STARTING OVER AS A JESUS FOLLOWER (Book Outline)
Book by Tim Timmons and Tamrat Layne • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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10 FOOTSTEPS To Follow Jesus The Way He Intended!
Tim Timmons & Tamrat Layne
with Diana Timmons & Dr. Jim Schmook
FOREWORD…Jesus Has A Better Idea!
PREFACE…Total Confusion: Evangelism or Discipleship?
FOOTSTEP 1…Emptiness vs Fullness!
FOOTSTEP 2…Principles of Life!
FOOTSTEP 3…DNA Factor #1: Focus On KNOWING JESUS!
FOOTSTEP 4…DNA Factor #2: TRUSTING JESUS!
FOOTSTEP 5…DNA Factor #3: LOVING JESUS!
FOOTSTEP 6…DNA Factor #4: BEING JESUS!
FOOTSTEP 7…The World According To YOU!
FOOTSTEP 8…Why Following Jesus Is So Difficult!
FOOTSTEP 9…The Toxic Spirit Of Perfectionism
FOOTSTEP 10…Random Insights About ‘Jesus Followers’
FOREWORD
JESUS HAS A BETTER IDEA!
There are three popular methods of making disciples today. Each one has a noble and valuable purpose. Each of these three methods is the best that well-intended believers can do. We’ve taught and worked with each one of these small group experiences. We’ve found each to be effective in what each offers. Each method has its purpose and answers the question of WHY or WHY are we here?
This training curriculum is all about the 4th method, a transformational one. Jesus modeled this perfectly for us to follow in his footsteps. It’s blatantly obvious what Jesus’ methodology was, as he took a few on daily field-trips through the sands, roads, villages, mountains and seas of the Middle East. He was into the power of the few, who would really get his message and be transformed by it. He chose a few ordinary people to launch a movement that would change the world forever! Jesus, indeed, had a better idea and it worked! Today, Jesus still has a better idea and it’s for us to follow. HOW DID WE MISS IT!
In quick review, here are the methods for making disciples we are all familiar with…
1) Teaching is the purpose of this most popular method of making disciples. This method operates under the concept that making a disciple of Jesus is to transfer as much information as possible—to teach those who want to be disciples all the teacher believes is necessary for them to know.
This is the most popular, because it’s the easiest method of all. There are endless ways to transfer information—tools (books, audio and video series) and teachers who are prepared to teach classes. Teaching is necessary, but Jesus has a better idea!
2) Training is the purpose of this more intensive method of making disciples. This training method assumes that Jesus’ command to make disciples of him in all nations is singular, meaning that those who are disciples of Jesus are to have disciples of their own. When only an individual is doing all of the discipling or mentoring, each disciple is limited to that one individual. But, Jesus has a better idea!
3) Traditional small groups serve the purpose of making the large Church smaller. This method operates under the concept that the disciples of Jesus need to experience the warmth and power of establishing small groups for the purpose of fellowship. Fellowship is a verb! In fact, it’s within the fellowship community that the sure presence of Jesus is most probable. Jesus said it: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I will show up!” NOTE: Jesus never made any statement such as this about a large Church gathering, but only in a small group community. This is why we see this dynamic as the ‘power of the few’!
SO, the teachings of Jesus, the training to be like Jesus, and the gathering of the fellowship of Jesus followers are all extremely valuable and meaningful in the form of small groups. BUT, Jesus has a better idea!
NOTE: The final method is what Jesus intended all along! We invite you to follow along with us as we follow in the dusty footsteps of Jesus. This is not just our opinion or belief, this is the blueprint Jesus set up for changing lives and changing the world! Let’s do this together!
4) TRANSFORMATIONAL LIFE-ON-LIFE is the purpose of a Jesus small group! Transformational life-on-life groups have 10 Distinct Focal Points.
1. Focus on Jesus as the primary one who makes disciples through the group.
2. Focus on Jesus as a person, rather than on the Christ, as a symbol.
3. Focus on only Jesus and his teachings and ignores the theological and traditional distractions that easily get us off-track!
4. Focus on discipleship as a life-on-life support community!
5. Focus on discipleship as a small group interaction, where each one in the group is discipling one another. In a transformational life-on-life group, Jesus is the Teacher, who is at work doing all of the teaching through each member of the group. Jesus shared this revolutionary dynamic in this way: But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, the Christ. (Matthew 23)
6. Focus and practice the ‘one another’s’…confessing to one another, loving one another, encouraging one another, weeping with those who weep, rejoicing with those who rejoice.
7. Focus on inclusivity! Anyone can be a Jesus Follower...no exclusivity! The emphasis is on what a follower must be able to do, to say, and to think, in a variety of social interactions.
8. Focus on the calling of a disciple. A disciple is not made, but summoned!
9. Focus on the never-ending dynamic of discipleship. The process of discipleship will continue, until death!
10.Focus on the group dynamic of full interaction of each small group member, requiring 5 simple ingredients within each group meeting.
i. Each group is guided by a ‘facilitator’, not a teacher, to ensure the participation of each group member.
ii. Each group studies a chosen Jesus curriculum…e.g. a section of Scripture, a thematic study of Jesus, any books about Jesus, or any study of how each member of the group is to respond to Jesus.
iii. Each group member is encouraged to study and prepare for the group discussion. The format of each meeting is for each person to read aloud the curriculum to set up the group discussion. This participation promotes further participation!
iv. Each group gathering requires refreshments in the spirit of the fellowship table that Jesus used.
v. Each group begins with a time of reporting ‘what’s happening’ since our past gathering and ends with a time of reporting of ‘needs and prayer requests’ for the coming week.
The purpose of the transformational life-on-life small group is for each member of the group to experience the transformational touch of Jesus first, through the group interaction. Each one is encouraged to study the chosen curriculum and show up to the group, eager to capture any and all spiritual takeaways and insights that seem customized for his/her growth and transformation. Each member of the group is committed to be discipling one another, as iron sharpens iron. Discipling one another works powerfully, because Jesus is the Teacher doing the life-changing work in each person’s heart!
PREFACE
TOTAL CONFUSION—EVANGELISM OR DISCIPLESHIP?
(Why This Book Now?)
Even before we met, Diana and I spent much of our spiritual lives grappling with the issue of evangelism, even as children. For quite some time, we were filled with guilt over not sharing the Gospel enough or not having many results accounted to our evangelistic efforts.
It was not until many years later that we discovered that Jesus never commanded his disciples to evangelize anyone. The two primary commands of Jesus that are relevant here are "make disciples of all nations" and "bear witness of me" or "you shall be witnesses of me" in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and to the remotest part of the world.
Because we have misunderstood this, we have come to embrace evangelism as a prominent teaching and practice that is expected of all followers of Jesus. And, the misunderstanding of evangelism goes further into wrong thinking. Evangelism has come to mean to proselytize, which means to convert a person to another faith or religion. Jesus taught none of this! We are not to proselytize or attempt to convert anyone away from their culture or religious persuasion and into our culture or religious persuasion. Not only did Jesus NOT teach this; there is no way any one of us has the ability and power to truly convert a person's heart to follow after God.
When Jesus commanded his disciples to make disciples (Jesus followers) of all nations, he meant exactly what he said—nothing less, nothing more. When Jesus commanded his disciples to "bear witness of Him" to the world (John 15) and to "be witnesses of Him", starting with Jerusalem and proceed to do this throughout the entire world (Acts 1), he was not urging any kind of conversion tactics. Instead, Jesus was urging them to introduce and encourage people from all nations to become followers of Jesus. You see, when a person is introduced to Jesus, then that person has the opportunity to be converted in his heart by the Spirit of Jesus—the only one in the conversion business!
So, if Jesus is not pushing for us to evangelize or proselytize, but only to be a disciple and encouraging others to be disciples of Jesus, how does this get done?
After working for years in several countries, we've become convinced the lack of effective leadership development is due to extremely poor or non-existent, life-on-life discipleship. We are stubbornly committed to do two things, wherever we go—JESUS and Small Groups. We want to introduce the person of Jesus without religious baggage to everyone we meet and we want to encourage those who are interested in following this Jesus to begin meeting in a transformational, life-on-life small group, in an interactive study of Jesus.
We believe effective leadership development is lacking, because the practice of making disciples has become the MISSING LINK! Not only has Jesus left the building; most of the people are leaving, too!
There is a myriad of leadership development seminars, workshops, programs, gurus, trainers, and coaches. The weakness of all of the programs is that there’s always a transfer of information—leadership knowledge—that assists in defining what to do to be a leader, but rarely is there a transformation of a sustainable lifestyle to function as an effective leader—leadership wisdom. Leadership knowledge requires a simple paper transfer; leadership wisdom requires a people transfer—life on life! Obviously, the process of discipleship the way Jesus intended requires life-on-life! Maybe what we need is a redefinition!
Re-defining ‘Jesus’ and ‘disciple’…
We believe we’re on to something uniquely powerful to redefine what it means to be a disciple. “I was taught that every generation requires that the Gospel be re-articulated into that culture.” So, we’ve kept the term ‘Gospel’, but redefined it to be Jesus…the Gospel is Jesus!
This is also true about ‘Jesus’. We grew up in the western culture of Christianity, yet now we don’t call ourselves Christians; we are followers of Jesus. But even the term ‘Jesus’ is so identified with Christianity that simply Jesus may not be as clear as we’d like. We aren’t going to change the name of Jesus to make it clear, so we most always add a descriptor that sets Jesus apart from Christianity. We say we follow ‘Jesus without religious baggage’.
When it comes to the term ‘disciple’, we’ve decided to stick with the term and infuse a new and fresh definition to what ‘disciple’ means. In fact, we’re thinking the best possible infusion into ‘disciple’ is to rediscover what Jesus meant by the term ‘disciple’. The key to understanding what Jesus meant is found in his approach to each person he encountered.
NOTE two things about Jesus’ approach. FIRST: Jesus never shared the same Good News message twice. He didn’t have a scripted booklet for everyone, because he knew each person is uniquely different and requires a customized and personalized message and invitation. Jesus understands your DNA. No two people are exactly alike! SECOND: Therefore, everyone’s response to Jesus is different from any other person’s. This is counter most theological or religious teachings. We tend to want everyone’s response and experience with Jesus to be the same as ours.
Your DNA uniqueness speaks to the fact that there are no two people who are exactly alike. We can see similarities, but no one is a duplicate of another. Therefore, it makes sense that there are no two responses to Jesus that are exactly alike. Each of us experiences Jesus differently!
When you embrace and accept your uniqueness, you’ll find that you have the greatest freedom ever to be YOU—to experience Jesus the way you were meant to. And, you’ll find it easier to give others permission to be who they are to be in this fresh understanding of Jesus.
This brings us back to the original question that was in the air when Jesus first spoke as the ‘new Rabbi in town’…”Jesus, tell us how does your teaching differ from what we’ve been taught?”
STARTING OVER AS A JESUS FOLLOWER requires that you follow in the steps of Jesus—to walk in his dust. So, step by step, let’s do our best to carefully walk in his steps!
FOOTSTEP 1
‘Emptiness vs Fullness!’
The 1st FOOTSTEP of Jesus:
The journey from emptiness to fullness!
