Introduction:
Good
Morning! For those of you who do not know me, my name is Andy Beltz and I
am a member here at LCC. If you are visiting, we are thrilled to have you
here. We are excited about what is
happening here. Rick asked me about six months ago if I would like to
speak and I appreciate the opportunity to share one of the most important
lessons I have learned about being a Christian. If you are visiting, Rick
will be back and he is awesome. I appreciate him even more now that I have
prepared this sermon. I can’t understand
how he brings it the way he does every single week! While I will do my
best this morning, I know imitating him will be impossible, Imitation is part of what I will be talking
about. Please find your handouts, grab
a pen/follow along on the
powerpoint.
Imitation
actually became a learned habit for me at a very young age. I imitated so
many people! At age four I imitated Superman
by putting on my superman cape and climbing a tree and trying to fly.
I remember my bus driver having a tape deck in his bus. He would
play the Footloose soundtrack and I loved that song and Let’s Hear it
for the Boy. I remember thinking, “I am going to have a tape player in
every car I own when I am older!” My neighbor would imitate the
Iron Sheik on me! Because I imitated shows like that, my Mom would get me
bracelets like this: WWJD. Of course I wanted to imitate Jesus! There was Karate Kid (save the princess/the
crane), Who didn’t want to be Like Mike!
Nolan Ryan, and then Orel Hershiser (one finger curve Breakaway
magazine). One of my big goals as a teenager was to play Division I
baseball. I walked on in the fall of my Freshman year at Bowling
Green State University, but was given a speech that put things into
perspective. The head coach explained to me that my situation was
basically like Rudy. I admired Rudy, but
with the primary goal to be a physical therapist, I did not care to imitate
Rudy.
That was
a turning point. As an 18 year old boy, I could handle disappointment.
However, school was crazy
hard. Competition to get into PT school
was high. They were admitting 20 out of 200 applicants. I got a C on my first biology test which was
basically unacceptable. But after making the sacrifice to quit
baseball and focus on school, I expected things to get better. Unfortunately, it was within a very short
time that I received a C on an English paper and that took me to my breaking
point. I couldn’t take it anymore.
So, I did what any other 18 year old. boy in the mid 90s at BGSU would
have done. I went back to my dorm
room and watched Tommy Boy! Usually the scene at the beginning where
he looks for his grade on the wall with all of his classmates to see if
he is going to graduate, you know, “...D+ I’m going to graduate. It’s not a grade they like to give out I will
tell you that,” would make me feel better. But this time, it didn’t help. I felt so much like a failure. I felt
like there was nothing else I could do.
I fell to the ground crying pounding my fists to the floor. That
is when my straight A roommate walked in.
I will never forget the look on his face. Talk about awkward!
You see,
when we feel lost, trapped, or that we cannot win, it is then that handling the
normal temptations of life can become even more tough. What do we do when
there is nothing else we can do? We
all have appetites that lead to feelings that lead to thoughts that lead to
behaviors that make habits. These appetites, when fed, will release
dopamine that makes you feel good. The more you feed them, the bigger
they get. We have appetites for love, meaning, success, money, acceptance.
We can become addicted to not just substances, but we can become addicted
to gossip, worry, grumbling, doubt, envy, anger and self-criticism!
In other words, these behaviors become habits- unconscious events that our bodies seem to do
naturally!!
Indeed, as John Ortberg recently stated, "when
appetites go untrained, they become our gods." For
example, what do you tend to think when you are: bored, sad, disappointed,
frustrated, scared, lacking confidence, feeling attacked? We like
habits! Habits are efficient and easy. Will power is not the
best way to train our habits. When you are 18, will power works great
when you come home from a weekend retreat or a week of camp. However, that
usually only lasts a few days. How well does willpower work when you are
given bad news? How well does WWJD work
when you are exhausted, feel lost, not sure how things will work out?
Here is
the main point of this morning. This is what I really need you all to
know!
I. Imitation doesn’t work because we cannot manufacture the
character of Christ.
A.
Asking WWJD isn’t bad in itself, but it doesn’t
change appetites or feelings.
a.
Can you relate?
B.
Did you ever fall prey to the “as soon as myth?”
.
I remember being 10 and thinking, “as soon as I am baptized, all
these less desired thoughts, feelings, and behaviors will go away.”
a.
Did you ever think all your old temptations, behaviors, and habits
would all get washed down the drain of the baptismal and you would be a perfect
Christian...you just needed to add water? Perhaps just like instant
mashed potatoes...just add water!
C.
When we become Christians, there is good news
and bad news. The good news is , our identity is renewed, but our mind
is not renewed.
.
So what do you do when there is nothing else you can do? (Liam
said, “I go fishing.”)
a.
Perhaps, you can relate with the Israelites- Cycle of sin?
b.
Perhaps you never dreamed life would end up like this.
Thought life would be better. You
have tried hard, joined the group, joined the plan, had some highs and lows,
but you feel like you are pretty much right where you left off.
c.
Maybe you hoped you would have more money by now, a bigger house,
a better marriage, a marriage period, didn’t get into school you hoped, never
imagined you would be alone, didn’t think you would have to put up with a
certain illness, or maybe you imagined being “a better Christian” by now.
d.
