CSI: Critical Spiritual Investigation
What Evidence Are You Leaving Behind As A Follower of Christ?
INTRO:
- ILLUS: William A Hamm, Jr., was leaving his office in Minneapolis on a summer evening in 1933 when he was grabbed by four men and shoved into a car. That kidnapping was solved a few months later . The Hamm case used a “forensic first” – a technique that is commonly used by crime scene investigators: Latent Fingerprint Identification.
o This mob sent a ransom note for $100,000 dollars that they demanded for William Hamm (they thought it was a perfect crime)
o But F.B.I. investigators discovered that each fingerprint contains perspiration and using a special silver nitrate solution – the fingerprint stains on the ransom note reacted chemically to that solution and became visible to the naked eye.
o Voila! The fingerprints stood out clearly and that mob was arrested.
- Today, our crime scene investigation goes way beyond fingerprints.
o We have CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) which can analyze DNA left behind at a crime scene.
o We have FLIR (Forward Looking Infared Sensors)
o We have SLIP (Shoewear Linking and Identification Program) which can identify shoe prints left at crime scenes.
- The Association for Crime Scene Reconstruction says that Crime Scene Investigation is “the use of science, physical evidence, and reasoning to gain knowledge of the series of events that led to a crime.”
- And what is EVIDENCE?
o The Dictionary says that “evidence” is anything helpful in forming a conclusion or evidence; it is something indicative; it is an outward sign.”
- So today, we’re going to use the principles of modern Crime Scene Investigation to become CSI experts ourselves – only we’ll be studying a “Critical Spiritual Investigation.”
- HERE’S WHAT I WANT US TO DISCOVER: If you were accused and on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
- When someone is called on to serve as a witness in court: there are only 2 things that a witness is asked to recount – what they have seen and what they have heard (They’re not asked to give their opinion as to what they think.)
- The Apostle John declared that he wrote only what any honest witness would write…
o I John 1:1-3 says that he wrote: “What he had seen and heard concerning Christ.”
- SO…what would someone write about you if they were doing a Critical Spiritual Investigation of your life?
o What are our words and our lives communicating about the faith that we say we have?
o Are we “guilty” of being truly committed followers of Christ?
- PROPOSITION: Every Christian ought to be leaving behind four kinds of evidence as you move through this life on a daily basis:
I. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
- If someone followed you around for a week, where would they find themselves?
o In church on Sunday mornings?
o How about Sunday night or at other regularly scheduled times?
- Would they follow you anywhere which would make them wonder whether Christ was truly your highest priority in life?
- READ – Ephesians 4:17-21 (NLT)
- This Physical Evidence speaks of being an example
o I Timothy 4:12 12Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
o Circle that word “EXAMPLE” – it means a pattern; a model; something to be copied or followed.”
o 1 Cor 11:1, Paul said, "Imitate me, just as I also IMITATE Christ."
o Could you say that by the way that you have lived this week?
o We need to be trendsetters in making ourselves godly examples.
o James Thom said, “If you try to improve one person by being a good example, you’re improving two. If you try to improve someone without being a good example, you won’t improve anybody.”
- We need to be practicing a lifestyle that is substantially different from our neighbor who doesn’t even know the Lord!
o If someone were to follow you around for a week and then follow your lost neighbor around for a week – would they be able to tell a difference in how you live?
o They might see a difference in the potency of what’s in the fridge (He had six-pack of Budweiser / You have a Diet Pepsi)
o They might see a difference in the kind of movies in your entertainment center (He has a lot of vulgar and sexually-provocative R rated movies / You have some PG-13’s)
o They might see on Sunday morning, (You have on a tie or a skirt / but they have on a golf shirt)
o They might see that you are putting a Bible in your car, but he is putting in golf clubs.
- IS THAT ALL THE DIFFERENCE THAT MAKES YOU SEPARATE FROM THE WORLD?
- Satan tricks many people today by making them think they will become a religious fanatic if they live a holy life.
o They want to see how close to the world they can live.
o EX: They do not necessarily want to drink, but they will go to a pub, sit with their friends, and sip ginger ale so no one will know the difference.
o Why can’t they just go ahead and be holy?
o Why don’t they just take a stand for Jesus Christ?
