Vic Rossi
As our title implies, we need to get real about being a follower of Jesus. To live for Jesus is to be like Him.
All of us at one time or another wanted to be like someone. Someone that has inspired us or made a favorable impression on us.
To a lot of us it’s our parents or a close relative. Sometimes it’s someone of importance or someone who has made a difference in our or other’s lives. It can also be a favorite movie character.
Halloween is fast approaching and you will be able to see what is most popular. Kids want to be like their favorite movie or cartoon character. We have had many princess Laia’s and Luke Skywalkers come to our door. We even had Darth Vader and Boba Fet show up. Many Walt Disney Characters as well. Superman and spiderman are big ones.
This morning we want us to consider who we really need to be like!
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All of us are called to be like Jesus. That sounds good in a
sermon, but how can we do that in real life?
There is the obvious; reading our Bibles, prayer, and
meditation. These are all good and should be practiced.
However, let’s explore a few other ideas for living like the
Lord.
Philippians chapter 2 is a great place to start.
From these verses we can discover real insight into some
practical things we can do to be more like Jesus.
To be like Him our lives must reflect His Life!
When we see our reflection in a mirror, we see ourselves.
{ DAD}Do others see us or Jesus through us?
Do you remember the movie, “Chariots of Fire?”
That movie became an instant hit. Not only did millions
watch it, millions did a lot to emulate it as well. You
couldn’t walk down a path or sidewalk without dodging
runners. They had leggings, running shoes , and bicycle
shorts. They wanted to not only become a runner they
wanted to look like one as well!
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If we are going to be like Jesus, we must do something
similar. We need to work on changing the center or
core of who we are and what is important to us!
We will be covering three (3) areas that will help us
become more like Jesus.
The first area is that we need to be aware of and promote
unity with other Christians.
Philippians 2:1-2 “Therefore if there is any
encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of
love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any
affection and compassion, (2) make my joy complete by
being of the same mind, maintaining the same love,
united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”
We can deduct from these 2 verses that if we are not of
one mind, if our love is limited, or our fellowship is
lacking, if we show no affection and compassion, then we
are not united in spirit or intent on one purpose. We will
be the same as the world around us! In chaos.
Paul is expressing great concern and care to his readers.
He is stressing the importance of being united together in
Christ!
It is so very important that he is saying that his joy will
not be complete until we make unity a critical point of
our lives.
Let’s take a couple minutes to consider what being
united means. What is unity?
The dictionary definition tells us that unity means, “the
state of being one,” or “the combining or joining of
separate things or entities to form one.”
Biblically the word means, “that which ties together, a
bond. It also means “oneness.”
It is important for all of us to be on the same page,
striving for the same things in life. If we have different
agendas or are all rowing out of step, we will struggle as
a body. A Viking ship had two sets of rowers. One on the
Port side and one on the starboard side. There also was a
drummer to keep all in time and a rutter man to steer.
The church has the members, that do the rowing,
preachers and teachers that keep the timing, and elders
that steer.
We must all work together to move forward as a church.
We must be united in our efforts.
One of the things that hurts the body of Christ is when
we are not working together for the common cause of
the church.
How is unity made known?
If therefore, we are called to be tied together, or if we are
to have a bond, in what areas are we to exhibit this
unity?
Being of the same mind. Sounds good but just what does
this mean? We are not robots; we are individuals with
different life experiences.
However we are called to be like minded. This does not
mean that the believers have to agree on everything;
instead, each believer should have the mind {or attitude}
of Christ, which Paul describes at length in 2:5-11. {READ}
The word translated as “same mind” in 2:1-2 is the same
word translated “attitude” in 2:5
We have all heard the Frase; “What would Jesus do?”
We can just as easily say “How would the attitude of
Jesus handle this situation?”
We are all called to have the mind of Christ. When we
put on Christ at baptism, His mind is part of the deal.
Too many folks in church bring their own mind to the
table when issues come up. There is room for discussion
for some things, but too many want things their way. I
have read where some churches split over the color of
the walls or the type of flooring. That my friends is sad.
