In a world of noise and uncertainty, IG is the investment platform that backs you. Take a flexible stock size, which gives you the freedom to withdraw funds any time and replace them in the same tax year, all without losing your £20,000 tax-free allowance. And if that's not enough, pay no commission on your stock shares and ETFs when you invest with IG. IG. Trade. Invest. Progress. Your capital's at risk. Other fees may apply. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and a subject to change. What does the Christian of today look like? And what should the Christian of today look like? These are two very different questions, which can have two very different answers depending on who you ask. Now, the Bible says in 1 Peter 2, verse 21, To this you were called because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. Listen to this closely, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. I believe that this is true Christianity, following the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ left heaven for earth to die for our sins. He put the church before himself. He obeyed God's will. He lived the life of purpose, a purpose that can be summed up with his words in Luke 22, verse 42, which says, Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done. When we get to such a place, this is what I believe to be true Christianity. Now, I would like to encourage you to take the following steps so that you can make sure you are marching forward and living a life that pleases the Lord. To begin with, we all need to live lives where God is first. You and I need to live a life that places God above everything, place God before everything. The Amplified Translation for Luke 9, verse 23 says, And he was saying to them all, If anyone wishes to follow me as my disciple, he must deny himself, set aside selfish interests, and take up his cross daily, expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come and follow me, believing in me, conforming to my example in living, and if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in me. This reminds me of the song that says, Jesus in the morning, Jesus in the noontime, Jesus when the sun goes down. And to me, this means living a life where you are completely consumed by the Lord's presence, by his word, by the Holy Spirit. And no, it doesn't mean you neglect your day-to-day responsibilities because you're praying 24-7. No, it simply means that your mind is constantly fixed on Jesus Christ. You're either quietly meditating on a verse as you are making breakfast, or you're worshiping and praising as you are driving. Whatever it is, have the presence of mind to ask yourself, Am I connected to the Lord? Am I glorifying the Lord? Now, the phrase, Put God first has become very popular in this day and age, but in practical terms, what does it mean? Well, when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he answered in Matthew 22, verse 37. Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. This says to me that your love for Jesus Christ supersedes everything. It's a love that prioritizes the Lord. God first really means God first. Now, another point that I'd like to highlight about a real follower of Jesus Christ is that they fear the Lord. And to fear God isn't to say that you're terrified of him. No. To fear God is to realize who he is, how big he is, how mighty and all powerful he is. And this leads you to have a deep respect, reverence and awe for God's power in authority. Proverbs chapter one, verse seven says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. The fear of God is what motivates godly behavior. The fear of God leads one to repent and pursue a holy life. The fear of God keeps you on the straight and narrow. When you fear God, you do not take sin lightly because you know that God is holy and pure, and he does not tolerate unrighteousness and impurity. Further traits of a real follower of Jesus Christ are that they serve wholeheartedly. All they do is to the glory of God. First Corinthians 10, verse 31 says, So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. I encourage you to do all that you can in God's kingdom, but do it to bring glory to him and not for yourself. Serve for the glory of Jesus Christ. Serve so that unbelievers and those who are lost may see the goodness of God through you. Serve with pure intentions. Serve with godly intentions. A lot of us need to be obedient to Galatians 5, verse 13, which says, For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. When you serve for the glory of God, this I believe is when you are truly imitating Christ. Now, my final point is closely linked to this matter of serving. A true follower of Jesus Christ is humble, and humility doesn't mean you allow yourself to be used and abused. It simply means you don't think more highly of yourself than you want to, and you don't think any less of others than you want to. And to be honest, this is a matter that's all to do with pride. Pride says, I can do this on my own. Pride says, I am self-made. I am successful, and I did it because I worked hard. Pride says, look at me. Look what I have done. However, humility says, in my weakness, God's strength is made perfect. Humility says, God will give me strength. God will renew my strength. I believe I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Do you see the difference? Pride says, look at me. But humility says, look at Christ. Pride says, look at what I have done. But humility says, look at what the Lord has done. James 4, 6, but he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. You find favor in being humble. You find blessings in being humble. So I encourage you to be someone who puts God first. Whether it's day or night, come rain or sunshine, put God first. Be someone who lives with the fear of the Lord in their life. Revere and honor our Lord Jesus Christ always. And finally, be humble. Always be humble in everything you do. Seek to serve others all for the glory of God. Have you ever known someone who could be labeled a glory hog? This is a person who is always seeking praise, glory, and