No matter your background, your vocation, or your religious or non-religious bent, all of us are dealing with the same inner issues of fullness. “What can I do to experience life more fully as in my family, my friendships, my profession, my community, and most of all, in my personal life?”
What’s missing in your life and work? Although I had a level of success, there was still a gnawing, an ache, in my gut that something was missing. The only ways I found to alleviate the pain was either to learn more, to increase my level of performance, to secure a higher degree, or to do my best to be promoted into a more significant position. All of these things served me well, but the gnawing sense that something was missing never left me.
After founding and pastoring one of the first mega-churches in the USA in the ‘80’s, speaking on the largest, secular self-help platforms, publishing 27 books and hundreds of audio and video messages, I woke up! Diana and I both woke up to the emptiness within and all around us. What’s interesting is, “I never felt this emptiness when speaking or writing or training in seminars. You see, in those roles, I was in control and had all of the answers. I was pitching the fullness of God and did a pretty good job of selling it to those who were listening.”
“I didn’t experience emptiness from my position of leadership or pontificating from the platform. I found the quagmire of emptiness, when I entered into face to face counseling with real, live, hurting people. I observed the pain of emptiness these hurting people shared with me. Then I experienced a hollowness I’ve never known, when my awesome knowledge and position had little or no effect to salve their pain. There’s nothing worse than being in a blood and guts situation with hurting people, who are looking to you to fix them, and you have nothing useful for them, to answer their painful questions in their pit of despair.” You who work with people, must know what I’m talking about. You’re the promise of fullness, yet you know down deep inside, you have nothing to give. We’ve all experienced this to some extent!
We woke up to the same emptiness we’ve read about in Solomon’s book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon, renowned as the wisest man in the world, shares his life observations from his experience. His description is grim. He tried lust, liquor, and luxury and found them to be empty, like a vapor or a smoke ring. You may see it, but there’s no way you can grab it. Solomon says everything will turn up empty, even when you’re doing the right things. Solomon admits that even wisdom will also have an empty, vaporous nature to it. Life is empty!
After describing life as an exercise in futility, he cleverly makes a paradigm shift, from the popular theme of “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die” into repeatedly saying, “eat, drink, and be merry, for this is a gift from God”. With this paradigm shift, Solomon moves from the experience of emptiness to the possibility of fullness!
This search for fullness is a search for meaningfulness. And, it’s been going on for centuries! In addition to Solomon’s writings, Aristotle and the ancient philosophers were searching for ‘happiness’, the ‘good life’, the ‘best life’. This was all about discovering fullness…finding your full potential. Viktor Frankl’s “Search for Meaning”, promoting self-transcendence and Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”, promoting self-actualization, were both ground-breaking insights into what it means to achieve one’s full potential. In other words, they were speaking to the experience of personal fullness, a fullness that would surely benefit others.
Even the scientific world has had a gnawing sense that there’s something more. They were searching for the invisible atom that holds the particles together in our universe. They called it the ‘God-atom’ and later re-named it the Higgs-Boson particle. Curiously enough, this reminds me of what is said about Jesus in an ancient letter to the followers of Jesus in Colossae. Listen to this:
He is the image (exact replica) of the invisible God—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together…. All the fullness of God dwells in Jesus in bodily form.
When reading this, we are in agreement that Jesus just may be the missing link that holds the world together! Maybe Jesus is the God-atom?
v 1. Is it possible to be busy with the daily things of your life, to have your schedule and calendar chock-full....and yet feel empty? How can that happen?
v 2. What is the difference between "busyness" and "fullness'?
v 3. Most great leaders for centuries have expressed their teachings, some are good and some are not so good. Do you see that ‘Jesus without religious baggage’ not only taught great things, but embodied these teachings? Are his teachings and life worth considering as an example for living your life?
v 4. Can you list out a few Jesus’ teachings? What would you say is Jesus’ greatest teaching?
v PERSONAL FIELD TRIP: This week, ask 1 to 3 people you know this question: “With what you know about Jesus, what would you say is Jesus’ most popular teaching? What is Jesus best known for?”
FOOTSTEP 2
‘PRINCIPLES OF LIFE’
The 2nd FOOTSTEP OF JESUS:
The principles of Jesus aren’t religious principles, but principles of life!
“I set out on a search to understand who this Jesus might be. I was educated beyond my intelligence in Christianity, Doctrines, Church growth, and all extremes of religiosity. Honestly, very little of what I learned resonated with me in my gut, but Jesus was different! It became clear to me that I needed to get to know Jesus personally. As a mentor repeatedly said, ‘Most people only have a poor caricature of Jesus in their minds. They may know a lot about Jesus, but they don’t really know him.’ For centuries, the only pictures of Jesus had a halo on his head. I just couldn’t figure out how to follow this Jesus. And, in many people’s minds, Jesus is the founder and symbol of western Christianity or Jesus is owned by Christians. For me, I had to separate Jesus from all of that. I began to see Jesus without a halo and without religious baggage!”
CONSIDER The Person of JESUS as a MODEL
Early in life, I was caught up in the religious herd with religious thinking that has little to do with life. In fact, both Diana and I were stuck in a prison of religiosity. Even though we were raised miles apart and in very different religious cultures, we were caught up in focusing on things that just don’t matter to most people. I was trained vocationally how to be a good Christian. She was trained in life to be a good, preacher’s kid. We were both caught up in the do’s and don’ts and this served as a distraction to us away from knowing the person of Jesus.
And, with my vast knowledge of our complicated system of beliefs, do’s and don’ts, I was able to ‘proof-text’ our beliefs from the Bible. We Baptists had our own language! It was an ‘insider’ language that only those who belonged to our ‘club’ could understand. And, as Diana and I analyzed our past training and upbringing, I came to realize that we, essentially, were just talking to ourselves in our religious lingo in our denominations. We were judging the world and talking to ourselves, instead of judging ourselves and talking to world!
When we shared our frustrations and observations with a friend of ours, he said, “Maybe it would be useful to push everything aside and get back to the most basic of your beliefs? JESUS.” This is when we knew in our hearts that we had a lot to ‘unlearn’ in order to ‘learn’ what’s most important to know and understand.
SO, we did go back to the basics! We’ve all decided to focus only on the person of Jesus. After all of our studies about Jesus, we found out several revolutionary things Jesus that changed everything in our lives and vision for our lives. We found that Jesus never spoke about ‘hell’, that he only mentions ‘church’ on two occasions, he doesn’t tell anyone to go to church or synagogue, he never commands his followers to convert anyone to Christianity, he never criticized anyone’s culture or upbringing, he never saddled anyone with a series of do’s and don’ts, he warns against those who want to be seen as super-spiritual, and he always, always welcomes anyone who falls, fails, or stumbles, to get back up, to be restored, and to start over, all over again! We were never taught about this Jesus!
We’re convinced this Jesus, without a halo or without religious baggage, is worthy of your consideration! He wasn’t just another articulate Rabbi or popular teacher; he embodied his teachings. He lived his teachings!
Consider The Teachings of Jesus as ’PRINCIPLES OF LIFE’
“I had the privilege of speaking for years on the largest, self-help, motivational platform in the world. We did 30 of these events per year with the best and most popular leaders before audiences of 5000-35,000. What fascinated us most was that each speaker, less than half were openly spiritual, each one articulated in his/her own way a reworking of the teachings of Jesus. People pay hundreds and thousands of dollars for these principles, because they find them very helpful! No one is required to make a donation or join anything; this Jesus, without a halo, the one who doesn’t carry along any religious baggage, has a lot to say about a full and meaningful lifestyle.”
Dr. Nathan Pusey, former President of Harvard University said, “the true mark of maturity is to be able to discuss the person of Jesus without adolescent embarrassment.” When we finally came to realize Jesus without any halo or religious baggage was definitely worth our time to study what he said and did, we saw everything differently. Even reading about this Jesus made more sense to us!
The Incomparable Life & The Invisible Lifestyle
The question in the air when Jesus first began to teach was: “Jesus, how does your teaching differ from what we’ve been taught?” Although Jesus came on the scene as the newest Rabbi in town, there was something very different about Jesus. Jesus wasn’t just a teacher; Jesus embodied what he was teaching. He lived it!
We’re convinced the same question must be asked by us today: “Jesus, how does your teaching differ from what we’ve been taught?” Jesus has something very specific in mind about who his followers are to be and how they are to live their lives most fully! “The more I examine who this personal Jesus is, the more I realize that I’ve missed the point of this Jesus all along. There’s no way I was able to follow him throughout my years as a child, in high school, college, graduate school, or even as a Pastor of a mega-Church, because I never got to know this Jesus. This Jesus is not the Jesus I grew up with in Church! This Jesus is a revolutionary in most every way!”
With Jesus, there’s no organization to join, no expectation of being perfect, and no push for you to proselytize or convert anyone. Jesus had a better idea than what we were taught. We woke up to the fact that our agenda was focused on the organization of the Church, the grow of the Church, the do’s and don’ts of the Church, and how we looked to others in our community. The Church became our vocational agenda, but it wasn’t the agenda of Jesus. He had a better idea!
Jesus is not only the most incomparable life to follow—a consistent model for living; Jesus offered a most unique way to live out his teachings in a huge realm—a realm where anyone can live out the teachings and principles of Jesus. Jesus called this realm ‘the Kingdom’! In fact, this is the primary theme of Jesus’ teachings!
LIVING BETWEEN TWO KINGDOMS
We who are followers of Jesus presently live between two kingdoms—the kingdom of the earth and the Kingdom of heaven. The Kingdom of God is primarily invisible, like the wind, but with some visible results. It helps me to think this way. The Kingdom of God is actually the realm in which those who follow Jesus live out his teachings, embracing his lifestyle as their own.
Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom-it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats. (THIS IS THE KINGDOM OF THE EARTH).
Real wisdom, God's wisdom, (THE KINGDOM OF GOD WISDOM), is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. (James 3:13-18)
The best wisdom that man can propose is to compete and perform better and to talk yourself into conceiving, believing, and achieving better. This is accomplished by conforming to a higher, man-made standard. The goal is limited to REFORMATION and can be good news to you. But the Kingdom of God wisdom is all about personal TRANSFORMATION. This isn't just the GOOD NEWS of Jesus; this is the BEST NEWS EVER. It's your choice, so don't settle for anything less
WWJD? What Would Jesus Do? That’s helpful, but there’s a better question. WDJM? What Does Jesus Mean?Jesus invited all who have ears to hear and eyes to see with a two-word challenge: FOLLOW ME! Why is it so difficult to become a follower of this Jesus? Why are Jesus’ followers reluctant to make other followers?
We’re convinced that most of the time we just don’t know what Jesus meant!
v 1. What are some examples of the "baggage" people have attached to the person and teachings of Jesus?
v 2. Jesus was artistically painted with a halo since the 4th Century, so most have seen Jesus that way. How do you visualize Jesus?
v 3. What do you think of former Harvard University President, Dr. Pusey's statement: "The true mark of maturity is to be able to discuss the person of Jesus without adolescent embarrassment."? Have you ever felt that way? Why is that, do you suppose?
v PERSONAL FIELD TRIP: Tell your friend/s that you are going through this study and each one in the group must complete certain assignments. My assignment this week is to share this quote from a past President of Harvard University and secure responses: "The true mark of maturity is to be able to discuss the person of Jesus without adolescent embarrassment." What do you think of this quote?
