Profession Without
Possession
I want to share with
you one simple, but very important Bible verse:
They profess to know God, but by
their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and
disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
Titus 1:16
This is what is
called Profession Without Possession.
You see, we are living in a day when almost
everyone claims to be a Christian. As a matter
of fact, most research shows that almost 82% of
America claims to be a Christian. So
we can easily say that almost everyone claims to
know Jesus as their Lord.....but when you view
their lifestyle, when we see how they act, it
says something totally different!
Now, what do I mean
by Professor?
(1) One who claims
to be saved!
(2) One who claims
to know Jesus!
(3) One who claims
to have a relationship with God!
But they do not
possess salvation! Profession Without
Possession.
Paul tells us that
these people were professing to know Christ, but
by the way they lived, they were actually
denying him! In other words, their walk did not
match their talk! I'll say it again, we live in
a day, we live in a nation where 82% of the
people are claiming to be Christian...but by the
way they live and walk, they deny Jesus!
If a person can live
and have an immoral relationship with no real
conviction, and claim to know Jesus, then they
are a professor, not a possessor. If a person
can miss church regularly, with no problem, they
are a professor, not a possessor.
King David said, "I
was glad when they said to me, let us go to the
house of the Lord." David goes on to say that
he wanted to dwell in the house of the Lord
forever! Brothers and sisters, the Word of God
says to examine ourselves daily!
Now, if right at this
very minute your thinking this message is not
for you, don't be fooled! That is a trick of
the devil. This is for all of us. We all need
to examine ourselves! So many claim to be a
Christian, so many claim to know Jesus Christ,
but there is no change in their life! II Cor.
5:17 says If anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creature, the old things passed away,
behold, new things have come/
I am not
talking about instant maturity, but there should
be some change! Change in the way you live.
You will not go to the same places, do the same
things, or say the same things. There will also
be a change in the way your look! Remember the
man possessed by a legion of demons in the
Bible? At one point, this man had been cutting
himself with stones and he wore no clothes.
Satan had stripped him of everything. But then
Jesus showed up! And the Bible says this man
was saved, found clothed, and in his right mind
sitting at his Saviors feet. There will be a
definite change! Neighbors will notice! Ladies
will actually look like ladies, men will
actually look like men. People will simply
notice a difference.
If you truly possess
Jesus Christ, there will also be love. If you
are a real believer, you will love the people of
God. If you still run with the same crowd that
you did before you supposedly got
saved, you are just a professor, and not a
possessor! A cat will not run with the dogs! A
possessor of Christ will not be running around
with the devil and his crowd.
A person that truly
possesses Jesus will be full of hope! There are
probably many of you reading this that at the
very thought of Jesus Christ coming again gives
you an uneasy feeling and I have to say that
scares me. I look forward to the day I can see
my Jesus face to face. Professors have no
hope! Why? Because their actually lost! If
you truly possess Jesus, you can not help being
full of hope!
The last thing I want
to share with you is this; if you are only a
professor and not a possessor of Jesus, YOU
ARE UNCLEAN! In John 13:11, Jesus sat with
His disciples and said, Not all of you are
clean. I wonder what went through their
minds when Jesus said that? But what about
today? What if Jesus came to you right now, at
your house, your work, your church, and he looks
at you and each of your family
members......would Jesus, the King of Kings and
Lord of Lords, say, "not all of your are
clean?" Jesus says there is a way that
seems right, but in the end, it leads to death.
A possessor will
spend eternity with Jesus!
A professor will
spend eternity away from Jesus!
Which do you want?
As for me and my house, we choose to serve Jesus
Until the nets are
full,
Pastor Mark Kiser