II. BEHAVIORAL EVIDENCE
- If a “Profiler” were to study the psychological and spiritual motivations for why you do what you do, how accurately could he predict where you might “strike” next?
- Because Christians should be controlled by the mind of Christ – A Christian’s behavior ought to be a reflection of Jesus.
- READ: Ephesians 4:22-24 NLT
- Your behavior is controlled by one of 3 factors: The Crowd around you, the Circumstances surrounding you, or the Character within you.
- The way you see your life shapes your life and when you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.
- 2 Cor. 3:2, “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
- POEM: You are writing a Gospel, a chapter each day, by the deeds that you do and the words that you say, men read what you write – distorted or true, what is the Gospel according to you?
- Lost men don’t read the Bible – They read the people who read the Bible.
- Patrick Morley in his book, I Surrender writes that “The church’s biggest problem is a misconception that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior…it is revival without reformation and repentance.”
- We need to start acting like we’re saved.
o We need to demonstrate that we are a follower of the Lord Jesus – that we are living for Him!
o You can tell if people are saved or not by they way they act – people’s actions are the fruits (“evidences”) that the faith they say they have is real.
o The only way that I can show you that I love God is by what I reveal on the outside (through my behavior).
- We need to have our behavior controlled by the character within us.
o Character is what you are in private when there is no one around to impress.
You might say that it is the real you.
o Will Rogers once said, "So live that you would not mind selling your pet parrot to the town gossip."
- ILLUS: A good looking society woman was invited to an expensive fund-raising dinner in New York City. She was seated next to a wealthy lawyer. During the meal, they had a chance to get to know each other and were having a good time. When the meal was finished, the lawyer leaned over and asked the woman if she would go to be with him for $10,000. The woman blushed but she said that she would. Then the man asked her if she would go to bed with him for $10. The woman was shocked and said, “What kind of woman do you think I am?” The man responded, “My dear, we have already established that. Now we are merely deciding on the price.”
o What’s your price?
o What would it take for you to sell out to sin?
III. TESTIMONIAL EVIDENCE
- READ – Ephesians 4:25; 29
- If your conversations were recorded for a few days, what would your words reveal about you and your testimony?
o Would they be characterized as words of grace, encouragement?
o Or would there be any gossip or judgmental attitudes towards other people.
o The word “CHRISTIAN” = “Christ like ones.”
To call yourself a Christian is to say “I am living my life after the pattern of Christ.”
o When you got saved – He has placed not only His Spirit within you but also His name upon you.
o Don’t ever say anything that would degrade the name of Christ because people are listening!
o ILLUS: A Sunday School teacher asked her class: “Does anyone know where the Lord lives? One little boy said, “He lives in our bathroom.”
The teacher asked, “Why do you think that?”
Boy said, “Because every morning Daddy goes to the door and says, ‘Good Lord, are you still in there?’”
o Now we laugh at that – but we need to realize that others (outside and inside our own family) can measure our relationship with Jesus Christ by the way we use His name.
o Our words are not only a testimony of WHO we are but of WHOSE we are.
- Would they show how you are sharing your faith with those who don’t know God?
o I wonder how many of us here in this church this morning – your relationship with Jesus Christ is one of your best kept secrets with the people God has placed around you.
o You don’t talk about him with your family members.
You don’t mention what He has done in your life at work.
o You don’t have to be a graduate theologian to share the gospel. (God wants you to be willing to share the story of what He has done in your life with others.)
o He wants us to be witnesses to what we have seen Him do in our lives.
o Jesus told his disciples in John 15:27, “Yu must also tell others about me.”
o The disciples were just ordinary people telling an extraordinary story of how Jesus was working in their lives.
o Your testimony, the way you live your life, is God’s story to your world!
- Would they reveal you speaking the truth in love and giving evidence of your Christian convictions?
o Isn’t it so true…when things are being said at work that we know is wrong – (We know that that thought or idea goes against our Christian convictions) – What do most of us do? WE SAY NOTHING!
o REMEMBER THIS: Your silence can imply consent or endorsement to actions that you actually oppose.
o If you see or hear something wrong and YOU DON’T SPEAK UP – people will have every right to interpret your silence as approval!
- Your testimony is more than what you say – it is what you do
It is more than just your talk – it is your walk.