FOOTSTEP 3
THE DNA FACTOR #1: FOCUS ON KNOWING JESUS!
The 3rdFOOTSTEP of Jesus:
The most important DNA Factor is Knowing Jesus!
KEEP IN MIND:
The DNA makeup of a follower of Jesus is all about
KNOWING, Trusting, Loving, & Being Jesus!
Several years ago, a close friend of ours had a sense of resistance in following Jesus. We discussed this with him and he said something we’ll never forget: “How can I follow Jesus, if I don’t know him well enough to trust him?” WOW! How simple, yet how profound!
For many reasons, we have lost our way. We’ve lost our focus! Instead of making disciples of Jesus, we tend to make disciples or followers of celebrity pastors or teachers. We make disciples of our brand of faith or denomination.
As we’ve studied this for several decades in many nations of the world, we now believe it’s been revealed to us as the ‘missing link’ of what it means to follow Jesus. It all comes through the question: WDJM? What Does Jesus Mean by ‘follower’? In a sense, a re-definition of a Jesus follower must be understood. Think of the makeup of a follower of Jesus in terms of 4 DNA Factors. Without any one of these factors being present, you don’t have a Jesus follower. It’s most helpful to unpack each one and examine each one as you look first at yourself. Are you a follower of Jesus?
We may know a lot about Jesus, but is it possible we don’t really know Jesus personally?[DF1] In our experience, this is a huge problem and was at the core of what happened to us. Whether you grow up in the Church or not, there’s a tendency toward having a cheap familiarity with spirituality—the language, cultural traditions, the music, and the routines, that keep us from waking up to the down-to-earth person of Jesus.
The leader of one of the largest and most influential Jesus organizations in the world, confessed to me that he had come to realize that the spiritual culture he had created was becoming less and less productive. He said, “People know our culture and what we want people to be able to know about Jesus. They want to please and belong so badly. However, instead of disciples of Jesus, they have become parrots! They are able to echo back to me what I want to hear—the catch-words we’ve taught them—about Jesus, but I don’t think they really ‘get it’! I don’t think they are becoming followers of Jesus; they are becoming followers of me and the culture I’ve created.” Diana and I were guilty of this.
Waking up to this very personal reality for us, seemed to put everything in place about being a disciple of Jesus and making disciples of Jesus.
There’s something even more important and vital about our focus on KNOWING JESUS. Our greatest pleasure and fullness in life can only be experienced through a personal encounter with God. If there is a God out there who created us, then to actually come into His presence would be the most incredible experience of your life! This is the theme of all Scriptures throughout the ages! This supernatural experience would fix everything that’s wrong or damaged in your life! It would change the way you look at yourself, others, and your life right now! We are convinced this personal encounter with God and the experience of knowing His presence today can happen for you, if you are willing to give over your will and your life to focus on KNOWING JESUS! This is why the first DNA Factor is to focus on KNOWING JESUS!
Therefore, to know Jesus, focus on ‘JESUS’. The list is certainly endless! We’ve listed only 10 observations about the person of Jesus’ below….
· JESUS IS THE GOSPEL. Ask people: “What is the Gospel?” and most will never come up with this answer: JESUS! Jesus is the Good News…Jesus plus nothing else! The Gospel is simply Jesus! To add anything to Jesus is to diminish Jesus! To know Jesus personally is to know the Gospel!
· JESUS IS PEACE. Jesus is all about peace. It’s a sense of inner calm that all is going to be alright. Peace is a powerfully active force that can only be transmitted by an act of God. "These things I have spoken to you, so that in me you may have peace.” (John 16) To know Jesus personally is to know Peace!
· JESUS IS JOY. The most popular expression of joy was at the birth of Jesus. Matthew writes, "When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy." (Matthew 2:10) Later, Jesus says of Himself: "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full."
To know Jesus personally is to know Joy!
· JESUS IS GRACE. Jesus never mentioned the term “grace”, but He embodied grace in every way. Grace is one of the primary themes of Jesus as he touches the untouchable lepers and the unclean, as he opens the eyes of the blind, as he has compassion on the poor and the disenfranchised, as he receives those who are on the outside of the religious world, as he welcomes women and children—those normally pushed aside, and as he chooses the ordinary, uneducated to be the leaders of his movement. Jesus expresses and initiates most frequently total forgiveness of all things and total freedom that no religious system can ever offer! To know Jesus personally is to know amazing Grace!
· JESUS IS ALL-INCLUSIVE. He’ll work with anyone, anywhere! No exclusive club exists that has a special relationship with God.
· JESUS LOVES YOU, NO MATTER WHAT. This is demonstrated by picking you back up, when you fall or fail, never holding an attitude of condemnation toward his followers, and he is not pushing perfection as a spiritual standard.
· JESUS IS NOT SURPRISED BY YOUR SITUATION. Ever since hearing this insight, I’ve continued to really enjoy this thought and embrace the comfort I feel at the thought.
· JESUS WANTS TO BE YOUR FRIEND. Jesus assured his early disciples: “I no longer call you bond-servants, but you’re my friends.” To me, this is the very opposite of how Jesus has been presented throughout the centuries. Being Jesus’ friend is a revolutionary thought and experience! This is why the halo must come off of Jesus’ head!
· JESUS IS ALWAYS INTO STARTING OVER. The Good News theme of Jesus is that you can start over all over again, no matter what! It’s not that Jesus is an easy, lenient master, but that he is committed to a continual restoration of his followers, no matter their setbacks. That’s the essence of Jesus’ Good News message!
· POWER IN THE NAME OF JESUS. After Paul had been apprehended by Jesus on the road to Damascus, Jesus spoke to Ananias about what he was to tell Paul. He said,
"Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my NAME to the Gentiles
and their kings and to the people of Israel."
When Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17, he makes an interesting reference
about the NAME of God:
"Holy Father, protect them by the power of your NAME, the NAME you gave me,
so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected
them and kept them safe by that NAME you gave me."
So what is the NAME OF GOD that was given to Jesus? It is the NAME OF JESUS or "Yeshua" in the Hebrew. NOTE what this means. It is a combination of YE, short for Yahweh, and SHUA which means ‘saves’. So, the name is YAHWEH SAVES—Yeshua. It's a combination of the NAME OF GOD given to Moses and the MESSIANIC NAME given to God in the flesh—Jesus—God saves!
Even more specific is that Jesus makes several claims to being the I AM. When Jesus announced to his disciples he would be leaving, Thomas said,
"Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
There is something about that NAME. The NAME of Jesus sets him apart from all others, everywhere. As a Buddhist friend of mine said, "Jesus trumps everything and everyone else!" This is why Peter and John were able to give the healing touch to the lame man in Jerusalem. It was all in the NAME of Jesus. This is why when two or three are gathered together in the NAME of Jesus, he shows up in supernatural ways. This is why we are to pray in the NAME of Jesusand he responds to our heart's cries.
There is power in the name of Jesus!
What sets knowing this Jesus apart from what we’ve been taught?
All kinds of religious systems and programs offer you lots of things, but only Jesus can give you true and lasting peace, joy, love, and grace.
KNOWING JESUS is to focus and refocus your life around ‘Jesus plus nothing’. For a Jesus follower, KNOWING JESUS is everything! It’s what being ON-MESSAGE is all about and this focus is never-ending! Itbegins here with Jesus, remains here with Jesus, and often must return right back here to you and your heart response to Jesus.
v 1. Can you focus on Jesus and still find a way to address all your daily responsibilities? What does "focus on Jesus" mean?...Practicing his presence? Discerning his heart and mind?
v 2. In the group, go back to the 10 observations about Jesus in this study and ask this question to each: “SO WHAT?” In other words, if this is true, how does this affect you personally?
v 3. Is Jesus alone enough for you or do you tend to add-on things to Jesus? What kinds of things do you feel the need to add-on to Jesus? Could it be your performance? Certain results or expectations?
v PERSONAL FIELD TRIP. Communicate to someone this week, if possible: “What comes up for you, when I say, ‘I am doing the toughest thing I’ve ever tried to do…I’m doing my best to be a JESUS FOLLOWER.’”
FOOTSTEP 4
“DNA FACTOR #2-TRUSTING JESUS”
The 4th FOOTSTEP of Jesus:
As you get to know Jesus, you’ll find him to be trustworthy!
KEEP IN MIND:
The DNA makeup of a follower of Jesus is all about
Knowing, TRUSTING, Loving, & Being Jesus!
The DNA or makeup of a disciple of Jesus has 4 unique components or factors. These factors are distinctives of being a disciple of Jesus. Without them, you don’t have a disciple of Jesus! A disciple of Jesus is measured by each of these factors!
SO, the first DNA Factor that must be present is that a Jesus disciple has a single-minded FOCUS ON KNOWING JESUS!
The second DNA Factor that sets a disciple of Jesus apart is TRUSTING JESUS! When the Jewish leaders asked Jesus, “What can we do to work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you trust in him, Jesus, whom God has sent.” It’s stronger than only believing; it’s personally trusting Jesus. Once you get to know Jesus personally (DNA #1), the natural response is that you are able to trust Jesus in everything.
WAIT! ARE YOU GETTING THIS? Can you see and feel what it would be like to get out of bed in the morning, knowing you have someone you can trust FULLY with everything in your day ? Can you imagine the feelings of peace, hope, and the sense of anticipation?
You’re not trusting Jesus, because he lets you get away with things. Isn’t it comforting to know that Jesus always gets you back up, always pulls you out of the water, when sinking, and always cares more than you do that you are doing well and will be able to get through it all. When do you need to be able to trust? It’s when you’re down, depressed, disappointed, or doubtful within yourself that you are adequate. Knowing Jesus gives you the confidence to trust him! See how #1 (knowing Jesus) fits with #2 (trusting Jesus)?
What we know about Jesus that helps us trust him is that Jesus is all about accepting all who come to him with ears to hear and eyes to see. Time after time and person after person, those who come to Jesus are always given the latitude to fail, fall, disobey, and then turn around and start over. Jesus accepts everyone just as he is and just as he walks the walk, even imperfectly.
Most Christians were brought up being taught about the bipolar God: “God loves you so much that if you were the only person on earth, he still would send his son to die for your sins. HOWEVER, if you reject this kind of love, God will torture you in hell for eternity.” Now, can you trust God knowing that? NO! Get to know Jesus personally and you’ll be able to TRUST JESUS, when you need him most!
2NDDNA FACTOR: TRUSTING JESUS…Requires being ON-CALL!
When you are ON-CALL in the Kingdom of God, you are preparing yourself to be ready to do whatever you are called to do by the Master, Jesus. And, what we’re discovering is that there is little you can do to prepare yourself for this step, other than hang out with and hang on to your best friend, Jesus.
This is counterintuitive to how we educate and even "disciple" others. Our normal method of operation is to teach and train people all kinds of things before ever sending them into any trenches, where they must become functional and useful. “By the way, this is where I was educated beyond my useful intelligence. I was taught things that I never will use in a lifetime. It's like memorizing the phonebook, because you may need it some day!”
