Sunday, Nov 12, 2017
I don't want to just be a Christian because I entered a season in my life where tradition and Nostalgia and rituals may be important. I want to be a Christian because I am deeply deeply in love with Jesus and I want to fall on. And I don't want to I don't want to follow. Everybody else's concept their thoughts on Jesus. I want to know him. I want to know him personally. I want I want my face and my trust in him to be so real and so authentic and so genuine. Because I know only done. Only then will I truly experience his presence in his peace in his power?
a very early on in my Ministry. In fact, it was in my first position that I held I was a youth pastor at First Assembly of God in Camdenton, Missouri right next to the Lake of the Ozarks.
and I was impressed with the scripture. And many of you that have been here for a while. You probably know the scripture by heart because I quote it probably every third or fourth Sunday. And it's what the Apostle Paul wrote in the to the Philippian Church in Philippians chapter 3 verse 10 and 11. I think my slide only has first 10 on there. I memorized it in the NIV 1984 Edition. So it's a little bit different in some of the additions now presently, but Paul said I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings becoming like him in his death and so somehow to attain unto the resurrection from the dead. Now this week I was glowing upon that scripture in in the first phrase of that scripture. I want to know Christ.
And I thought of something. The person who wrote this was a man by the name of Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but it was Paul who wrote this.
Paul had a dramatic miraculous conversion experience he's on the Damascus Road and God Supernatural I confronted him.
He ended up becoming blind. Everybody else could not see what was happening. They couldn't even understand what they were hearing. But Paul didn't Jesus said to Paul who was at the time Saul. Why are you persecuting me? Why are you coming against me?
and Paul realized for the first time the one that he hated and despised was indeed the Messiah. the savior it so Paul became Paul became a follower of Jesus Christ and enemy of the church becoming a follower of Jesus Christ and Paul experience all kinds of of things that were that we would label the miraculous. He saw people who are dead come to life. He he saw people that were sick. Filled the saw their dramatic the powerful.
I was puzzled this week when I thought
he said in Philippians 2 or a 3 verse 10. I want to know Christ. Why did he say I know Christ?
Why did you say I want to know Christ? I would I ask my wife about this. We talked about it a couple days ago.
My thinking is does Paul knows Christ. But every day of his life is dedicated in knowing him more. And it's not just facts or figures not just information. Not just historical data. He wants to know Christ. He wants to he wants to grasp how how Jesus thinks what Jesus wants his will he wants to know intimately he wants to know Christ and everything about Jesus and how how that knowledge can permeates to every aspect of his life his attitude his actions.
In other words, he wants to follow Christ every moment of every day of his life.
Did Matthew 4:19 Jesus? Is calling people to be his followers? And he says he said to them follow me and I will make you Fishers of Men. What Jesus was saying there in that scripture? He sang. I want you to follow me. I want you to I want you to follow what I do. I want you to learn from me when I teach my actions my activities. I want you to follow me, and I'm going to change your direction in life.
See many of the disciples are some of them were fisherman by trade and he says you're going to be Fishers of Men. Any change them to change their whole Direction in life?
It didn't Matthew chapter 10. first 38 Jesus Center
and whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
I don't want to follow Jesus or we're not there's no writing on the fence. There's no there's no.
pretending that we are Christians either you're going to follow Christ completely or you're not
Those are powerful words, aren't they? Define Cheese's.
Throwing down the gauntlet drawing a Line in the Sand and sing to us. You can't play around with this. You can't go through the religious motions.
You need to be all in.
OMG
and friends that absolutely rocks my world. I mean it just absolutely changes everything. It's profound.
It amazes me and I have to confess it confuses. Me, too.
in Matthew chapter 20 This is what I want to focus on for the next few minutes of time.
Jesus and his followers we're together. Two of the followers were brother and had a mom. And the mom went to Jesus. in the mom asked Jesus to do something for her voice. Moms love their boys usually and they want to see their boys succeed. Don't they?
Angela this is going to sound terrible, but I'm going to say it and then I'm going to ask for forgiveness later.
We were in a conversation was it yesterday with our kids? Was it in the car yesterday in our kid and we were talking about you know, Amber Ryan is going to be graduating high school in the spring and we're talking about college and I made a statement that didn't sound very loving and I want to confess to you but my statement was I I I don't want them to think that they need to stay at the house after they graduate for many years.
