"Dad, did God hear you when we left the church and you started complaining about the sermon and about the traffic and about the heat?" The father, a little embarrassed that his son had noticed said, "Well, yes, son, He heard me." "Well, Daddy, did God hear you when you just prayed for this food right now?" The father said, "Well, yes, son, He... He...He heard me." "So, Daddy, which one did God believe?" I'd like to ask us a question this morning. What kind of a Christian are you?

1. CHAMELEON CHRISTIAN
       Are you a Chameleon Christian? You know what a chameleon is don't you? It's an animal that likes to change its color depending on what's around. If its surroundings are green, it will change to a green color. If its surroundings are brown it will change to a brown color. A Chameleon Christian is similar. When a Chameleon Christian is around church friends, he acts like a person who goes to church. He prays, he sings songs, and he goes to the church Bible study. However, when he's around his non-Christian friends something very unusual happens. He starts to change. He starts to act like them. If they smoke, he smokes. If they tell bad jokes, he tells bad jokes. If they drink, he drinks. This is a Chameleon Christian; he changes according to his environment or who he's around. If he sees his Christian friends again, he immediately changes back into a Christian again. Maybe you're not a Chameleon Christian.

2. CRISIS CHRISTIAN
       Maybe you're a Crisis Christian. To you, God is someone you talk to when you have some kind of crisis or emergency. Maybe you need a high grade on your college entrance or TOEFL exam so you (or your mother) prays during this time. Or maybe you really want a girlfriend or a boyfriend so you ask God to send you one. Crisis Christians only need God when there is an emergency. The other times they never think about God at all.

3. MOMMA'S BOY CHRISTIAN
       Maybe you're not a Crisis Christian. Maybe you're a Momma's Boy Christian. Momma's Boys only do things because Mom tells them to do it. They only go to church because Mom tells them they must go to church. They have no desire to be at church. They sit in church and think about Starcraft or the cute girl sitting in the seat beside them. Momma's Boy Christians hate going to church and complain about this to all their friends.

4. C.I.A. CHRISTIAN
       Well, maybe you're not a Momma's Boy Christian either. Maybe you're a CIA Christian. CIA Christians don't let anybody know they are Christians or that they go to church. They believe their Christian faith is "Top Secret". So, the question is, "What kind of a Christian are you? Are you a Chameleon Christian? Are you a Crisis Christian? Or are you a Momma's Boy Christian? Maybe you're a CIA Christian."

So, what kind of a Christian are you? Today, if you're a Chameleon Christian or a CIA Christian what can you do to become a real Christian? The Chameleon Christian is always changing his personality depending on who he's around. To his Christian friends he acts one way. To his non-Christian friends he acts another way. The CIA Christian's problem is that his faith is "Top Secret." He doesn't want anyone to know he's a Christian. If you're a Chameleon Christian or a CIA Christian you need to choose whose side you're on. Joshua told the stubborn Israelites this in Joshua 24:15, "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the god your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." If you're a real Christian you can't be a Chameleon Christian. You can't be a CIA Christian. You have to choose whose side you're going to be on. Then, you must follow your choice.

Find a Christian friend to encourage you in the faith. The Bible teaches that Christians need other Christians to help them follow Jesus. Ecclesiastes 4:9,10 says this, "Two people are better than one. They can help each other in everything they do. Suppose someone falls down. Then his friend can help him up. But suppose the man who falls down doesn't have anyone to help him up. Then you should feel sorry for him." Two Christians are better than one because they can help each other when there's a difficult situation or a temptation.

Every week I meet with another Christian brother to talk about our Christian life. In English it's called an accountability partner. We share our's struggles and our problems and we help each other to live a REAL Christian life. We pray for each other and strengthen each other. Christians need other Christians. Whose side are you on? Jesus asks us to follow Him. We have two choices; we can follow Him or we can follow the world.

If you're a Crisis Christian your problem is that you only think about God when there's a crisis or an emergency in your life. "Oh God, I need an A+ on this math test," or "Oh, God, I really want to go to Yonsei University." The Crisis Christian must choose to follow Jesus all the time, everyday. Do you read your Bible daily or even regularly? Do you have a time every day when you learn more about the God you are following? Jesus prayed, "Give us this day our daily bread," not weekly or monthly or yearly bread. The Crisis Christian must choose to eat daily bread.

If you're a "Momma's Boy or Momma's Girl"Christian your problem is that you only follow Jesus because your mom follows Jesus. You don't have your own faith and, really, you'd rather not be in church. Jesus doesn't want you to go to church because you have to. He wants you to go to church because you want to. He wants you to go to church because you can meet Him there and learn more about His love for you there. If you're a Momma's Boy or Momma's Girl Christian today, I'd like to challenge you to make Jesus your Lord and your Savior; not only your mother's Lord and Savior. I challenge you to make your faith real for you. You need to read the Bible every day and you need to apply the Bible to your life.

What kind of a Christian are you today? Are you a REAL Christian? I hope so. But for those of you who are one of the other I want to close with a story that I hope will help you see how dangerous of a position you are in.

When Mahatma Gandhi was attending a university in London, he became almost convinced that the Christian religion was the one true, supernatural religion in the world. After he graduated, and still looking for evidence that would make him a committed Christian, young Gandhi got a job in East Africa for seven months and lived with a Christian family. He was excited to have an opportunity to see how Christians really lived. However, as the months passed and he saw the casualness of their attitude toward the cause of God and heard them complain when they were asked to sacrifice for the kingdom of God; after he sensed their general religious apathy, Gandhi's interest turned to disappointment. He said in his heart, "No, it is not the one true, supernatural religion I had hoped to find. A good religion, but just one more of the many religions in the world." You see, the world's watching us. Your neighbors and friends see you coming to church and going to the meetings for college students. Is your faith REAL? Are you a REAL Christian?

by Denny Smith
LINKS TO . . . Other Bible Messages Genesis Esther Daniel Philippians James Complete Discipleship Topics