 Hey smart Christians welcome back One of the most popular television shows on cable over the last 10 years or so has been the walking dead If you've ever seen it, you'll come to find out that it's not so much about the zombies Or the walkers as they're called it's really more about how they navigate through life And these walkers are kind of just part of the scenery like trees or shrubbery And they have to obviously get around and navigate around them, but there's other issues Affecting them like the rest of us do One of the things that they discovered though One way that they can kind of move around the walkers and and not be bothered by them is if they in this story They take the the guts the the dead blood and so forth as inside them and just cover themselves with it And when they do that it kind of masks them from the walkers wanting to attack them So I want you to kind of get the picture of this They take what's inside the walkers Put it on them on their outside and and when they do that They look like the walkers. They smell like the walkers They walk like the walkers kind of grunting sound like the walkers They move like the walkers in all appearances. They seem just like the walking dead just like the walkers What you'll notice in that is that there is a striking similarity between how Christians today operate in the world today What do we do? We take what some of the world is doing and Try to emulate that we take what's on the inside of some of these celebrities some of these famous people just regular people in general and We cover ourselves with that we walk like them we talk like them we act like them we move like them We go in the same circle and oftentimes it's hard to distinguish between the Christians and those that are in the world a lot of will do this because You don't want to be attacked by the world just like in the walking dead They didn't want to be attacked by the walkers and so they would want to appear like them So they can move around and not be harmed. Well, that presents a problem because this isn't a television show This is the real world with lasting and spiritual implications Paul tells us in Romans chapter 12 do not be conformed to this world But be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern What is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect? The problem is many people have conformed themselves to this world and in most cases Voluntarily and happily many Christians have adopted like the world this kind of live and let live sort of philosophy And you'll hear some of these catchphrases that kind of go along with this this love love love love love I just want to love everyone. I want to I want to be kind. I want to be considered I want to be tolerant of other people. I want to be accepted by the world I don't want any static many people don't want most folks don't want any problems with the world They don't want to be attacked or to be demonized Especially by those close around and all that sounds good And and then you begin to start looking like them and and dressing like them and talking like them and going all the places That they go to or why why would a person who professes to understand What's happening to this world? What is going to be the result of people who don't have faith in Christ who know what God has done For them. Why would you want to go back to that old way or to the way that you know leads to death? Why well for many Because we all struggle other people don't want to be exposed as an hypocrite Maybe a lot of folks are leading a sinful life anyway And so since the lines are of their Godly calling and they'll and and their worldly living have been blurred It's easier than to step back into that and so there's this fear of being exposed as By many as a hypocrite. I see you doing certain things and acting certain ways But you're a Christian and so so I'm not called a hypocrite I'm going to affirm your behavior so that you don't come against me and attack my behavior Because what if they find out about me? What if they find out that I'm that I'm struggling with my with porn or sexuality or I'm I'm not being faithful to my wife or I've got a temper problem. I've got this going on What if they find out about me and they know I'm a Christian and I don't want to be held accountable because see it's gotten to the point that Nobody wants to be a Christian Christian being a Christian has become a pejorative being a Christian has become something that's that's not a good thing even though Most people claim Christianity But they won't claim it in the truest sense in the way that the Bible calls us to be as Christians Because what are Christians to the world? Christians are hypocritical. They are judgmental. They're liars. They're back sabers They're just like us. They think they're holier than now, right? Christianity is outdated. It's not cool. And can we be honest? Come on, bring the camera closer Being worldly and living in sin is exciting It's fun Remember how you were when before you confess Christ how you enjoyed sin how how fun it was for us, right? There's this immediate gratification from sin and worldly living You don't have to worry about the world coming at you. You can kind of be at ease and comfort it And but though there's this immediate gratification and comfort There's also this long-lasting consequence to sin Some of you can testify to what happens because of sinful worldly living You cannot stride off offense and serve to master you cannot be a compromising Christian because in the end They still eat their own Many believers have bought into this Non-offensive style of being a Christian to where I don't want what I believe to affect you And so we've adopted this worldly philosophy But look at what Paul says in Colossians 2 8 he says seek to it that no one takes you captive by Philosophy and into deceit according to human tradition according to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to Christ So there's going to be this philosophy this this way of thinking that is the antithesis the opposite of what the Bible teaches It's always has been that way It always will be that way the world is enemies with God and if you are a Christian That means the world is naturally your enemy now what you want to do What we ought to do is bring more people on our side the goal is not to become more like there It's not like the old saying if you can't beat them join them No, if you can't beat them avoid it if you can't beat them grow your side We are not the on the losing side The world is and what you want to do a love of him as well as a love for man Would want you or compel you to bring people into it? Everyone's not going to come that we know But to give up on it might indicate something about matter of fact not indicate not may indicate But it does indicate something about you. There are those who love this world who understand the truth But love the world too much. They're not going to Commit fully they'll give lip service to this faith, but still their heart is somewhere else You can tell what's in a person by what comes out if you squeeze a lemon what comes out Whatever's on the inside squeeze a sponge whatever that's fun to soaked up That's what's coming out and too often for us as believers or profess believers What comes out is what's in us and all too often it's the world notice some of our So-called Christian celebrities who have decided that they want to be Christian in some cases name only But still advocate the philosophies and the principles of the world You've got here this Christian rapper who wants to be a political advocate for a Democrat candidate who calls himself a pastor who advocates for abortion. I believe that health care is a human right And I believe that it is something that the richest nation in the world provides for its citizens And for me reproductive justice is consistent with my commitment to that I believe unequivocally and a woman's right to choose and that the decision It's something that we you don't want government engaged in Clearly abortion is ungodly and wrong, but here's a person who is Seemingly it's okay abortion is fine as long as we get the right person in Homosexuality is okay as long as you know, I'll kind of live and let live you've got Christian artists or Celebrities who call themselves Christian who advocate for the LGBTQ inclusion and and policies and so forth You've got Christians who also call themselves or who I say professing Christians who live away or act away That's just completely ungodly maybe from the clothes that they wear from the style and so forth things They advocate and it's gotten to the point that even well meaning Christians people who are without question believers Are allowing some of those things to infiltrate us? Look at the way we dress sometimes Think about this you go back 20 30 years the way the way we dress Would be would be considered sinful and ungodly but now because everyone's doing it It's the acceptable thing and so no one wants to go out there and dress like they're in the 80s or the 90s We don't want to dress like we're we're some sort of prude or something like that And so we might dress a little bit more provocatively because hey, that's what the world is doing That's what fashion is saying, but you don't have to you don't have to conform to this world That's the point that Paul is making John says don't love this world if anyone loves this world the love of the father is not in them and so We need to be real careful. Are we really? on the side of the Lord or Are we really just walking around like the walking dead? We've taken on their qualities their characteristics is just so we can make it here on this earth And so a passage that's been misunderstood I'm gonna use this in the correct way in Matthew 10 22 Jesus says this that you will be hated for his sake But he says the enduring ones to the end shall be safe His point is you guys who are enduring you guys that are better fighting off this world you guys you're gonna be saved It's not that if you endure or whoso ever shall do at the end shall be saved the English Kind of muddles it up a little bit, but Jesus's point is you guys that are enduring you'll be saving the end You'll be fine. It's those folks who are compromising who are being more like the world who? Cherish and love this world. You're the ones who're gonna find it Find yourself in trouble because we'll find yourself in danger of literally of hell Hey, man