Okay. But I want them to you know, graduate going to college get a career and move out.
Okay, okay.
I want them to be successful. Okay?
So it's apparent sweet. We want our children to be successful most of time and soul. So James and John's mom wanted them to be successful, but she decided she wanted them to be really successful.
He she wanted her son's to be on the right and the left side of Jesus's throne in heaven. Okay. I'm in Jesus politely lovingly said. I don't think you fully understand what you're saying. But then he said in Matthew 20 verse 25 these words.
He called his disciples and he said, you know the rulers of the Gentiles Lord over them.
and there the great ones exercise authority over them it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be the great among you must be your servant and whoever would be the first among you be your slave. Even is a son of man. Came not to serve not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Will you look at that passage of scripture? It shows us an aspect of what it means to follow Jesus.
In following Jesus there certain things that it it doesn't mean and there certain things that it does me. Let's start with the negative. What what does following Jesus in mean in the context of this passage? What are first of all? What does it not mean? It's not about position. It's not about Idol.
Anytime somebody wants to be a leader in the church. I have to confess I get a little nervous. Because there's always in the back of my mind. What's the agenda? What are they going into that affects?
The attitude of a follower of Jesus Christ is the attitude. I'm not interested in position or title. I'm interested in following the will of God. And it may still a little Nuance there, but it's very very important that we understand that as followers of Christ. We're not seeking to elevate ourselves. We're not speaking to Lord it over people in that brings a second thought to this. It's not just about position, but it's also about power of our own making. We live in a world today where position and power is everything.
And I will tell you without God position and power lead to very nasty results. Just talked to the people in Hollywood right now. There is not a day that goes by in which we are discovering that people in power and authority took advantage of their position to pray on the week.
That should not be part of what a follower of Jesus Christ is about.
We do not pray on the week.
We do not Lord it over people as Christ declared. Good friends. There are three attributes In this passage. We do need to embrace in our life as a follower of Jesus Christ. the first one is humility.
When we follow Christ Christ as follow Christ is calling us to follow him in humility.
It's not about us. It's not about who we are or what we do or all of our giftings or all of our our our our abilities to to shower upon people in the prove ourselves as as Giants in the faith know it is about walking in humility in the Light of Christ.
And I will tell you I I can be a very prideful person. I can't. I battle Pride all the time.
And so there's things that I do that forces me. To to to remind myself about humility.
There's things that I do to make certain that I do not Elevate myself and to to to show it to try to show everybody. I am such a spiritual even though I have the role of a pastor. I am not better than you.
Let me throw something else out of you that you might may disagree with I am not more important than you.
I'm a member of the body of Christ and I have a certain function and you have certain functions, but one is not better than the other.
You might feel like your pinky. But I guarantee you if that pinky comes into contact with a hammer you have everybody's attention.
Okay. So there's things that I try to do to remind myself that I am who I am because of Jesus Christ not because of Ed Walker.
And we need to embrace the life of humility. Not saying or not trying to pretend or not trying to convince anybody we're better than somebody else even though I've been safe for some 48 years. I will tell you. I am still learning a lot.
And there are lessons that I've gone through where I've had to do mini do overs. Because I'm still learning.
But when it comes to being a follower of Jesus Christ and serving like Jesus, I need to embrace a life of humility. secondly I need to embrace a life of selflessness.
When I lead like Jesus or when I serve like Jesus, I need to be selfless. I need to put other others before me. I'm going to say something and then I just lost my jewel in the crown, but that's okay. I'd because there's sometimes I got a model what I want everybody else to do to embrace and that is we need to put others before us. We just have to okay you will notice every time now didn't quite work last week because people were not cooperating. But I usually when we have a meal I usually want to eat very last there's a practical reason that I want to eat last because I would be very humiliated if I ate first and then the people that were last didn't get anything to eat. So I I eat last okay. And so I I waited for the line last we could get down and so I thought I was the last so I got in line and like 5 minutes later. I turn around there 20-30 people behind Okay, but there's something very important. We we need to be attentive to people around us and we need to put everyone else first before us. It needs to be be the Hallmark of what a follower of Jesus Christ does. Jesus demonstrate throughout his ministry. He practice this over and over and over again. Okay, he didn't have money. He didn't even have a place to stay. He just I mean he lived as a popper even though he's the king of kings and Lord of lords and everything is his
He wanted to lead his disciples with an example don't be so attached to the things of this world to be attached to Christ.