Being ON-CALL is to place a person in action immediately, once he has come to know Jesus as his best friend forever. This immediately puts into action the authenticity of what this relationship really means! Jesus did this on several occasions. Remember when Jesus sent out the early 12 disciples. Matthew says, Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. (Matthew 10) Jesus sent these early followers before they were fully believing or understanding who Jesus was. So, as soon as they were leaning in to be followers of Jesus, they were sent out to do these miracles. They were placed into a context, where they must move into some kind of creative action in the name of Jesus.
After Jesus healed the "crazy, wild" demoniac, the demoniac wanted to follow along with Jesus. However Jesus refused to let him follow along with him. Instead, Jesus sent this recently healed demoniac back to his people-to the Decapolis—10 Roman cities. Jesus sent him without much training at all, freshly transformed, back into his culture to tell his people what God had done for him. As soon as Jesus was assured of the demoniac's heart relationship—assured that the demoniac was truly ON-MESSAGE, then Jesus sent him into a context where he must now be ON-CALL.
Whereas, the action step for being ON-MESSAGE is to refocus on Jesus, as needed. The action step for being ON-CALL is to resonate with the people and their needs around you. When you are placed into a context where there is no set plan to take, you must ask the question: "What can I do to help?" Use this dynamic question everywhere you go! Once anyone answers the question, you’ll be immediately activated as a change-agent and a difference-maker! It's building on your relationship with Jesus to live out a partnership with Jesus to make positive life changes wherever you go. This is allowing your heart that is on the Jesus message to resonate with the needs that come your way!
v 1. What is the difference between believing in someone, and trusting in someone?
v 2. What does it take for you to trust someone? What would that person have to be and to do? Does Jesus fit
v 3. How does knowing more and more about a person help you trust him or her more?
v PERSONAL FIELD TRIP. Take time this week to read and reflect on each of these Jesus encounters and choose which ones empower you to trust Jesus best?
o Matthew, the famous tax collector, not known for his spirituality, so strongly felt the acceptance of Jesus that he dropped everything and followed Jesus.
o Mary Magdalene, who lived a life of ill-repute, came to Jesus and Jesus received her without condemnation.
o Peter denied Jesus as Jesus warned him that he would. When Jesus met up with Peter around a campfire, Jesus confronted him. His confrontation was not to condemn or shame Peter’s behavior. All Jesus wanted to know was: “Do you love me? Then act like it!”
o Jesus announced a revolutionary thought in John 15. Jesus said: “I know longer call you my bond-servants; I call you my friends!” Jesus wants you to be his friend. You can trust him!
o Knowing Jesus was all about searching for the lost sheep and the prodigal son, and that he spent his time with sinners, prostitutes, drunkards and the non-religious, makes it easier to turn it all over to Jesus and trust him with all you’ve got! [DF2]
o Peter began to sinkand Jesus went into the water after him, grabbing him, and Peter and Jesus climbed into the boat together! Jesus always sticks WITH YOU …ALWAYS! You can count on it!
FOOTSTEP 5
“DNA FACTOR #3-LOVING JESUS”
The 5th FOOTSTEP of Jesus:
As you learn to know and trust Jesus, you will love him more and more!
KEEP IN MIND:
The DNA makeup of a follower of Jesus is all about
Knowing, Trusting, LOVING, & Being Jesus!
Let’s review where we are in learning to become Jesus followers. The DNA makeup of a Jesus follower or disciple has 4 unique components or factors. These factors are vital to what Jesus meant one of his disciples to be. Without them, you don’t have a disciple of Jesus! A disciple of Jesus is measured by each of these factors!
KNOWING JESUS is most important and all responses will flow from this understanding of Jesus! And as you get to know Jesus, you realize Jesus is like none other. You see how he treats others and how he continually picks people up as they fall and fail. So, when you walk in his steps the best you can, you have a sense that whenever you need him, you will find yourself TRUSTING JESUS. It’s a natural progression as you are getting to know him! After living in this lifestyle for awhile, you naturally find yourself LOVING JESUS for his irresistible ways and relentless ways of working toward your restoration, day in and day out! Now, shockingly, Jesus gives each follower two very unique and powerful roles to play—to be the SALT of the earth and the LIGHT of the world! This is the ultimate DNA Factor of actually BEING JESUS! This is unthinkable, unheard of, and outside most religious boxes. As a disciple of Jesus, you have the privilege and power to re-present Jesus to the world around you! We didn’t think this up. These are straight from the lips of Jesus!
We are learning that we love others best, when we love Jesus most! We’ve come to rely on the supernatural, unconditional way Jesus knows us most, yet loves us best!
Jesus personified love toward everyone. His primary message was the greatest commandment—to love God with all your heart, mind, strength, and body and to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus is the epitome of love. To act like Jesus is to do the loving thing.[DF3] LOVING JESUS is to lean into all the levels of love that are embodied in Jesus—to view everyone and everything through the loving eyes of Jesus.
If love is taught only as a noun, then people know about love, but not how to love—to be lovers. We’ve come to understand that the love revolution of Jesus is best framed as a verb. If love is taught as a verb, then it’s active and begs to be acted out. Check out the five levels of Jesus’ love revolution!
LOVE GOD. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Matthew 22)
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Your neighbor is whoever is in need around you. Learn to be a lover!
LOVE YOUR SELF. “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
I’ve often said: “If you don’t love yourself, then your neighbor’s in a heap of trouble.”
LOVE ONE ANOTHER. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13)
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES. "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.” (Luke 6)
Jesus-style love ranges from loving God, loving your neighbor, loving yourself, loving one another, and even to the extreme of loving your enemies.
"Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love. This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” (John 15) This love relationship is so tight that a follower of Jesus can actually own the love of God in himself. Jesus says, “I in them and You in me, that my followers may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent me, and loved them, even as You have loved me...so that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” (John 17)
What if this is true? If you are living with this supernatural love inside you, then when you love, you are actively loving with the love of Jesus. This is a vital DNA Factor of a disciple of Jesus…LOVING JESUS!
Being ON-TRACK is the realization of your need to never walk alone. You need to learn the power of interdependence—the dynamic of community, based in the revolutionary dynamic of love. Knowing Jesus and discovering that you can trust him with anything, triggers a love response for Jesus. It's learning to do life together with Jesus and other Jesus followers.
Jesus pulled away from the masses and the crowds to be alone, but he always walked with a few. And, when Jesus sent out his followers, he was careful to instruct them to travel together. There is something most powerful in walking together as a compassionate team. It's within community that you learn to love and be loved.
You don't need many, but you desperately need others in your life who give a rip about you and you about them. We’ve spent most of our lives operating within a crowd of people, but painfully alone with respect to having a family member walking alongside us. Today, we enjoy the comfort and strength of a few brothers and sisters who have become real family to us. Some live right here in southern California. Some live a distance away, out of the area or out of the State. A few men and women live in other nations. Naturally, the frequency of communication varies in every instance, yet we feel unusually connected with this community—this family Jesus has raised up around us. This is what we mean by a transformational life-on-life small group!
What makes it even more special is that Diana and I enjoy this blessing together. And, on a daily basis we acknowledge our gratefulness for these who are our brothers and sisters. Believe me, as only children, Diana and I have learned to embrace this family with a great amount of appreciation. Not only are we each stronger individually, but we are stronger together due to the loving connection we enjoy with this family.
Diana and I are terminal introverts! We are learning to love and be loved by this family. We enjoy the affirmation, the accountability, the promptings, and the incentives that truly keep us ON-TRACK as we learn what it means to live in the Kingdom of God together.
Now, how about you? Are you walking with a few who are helping you keep on track with the Jesus lifestyle?
v 1. How can you show love toward Jesus? What would you do to demonstrate that love?
v 2. How does loving Jesus help you to love others? What's the connection?
v 3. What's the meaning of unconditional love? What makes Jesus' love for you unconditional? Have you experienced unconditional love?
v PERSONAL FIELD TRIP. This week, practice being a lover in the spirit of the love-revolution of Jesus. Choose one of the 5 levels of love to practice—love God, love your neighbor, love yourself, love one another, or love your enemies. Report back to your group which level you chose, what you did to practice loving, and what results you experienced.
FOOTSTEP 6
DNA FACTOR #4–BEING JESUS!
The 6thFOOTSTEP of Jesus:
After getting to know, trust, and love Jesus, Jesus offers you two
strategic roles—to be salt and light in the world!
KEEP IN MIND:
The DNA makeup of a follower of Jesus is all about
Knowing, Trusting, Loving, & BEING JESUS!
There are 4 DNA Factors—the makeup-of a disciple or follower of Jesus….
DNA Factor #1: FOCUS ON KNOWING JESUS! Knowing Jesus personally.
DNA Factor #2: TRUSTING JESUS! Knowing Jesus personally motivates you to trust him for whatever you need to keep you on track.
DNA Factor #3: LOVING JESUS! Knowing Jesus and trusting Jesus motivates you to love Jesus more every day.
DNA Factor #4: BEING JESUS! Knowing, trusting, and loving Jesus positions you to be most like Jesus and re-present Jesus to the world! When Jesus first launched his movement on earth, he began with a smaller group of people. He summoned and appointed 12 men he wanted and they showed up. As you can see in the following verses Jesus has a progression with his early followers. He invited (summoned) those he really liked (those whom he personally wanted) to come along and they came.
And He went up on the mountain and invited those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to communicate and to stand against evil in the world.(Mark 3:13-14).
Now, check out the three most important things Jesus was inviting them into. Jesus FIRST chose them to "be with him". Could it be that the most important thing Jesus wants from each of us is to spend some time with him … to actually listen to him on a daily basis. We have said many times that we are doing the toughest thing we've ever done and that is to do our best to follow Jesus. This is not learning things about Jesus; it's learning to be with Jesus on a daily basis-to wait quietly in his presence and listen to what he has to say to you—to you, personally! [DF4]
The SECOND reason why Jesus chose the ones he liked was so "that he could send them out to communicate" the Jesus way of life (his Kingdom principles) to others. Note there is no going out to communicate without FIRST being with him. Again, that's the primary posture—to be with Him.
The THIRD reason why Jesus chose his followers was to "stand against evil in the world". Jesus began his movement with "BE WITH HIM" and once they spent time with him, Jesus does something revolutionary. He shocked them with a word-picture:"YOU ARE the salt of the earth" to counteract the decay in the world. Jesus continued, "YOU ARE the lightof the world" to counteract the darkness, which Jesus came to be. In other words, Jesus gave over his roles of salt and light to his followers. All of his followers are to play the roles of BEING JESUS! You're invited, too!
Jesus began with inviting these early disciples into 'BEING WITH HIM', then Jesus repositioned them into the role of 'BEING HIM'! This is the vital role of every disciple, everywhere! What a privilege...what a powerful role to play! Think of it, there's a great need for Jesus to be re-presented or reintroduced to the world and YOU ARE challenged and directed by Jesus to be a channel for that message.
“You ARE the SALT of the Earth!”
