MENTOR LIKE JESUS: A Mutual Commitment 3-6-22

MENTOR LIKE JESUS: A Mutual Commitment 3-6-22

INTRODUCTION

Follow me, do not turn back

$3.00 WORTH OF GOD, PLEASE

Tim Hansel in his book "When I Relax I feel Guilty," writes some insights of what most people want from God. 

"I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please." 

“If we would be totally honest, the idea of transformation really scares us. That is because we know that such a radical change would be quite uncomfortable. We realize that with transformation comes a major overhaul of our lives and priorities.”

(From a sermon by Scott Chambers, The Mission if You Accept it: Transformation, 2/15/2011)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life ? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 

Matthew 6:25-34 NIV

I.  COMMITMENT

A.  Definition

com·mit·ment  [kuh-mit-muhnt]; noun

1.  the act of committing.

2.  the state of being committed.

3.  the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself.

4.  a pledge or promise; obligation: We have made a commitment to pay our bills on time.

5.  engagement; involvement: They have a sincere commitment to religion.

B.  Practice

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

‭‭ James‬ ‭1:22-25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Follow through

In the [2012] recent Summer Games, Kim Rhode won the gold medal in skeet shooting making her the first American to win 5 olympic medals in 5 consecutive olympic games. That’s a span of 20 years and not her only distinction. In the 2012 games, she hit 99 out of 100 skeet setting a new Olympic record and tying the world record for the event. Also, her first medal was in the 1996 Summer Games making her the youngest female gold medalist in Olympic shooting. How does one so distinguish themselves from the rest of the crowd?

In an interview with the New York Times, Rhode firmly answers the question of how. She shoots anywhere from 500 to 1,000 rounds every day of the week year around. To save you the math, this is 3,000,000 plus shots with a shotgun. That’s 600,000 rounds per medal. When you step back and look at that number, the medals and accomplishments really are not that surprising. 

II.  THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF HIGH COMMITMENT

A.  Follow me-drop the nets

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

‭‭ Matthew‬ ‭4:18-22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

B.  No turning back-only Jesus going forward

““I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests— those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molek, those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.””

‭‭ Zephaniah‬ ‭1:4-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.””

‭‭ Luke‬ ‭9:57-62‬ ‭NIV‬‬

C.  The price of admission-your life

“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. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”

‭‭ Matthew‬ ‭16:24-26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

““Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.””

‭‭ Mark‬ ‭10:29-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

III.  JESUS SET THE BAR

A.  No tool set-no other plan

“And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.””

‭‭ Luke‬ ‭9:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.”

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.””

‭‭ Acts‬ ‭4:12‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬

B.  He remained committed to those who were not-Peter

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!””

‭‭ John‬ ‭21:15-19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

C.  He followed through with His commitment-the cross after the garden

“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

‭‭ Luke‬ ‭9:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

‭‭ Hebrews‬ ‭12:1-3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

CONCLUSION

March 7

At age 22, Perpetua was a noblewoman who lived with her husband, her infant son, and her slave, Felicitas, in Carthage in North Africa). Around A.D. 200, North Africa was home to a vibrant Christian community, and Perpetua was a new believer.

But the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus believed Christianity undermined patriotism to the empire, so he determined to persecute Christians, focusing his attention on North Africa. Among the first to be arrested were five Christians taking classes to prepare for baptism, one of whom was Perpetua. Her father tried to talk her out of her faith, but Perpetua could not be swayed.

Time and again he tried to convince her to relent in her faith, but she would not. As a pagan, he realized there was an easy way for Perpetua to save herself: simply deny she was a Christian.

"Father do you see this vase here?" she replied. "Could it be called by any other name than what it is?" 

"No," he replied.

"Well, neither can I be called anything other than what I am, a Christian."

Time and again the father walked out of the prison dejected.

The day of the hearing arrived. The governor Hilarianus, probably wanting to avoid executing a mother still nursing a child, added, "Have pity on your father’s gray head; have pity on your infant son. Offer the sacrifice for the welfare of the emperors." 

"I will not." 

"Are you a Christian, then?" asked the governor.

"Yes, I am," Perpetua replied. Perpetua and her friends were condemned to die in the arena. Perpetua, her friends, and Felicitas (who also had been arrested) were dressed in belted tunics before they entered the stadium. Wild beasts and gladiators roamed the arena floor, and in the stands, crowds roared to see blood.

Immediately a wild heifer charged the group. Perpetua was tossed into the air and onto her back. She sat up, adjusted her ripped tunic, and walked over to help Felicitas. Next a leopard was let loose, and it wasn’t long before it attacked and mauled the Christians.

Still, the crowd was impatient, and began screaming for the deaths of the Christians. Perpetua and her friends were lined up, and one by one, slain by a gladiator’s sword.

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.

1. How would you rate your commitment to Jesus (scale of 1-5)?

2.  What holds back your commitment to Jesus?

3.  What keeps you from making a change?

4.  What 3 actions do you need to take today because of your commitment to Jesus?

5.  When will you commit to a mentoring relationship?

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.