How could something so trivial cause a split in the Lord’s
church. The church He suffered on the cross for. The
church He gave His life for! Do you think for one moment
that Jesus cared about the color of the cross?
When we have the mind of Christ, it will change the way
we do things. We will see things in a different light and
we will treat people in a new way! How could we do or
act otherwise when we consider the Words of our Lord as
hung on the cross. He mustered enough strength to pray
to the father; “Forgive them, they know not what they
do.” That’s the attitude we must have! We must learn to
love no matter what.
The second way we show our unity is by maintaining the
same LOVE.
The love of Christ is the love that we are to show to one
another and to those who are lost.
You want to bring someone to Christ? Show the same
love that Jesus showed you!
Don’t say that you have the love of Christ when you run
someone over or make them feel less than you.
Again; We are to have the same humble love that Jesus
had for us, a love that led Him to the cross for all.
‘intent on one purpose’
As we stand firm in the spirit, we can overcome small
differences and work diligently towards one purpose – a
common goal. The churches goal was to spread the
gospel. Please do not lose sight of the purpose and goal
of the church to spread the Gospel. We tend to devote
way too much time to stuff that just doesn’t matter. Stuff
inside these walls that isn’t spreading the Good News.
Sure there are things that need addressed, but at what
cost? May we never lose our number one priority,
seeking the lost as a unified body of Christ!
If we are to be like Jesus we must display true humility
always. Not at selected times. {Verses 3-8}
This is a powerful passage. If we are going to be like
Jesus, we must work on being humble. Jesus is the prime
example of humility!
How many times do we get upset when we do not get
our way or when things do not go the way we want them
to go? {Phil. 2 :3-8}
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with
humility of mind regard one another as more important
than yourself; do not merely look out for your own
personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ
Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did
not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but
emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and
being made in the likeness of men. Being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
What is humility?
Being humble involves a true perspective about ourselves
in relation to God {Romans 12:3}
“For through the grace given to me Isay to every man
among you, not to think more highly of himself than he
ought to think, but to think so as to have sound
judgment, as God has allotted to each measure of faith.”
This gives us a correct perspective, and attitude, towards
our relationships with others.
Being humble doesn’t mean that we put ourselves down,
but instead we look for the good in others.
Humility is a respect for who God is and what He has
done in our lives and the lives of others. We are sinners,
saved by God’s grace. We are to lay aside selfishness and
treat others with respect and common courtesy. This is
something that is in dire need in our society today. Who
can show the world this besides us! We are to be a light a
city on a hill for all the world to see. This is our time to
shine God’s light.
We opened with Phill. 2:1-2 so therefore we will close
with a few points these verses bring out to aid us in our
walk with the Lord.
1) Love – we are to have the Love of Christ for all that
we come in contact with. Knowing that He first
loved us while we were lost in sin.
2) Fellowship of the Spirit – We are to work together
for the good of all. Putting others above ourselves.
Unified in purpose.
3) Affection – Care for those in need with love. Sharing
the Gospel with affection towards all. Always being
humble.
4) Compassion – Caring for other’s situations. Meeting
people where they are while demonstrating the Love
that the Lord has for them. The verse from John
11:35 that we had read before the sermon says a lot
about the attitude of Jesus. “Jesus wept”, Jesus
showed compassion to the family and friends of
Lazarus as they mourned his passing. Jesus felt their
pain, there loss and clearly demonstrated His love
and care for them.
To live for Jesus is to live like Him. Being of the same
mind, the same love, united in spirit and with one
purpose.
There is nothing we have said today that we cannot
accomplish. All of us set goals in our lives and work
towards achieving them. What is most important to
you? What are your priorities? Are they consistent
with what the Lord’s priority is? If not, why not?
As we close out today’s sermon, and you would like
to learn more about living like Jesus allow me to say
that the first step towards your walk with the Lord is
to accept Jesus as Lord of your life and be baptized
into Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. I assure you
that it will be the best step you will take since your
first step as a child. You will then be taking your first
step as a child of God!
To those of us who have been a Christian for some
time now, let’s take time this week to reflect on our
walk. Considering weather we have veered from the
path God has set before us. To recommit to being
more like Jesus.