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” (Matthew 5:13)
SALT MUST BE SENSED! (Being—INWARD)
· Loving one another…A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13)
· Blessing when cursed…To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. (I Peter 3)
· Sharing your Jesus story…How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?(Romans 10)
· Meeting the needs of the needy…“For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’” (Matthew 25)
“You ARE the LIGHT of the World!”
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp-stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5)
LIGHT MUST BE SEEN! (Doing—OUTWARD)
· Letting your light shine before others…(Matthew 5)
4THDNA FACTOR: BEING JESUS…Requires being ON-PURPOSE!
Finally, after processing through the first three strategic steps for living life most fully within the Kingdom of God, you come to your ultimate purpose for your life. The fourth strategic step is being ON-PURPOSE. This is your calling—your unique message that you carry within you to contribute to the rest of the world.
BOTTOMLINE IN RE-PRESENTING JESUS TO OTHERS
For we are His workmanship, created in Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
Literally, you are God’s workmanship—God’s poem—God’s message to the world!
To sum up what it means to BE JESUS, it’s vital to realize that being Jesus is all about your positioning. So, wherever you are, your very presence has the possibility to change your world!
You ARE the SALT OF THE EARTH to counteract the decay.
You ARE the LIGHT OF THE WORLD to counteract the darkness.
Being ON-MESSAGErequires that you refocus your heart on Jesus. We like to call this the dynamic of followship—how well you follow Jesus and embrace his character. Being ON-MESSAGE is to ask, "Am I walking in the footsteps of Jesus right now?"
Being ON-CALLrequires that you resonate with the needs of the people around you. This may be the most exciting dynamic step of all, because you are experiencing the dynamic of partnership with Jesus—just you and Jesus making a positive difference! Being ON-CALL is to ask, "What can I do to help?"
Being ON-TRACKrequires that you reconnect with others—your community. This is the dynamic of genuine fellowship, where you gain a sense of comfort and strength to live out the Kingdom lifestyle. Being ON-TRACKis to ask, "Who is walking with me?"
Being ON-PURPOSEushers you into the primary activity of the Kingdom Jesus came to introduce—to plant the seeds that will ultimately bring forth the fruitfulness of more followers of Jesus. This is the dynamic, and what we believe to be the missing link in most ministry efforts—the dynamic of discipleship. To be ON-PURPOSE in such a way that you are becoming a disciple and making disciples is the most epic thing you can do in the Kingdom of God. Being ON-PURPOSEis to ask, "What am I to do with what I have?"
These are the first questions a Kingdom person asks. What life questions are you asking?
v 1. What's the hardest part about "being Jesus"?
v 2. What happens if you mis-represent Jesus to others in your life? Is it fatal? Can you recover?
v 3. How does listening to Jesus help you to be like Jesus?
v PERSONAL FIELD TRIP. This week, take on one of the 4 questions. Examine what’s needed and do it. Evaluate the results you experience by asking the question. Share it with the group!
FOOTSTEP 7
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ‘YOU’
The 7th FOOTSTEP of Jesus:
Each one of us uniquely embraces and expresses Jesus,
because of your purpose implanted in your heart!
KEEP IN MIND:
The DNA makeup of a follower of Jesus is all about
KNOWING, TRUSTING, LOVING, & BEING JESUS!
The overall purpose of each one of us is to “love God and love your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus made it clear that this is the greatest command of all! You’ll find that the ultimate answer to about everything you do is to act out this command in your life! You can’t go wrong!
In addition to this overriding command, each person also has a specific and unique purpose to fulfill in your world. This is what we call ‘The World According to YOU’. This is clearly taught by Paul, when he writes: For we are His workmanship, created in Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
Literally, you are God’s workmanship—God’s poem—God’s message to the world! This is your purpose!
As you move through each of the DNA Factors of being a Jesus follower, you’ll soon realize that you are now prepared to be the ‘message you’ve been created to be’—the crucial message to connect with and heal the world around you. ‘You have a unique message to deliver through your life!’ In order to communicate your message, you must come into a clearer understanding of your purpose! It’s vital to answer the question: WHY? WHY AM I? WHY AM I HERE? What is the WHY of your life?
If you, as a small group facilitator/convener, know your purpose—your WHY?, you’ll find a greater freedom and confidence in being a Jesus follower and in encouraging others to become followers of Jesus!
SO, What is your WHY?
In order to find your WHY?, your purpose, you must go straight to the core of your being. At this core is your purpose for living. We believe purpose in life is written on an inner label within your psyche. Only you know it and only you can read it!
Have you ever shared what you wanted to do in life with a friend or family member and been rebuffed for it? The response usually is, “Are you serious?” Or “That could never happen!” Or “You don’t have enough education!” Or “That would cost more than you’ll ever have!” Your response to this reaction is normally to take your dreams underground and not share them any more. Or, you shut down the dreams altogether! This sort of scene is what stifles people from knowing and fulfilling their dreams. This is the kind of thing that has sent ‘purpose in life’ into the subconscious, at best!
Your purpose in life has the power to get you up in the morning and, more specifically, the power to take you across the goal line of your personal success. Without a purpose life can become overwhelming and depressing!
PURPOSE IN LIFE….
Since the inner-label of your purpose can only be read by you, then how can you practically read it? We’ve been working on a more practical way with a variety of groups assisting them in discovering purpose for each of their lives. “After developing what I thought were ‘wonderful’ techniques to help each person read his/her inner-label, I quickly scrapped them all! There is a very simple way to read your inner-label. Hold on! It’s almost overwhelmingly simple! JUST MAKE IT UP! That’s it! Once you sincerely ask yourself of purpose in life, you will discover it as you are answering the question. It’s amazing how well this works! Your purpose may not be as complete as you your like, at first. But take what you get and begin to build on your purpose statement. You will learn as you go!”
HOW TO READ YOUR INNER-LABEL….
Let’s get on with ‘making it up’! Take the time to use the following chart to assist you to target more clearly what your purpose in life is all about. Choose the word you find most comfortable to fit in the blank of the following sentence:
"My purpose in life is to ___________ to/for people."
Just one simple verb is all it takes! Play with that for a while and think about the following list of words and see if one or more jumps out at you.
The WHAT….
teach heal organize strengthen polish
educate elevate support enhance refine
inform serve expand facilitate awaken
empower guide nurse stimulate entertain
enlighten assist validate acknowledge discover
promote prepare cause enroll enable
liberate influence minister coach soothe
massage mystify encourage referee instruct
manage help challenge paint network
I want to __________ people. My purpose is to _________ people.
The WHO…
The next blank to fill in is with a description of the WHO—individuals, groups, subsets, classes, types—you want to serve or work with:
My purpose is to _____________ (The WHAT) people.
I want to serve these people __________ (The WHO).
listeners infirmed wearers patients nations
children teens seniors women men
babies choirs audiences sick handicapped
gifted burned wounded kindergarten poor
graduates cancer retired immigrants middle class
toddlers parents brides athletes millionaires
boaters artists homeless grandparents inmates
viewers armies ethnics congregations singles
I want to (WHAT) to (WHO). I want to ________ to/for __________.
The WHY…
The last blank to fill in is to describe the goal or result you wish to co-create with these people:
learn earn swim appreciate be responsible
be fit love rest hear better succeed
health fun happiness wholeness to explore
wealth adventure travel prosperity running events
My purpose is to ____________ __________________ ____________________.
(WHAT?) (WHO?) (WHY?)
The WHAT, the WHO, and the WHY of your life combine to form the purpose of your life! Once you have the WHAT, WHO, and WHY clearly in mind, your life will change almost instantly to attract all you want. As your purpose becomes clearer, you will indeed be in a position to ‘embrace the fullness of your life’ and to nudge others toward doing the same.
Your purpose will transform you as it transcends all of life's problems. Your problems begin, either to take care of themselves or present a clear handle for you to handle them or they just don't matter in comparison to your all-inclusive purpose! A clear, lofty purpose stated clearly contains the power to move mountains! If you know your WHY?, you can handle any WHAT? that shows up! It will help you to focus on your goals and bring them into existence!
PURPOSE GUIDELINES….
I WANT TO ____________ ____________ _____________________!
(WHAT?) (WHO?) (WHY?)
Your purpose is a calling on your life to show up with your God-given message to contribute to your world. Here are several guidelines regarding your purpose that will continue to help you focus in on your inner-label answer the call.
FIRST—Your goals are not your purposes.Your purpose drives and threads your goals together. By your purpose you know what you are to do and what you are
not to do. Your goals may or may not be reached within your timing, but are always leaning toward your purpose in life. There is no arrival-point, only a course or direction to your life!
SECOND—Your purpose must have a people connection. A young man eager to fill in his purpose statement, quickly wrote out: “I want to market my financial product to the masses and make lots of money!” He was so proud that this seemed to fit in with his corporate business plan, but when I asked how this was going to positively affect people, he shrunk back into his chair with obvious disappointment. The the next week he had really worked on the people dimension of his purpose. His purpose ended up being very different from his job. His job would enable him to perform his purpose, but his job and his marketing plan is not his purpose in life.
THIRD—Your purpose may or may not have anything to do with your job. It pervades the job. It gives your job and life meaning, possibly in connection with your job, but not necessarily. It’s your life-force and drive that keeps you awake at night gets you up in the morning with anticipation. I know many people who support themselves through their jobs, but are actively pursuing their purposes on the side.
FOURTH—Your purpose will emerge out of your life-struggles and pain. Those who have suffered from cancer inevitably have as their mission to give some sort of comfort and assistance to others fighting this disease. This is true with abortions, abuses, disabilities, and other tragedies and losses people face. A friend, Brad Parks, who was paralyzed and left in a wheel chair the rest of his life, became the founder of Wheel Chair Tennis and now, golf and basketball. His life took on the purpose around the tragedy he personally experienced. People with a rough childhood work with children and so on.
FIFTH—You never retire from your purpose. It’s your life! You are here on the planet to fulfill your purpose, until you die. Your purpose is your ultimate mission in life and you are tied to it, until you are relieved of your duties.
SIXTH—Your purpose will continually be revised as you go. It is made out of patchwork experiences—the latest is added on as you go.
SEVENTH—When you are ON-TRACK with your God-stamped purpose, God opens up all His power toward you and the fulfillment of your purpose. We are convinced that success is defined as being and doing all that you were created to be and to do. If this definition is accurate, then the power of your Creator is turned on with the performance of your purpose. Work in sync with Him, as if your Creator is your Partner. Work out of sync with Him and you don't have a Partner or a prayer!
FOOTNOTE: We used to have God all figured out…and He was in our box and on our team! Now, as we grow older, we embrace three truths about the ‘God Who is there’:
1–The God Who is there can’t be fully known.In fact, there are all kinds of supernatural powers out there that we just don’t understand. This places us into more of an agnostic (not fully knowing or having all of the answers) position. “When I graduated from an excellent
2–The God Who is there is knowable. We believe Jesus is the physical image of the invisible God Who is there. Jesus without man-made religious baggage or a man-made halo is worth your consideration as a model for living life most fully.
