Walking Like Jesus

Introduction

Last week, we launched into our “Follow Me” sermon series by discussing the importance of renewing the mind. We determined that it is not by our power that the mind is renewed, but it is out of a decision to immerse ourselves in scripture and Christian community where the Holy Spirit begins to rewire the way we think. We can’t be like Jesus if we do not share the same value systems. We said that His values are counter-cultural to worldly values, so our value system must be the first change that happens in this process of following Jesus. Now that we understand the importance of a renewed mind, this week we will continue our sermon series by looking at “Walking Like Jesus”. So, we move from thinking differently to walking differently. Obviously, we aren’t talking about hip issues or wearing corrective shoes. What we will be discussing this morning is walking in a life of obedience. But before we get into that, let’s first take a look at our historical context.

Historical Context

(Slide 10) We find ourselves this week in 1st century Judea. If you look to the map you will see a place called Caesarea Philippi which is where Jesus would have been in today’s scripture. During this time, the Jews were under Roman political control in this region. That control caused unfair, extremely heavy, taxation, and constant military presence. (Slide 11) If you look to the screens you’ll see the Judaea Capta Coin. This coin was minted around AD 71. The emperor Vespasian is on the obverse while the reverse shows a Jewish woman in mourning with a Roman soldier on the other side of the tree. Though the minting of the coin is about 35 years later than the period we are reviewing today, I felt it appropriately depicts the state of the Hebrew nation under Roman rules as it depicts the reality of life for Jews during this time. The Jews worked very hard to eke out a living, and could hopefully afford to pay the heavy taxation. If you couldn’t then your property may be seized, you might be beaten, you could be forced into slavery, could be imprisoned, and in extreme cases, crucified, all for not being able to pay unreasonably high taxes.

People were praying for Messiah to come back so that they could enter into time of deliverance. So all of this hope that people had was for an immediate relief from their every day reality. If He is Messiah people were expecting immediate relief from the daily struggle. But Jesus squashes their understanding of His purpose when He said “whoever wants to be my disciple must take up their cross”. So let’s unpack things a bit.

The Invitation to Follow

(slide 12) So the first thing that we see in today’s scripture is Jesus saying to the crowd “If anyone wants to be my follower”. What do we immediately learn from just that portion of today’s scripture? I think we can first conclude that discipleship is an invitation. We are free to continue living life on our own terms. We are free to say “thank you, but no”. There is no obligation in this, but we are called to make a decision: we either follow or we do not.

We have talked a lot about the law of the kinsman redeemer, and Christ Jesus fulfilling that role. You’ll recall that while paying the debt in full is the requirement of the redeemer, the enslaved could reject the kinsman redeemer and voluntarily remain enslaved. This portion of Luke 9:23 is the pivotal moment of decision to accept the generosity of the redeemer or reject it and remain enslaved. By rejecting to pick up our cross and follow, we are rejecting salvation itself. But the choice is ours to make.

The Cost of Discipleship

(Slide 13) Before we pick it up we need to understand it will cost something of us. A cross is cumbersome and heavy. We will struggle with it. We will likely stumble under its weight.

Though Christ, through his obedience, has made it a symbol of hope and redemption, the cross was intended to be seen as a symbol of shame. We will endure ridicule from others simply due to our association with it.

And then we must follow. Understand, Jesus carried His cross to the place where men waited with hammers and nails. Do not think for a moment that you are carrying yours to places of peace and comfort. No, Galatians 2:20 calls for us to be crucified with Christ Jesus. What is to be crucified with Him? Anything that we retain lordship over.

The Daily Commitment

(Slide 14) And we need to understand that the call of this commitment is for more than an instance. Jesus is calling us to a daily sacrifice, a daily denial of ourselves. This can’t be occasional Christianity. Jesus must be made Lord of our lives in every moment of every day. I know it sounds difficult, but we can’t have resurrection power without crucifixion commitment. So we begin each day by saying “not my will but thine, Lord”. We establish practices that become habitual, and those habits give birth to character, and character eventually births virtue. This is the power of TRANS-FOR-MATION. “

One of my favorite songsTo be like Jesus, this hope possesses me. In every thought and deed. This is my aim, my creed”.

If this truly is our hope, then picking up the cross and following Him is the requirement.

The Act of Following

(Slide 15) Following Him is more than belief, it’s movement. The book between John and Romans is NOT the “Thoughts of the Apostles”, it’s the “Acts of the Apostles”. Acts 3-12 is the spreading of the gospels. Acts 13-28 highlights the journeys of Paul. So in all of Acts 3-28, no one is simply sitting on their laurels. No, they are moving under God’s direction through the prompting of the Holy Spirit. My point is that ‘following Him’ will require action. James 1:22 tells us to “not only listen to the word, but to do what it says”. Listening and learning is the spiritual milk, but going and doing is where spiritual adulthood begins. We learn, then we do. And how we apply the action to our lives may vary depending on the prompting of the Holy Spirit. For some, that may mean ministry as a profession. For others, it definitely means carrying your Christianity into every avenue of daily life.

The Result of True Discipleship

(Slide 16) Friends, I painted a somewhat daunting picture early on about picking up our crosses, and I make no apologies for it. The cross is not meant to be easy. Following Christ Jesus is not meant to be easy. But being crucified with Him, and dying to ourselves is the only way to find true life. Clinging to our own lordship leads to loss. Clinging to His Lordship leads to gain. Mark 8:36 poses the question of “what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” And Philippians 1:21 reads “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” It’s really that simple.

Closing Remarks

As we come to the end of our service today, I pray the question on each of our minds is “am I walking like Jesus”? Have I begun to take the next step in spiritual maturity? Christ called us for a purpose, not simply to believe. I have believed for many years that exercise is good for the body, but without action…you can see where believing has gotten me. Thank goodness I’m more disciplined with my spiritual life. It’s time to move beyond thinking like Christ into walking like Christ. Will you make that decision this morning?