Psalm 2:1-12  (NIV)

¹ Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?  ² The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.  ³ “Let us break their chains,” they say, “and throw off their fetters.”

⁴ The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.  ⁵ Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, ⁶ “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

⁷ I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.  ⁸ Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.  ⁹ You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

¹⁰ Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.  ¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.  ¹² Kiss his Son, lest he will be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.  Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Acts 4:23-37 (NIV)

²³ On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.  ²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.  “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.  ²⁵ You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain?  The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’

²⁷ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you appointed.  ²⁸ They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.  ²⁹ Now Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.  ³⁰ Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

³² All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.  ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them.  For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostle’s feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

³⁶ Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabus (which means “son of encouragement”), ³⁷ sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostle’s feet.

What does it actually mean to be a follower of Jesus?  It would be helpful to have signs or marks of being a follower of Jesus.

Jesus points out that demons believe that Jesus is God, demons seem to have a good group on doctrine, but that doesn’t make them Christians.

5 signs or marks of a real Christian:

1)      Serving God consistently

2)      Christians know God

3)      Your personal relationship with God involves give and take conversations; both talking and listening to God.

4)      We experience God periodically

5)      Exhibiting God’s generosity. 

1) Serving God consistently, following Jesus will become service.  The Christian will serve through suffering.

Job’s life was attacked by Satan.  The real questions Satan and God were interested in figuring out was if Job would be God’s servant if everything was taken from Job?

Satan and God were using the suffering to refine, to purify Job.

Satan wanted to pull Job away from God.  God wanted the suffering to drive Job toward Him (God).  God accepts Job’s repentance and blesses him.

Real servants of God serve Him because He is God.  I hope we want to follow God because of all that He has already done for us:  He loves us, He offered us eternal life through Christ, He promised to shape us and to be with us throughout our life.

The early Christians prayed about what they should do in the face of suffering, they prayed for courage to keep following Christ.

Through all of our ups and downs we are to be serving God constantly.  Real followers of Jesus will follow Him through thick or thin.

2) Christians know God.

John 17:3  Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Many people believe there is a God, believe in the biblical creeds, yet missed that Jesus died for them.  Someone said God has children, but no grandchildren.  Your faith cannot go through someone else.

3) Your personal relationship with God involves give and take conversations, both talking and listening to God.

The Bible is God’s Word to us in a special way.  It is the story of humanity’s walk with God and God revealing Himself to His people – us.

Are we listening to God when we read or hear the Word of God?

True prayer is listening to God.

The Scripture given to us is an understanding of how God has revealed Himself to us and how we know about ourselves and Him.

In the New Testament reading today the Christians were scared, they prayed for boldness even in the face of fear.

In Psalm 2, David is crying out about the world is against God and him (David a servant of God).  The Psalm is about the world raging against God and His people.

God is in control in the world, in spite of what is going on in the world.  Pray to God to help me/us clearly in what they already know, God is in control.  Help us to live in the light of God being in control, even when we feel out of control.

We are to talk to God as He is, until we become bold.  We need God centered prayer, we are to serve God consistently through suffering, and we will know God personally, through His word and our communications with Him.

4) We are to experience God periodically.

Peter was getting grilled by the Jewish leadership, he was also filled with the Spirit.

John 16 talks about the coming of the Father, the Spirit.  Jesus says the Spirit will take things Jesus taught and make it real to the believer.

John 14:26  Jesus said… But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

The Holy Spirit helps us see Jesus again, full of gratitude and courage because of God’s love for us.

The Spirit comes and goes and comes again, this means the Christian’s interior work, that Jesus and the Holy Spirit is carrying on inside of us.

The Holy Spirit shows us what is possible and what is available to us through Christ.  The Holy Spirit is comforting and challenging.

5) Exhibiting God’s generosity.  The main reason we are less generous is fear.  We fear giving away too much so there won’t be enough left for me.  However, when God is real, our security lies with Him rather than the amount of money we have.

Proverbs 14:31  Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.

God and money are opposite in many ways; when God is less real, money becomes more real; and the opposite is true.  When God is more real to us, money is less real.

These five marks of Christians come about because the disciples were shaken.  They prayed, they were shaken and filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly.

Shaking occurs quite a bit in the Bible when God is present.  (Ten Commandments, earthquake when Jesus dies, when the stone is rolled away and others.)

The earthquakes are related to God’s glory, His presence, and that death itself is cracking under the weight of the glory of God.

Jesus took on death and punishment so that we could live in freedom of having these sins already paid for.

The people who follow Jesus, He has already guaranteed an unshakable future with Him forever.  This made the people of the Bible and us hopeful, bold, and unshakeable.

God bless you.  God is working in your life.  Think about the five marks of a Christian.  Call me, let’s talk, I am present to come alongside you when the world is shaking; we can shake together as Christ grows our faith.