3–Life works best when you act as if there is a God out there and you’re not Him. The popular, Canadian psychologist, Jordan Peterson, is always being pressured to answer the question whether he believes in God. His greatest answer is: “There are so many supernatural powers in the universe that we don’t understand and may never be able to understand…. However, I’ve found that my life works best, when I act as if there’s a God out there!”
v 1. Have you ever experienced having your purpose or dreams shut down by your friends or family?
v 2. How has writing down your purpose become most helpful to you? Are there obvious comparisons between ’before’ and ‘after’ purpose?
Can you identify your feelings as you know & practice purpose?
v PERSONAL FIELD TRIP: In addition to working on your ‘PURPOSE OF LIFE’ worksheet, practice asking “WHY?” about everything…how you’re spending your time, your small group, your faith-based community, and all appointments you have. WHY? Share with your group what you are discovering when you apply this question to everything.
FOOTSTEP 8
WHY FOLLOWING JESUS IS SO DIFFICULT
The 8th FOOTSTEP of Jesus:
The gap between wanting to follow Jesus and
actually following him, is simple, yet profound!
KEEP IN MIND:
The DNA makeup of a follower of Jesus is all about
KNOWING, TRUSTING, LOVING, & BEING JESUS!
Before leaving earth, Jesus challenged his disciples, his followers, with these words: And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Going therefore and MAKE DISCIPLES OF ME IN ALL THE NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
When I read this final command of Jesus, a series of questions come to mind:
Why has making a disciple been so difficult? Why does the term “making disciples” have so many different definitions?
There’s a lot of talk, but little progress in making disciples or followers of Jesus!
We’ve chosen the most common difficulties shared that keep people from following Jesus. As we examine each, choose what most describes your difficulty?
1st—Jesus moves to the beat of a different drummer!
“Why is following Jesus so difficult?” Each difficulty is so simple, yet profound enough to get in our way to simply follow Jesus. This first one is so right on and may be at the heart of why most find it difficult to follow Jesus, without even knowing it. You don’t know anyone like Jesus. You’ve never even heard of anyone like Jesus. He’s truly incomparable! I think we fear that Jesus is too good to be true! In fact, we’ve created many inaccurate caricatures of Jesus, caricatures that keep people from relating to Jesus and following his simple invitation to ‘follow in his steps!”
Think of some of the things Jesus teaches.
…If you’re going to win, you’ll find that it’s best to lose yourself.
…If you’re looking for light in your life, you’ll need to face the darkness.
…The road to maturity is to be able to love everyone, even your enemies.
…The freedom in life is learning to forgive others.
All of Jesus’ teachings are supernatural—other-worldly, yet they are to be lived out naturally! If there ever was a person who walked this earth that could be called the one and only Son of God, it’s Jesus! If you were to create a man who would best represent the God of gods to mankind, there’s only one who fits that description. Many great men have taught great teachings, but only one has actually embodied his teachings! His name is Jesus.
What is it that so easily gets in your way of following Jesus? Jesus becomes tainted by so many who want to use his name and credibility! This leads me to the next difficulty in following Jesus we’ve discovered….
2nd—Jesus has been hijacked by a myriad of religious and political people and systems! Every time Jesus is hijacked or kidnapped by anyone, he is robbed of his personness and power, reducing Jesus to a celebrity endorsement—a brand-name!
Every hijack has the hidden agenda to use Jesus to gain a more credible hearing or identity. In the process, everyone loses. Jesus loses his identity as the most incomparable individual ever and is reduced to an inanimate ikon. The hijacker actually gains very little by ‘using’ Jesus’ name, because most people are able to tell the difference between using the name of Jesus as a celebrity endorsement and referring to the name of Jesus as a personal friend. Whenever a person uses the name of Jesus to bring him/her a sense of credibility, I cringe and pull away from that user.
More importantly, when Jesus is reduced to an inanimate ikon, it’s impossible to follow him at all. Ikons aren’t alive, don’t move, and aren’t going anywhere. Hijacking always changes Jesus’ identity, an identity that isn’t worth your time and energy to follow. Be careful of the ‘hijacked Jesus’! Instead of being the attractive one, the hijacked Jesus becomes a major turn-off!
3rd—Jesus wore a big halo for centuries!
Of all of the reasons I’ve discovered for not following Jesus, this is my personal favorite, because this one had an early psychological effect on me. This particular hindrance to following Jesus, froze Jesus in time and space forever for me and turned me off to ever think I might want to follow him or ever could. Here it is:
The halo was in Greek, Roman, Asian, and Egyptian art. Jesus was not pictured with a halo until the 4th Century. Coincidentally, Jesus was fitted for a large, and mostly gold, halo at the same time man-made Christianity was launched in the early 300’s. The early Jesus movement rejected this kind of thing. Jesus, wearing a halo, was shunned, because it made Jesus seem unapproachable, not the simple Jesus desiring a personal relationship with people. SO, this weird caricature of Jesus with a halo was the primary visual of millions of people for 20 centuries!
It’s all counter to everything Jesus was sent to do. God sent Jesus to earth in the form of a baby, to simply relate to mankind. By sending Jesus to man, God reversed the entire religious dynamic of man seeking after God. Instead of men and women doing their best to reach the God of gods (that’s religion); God reached out to men and women everywhere through the person of Jesus (that’s a relationship). This is why Jesus is considered to be the Good News, because he is a person without a halo and can be followed safely anywhere!
Think about it! Can you really imagine yourself following someone around daily who is wearing an awkward halo? No! And most people who have this image in their minds aren’t drawn in to follow him either!
#4—“I don’t know enough!”
This seems to be the most universally perceived difficulty of all, although it’s totally untrue! This comes from an overemphasis on knowledge. Knowledge is worshipped in most sectors of our society. We honor and praise knowledge and intellect over everything.
“This misconception assumes that making disciples is the passing on of information, more knowledge packaged better than ever. I bought into this thinking many years ago. I enrolled 1000 people into a 4 week class, where I taught these people my pearls of wisdom, then at the end of the 4 weeks, I thought I had discipled 1000 people. I was wrong! You can’t disciple anyone in a class. You can pass on information, but discipleship will not take place!”
Knowledge doesn’t make a follower of Jesus; a personal relationship does! It’s not what you know that makes a follower; it’s who you know! His name is Jesus!
5th—“I’m not good enough!”
The last one we shared is most popular—“I don’t know enough!”—and this difficulty may be the second most popular. There is a toxic spirit of perfectionism that permeates our faith-based communities. Jesus never asked for or demanded perfection. His entire message is about starting over at any level. Instead of a journey toward any level of perfectionism, we must realize that following Jesus is a journey of normalizing people’s lives. You will have derailments, distractions, and disobedience along your way to being and making disciples. Most all characters in the Scriptures are imperfect people who have found themselves loved and accepted unconditionally by Jesus.
NOTE this has nothing to do with your performance of being good enough. It’s all about what you do with Jesus. You are hard-wired to make Jesus your everything. This is what Jesus meant by “without me, you can do nothing!” Jesus doesn’t want your high level performance; Jesus wants you!
6th–MISSING THE NAME OF JESUS!
A Cameroon town-car driver, Joseph Nkodo, taught me to say “J-E-S-U-S”. After asking me what kind of work I do, I answered, “I work with the problem of alienation around the world!” His follow-up question really nailed a weakness I hadn’t realized, “How to you work with alienation?” I answered, “Well, we don’t approach it politically, educationally, or religiously. We have found that the best answers to the problem of alienation are found in the teachings and principles of Jesus.” I found it painfully difficult to get the name of Jesus out of my mouth. It was the weirdest, yet most wonderful, thing.
Why is it much easier to say, “I’m a follower of Christ or a Christ follower”? Why is it so much easier to say Christ or Lord or God, than it is Jesus? You may say that this is just a matter of semantics. We don’t think so…we think it’s personal!
Paul had a dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, which changed his life. Paul was struck down and blinded by Jesus. When Paul asked Jesus for his identification, Jesus didn't identify himself as the Christ, the Messiah. This would have been most appropriate, since Paul was an adamant follower of the Christ. (You might even call him the first ‘Christian’. However, Jesus made it personal by identifying himself by his name, Jesus. He didn’t say, “I’m the Lord Jesus Christ or Jesus Christ.” He said, “I am Jesus!” (Acts 9:1-5)
This is exactly the personal name Mary and Joseph were given before his birth!
The angel said to Mary: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you shall give Him the name ‘Jesus’. (Luke 1:31) And to Joseph, the angel said: “She will give birth to a Son, and you shall give Him the name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:21)
So, don’t call him anything else, if you desire a personal relationship with this Jesus. His name is JESUS!
7th–HARDENING OF THE CATEGORIES!
Jesus pointed out how many religious people abused the commands of God by being careful to practice their sacred traditions, even invalidating the very word of God by keeping their traditions.
He said, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition….thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
I met with several of the Children's Pastors of the best mega-Churches and found in every Church I visited that Jesus and his teachings are missing! Lots of Old Testament biographies, but little, if any actual teachings from Jesus. Shortly after this, I attended a Church service where they religiously repeated the "Apostle's Creed". This is when it hit me. We've been missing the life of Jesus for centuries in our Churches. Read it for yourself!
"I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead."
This Creed is virtually the same as all other Christian creeds. It's a listing of the basic doctrines of the faith, beginning with the birth of Jesus and jumped to His death, resurrection, and certain return. But where is the life and teachings of Jesus? Because of the ‘hardening of the categories’, freezing sacred traditions and pet doctrines in place that the life of Jesus is missing! This is why most Churches put much of their energy into what I call ‘Open House’ weekends—Christmas and Easter. And, by the way, this is why the highest Church attendance is on these weekends. It’s impossible to follow in the steps of a baby and it’s difficult to follow a dead and resurrected man who did nothing more.
It’s no wonder people are finding it difficult to follow Jesus! Because of the hardening of the categories, Jesus didn’t do anything between his birth and deaththat anyone might follow….NOTHING! There’s a big gap in the life of Jesus. He was born, suffered, crucified, died, buried, rose, ascended, and returned. THAT’S IT!
Christmas and Easter are awesome events, but there’s so much more between those two events. His name is Jesus!
8th—JESUS IS TOO SIMPLE!
Simple entrance…the incomparable Jesus entered into the world as a baby.
Simple claims…Jesus claimed: I AM the vine, bread of life, the gateway, the shepherd, the light of the world, the way, truth, and the life, and I AM the resurrection and the life. Each claim simple, yet profound! Simple life…Jesus traveled lightly, as quietly as possible, with a few others, without fanfare. Simple team…Jesus chose 12 men he liked to be with him, to send them out with his good news message, and to empower them to stand against evil. His primary profile for those he looked to deploy as followers, were ordinary, uneducated people, who were interested and leaning in. Simple marketplace…Jesus was looking for any and all who have ears to hear and eyes to see. Simple teachings…Jesus used simple stories most often with one, primary point! Simple invitation…Jesus most commonly used a two word challenge and invitation: FOLLOW ME!
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus, the Christ. (II Corinthians 11:3)
Jesus is just too simple for the super-spiritual!
Jesus is just too simple for religious bureaucracy!
Jesus is just too simple for the highly educated!
Jesus is just too simple for the scientific world!
Jesus is just too simple for the highly visible celebrity!
Jesus is just too simple for the wealthy!
Jesus is just too simple for the proud!
