 NRSV)

This morning as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Paul writes:

"Let us Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed."

As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper we celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We are reminded of His sacrifice for us. He gave His life that we might receive life.

He gave His all for us. Christianity is about giving our all for Him. Christianity is about living a life that is acceptable to Him. Becoming a new creation in Jesus. It is so awesome to know how Jesus can your life and mine and make it something totally new.

Someone sent me this last week and it fits in here perfectly:

I asked God to take away my pain. God said, No...
It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up...

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. God said, No...
Her spirit was whole, her body was only temporary...

I asked God to grant me patience. God said, No...
Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn't granted, it is earned...

I asked God to give me happiness. God said, No...
I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you...

I asked God to spare me pain. God said, No...
Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me...

I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, No...
You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful...

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. God said, No...
I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things...

I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as he loves me. God said...Ahhhh, finally you have the idea...

Peter had no idea what it meant to be a disciple. Many people today have no idea what it means to be a Christian. It’s about everything we have heard this morning. So what about you this morning? Have you Accepted Jesus as Savior? Do we have an intimate relationship with Jesus? Are we involved in a continual process of Spiritual Growth? Are we sharing the Love of Jesus with others?

As we prepare to participate in the ordinace of the Lord’s Supper let us closely conduct an introspection of our lives and examine our relationship with Jesus and pray that God’s Holy Spirit will motivate us to a higher level of commitment to Him.

For after all there is nothing - NOTHING in this life worth losing your soul!

Amen.

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