RADIO SERMON PART ONE..REAL OR FAKE?

This is part of a message I preached on the radio in 1994. The other day, I was picking up pecans. I picked up one pecan that was especially beautiful...the shell was perfect, the coloring was great..it was so pretty. I decided to crack it open and eat it. Imagine my disappointment when I cracked that beautiful (on the outside) pecan open and there was nothing inside but a little rotten kernel. A few days before, I heard a man talking about a 45 year old Vietnam veteran that lived in a small town in the Midwest. Seems like he was a war hero. he had medals all over his uniform..in fact, at ceremonies, they would call on him to speak. Some of the older veterans became suspicious of him, and did some checking on his background. They found out he had never joined the Army! The pecan I cracked and the Vietnam war hero had two things in common...they were beautiful on the outside, but were rotten on the inside...both were fakes. There are many "Christians" or "Church goers" who fall in the same category. They look real, act real, but have never accepted Jesus in their heart. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. Are you a real Christian or are you a fake? Irvin L. Rozier