“The Ultimate Role
Model”
Intro:
1. As children most of us had a role model. Some of us may have looked up to our parents, fictitious characters, or even Bible characters.
2. As Christians Christ should be our ultimate role model for everything in life (I Pet 2:21; Rev 14:4; Phil 2:5ff).
3. In our speech, actions, and thought we must strive to be like Christ all day every day.
4. The purpose of this sermon is to highlight 5 characteristics of Christ that we must emulate.
I.
The “Social” Jesus.
A. All too often, we think of Jesus as a smug, radical, person who could never smile or enjoy a good time and just liked to stand in the background and rebuke people.
B. However, in the gospel of John we see that Jesus was a person who socialized and intermingled with others.
1. The
Wedding in
2. Jacob’s Well (a very well used spot Jn 4).
3. In the Temple (Jn 8:2-3).
4. The
Feast at
C. While Jesus was a very social person, he could also keep his mind on spiritual matters at the same time. In fact, Jesus used his socializing to produce faith in Him and to make new converts. For this was His very purpose (Jn 19:10).
D. You & I must be sociable with others to gain peoples friendship and to help them make it to Heaven. In fact, friends and relatives bring most people to Christ. Notice these statistics: “The Institute for American church Growth asked over 10,000 people this question: ‘What was responsible for your coming to Christ and this church?’ Their replies were:
1. I had a special need- 3%
2. I just walked in- 3%
3. I liked the minister- 6%
4. I visited there- 1%
5. I liked the Bible class-5%
6. I attended a gospel meeting- 0.5%
7. I liked the programs- 3%
8.
A friend
or relative invited me- 79%
II.
The “Compassionate” Jesus.
A. While Jesus did not go around and teach a health and wealth gospel, we do see that He was a very compassionate individual for those who were hurting or in need.
1. The man at the Pool (Jn 5:5)
2. The 5,000 (Jn 6:5; Matt 14:14).
3. The blind man (Jn 9).
4. Lazarus (Jn 11).
B. Again, though Jesus was a very compassionate person, He was able to go beyond his mere emotional attachment to people and meet their spiritual needs.
C. You and I must be like Jesus and help those who are hurting or in need physically (Gal 6:10). But if this is all we do it is in vain. We must use this as an avenue to meet their spiritual needs.
III.
The “Intense” Jesus.
A. While it is true that Jesus was a calm, cool, and level-headed person, there were also moments when Jesus was very intense with people.
1. To the Jews who believed in John 8 Jesus would say, “You still need to be free”, “You are of your father the devil”, and “You need to realize I am the Great I AM.”
2. Jn 12:48 To the Jews who loved the praise of men more than God.
3. In front of Pilate (Jn 19:11).
B. The application for us today is that we too must be intense when the situation demands it. We must be able to stand up for truth in such a way that people do not doubt what we believe. But unlike some think, being intense does not have to mean that you have a smug face, and a loud voice. One can be intense in situations without behaving himself in such a way that others would be offended by his conduct. We must find the happy medium of truth in love (Eph 4:15). Liberal---------Conservative-----------Radical.
IV.
The “Transition
Conversationalist” Jesus.
A. One of the greatest characteristics of Jesus as an evangelist is that He was able to make the transition in everyday conversation to a conversation that would end up focusing on the individual on spiritual status in God’s eyes.
1. Nicodemus—From the flattery of how great a teacher Jesus was to Nicodemus here is the one and only way you can get into God’s kingdom.
2. John 4—From “May I have a drink” to “I am the living water”.
3. John 6—From physical bread and manna to “I am the Bread of life”.
B. Like Jesus, we must always be looking for the opportunity to turn ordinary conversation into a conversation about individual spiritual status. But, this must be done with much wisdom and tact (Matt 10:16). Some examples of this today might be:
1. It’s a beautiful day. Yes, God has made a beautiful day today. Do you believe in God?
2. Aren’t the tragedies around us terrible? Yes they are. But the joy of being a Christian is you don’t have to count death as a loss.
V.
The “Coping” Jesus.
A. How is it the case that a man who was tempted in all points as we are(beating, spit upon, mocked, laughed at) could still be without sin? Jesus had to have some way of Coping with the Cross and all it entailed. Here are 2 ways in which I think Jesus was able to cope with the Cross:
B. Prayer-Jesus realized the value of Prayer. Before the dreaded day when He was delivered up to the Jews He was praying in the Garden. (Jn 17). The Hebrew writer tells us that we can find mercy and grace to help us in time of need (Heb 4:16), and then one chapter later we see Jesus doing just that (Heb 5:7). Prayer can always help us not to be discouraged (Lk 18:1).
C. Purpose- The second reason Jesus was able to cope with the cross is because he realized what His purpose was. His purpose was greater than his own feelings. We must be able to remove self out of the way for the benefit of others at times in our life. Our purpose in life is to glorify God (I Cor 10:31), and if we keep this at the forefront of our minds it can help us with whatever may come along life’s way.