recognition, even for things they didn't do or played a very small part in doing. They have a compulsive need to be recognized and acknowledged. They will spin every situation into showcasing their greatness or their contribution. These aren't fun people to be around. They suck the energy and the attention to them, and they feel the need to tell everybody in the room about their worth. This is not the way of the believer. As believers, our aim should be to glorify God and God alone. Repeatedly, Jesus tells his disciples and us that those who receive glory and honor in this life have received their rewards and will receive no reward in the kingdom. Jesus tells us that the greatest among us will be a servant. He tells us not to seek the places of honor and status. He tells us that the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Why is it then that we still participate in idol worship? Too often, we place too much weight on the individual God uses rather than God himself. Now, to some extent, this is the human way. We need heroes, examples, people to look up to. Celebrity in superhero culture has created a sense of longing where we feel like we want to be like this person or that person. And the sad reality is that we have even done this with Bible characters. We have spiritual superheroes. We think of some of these characters as giants of faith and celebrate them for what they did. But how many of us know that it was not them, it was God. These people didn't have power. God had power. They had no authority. God was the one and is the one who has all authority. The superhero of the Bible is Jesus Christ. The Bible is his story and no one else's. Yes, there were others used by God, but no one else should be glorified but the Lord. These people didn't do anything except say yes to God's call. In fact, most of them had to be dragged into following God's call, kicking and screaming. Think of Jonah. Think of Moses who made so many excuses not to answer God's call to take on Pharaoh. Now, it's not a bad thing to have favorite Bible characters, but we must recognize that these men and women didn't do anything of their own power. It was only through God that they were able to accomplish mighty things. Let's look at a few examples. Who are some favorite Bible heroes? How about David, the little shepherd boy who slays a giant, becomes a great warrior and eventually becomes king of Israel? What a story. We all see ourselves in David's story. We all want to believe that we would have the courage to slay Goliath. We all want to believe that we would be like David, who stood up for God's name and honor. We like to see ourselves as David standing up to Saul and his army. But the truth is that David did not achieve the victory over Goliath, but God gave him the victory. The truth is that God put enough power behind that stone and he directed it to just the right margin between Goliath's helmet and took him out. The victory was God's, not David's. So who is the real hero of the story? God. Let's take another one. How about Gideon, that mighty man of Valor who defeated a Midianite army of thousands with only 300 men? Did Gideon achieve that victory? No. Gideon didn't even want to go. Gideon didn't even believe God when God told him he would give him the victory. Gideon cowered in a cave and demanded that God give him signs in order to prove that God would help him. Then when he finally agreed to do it, he amassed an army of 32,000 men. God told Gideon that was too many. If Gideon had achieved victory with that army, they would think they accomplished the victory and not God. So God told Gideon to tell anyone who was scared to go home and 22,000 people went home. Then with 10,000 left, God tells him it's still too many. Finally, Gideon's men were whittled down to just 300 men versus an army of thousands, and God achieved the victory with the 300 barely lifting a finger. Do you remember Joshua? Do you remember how God gave him and the Israelites the victory over the massive city of Jericho with just marching and shouting? They didn't lift a finger. Is that victory, Joshua's? No. That victory is God's. Let's give credit where credit is due. Let's give honor where honor is due. And all the glory belongs to the Lord. Don't praise David. Praise God. Don't praise Gideon. Praise the Lord. I would even go as far as saying, don't see yourself as David going up against Goliath. You are not the hero. Don't see yourself as Daniel in the lion's den. You are not the hero. See yourself as someone who is at the mercy of the Lord. See yourself as a witness to the power of the Lord. Ultimately, this isn't about over-glorifying Bible characters. It's about over-glorifying ourselves and our leaders. How many pastors have fallen under the weight of the expectations and celebrity we have placed around them? How many church leaders have buckled under the pressure? How many politicians or celebrities have turned to lewd sexuality, drugs and alcohol in order to cope with the pressure of being in the public eye and constantly glorified? What's the connection? The connection is that human beings are not made to handle that kind of glory. We can't take it. It is detrimental to our souls and our very beings. That type of worship and glory is meant for God and God alone. We must not fall into the trap of glorifying the vessel over the one who made the vessel. We must never glorify the one who was used, but rather the one who did the using. God is the giver of victory. God is the giver of life. God is the giver of all good things. And He alone is worthy of the glory. He alone is worthy of the honor. He alone is worthy of the praise. Who else but God? Who else but God? Let us take stock today of what credit or glory we are hogging for ourselves. What are we taking credit for that belongs to God? Let us also examine who we are glorifying when we should be glorifying God. Are we idolizing a pastor or church leader, a politician or celebrity? Let us let go of our idols and remember that it is God and God alone that deserves all of the glory, all of the honor, and all of the praise in our lives.