And don't be so focused on your position. The focused on lifting everyone else around you up. I will tell you if we can become a church where we lift everyone else up. I can be a fun person you part of isn't it?
But too often what happens is we become selfish and self-centered and selfishness and self-centeredness what that invites is the critical spirit. And we develop the Sun Tanning habit of criticizing one another. We criticize people's motives, even though we may not know what their motives are at all. We we criticize the way people look the way they dress the way they talk the car. They think drive into the house that they lived in the job that they may have. We we entered this criticism and we also try to elevate ourselves and our abilities and are our strengths.
And that is not what I follow Jesus Christ is all about.
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Third Way We Serve like Jesus is embracing generosity. generosity
What was me vacuum in verse 27 of Matthew 20? Or 28 verse 28 even as the son of man came not to be served but to serve and to give you see that there to give his life as a ransom for many to give. Did you know as a follower of Jesus Christ your life is all about giving. It is about giving your time giving your talent giving your treasure giving everything that God is giving given to you. And being a giver. being generous being responsive to the needs of others.
See when we cultivate a heart of servanthood. What we're doing is we are cultivating these attributes these qualities that exemplify.
When we invite humility selflessness and generosity into our life.
What happened is that we are becoming more and more like Jesus and that friend is what a Christian is all about.
When people see you in your life, and it's not just on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday. Who are they looking at? What are they see?
Are they seeing Christ in you? Is there something in you that that draws people? the Christ
don't get me wrong. I am not perfect at this at all. I am I am.
I'm still I'm still I feel like sometimes I'm still in grade school when it comes to this.
But I remember.
Remember when I was serving at worksmith Air Force Base in Michigan? I was in a warehouse. And I had I had five. Airman that I was I was a supervisor
And one of those are men. His name was Jonathan.
I remember his last name, but I won't give it. Jonathan was sarcastic. And he was comfortable and putting everybody down.
And I remember when one day I was in a in part of the building where it was was a cage and we we put things that work. Things that people like to steal we put it in a cave so it won't be stolen and Jonathan came up to me and I was really concerned because I thought he would just make fun of me because I mean that's what he did.
And he did so he said something that just absolutely shocked.
He said dad. He said I I wish I was more like you.
And so I said, why would you say that?
and Jonathan said because I see something in you I would like to become.
And what he saw imperfect as he as he could see it. With somebody that was desperately trying to live his faith in Jesus Christ, even though I will tell you I fell short so often.
My friends, let me tell you something. When it comes to following Jesus Christ. We need to be people. That are willing to lay everything down. For his purpose in his plan for our life. We need to embrace humility selflessness and generosity and say it's no longer about me and it's no longer about elevating myself. It is about God and His glory that is what I want to see that is what I want to become. I want to be someone that points people to Christ not myself. and when you do Watch What Happens? Watch what God will do in your life if you become. The genuine follower of Jesus Christ. He has called you to be
Helmet, would you come to the piano?
Where You Are
I want to invite you to stand with me.
For those of you that have been a Christian for a long time.
remember those
that what is most important? Is that Jesus Christ is your lord and savior?
And that it's not about you. It's about God. And never lose sight and never let go.
of maintaining genuine humility genuine selflessness and genuine generosity
She God wants you to have a servant's heart. Those of you in this room and you may be new Christians.
The same thing applies to you.
Be humble before the Lord. Selfless in all that you do. And learn the habit of generosity.
Whether you have been saved for decades or been saved for month.
What matters is this open your heart to what God wants you to do and follow Christ's example. In doing wife gives away. how to bait a servant's heart be willing to do whatever God calls you to do.
and when you are in the middle of God's will you will experience this peace that surpasses understanding his joy that is unspeakable and full of his glory it will change. God wants you to be a servant. a servant of all and when you do God gets the glory. He gets the praise you become a living testimony. of worship and a praise to God
lord Jesus. Thank you. Through your word that you remind us of what it means to follow you and part of that is the follow you in serving one another.
Help us God to serve you with. compassion with humility Lorde with a general