Standing Out by Faith

     We All feel the need to be accepted. There is one thing that most people do not realize when they step inside a church. That thing is the probability of standing out. Now if you are a non Christian that just likes church for the atmosphere, this message isn't for you. In reality, there are a lot of people in church that just love to hear the choir and see what the people are wearing. Maybe they have no life or maybe they are trying to be in a better environment but are not willing to be a participant These people are called the congregation. However, if you are a person who has been stained and bruised in iniquity, covered in the blood through your belief, and born again; you no doubt stand out.

     Does this make you better than other Christians? No. Does this mean that your walk is significantly different that any other Christian? No. What this means is the other billions of people in the world now have higher standards for you. I'll give you a second. See some weren't ready for that reality. But they have higher standards for you. Higher than you have for yourself. I know you're like whaa? See what happens when you walk in those doors is that they see that you are going to a building where people go to become more like Christ. Since at least half the population of the entire world have gone to church at some point in their life and heard about this great man, they know that if you are going to church, over and over, to be more like Him, that you should be changing every single time. To them, at some point, you should master this skill. Instead, what most Christians do is go to continually here the same exact lessons. 

     A powerful woman today gave the example of what we call growing children who do not grow mentally. Can anyone guess? You got it, retarded. Slow. So what do you think non-Christians see you as? A member that has been in church longer than most people have been in school, still struggling with the same lessons. Still saying, "God knows my heart." Going just to be accounted for among the crowd to later be referred to as powerful. They see you as spiritually retarded. Doing exactly what they are doing. The same thing for years. You are getting the same results just like they are, so what encourages them to want to go to church. Must not be real. Wrong. It doesn't seem real to them because your standards of being a Christian is a fraction of what theirs is. 

     Now some may confuse judgment with standards. Judging someone is, say for instance you slipped and cursed, and someone else tells you that you're so sinful and you're going to hell. Standards is when a non Christian sees a Christian in a dark corner somewhere doing wrong, and they just shakes their heads and moves on. In both instances, the guilty usually goes and buys vehicle plates, stickers, and tattoos saying Only God Can Judge Me. How silly. Anyone can judge you but that doesn't mean that everyone has. Most probably just saw you and thought, Christians are suppose to be better than that. That's not judgment, that’s standards. Think it’s the same thing, try dating without any of them. It'll be a whole lot harder than you think. 

     So what does all this mean? No matter where you go and who you are, if you are a believer in anything, you stand out! People may not always look up to you, but they look at you. If you are not producing any fruit or getting better in life, chances are that you have hindered someone else's growth without even knowing it. Too often Christians believe that they must study the bible for years to learn nothing only because of their ability to repent. They go to do the same things in church with the same amount of faith, and the same amount of effort. These I'll do it tomorrow attitudes lead us to years of playing catch up. 

     So now the question is where are your standards of faith? What are your standards of being a seasoned Christian compared to a babe in Christ? How much like Jesus are you if non believers believe more in the power of your tongue than you do? Do you need to increase your faith? Do you need to spend more time praying and reading to find out who you are in God? All things are possible for them that believe. If you're a believer, you stand out. Now it's time to give them something to see.