I mean, instead of “like Mike” it looks like you are being given
the chance to be “like Rudy” and that is not the future you have always hoped
for?
e.
If you are real honest, you are sad, disillusioned, frustrated,
sometimes you may not know what to do. You may even think of giving up.
f.
What do you do when there is nothing else you can do?
II.
(Why we need to know) Instead of imitating, Jesus has a better
way- to remain.- John 15:5 (3 translations)
A.
Remain means abide, stay joined, stay close,
persevere, be
faithful.
a.
Jesus knew life would be different for us. He knew we could
not manufacture his character in ourselves.
b.
As we remain, Christ’s character is produced in us through Him.
B.
Remaining changes the way you think.
Remaining is not imitating.
.
What is the difference between remaining and imitating? Two
slides.
a.
Jesus says, “I know you keep losing to that appetite, but stay
close. I know you lost a loved one, but persevere, I know you think your
dreams aren’t going to come true, but just hang on! If you are faithful,
if you know me, if you really stick with me through thick and thin, you will
bear fruit. If you don’t give up when things
are hard, if you don’t lose focus on me when you are distracted, you will bear
fruit. In other words, just think about hanging on. Think about persevering in me. Don’t think about imitating me. Think about staying close. In the old testament it was about following
commands. Back in the day, we wanted you to imitate. Now we want you to
keep it relational.
C.
Big question: Are you trying to be like Jesus (WWJD) or are you
trying to associate with Jesus (remaining) Are you an imitator or an
associator? I want to be clear, trying to imitate Jesus is ok as long as
you do it for the purpose of association.
III.
(What need to do) Focus on growing your relationship with Jesus- on association
not imitation.
A.
Repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38)
a.
Repent= Change the way you think
i.Steven
Covey subway story.
b.
Right thinking over time with God’s help-
Changed life
c.
Be transformed by renewing your mind (Roman
12:1-2)
B.
Clothe self with Christ (Romans 13:14) and have
faith He can do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. (Ephesians
3:20)
C.
Hold to His teaching (John 8:31)
D.
Go and make disciples of all nations. (Matt 28:19) (Faith without
deeds is dead)
E.
Find right cocktail of spiritual disciplines (praying,
memorizing, mantras- He can do immeasurably more, to know your love that
surpasses knowledge, I can’t, but He can, open the eyes of my heart, with God
all things are possible, etc, praise/worship, small group time, counseling,
sermons/podcasts, serving, listening to inspirational music, memorization, etc.
.
Use these tools to train spiritually. Ask, are you trying or
training?
a.
Feelings lie. Don’t wait until you feel like it. Think
the way you want to feel and eventually you will feel the way you think.
b.
Check your daily routines. May help to combine physical
training.
.Untrained
appetites become our Gods.
F.
We must become innovators instead of imitators.
G.
Jesus will manufacture His character through us.
.
He is the vine and we are the branch. Jesus knew the branch
did not produce fruit. It was the vine that produced the fruit through
the branch. We can’t produce fruit apart from him.
a.
We cannot manufacture the character of Christ. We must let
Christ produce His character through us. We can’t copy the vine. Focus not on becoming, but on abiding.
Learn to stay close.
b.
Production of His character in us will be unconscious.
.Share
unconscious vs. conscious walking/balance.
IV. (Why
we need to do it?) He will do greater things through his Holy Spirit (John
14:12)
A.
Our church is a launchpad. We are innovators
for our changing world.
a.
If our church were to cease to exist, would anyone other than us
notice? (Faith without deeds is dead).
b.
Community needs us
i.CNN,
Washington Post, and USA Today
c.
We get distracted (Zoo story)- Little boy was told to stay close,
but got distracted and got lost.
d.
Imagine if we stay close! (pictures of dog owners)
B.
We are the glove and He is the hand.
.
What if I could somehow put Michael Jordan on? If I could
clothe myself with Michael Jordan? What
if Michael Jordan could come live inside you and somehow transform you into
him?
a.
Exchanged life is when we say, “less of me and more of you.
I can’t, but He can.” Not by
might, nor by power, but by your spirits (Zech 4:6).
b.
Romans 13:4. We clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.
.Instead
of being jealous, I was happy for them
i.Instead
of wanting the newest I actually gave more
ii.Instead
of getting mad, I understood
iii.Instead
of being anxious, I was at peace.
C.
Imitation is something we do.
Innovation is something He does through us.
.
In summary, as long as the branch remains on the vine, the branch
doesn’t have to think about producing fruit. It just does. Imitation is something we do. Association allows Him to do immeasurably
more than we could ever ask or imagine through us. We can’t, but He can. Instead of imitators, He makes us innovators.
a.
Today, if you are kicking the tires of Christianity, we invite you
to take the first step of association. Perhaps you haven’t been sure
whether or not you could do all the right things. You are worried you will never be good enough
to be a Christian. Good news, it was never about you imitating
anyone. It is about you hanging with
Jesus. Staying close. Knowing Him.
Then, don’t worry, he will produce His character inside you with time.
