I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. John 13:15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

Who Will You Emulate? Part II Is your life worth emulating?

What we discussed… We do a lot of things because other people do it… Sometimes that’s good sometimes it’s not… It is a choice and following God requires being different (Numbers 14:24)… It takes courage to stand out from a crowd that doesn’t follow the example of Christ… God blesses those who follow Christ… It’s about having Godly priorities… We started talking about how we must deny ourselves…

Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

Matthew 19:16  Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

Matthew 19:20-22 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Matthew 19:27-29 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

The Cost of Emulating Jesus Luke 9:57-61… Luke 14:26-27… John 12:25-27… These passages stand on their own, the cost is great and there is no excuse for not putting Christ first in our lives…

Jude 1:17-19 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.  They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”  These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. We are no better than Eve, we too have believed the lie… We can always find someone who will tell us what we want to hear…

Jude 1:20-23 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

This is the proof We make a difference in the lives of others! As a preacher, teacher, and a coach to make a difference in the lives and performance of others I have to make sure they understand what perfection… looks like. I had to give them something worth emulating, something worth following that indeed makes a difference.

Examples of perfection… As a coach we would drill and practice good technique and plays… As a teacher I would provide examples of A+ work, C- work, and the work of those students repeating my class next term… I would clearly explain, maybe using a rubric, how things would be graded, so that students had clear expectations… As a preacher/christian It is my (our) responsibility to hold up the example of Jesus, I Corinthians 11:1…

Ask yourself… If people did what you do, would they be ok? Would they know Jesus? Would they be confident in their relationship with Jesus and the coming judgment day? Does your life provide a good example or a bad example for your family, friends, and the community to emulate?

We are called to make a difference! John 13:15, I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. We are called to make a difference!

Invitation… Before we can make a difference in the lives of others, Jesus has to make a difference in our lives…