In our hearts we want a complicated Jesus, whom we know exclusively, whom we can somehow own, whom we can use like a genie and who belongs to our club. This complicated Jesus, we won’t have to follow, since we won’t allow this Jesus to lead out with orders and opportunities.
The simple Jesus, the Jesus without a halo and without religious baggage is more than enough for us! JESUS ALONE IS ENOUGH! COUNT ON IT!
v 1. There are two vital decisions that must be made, when it comes to Jesus. One is to respond to Jesus personally to come and see who this Jesus is. The other is in response to Jesus’ words: “Follow me!” How do you distinguish between these two decisions?
v 2. Which difficulty has kept you from following Jesus? Which do you most identify with? Explain your struggle with that difficulty.
v 3. Why has the name “Jesus” become so easy to ignore?
v PERSONAL FIELD TRIP. Say: “I’m in a group where we’ve been given an assignment to ask this question: ‘When you hear the name of Jesus, what negative thoughts come to mind?’”
FOOTSTEP 9
THE TOXIC SPIRIT OF PERFECTIONISM
The 9th FOOTSTEP of Jesus:
There’s a natural tendency to want to impress others,
and the source of it all is the problem of self-doubt!
Last week we had one of our dearest friends, Rachael, visit us from Nairobi. While on an errand, I asked her if she was a perfectionist. This discussion opened the door to something I’d never tied together before. We’ve been wrestling with how to explain the toxic spirit of perfectionism for this training curriculum. In my discussion with Rachael she reframed perfectionism for me with the words of the innate need we have to ‘impress’ others. For some reason, that snapshot of impressing others opened so much more of what Jesus warned his followers.
He said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them.” (Matthew 6:1) Jesus is warning his followers to NOT be about the fine practice of impressing others with their behavior. His point is that God is not pleased with this kind of action.
The questions pop up here: “Where does this urge come from? Why are we so bent on impressing those who know us and watch us? Are we so full of ourselves that we driven to show off?”
CLANGING CYMBAL OF SELF-DOUBT
In the struggle to “get over yourself” it’s important to examine what the clanging cymbal effect of SELF-DOUBT. A clanging cymbal is when what you say and do is absent the love of Jesus and therefore is a cymbal that doesn’t make a certain and attractive sound, but an offensive, clanging sound. The clanging cymbal of SELF-DOUBT is at the heart of understanding the toxic spirit of perfectionism.
There are several words that are translated doubt. Doubt is to be perplexed, at a loss, uncertainty as to which way to take, standing in mid air or to hold in suspense—all accompanied by an anxiety and lack of confidence. The Chinese have a great word picture on the word “doubt”. It’s when you are standing on a dock with two boats awaiting you and as you step off in mid air, you are indecisive as to which boat to choose for your landing. Now, that’s doubt! By the way, doubt also includes distraction, because of your state of indecision.
I have two primary concerns with the cymbal of self-doubt. First, there is a personal concern. Here we sit with the message of the love of God, yet most seem to be bent on performing for God’s love rather than confidently enjoying it. There is little personal satisfaction here. It’s not a certain sound, but a clanging cymbal.
Second, there is a relational concern. Here we sit with the message of the love of God, but it doesn’t seem to be getting through. Those who are believers in Christ (Christians) are known more for their judgment and condemnation than for loving anyone. This, too, is an offensive, clanging cymbal! How can people who claim to have a personal relationship with God live in a spiritual coma? We tend to be better at cursing the darkness, rather than lighting some lights!
There’s a word that comes to mind when thinking about the tendency to show off our ‘righteousness’ (our right living). It’s a word that is used of an external expression without internal reality. The word is ‘religiosity’. It’s looking good on the outside, but spiritually bankrupt on the inside. The process of religiosity works like this. You are drawn to the free gift of Jesus—the Good News—and long for him to help you with your fear, anger, guilt and shame. Just as soon as you receive the free gift of Jesus, you are shifted into a new gear—a new reality. You are told that you must get your act together—sort of a turn or burn attitude to living for Jesus. As soon as you come into a ‘personal relationship’ with Jesus into an abundant life, you are thrown into a religious pressure-cooker. It was all a free and joyous invitation to come to Jesus, THEN the religious pressure of performance enters the picture and religiosity takes over your life…and your joy! You came into a relationship and are now a full-fledged member of a religious system!
FROM RELIGIOSITY INTO PERFECTIONISM
Then comes the list of secrets or keys to living your life for Jesus in order to travel in first class on your spiritual journey rather than coach. The list is a series of “If only”: If you only had enough faith, if only you read the Bible more, if only you knew the Holy Spirit better, if only you were baptized or filled with the Holy Spirit, if only you understood the gifts of the Spirit, if only you were part of a small group, if only you knew how to worship, if only you were giving more and if only you could perform your walk better, THEN you will achieve a certain level of spiritual perfection.
Your faith walk then turns into a message of condemnation—comparison and division over who is right and who is wrong is the constant conversation of religiosity. Now, here’s where your faith noticeably falls apart. Since you cannot achieve the perfection that is taught, you learn to fake it—show up at the right church, carry the right Bible, and join the right groups. Others, rather than fake it, they just flake out. They couldn’t find a way to walk this walk that is required.
So, the process of religiosity is based upon the spirit of condemnation; the process of relationship is based upon the spirit of covenant with Jesus. Instead of “Wash your hands and mommy will love you”; it’s “Mommy loves you, now go wash your hands.” It’s important to read and meditate on the Scriptures, to pray and to operate in a community of believers; it’s not doing it because you have to, but rather it’s because you want to. It’s not a spirit of condemnation, but a spirit of relationship—not a failure mode, but a faith mode.
The clanging cymbal of self-doubt grows up in the soil of perfectionism and condemnation. This religious combination produces nothing positive, but only the negative and that negative is guilt. When you wrestle with guilt, you will suffer from self-doubt.
Self-doubt is countered in two ways: a confident, personal faith in Jesus and a compassionate love for others. These two counters are based in the Scriptures. John says (3:17-18) Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn it, but to convince the world of the love of God. Paul makes an incredible statement about condemnation as he wrote to the followers of Jesus in Rome. He says: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Jesus.” Later in that same letter to the Romans (8:35- 39) he says: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The clanging cymbal of self-doubt is not personally satisfying and not publicly attractive. Only the faith to receive God’s gift of Jesus and the love to give Him away will prove to be satisfying and attractive to you and the world around you.
‘JESUS’ IS THE POINT….
Maybe we just keep missing the point of the Good News of Jesus and the Kingdom. I'm seeing this more clearly every day.
The Good News doesn't mean that Jesus has come and is a religious option for everyone to accept or reject. The Good News means that Jesus IS the love of God, personalized and embodied—JESUS IS THE GOSPEL! This means that when Jesus showed up among us, he brought the unconditional, relentless love of God to all mankind. This means that you are now loved and acceptable to God, no matter who you are or what you've done. You can’t perform for God enough or impress enough people to earn this love; it’s already yours! THAT’S GOOD NEWS!
‘JESUS’ IS THE ANSWER TO PERFECTIONISM….
Paul wrote two amazingly complete letters—one was to the Jesus followers gathered in Rome (Letter to the ROMANS) and the other was to the Jesus followers gathered in Ephesus (Letter to the EPHESIANS). The Letter to the Romans was was divided into two parts—what God has done for us and what our response must be to what He’s done for us. The first 11 chapters outline what God has done for us—God’s part! With exception of one in chapter 8, there are no commands in the first 11 chapters. In chapter 12-16, everything pivots back to man’s part: “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, (and ‘sistern’) by the mercies of God (God’s part toward us), to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” After this pivot from God’s part to man’s part, there is a series of logical responses that all Jesus followers are expected to do, as a natural response to God. It’s a beautiful balance. We are to do our part in response to what God’s part is. He’s saying: “Look at what God has done for you. Now, will you act like it?”
The other complete and balanced letter was written to the Jesus followers was the Letter to the Ephesians. This is a shorter letter of only 6 chapters. Again, Paul, outlines all sorts of wonderful things God does for us in the first three chapters…not one thing is asked from us. Then chapters 4-6, he lays out 33 things to do! See what God has done for you (1-3), now will you act like it ? God’s part and man’s part!
Now, here’s where it gets interesting! There were two extreme teachings in the first century that threatened the spiritual health and balance of following Jesus. Each one of these two false teachings had a powerful, negative influence on Jesus followers in the 1st Century and are still powerfully affecting Jesus followers today. Both of these teachings were about how to achieve or earn perfection and acceptability to God.
Paul takes the Letter to the Romans and answers one of these false teachings by writing the Letter to the Galatians, using the same wording out of Romans. The false teaching of Galatians is ‘perfection by performance’, earning favor and a spirit of perfection by a list of rules—a system of do’s and don’ts. The false teaching is legalism! The answer is FREEDOM IN JESUS, “It was for freedom that Jesus, the Messiah, set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) YOU ARE FREE FROM ALL THINGS IN JESUS!
Paul takes the Letter to the Ephesians, using the same wording and answers the other false teaching of perfectionism as he writes to the Colossians. The false teaching here is ‘perfection by experience’, earning favor with God by some experience you have had. This stems from Gnosticism or Mysticism. This is usually where ‘impressing’ others occurs. The issue here is not FREEDOM, but FULLNESS. The Gnostic teaching here was that there is nothing spiritual in the physical realm. Paul teaches the fullness of God without even mentioning the Spirit of God. He says: “For in Jesus all the fullness of God dwells in bodily form.” (Colossians 2:9)
ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD IS IN JESUS!
NOTE: JESUS is the answer to Perfection by Performance and Perfection by Experience. Trust in Jesus’ perfection; you can’t earn your own!
‘JESUS’ IS THE POINT…FOR EVERYONE!
This is why the non-religious, tax collector, Matthew, so quickly responded to Jesus, when Jesus encountered him and invited him to follow him. Something made Matthew respond so positively that he packed up his tax booth and began to follow Jesus. It certainly wasn't that mystical stare we've seen in the films of Jesus. It wasn't that he noticed a special halo over Jesus' head or an angel sitting on his shoulder. What was it that motivated such a dramatic career change?
I'm convinced that Matthew sensed so powerfully the love and acceptance of God in Jesus' invitation to follow him. It's as if Jesus said, "Matthew, I love you and accept you as you are, now will you follow along with me?" Matthew got it! He understood how good that Good News was!
Jesus had the same effect upon the woman at the well. She was first attracted to Jesus, curious really, that a Jew would ask for a drink of water from a Samaritan woman. Jesus shifts to conversation from ordinary water to eternal life kind of water:
"Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." (John 4)
Then, after a little sparring back and forth, regarding the differing places of worship for the Jews and the Samaritans, Jesus redirects the center of worship away from any mountain.
Jesus said, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
There is no doubt that the Samaritan woman was impressed with Jesus' insights, but what really got to her was when he asked her to go get her husband. When she told Jesus that she had no husband, Jesus quickly pointed out to her that she was right in saying that. She had 5 ex-husbands and was living with another man—potentially #6. That Jesus knew this about her and lovingly accepted her anyway is what blew her mind! She went back to the village and shared, "Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done."
