Imitate Me As I Imitate Christ

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We hope this message will light up your tea.

You actually tell a young man to follow you. I said,

that's not the full sentence. The full senten is as

I follow Christ. And when you want to make disciples,

you have to say, Jack, follow me. I'm not perfect,

but follow me. And Jack, as you say to someone else,

follow me, and then someone else who say.

Someone else follow me. The whole essence of disciples chip

is found in two words. Follow me. Yes, that's the

whole essence. Many churches have asked me to come.

And do a talk with them and speak to them

about discipleship, about hurdles. And I'll tell you why, because

many leaders, including pastors, are actually afraid to use these

two words, because actually, to be honest with you, I

was afraid when I first started, because how many of

you are confident enough?

You know, Like I look at Jack. Now, Jack is

my care he is.

One of my adult members, and I've had the privilege

of hurling him. I say privilege because I look at

how God has used it amazing and so I'm very

proud of Jack, pastor Jack, very proud of and I

have twelve men like that. Okay, out the king and

so on and so forth. All right, but I have

to be bold enough to say Jack follow me. Or

in First Corinthians eleven, one imitate me as I imitate Christ.

But you know a lot of people love leaders.

Don't dare say that because we don't see our lives

it's perfect, don't see our lives as inspiring nothing. But

it doesn't matter because it doesn't matter what you see.

It matters what he sees. And he said, this is.

The way to do it.

You must make disciples. And when you want to make disciples,

you have to say, Jack, follow me. I'm not perfect,

but follow me. And Jack has to say to someone

else follow me, and someone else who say, someone else

follow me.

But many past when I speak to them, I said, oh,

how do you do? Pastor?

I said, the first thing I have to do is Jack,

follow me? You actually tell a young man to follow you.

I said, that's not the full sentence, the full sentence

as I follow Christ. I don't probably Jack, I'm perfect,

but maybe he can also learn from my mistakes, from

my weakness. But many pastors will say to me, past

I don't even dare say, and to an older man,

even worse to some passes are like maybe in their forties.

But there are men in the church at seventy and

yet you still have to you are a disciple seventy

old men. I might not have experienced at you in business,

in work, whatever it is, but.

I follow Christ. And I asked, if you want to

be part of a discipleship, follow me.

You don't have to learn from me how to be

a dad or how to be a boss, but you

can maybe learn from me how to be more.

Like Jesus Avery.

Okay, so this is a second confidence we all must

have in a disciple.

First theme, you must you must.

Translate the confidence you have in Jesus into what doesn't mean.

To you everywhere.

Okay, So the next scripture, imitate me, just as I

also imitate Christ.

You know that what.

Confidence did Paul have to even say imitate me.

As a Christ?

What was his confidence? Because he also had to have

a confidence accepret Tree. Remember the story Accepreatree where the

man who was laying from birth seated at the gate

called beautiful the beautiful Gate. Remember this, Okay, you can

go back and read it. Accept the Tree verse three

to four eleven to twelve. I put some of the

portion of the scripture there. He saw Peter and John

about to go into the temple ask for arms, and

fixing his eyes on him with John.

Peter said, look at us? What did you say? What

do you say? Look at us? Did you say? Look

at you?

Now that many times those who are into like, oh,

I just follow Jesus, I just follow Jesus will have

trouble trying to say to people, look at us. But

that's what Peter said first. Because the man who is

lame and the beautiful gain can see Jesus, and your

friends and your colleagues and your schoolmates can see Jesus.

So you've got to be confident enough to go to

your workplace and say, I am the Jesus in flesh,

and the Jesus that lives in me that I put

my confidence in.

I live his life out. That's why it's so important

to have a good destiminy wherever.

You work, whenever you go to school, wherever, even if

you're a housewife homemaker.

Is so because the neighbors are looking, they don't know Jesus. Sorry,

you gotta be.

Confident to say this is part of God's plan because

many of us go like, oh, look at us, try

and say look at us.

Try and say look at me, try and say follow me,

and you feel a little bit scared. But I'm telling you,

this is God's praying. Look at us now.

As the lame man who was here held on to

Peter and John all the people that okay, I missed

the whole part that he was here, and he went

into the temple with.

Peter and John leaping what praising God? Right? How does

the song goro walking and leaping and praising God? Walking

and leap? This is that's how. That's how we sing

the song straight from scripture.

Because the man who once couldn't walk looked that Peter

brought here in the name of Jesus. Shortest prayer I've

ever heard. Some of us pray long prayers. That's because

someone heal know. This guy just said, in the name

of Jesus Christ and his rise up and walk. Short

prayer when Jesus is in the center of it all.

Short prayer when you.

Are in the center of it all, maybe the president

long there.

Because sometimes we are very dependent on our eloquency of prayer.

We make it so eloquent that the newcomers who come

I do want to pray because oh you know I

heard Andrew pray and he was praying Bahasa and Mandrid.

How will I ever measure up? I'm kidding. We love Andrew,

don't we? Because his mother is Peter?

So God, why does pass pray for ten minutes? And

it's all kings English? And he has got justification in

their signification glorification?

How am I ever going to measure up?

God loves simple prayers, but sometimes we make it so

into he answers eloquent prayers.

I ask you in me, look at us?

And so this man is holding onto them and they

all Now all the people in the temple are looking

at Peter and John right, No, listen, so Peter. When

when Peter saw it, he responded to the people men

of Israel, why do you marvel at this?

Or why looks so intensely at us? I love that.

In just a short part of scripture, you see two opposites.

Number one look at us? Number two? Why look at us?

Are you're very confusing?

Ah?

This Christianity very confusing? What do you want to know?

Look at you? Don't look at you?

I want you all to be confident to know there's

a time to say, look at me, and then after

that give God all the glory. Start looking at me.

It might have started with me, but now they are

giving you Christ. Follow him and his name says X

three sixteen.

So follow him through faith in his name.

Follow me has made this man strong, whom you see

and know, yes, the faith which comes to him has

given him. This affects soundless in the presence of you all.

The real problem is the real problem is not look

at us, but continue to look at us.

That's what you and I need to avoid.

When I came in here first, and I started by

saying good morning, Hello.

And all that right, you're looking at me.

If you didn't need to look at me, I should

be speaking from the back. Next time, I ad the

preacher should speak from the back, and you guys just

look at the front. You know, no, no, listen to me,

look at me, all right, But I prayed it. After

a while, as I go on preaching, you are just

looking at Christ. Now it happens, you know, it happens

because the preacher can shift your attention to Jesus. And

after a while, oh, I'm not even I'm not even

thinking about pass anymore.

Of all that I'm looking at him. My thoughts have

gone on to the Lord. And then now I'm asking

how does this affect me? How does this change me?

Do you understand?

But you know if a preacher comes and then the

whole forty five minutes, one hour, and you still get

him thinking about him. You know, his biceps are flexing,

and you know, sorry, but you know what I'm saying,

it's to me, it's toll mean, it's still mean. Then

for forty five minutes, you just got the preacher. And

that's why when you go out, you speak about the Preacher.

Did you know? Did you know? Did you know? Did

you know? Did you know? Did you know? You must

come next time he.

Preaches because it's the Preacher, but you should go away

after the preacher Finisher is talking about Jesus. Yes, you

can say, yeah, the picture was really really he just

pointed us to the Lord. My life is changed because

not was the Preacher, because of the words of eternal

life that came from Christ. And now I'm going home

wanting to follow him. Now follow the Preacher.

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ahead for you. God bless