MENTOR LIKE JESUS: Teaching by Doing 2-20-22
INTRODUCTION
The
importance of really living the Christian life is illustrated in the life of
the famous author Mark Twain. Church leaders were largely to blame for his
becoming hostile to the Bible and the Christian faith. As he grew up, he knew
elders and deacons who owned slaves and abused them. He heard men using foul
language and saw them practice dishonesty during the week after speaking
piously in church on Sunday. He listened to ministers use the Bible to justify
slavery. Although he saw genuine love for the Lord Jesus in some people,
including his mother and his wife, he was so disturbed by the bad teaching and
poor example of church leaders, that he became bitter toward the things of God.
"We
hear, we forget; we see, we remember; we do, we understand." Chinese
proverb
A
teacher can teach what he could never do. A coach usually coaches what he
did long ago. A mentor transfers life experience in the moment as mentor
and mentee do life together, in real time.
I.
JESUS TAUGHT BY DOING
A. Prayer - greatest example
“One
day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his
disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his
disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your
name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into
temptation. ’ ””
Luke 11:1-4 NIV
B. Casting out demons
When
they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord,
have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He
often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples,
but they could not heal him.” “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus
replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?
Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy,
and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private
and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so
little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you. ”
Matthew 17:14-20 NIV
C. Acceptance
1. Tax
collectors and sinners
2.
Pharisee
3.
Women
4.
Samaritans (half-breeds)
5. Sick
6.
Children
II.
MENTORING AS MODELING
A. Listening-concern
1.
Attendng-position and posture
2.
Content-exactly what is said with no interpretation
3.
Feeling-the emotion conveyed
4.
Meaning-a synthesis of content and feeling
B. On time and
prepared-value
C. Serving-humility
It was
just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to
leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the
world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil
had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus
knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come
from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his
outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured
water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the
towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now
what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall
never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with
me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my
head as well!” Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash
their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one
of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not
every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his
clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for
you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for
that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you
should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater
than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that
you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
John 13:1-17 NIV
D. Dying-faith
Jesus
called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Luke 23:46 NIV
CONCLUSION
Paul-
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV
THE 40
MARTYRS
"History
knows them as the forty martyrs of Sebaste. They were soldiers in the famed
Twelfth Legion of Rome’s imperial army, around A.D. 320. One day the captain
informed his troops that Emperor Licinius had sent down an edict commanding all
soldiers to offer a sacrifice to his pagan god. Forty of the soldiers were
followers of Christ, and they refused. 'You can have our armor and even our
bodies, but our hearts' allegiance belongs to Jesus Christ,' they said.
"The
emperor decided to make an example of the soldiers, so in the middle of winter
he marched them onto a frozen lake and stripped them of their clothes.
'Renounce your God and you will be spared from death,' he told them. Not one
man came forward. So he left them there, huddled together to contemplate his
offer. Throughout the night the man stayed together, singing their song of
victory: Forty Martyrs for Christ. When morning came, thirty-nine of the men
had frozen to death. The one survivor finally relented and crawled to safety,
recanting his confession of faith in order to live. The officer in charge that
night had been so moved by the scene that during his watch he’d come to Jesus,
so he broke rank and walked out onto the ice. Stripping his clothes he openly
confessed his faith in Christ. The furious emperor demanded that he renounce
Jesus, but he refused. When the ordeal was over, the Roman soldiers carried
forty frozen men off of the ice."
(Ref: Lahaye, Tim, Jerry B. Jenkins and Frank M. Martin ed.,
Embracing Eternity, Living Each Day With a Heart Toward Heaven: The Persecuted,
Matthew 5:10- February 15. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.)
CHALLENGE
Our challenges
will fall heavily into the category of journaling. When we write, we have
to think, then formulate words, then put it to paper. This process helps
us integrate our whole self. We will also focus upon action.
- Have you ever learned something by watching?
- What are you teaching by what you are doing?
- Who is watching what you are doing?
- Are you intentional about modeling your Christian life?
- Who could you be intentionally teaching by doing?
INVITATION
It is
our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the
Word. You may want to follow Jesus. You may want to proclaim your
faith. You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing
Godly things). Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of
your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Possibly, if you have
already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a
member of Kenwood Church. If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to
make a decision in your life, you can come forward now. If you would
like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God
is doing in your life.
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