Practicing the Way: Do as Jesus Did
To follow Jesus is to become His apprentice. His disciple. His follower.
- Everyone is following something (we are all “influenced” and “being shaped”)
- Everyone has a Rabbi.
Learning theorists frame apprenticeship as a four-stage training process (Put on screen)
- I do; you watch.
- I do; you help.
- You do; I help.
- You do; I watch.
Jesus is the Prototype
Jesus was called the “first fruits” in the New Testament.
- In their day the first fruits were the first buds of the fall harvest, a sign of what’s about to erupt en masse.
- Jesus is the first sign of what is coming for all His followers.
- Some scholars translate the Greek, prototype, the first of a whole new kind of human.
Luke 4:18 Jesus said, The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
- Jesus did what he did by drawing on his connection to the capacities of God.
- Jesus lived on the reliance of the Holy Spirit.
- Jesus is the prototype of revealing to us what human beings have the potential to become if reunited with God.
Do What Jesus Did!
John 14:12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
Many scholars debate what Jesus meant here by “greater things,” but what they all align on is that it does not mean lesser things.
And here’s another thing they all agree on… “Whosoever Believes” means “Whosoever Believes”!!
This Whosoever is SAME WHOSOEVER AS JOHN 3:16.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life!
- IF YOU THINK THAT WHOSOEVER REFERS TO YOU, YOU BETTER THINK THIS WHOSOEVER REFERS TO YOU.
Comer categorizes what Jesus did in three rhythms:
- Making space for the gospel.
- Preaching the gospel.
- Demonstrating the gospel.
Rhythm #1: Making space for the gospel.
Talking about this point is almost like a full message on Hospitality.
- How often in the Bible do we see Jesus sitting down to eat with people or hanging out with them in homes?
- The gospel of Luke has over fifty references to food.
- Jesus is at a meal, coming from a meal, or going to a meal.
A Rabbi sitting with someone at the table signified they were welcome in their community, their home, and with their God.
- Meals, and the table were a vital part of the Jewish community and not to be taken lightly.
- Jesus sat with tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners.
- The religious people saw meals as “boundary markers” like, “we only eat with our own kind of people.”
- But Jesus used mealtime as a sign of God’s great welcome into the kingdom; not a way to keep people out, but to invite people in.
Rhythm #2: Preaching the Gospel
EVERYONE IS PREACHING A GOSPEL of some kind.
Everyone is preaching their truth.
- You share with people things that have given you joy.
We have to spend more time with Jesus and experience Him more so He is what spills out to everyone else.
So… The question is not, are you preaching the gospel, rather, it’s what gospel are we preaching? (what “good news” do you spend your time telling people about)
- As an apprentice of Jesus are you preaching HIS gospel.
- Telling people about Jesus is preaching the gospel.
- We talk about Jesus because we love Jesus the most.
- Assume God is at work in people, and find where He is at work and join in.
RHYTHM #3: Demonstrating the Gospel
In the Matthew 25, he talked about the “whosoever believes.” He said they would be the ones who feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the prisoners, and give the homeless a place to rest.
If you just can’t get your faith around the fact that we are supposed to HEAL THE SICK, CAST OUT DEVILS, WORK SIGNS, WONDERS, AND MIRACLES, AND EVEN RAISE THE DEAD, then let me simplify this for you into something I think all of us can muster up the boldness to do!
Let’s PRAY for PEOPLE. I’m talking to you today about Demonstrating the Gospel!
Or be the person who will stop and help them!
- We all need to get into the rhythm of stopping what we are doing in order to Demonstrate the Gospel!
- Let’s DEMONSTRATE THE GOSPEL not only in our words but also in our DEEDS!
Let me close with this final word about following Jesus and becoming like him!!
- That means in every way possible.
- Not just in what seem to be the glories of sharing the good news, but also in the COSTS of sharing the Good News.
Jesus said it this way:
TAKE UP YOUR CROSS
What did Jesus mean when he said all of this—even as glorious as it is—would be like “taking up our cross” and following him?
- I think he meant for you and me to know that this Gospel is worth our Sacrifice!!
What will you have to sacrifice in order to #1 Make Space for the Gospel?
What will you have to sacrifice in order to #2 Preach the Gospel?
What will you have to sacrifice in order to #3 Demonstrate the Gospel?