Do you get it? Matthew and the Samaritan woman were targets of the Good News of Jesus and the Kingdom and that Good News blew them away! They not only experienced it and understood it.
HOW WE MISSED THE POINT!
We missed the point of the Good News! We were told to come to Jesus as a free gift. Then, we were immediately taught religiosity—how to get your act together spiritually—to be acceptable to God.
The Good News becomes bad news, when we stop allowing Jesus to be the reference point for our lives. If you don't inhale the loving acceptability of the Good News, you are doomed to a performance that attempts to make you acceptable to God—a performance that will never be adequate and isn't even necessary! The bad news is you must do, do, do, and do some more in order to be acceptable! The Good News of Jesus is DONE. You are already welcome to God.
Your bent toward impressing others or performing for God will get you nowhere! ‘GIVE UP’ ON THE SPIRIT OF PERFECTIONISM AND ‘GIVE IN’ TO THE PERFECTION OF JESUS.
v 1. Do you suffer from self-doubt from time to time?
v 2. Can you identify with the urge to impress others, because of your self-doubt?
v 3. Do you have a tendency to be perfect?
v PERSONAL FIELD TRIP: Within your group, discuss the following questions:
o Why do you think we refer to perfectionism as a toxic spirit?
o How does striving to be perfect before God or to impress others get in the way of being a Jesus follower?
o Contrast Jesus and the perfectionist?
FOOTSTEP 10
RANDOM INSIGHTS ABOUT JESUS FOLLOWERS
The 10th FOOTSTEP of Jesus:
Even random insights about Jesus are revolutionary…Seeing Jesus
everywhere…Unconditional love of Jesus…The Irresistible Jesus!
KEEP IN MIND:
The DNA makeup of a follower of Jesus is all about
KNOWING, TRUSTING, LOVING, & BEING JESUS!
We’ve been trying on this new look at the process of discipleship. We’re discussing the DNA of KNOWING, TRUSTING, LOVING, and BEING JESUSwith a large variety of people who are leaning in. We want to share with you a few of the powerful insights that are coming to the surface in our discussions with older and brand new followers of Jesus.
It’s important to note that KNOWING JESUS is the beginning and ending of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Everything else flows
SEEING JESUS EVERYWHERE…
So much of what keeps us from living in the truth, love, and spirit of the Good News of Jesus and the Kingdom is the constant struggle between who is running the show or what is the reference point of my life. “I spent years doing things for God my way. Now, that is a tricky maneuver!”
We live in a world where people are convinced that they are (and their hard work) the ultimate reason for their successes and blessings. These are people who believe they are self-made and some give a slight obligatory nod to God in explaining their lives. You see, the problem with "self-made" people is that they have knocked off work too soon!
There's a huge difference between giving a nod to God and relating to Jesus as your best friend. That is what Jesus was thinking when he said: "I am the door." Through him men find access to God. Jesus opens the way to God. Until Jesus came, men could think of God only, at best, a stranger and, at worst, an enemy. But Jesus came to show men what God is like, and to open the way to Him. He is the door through whom you may make your way toward the God of gods.
This image focuses on the role of Jesus fleshing out the invisible God of gods. This is where I like to share this statement: "Jesus is God here. God is Jesus everywhere!" It's difficult, maybe impossible, to follow and relate to the invisible God. This is why Jesus is necessary! Jesus is God personalized and simplified!
So, in order to live most effectively and fully in the Kingdom of God, it's vital that you get in the habit of seeing and focusing on Jesus in three dimensions. FIRST—SEE JESUS IN YOU. Seeing Jesus in you is to sense the presence of Jesus in your daily life.
“Here's how I measure this in my own life. I ask myself three questions. (1) Who do you go to first, when you have a concern or problem? (2) Who do you talk to first? (3) Who you consult with first? If you sense the presence of Jesus, you not only go to him first, but also often. If I am really walking with Jesus, believe Jesus is enough for me, and believe he wants to be my best friend, then Jesus becomes my go-to guy—my best friend who knows me best and loves me the most.”
SECOND—SEE JESUS WITH YOU. Seeing Jesus with you is to sense the power of Jesus alongside you. The early disciples provide a great illustration for us, when they were in a crisis on the Sea of Galilee. On that day, when evening came, he said to them, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd, they took him along with them in the boat, just as he was; and other boats were with him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" And he got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And he said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They became very much afraid and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 4:35-41) What happened here? The disciples forgot that Jesus was with them—in the boat! Focus on this! Jesus lives in you and is with you!
THIRD—SEE JESUS IN OTHERS. Seeing Jesus in others is to sense the potential of Jesus in the lives of others.Jesus, who was a key agent in creation, who holds each person's atoms together, and who is the key to making sense out of life, is certainly capable of transforming anyone. By the way, Jesus never saw a prostitute, but a woman in need. He never saw a diseased person, but he saw a person with a disease who needed to be free.
When you practice the presence of Jesus in you, practice the power of Jesus alongside you, and practice the potential of Jesus in others, you have something helpful and healing for everyone you meet.
Are you seeing Jesus or are you too busy looking at yourself and comparing your self with others?
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE…
Since God is love, it only makes sense that the visible expression of God through Jesus would express this same dynamic. Jesus is all about love within a relationship with him and seeks a relationship with anyone who wants it. Whoever receives this message of God's love possesses the most revolutionary reality a person could ever experience—peace, acceptance, no guilt, the abiding presence of God, and the greatest empowerment ever imagined! There are several observations here.
1. God loves you unconditionally. There is nothing you can do to earn the love of God. He loves you just as you are and there is nothing you can do to stop Him.
2. God made you to be special with a special mission. You are so unique with a DNA address that identifies and separates you from everyone else in the world.
3. God searches you out like being in a courtship. He is courting you as a lover. All he is looking for is some sort of response to His love. Do you reciprocate this love back to Him or are you ignoring or snubbing His gestures toward you?
4. God is relentless until He finds you to help you back on track. This is what Jesus was teaching, when he taught of the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost or Prodigal son. God knows your heart is restless, until you find your rest in him. He created you to be in relationship with him—to be dependent upon him as your Creator. If you ignore this purpose of the Creator, you will find yourself in a dependent mode on something or someone else. Then, you will be serving other gods and not the God of gods.
5. God does not threaten you—not dangling you over the threat of hell. Most have been urged at one time or another to turn to God and avoid going to hell. Turn or burn has been the theme! God does not want you to live with this sort of threat and fear. This is why Jesus spent his time seeking out the lost, the down-and-out, the broken and the sinners. And Jesus did so with the greatest expressions of love. He only threatened the religious leadership and the haughty do-gooders. God wants a personal relationship with you through Jesus forever and forever can begin right now!
6. God set up all of the laws of the universe for your benefit. They are set up to help you live life to the fullest—to bring a more abundant life. You break those laws of the universe, you didn't just break God's laws; violation of those laws will break you.
7. God relates to people through Jesus. Jesus is the Good News that you can have a relationship with the Creator—God of the universe. In a very real sense, Jesus is the love-letter God sent to you to connect you up with God's love! It's your own personal relationship with your Creator through Jesus. This is why Jesus announced that he didn't come to condemn the world; he came to convince the world of the truth about God and the possible relationship with him. Unfortunately, Christians seem to take on the primary job of condemning everyone else, contrary to the intent and heart of God through Jesus.
We get some insight into what Jesus believed about God's love for you in his prayer to the Father. He says:
"The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. "O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."(John 17:22-26)
The follower of Jesus comes to know and accept God's unconditional love for him. Well, how's it going? Are you beginning to get the picture that God loves you no matter what?
THE IRRESISTIBLE JESUS…
One of my favorite descriptions of Jesus is by Paul and Timothy, as they wrote to the followers of Jesus in Colossae. They say,
"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself." (Colossians 1:12-16)
Four things about Jesus that make him most irresistible. FIRST—The salvation he offers is remarkable!The term "salvation" has several definitions that broaden what God's salvation is all about. Salvation primarily means to make wide. It's the freedom of going from stuck to starting over—to be free to be! The definition of salvation also has to do with the belief that God will come through on your behalf. Salvation has the ideas of safety, security, healing, both physically and spiritually. To me, the most dynamic dimension of salvation is the proactive presence of God among His people, wherever they are and go.
SECOND—The speech of Jesus is riveting! No matter where Jesus taught, the people were amazed at how he spoke with authority. This seems to mean that Jesus didn't feel the need to quote other authorities. He spoke from his heart. Even to those who were his enemies, Jesus was one who made sense. To those who had ears to hear and eyes to see, this was terrific! However, to those who were threatened by Jesus, making sense incensed them.
THIRD—The simplicity of Jesus' revolution! It's about a person; not a system of do's and don'ts. It's so simple that children can get it, many times, better than the so-called adults. We tend to complicate everything.
FOURTH—The search of Jesus is relentless! Jesus is not waiting for people to find him; Jesus specializes in going after people. Jesus will do anything to get a person to understand what the Good News is all about. For Jesus, it's a constant invitation for everyone:
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30).
The irresistible Jesus wants to turn you Inside Out—the REALITY of knowing him—in order to turn your world Upside Down—the RESULT of knowing him and making him known! Jesus doesn't want us to demonstrate for him, he wants us to demonstrate him as we walk like he walked! The irresistible Jesus! Living irresistibly requires that you walk with Jesus. When you walk with Jesus, you are the walking solution to people's needs everywhere! This is what makes Jesus and the Jesus movement truly irresistible!
Jesus is committed to make you whole, no matter how you’ve missed the mark! We know this because this is how Jesus treats everyone! Maybe the best picture is this one:
Peter saw Jesus walking on water during a storm and said: Jesus, if this is really you, command me to come to you. Jesus said, “Come!” Peter stepped out of the boat and actually walked on water toward Jesus, until he took his eyes off Jesus. And when Peter began to sink, Jesus quickly picked Peter up out of the water and they got into the boat together. (Matthew 14:22-33)
v 1. In your own words, how would you describe the meaning of ‘unconditional love’?
v 2. Have you ever been loved in this way…how did you feel?
v 3. Of these three:
Seeing Jesus in you!
Seeing Jesus with you!
Seeing Jesus in others!
Which of these is easiest for you to do?
Which is most difficult to do?
v PERSONAL FIELD TRIP: In the spirit of Jesus, make this week a time of actively affirming as many people as you can. Affirmation is being a good-finder! You’re looking for people who are ‘doing the kinds of things Jesus would want’! Practice affirmation!
[DF1]As Euguene Petterson got older… he got more abrasive. He wrote some things that while true… came off as shaming/scolding… I’d want you to be careful here. Don’t make the reader defensive from the start “we don’t know Jesus personally”
[DF2]I like all of this a lot… but, there’s a disconnect from me. You’re telling me I can trust because Jesus allows failure—which I do appreciate… but ultimately I am compelled to trust by knowing he loves me (first)… he loves me so much that I can fail AS I WALK with Him. Just feels like trust is missing from the writing in DNA #2. You trust those you love and know that they love you and want the best for you.
[DF3]I like this… but, I’d move it to the end… it’s deductive here… it would be inductive at the end once you’ve shown me how/where to love
[DF4]Agree with this, but it feels like a tangent here.