- ILLUS: Pastor in CD store. Cashier gave back too much change. She said, “I know…I was in your church Sunday and I just wanted to see if this “testimony” that you say you have is the real thing.”
IV. FINGERPRINT EVIDENCE
- Just how criminals leave a legacy of fingerprints behind which indicates their presence at a crime scene – so a Christian’s legacy becomes a type of fingerprint evidence of his life’s impact.
- Today the F.B.I.’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System electronically stores millions of known fingerprints.
o EVERYONE LOOK AT YOUR OWN FINGERPRINT: Nobody else in this world has a print like yours – (you know what that tells me)
God has created you to be unique and special in your own way.
o And in this world of 6 billion people, every person leaves behind his/her own unique mark.
- There is another sense in which we leave our mark – every one of us leaves our fingerprints on the lives of other people
(Parents/Grandparents especially on the lives of your children)
- READ Ephesians 4:30-5:2
o We don’t stay on this earth forever, but after we are gone – our imprint remains (good or bad).
o It is by God’s divine plan that we pass by people on a daily basis and God desires that we leave (not just our mark) but His mark/fingerprint on their life.
o But what happens? Most of the time we are too busy to the point that we neglect the opportunities God has laid out for us.
- Paul J. Meyer said, “Everyone leaves a legacy, whether you have children or not. We all influence the people we encounter. If we want to leave a godly legacy, we will need live for God’s glory, teach God’s ways, and confess our sins.”
- ILLUS: One of the most vivid examples is John Geddie, a missionary to the New Hebrides. He found a tribe of cannibals. Violence, theft, warfare was common. After he died, a commemorative tablet in his island church read: “In memory of John Geddie…when he landed in 1848, there were no Christians here, and when he left in 1872, there were no heathen.”
o You and I may not be responsible for converting an entire island – but how is your world going to be different by you living a faithful life.
- What are some things we can do to leave our fingerprints behind us?
- THE FINGERPRINT OF THE WORD
o Parents, your kids see you spending hours in front of the television but when was the last time your kids saw you pouring over the Word of God?
o ILLUS: Ruth Graham once explained why she had become a lifelong student of Scripture. “Each morning…my father-a busy missionary surgeon in China-would be sitting reading his Bible. At night…my mother would be doing the same. Anything that could so capture the devotion of those I loved the most…must be worth investigating. So at an early age, I began reading my Bible.”
- THE FINGERPRINT OF HONESTY
o To have honesty is to have integrity.
o Did you know…you can tell a lie not just by the words that you say but even by your tone of voice.
o P/T: Getting pulled over for speeding. “I was speeding.”
o It is so important to live an honest life – Your children and those closest to you are quick to pick up on personal inconsistencies.
- THE FINGERPRINT OF PRAYER
o P/T: I am grateful that I have had godly men and deacons who have come up to me and said, “For as long as I live – I am going to lift you up every day in prayer”
o If I can ever do much of anything in the ministry – I know it is mainly because of godly people who have left the imprint of prayer on my life.
- THE FINGERPRINT OF AN ENDURING TESTIMONY
o Paul told Timothy, "The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2).
o ILLUS: George Mueller was a godly man who had prayed for 45 years that his friend might get saved. Imagine praying for someone every day for 45 years. He would share his testimony whenever he could.
Do you want to know when this man gave his heart and life to Christ? At the funeral of George Mueller.
- Is your influence the kind that Christ can use to change the lives of others?
- What kind of imprint are you leaving?
- Are you touching your world for Christ, leaving your mark for all who follow after you to see?
CONCLUSION:
- ILLUS: Drake Robertson funeral this week – It is amazing to see how a 9 and a half year old boy left behind a wonderful legacy. The church was packed out with his classmates. Thursday morning, his classmates wrote little messages about how they will remember Drake they attached them to balloons and released them into the sky.
The preacher at his funeral said something I’ll never forget. He said, “Preachers don’t preach funerals – you preach your own funeral by the way you live.”
- What kind of legacy are you leaving behind? Can people see the evidence of your Christian walk?
- Today, we need to become CSI’s (Critical Spiritual Investigators) discover whether there is enough evidence in our lives to convict us of being genuine Christians.
