Imitation Of God: Introduction

Introduction 5

i was watching this movie called all Day and all Night, Hopefully if you have been wanting to watch it ill try not to spoil it for you but the narrative is about this young black man who is in the hoop and one day it appeared random he shot another black man. Everyone is questioning he he did it. The movie is a investiagte how he got to a place where he happened to kill somone in his hood. It takes him to his childhood where he doesnt pay attention in class and fails a test and when he Gets home his physicalled punched and bruised by his father but it wasnt the beating that marked him but he was told to not show pain. You watch that and you ask your self what was more danaging the beating or that statement. Theres a another event in his life where his father didnt have a stable inome except thrugh criminal activity and one day his father was on the phone and he was anger about a man not paying him in time so that decides to meet up with him and is son followed him from the distance and as he watching from the distance the meeting wasnt going and broke into a fight and he watched his father kill another man. The son full of fear starts running home and the lingering questions is why did thsi young man kill another young man.

We have heard the saying like father like son , in the movie the son had a bad role model his father and his father wasnt a good role model?

You can say well we dont need role models but role models are people who help us navaigate this world and we need them or were lost.

Then the question what cans people good role models? all good role models are reflectings of the greatest role model jesus christ.

Transition

when we stop imaitaing christ we dont give others around us a blueprint to navaigate this life like Christ would.

Imaitation

Lets define imaitation

The action of using someone or something as a model for thinking and behaving.

Why is Jesus christ a role model? in the beginnning God designed us to be in his image and likeness and we got separated from God. That separated we call sin but the affects of sin wasnt just evil but a limitation of being able to see God clearly and as a result unable to reflect Gods image and likeness well. So God send his son and this is what is said about him.

Hebrews 1:3 NIV

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Colossians 1:15 NIV

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

The Gospel helps us see Chist and his nature and character who is a reflect of the father. When we dont see chrsit well we dont see God well. If we dont see God well we dont see chrsit well then we cant reflect him.

Transition

We Must have admiration beofore imatation.

Admiration

Defination Respect and warm approval.

When i was young i loved watching kobe and i admiring him and as a response i wanted to be like him. Many times admiration leads to imatation.

As i got older i admired elon musk and it wasnt because he was rich or being i think worlking 120 hours is Good. But i admired that he wanted to help humanity and he was intelleginet and really creative in finding solution.

So if i asked you who do you admire some of you would say my mom and my dad because they showed me sacrifial love. anothers might say my teachers becuase she belived in me when anothers saw no hope but what are we admiring excaltly. Are admiring the person or the charcateristics that reflect the image and likeness of God. With Kobe are i admiring kobe or displine

with elon are we admiring elon or creativity used to help humaninty. with our parenst are we admiring our parents our there sacriafiavl love and i think they answer is both.

Admiration when healthy is a reflection of the image and likeness of God in a unquie person, in a unquie time and in a unquie way.

Be carefull who you admire, when admiration is unhealthy we will be tempted to admire charcacterictics ways of behaving that are opposed to the will of God.

The guys be carefull who you follow and like on social media truly ask your what is it about this person i admire and why. Are those virues and values aline with God. do they reveal his likeness If not guard you heart.

Transition

Theres a scene in the movie after killing the man where he gos into prison and he says how prsion and the hood doesnt feel different because he never felt hope. Unless theres light we dont know how to naviagte the darkeness. So if we are going to imatatie God, we need to admire him and how can we admire him if we dont have a revealtion of him.

Revelation

Lets define revealtion?

That of unveiling something hidden, so that it may be seen and known for what it is.

John 14:6–10 NIV

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

What is God? Is God a concept or an idea to you or is God a hidden mystery or absent deity or is God a just a judge that created the world.

John 4:24 NIV

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

God is spirit and that means God is a person he feels, he thinks

his not like us but were like him.

In the beginning God breathes on humanity with his spirt and our spirits dont know to to think and act in this world unless there is true worship. How do we offer true worship we need to truly know him.

Transition

Jesus if you really know me you will know my father as well.

Application

These next two month will be a designed to reveal to us the beauty and Glory of God. It is designed to inspire and cause admiration from the depth of our hearts and unltimately to lead us to imatating him in properly to our family, friends, co - workers, classmates.