Sermon Central
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Lifestyle Of A Christ Disciple Series
Contributed by Rev. Dr. Andrew B Natarajan on Jan 18, 2020 (message contributor)
Summary: Following Jesus Christ is a challenge on the earth with many struggles. But Christ the perfect role model will take us to the highest places if we surrender ourselves to him.
LIFESTYLE OF A CHRIST DISCIPLE
Introduction:
Some hundred years ago two team leaders adopted the same goal: Both sought to be the first to lead an expedition to the South Pole. Once made the decision presented with them countless choices. Selecting the cloth to wear, food to eat and the mode of transport, etc.,
Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer, gleaned from Inuit methodology the best type of equipment and clothing to use. He chose the dogs to pull the sledges.
Robert Falcon Scott, the naval officer chose to use ponies and modern motorized sledges. He was a brave and daring man but did not prepare like Amundsen.
As they were nearing the Transantarctic Mountains ponies became weak and died, motors stop functioning but dogs kept moving. Amundsen became winner but Roald lost the race and incurred loss of lives and properties because of pride and poor planning.
Our choice of living is going to determine our destinies. “Chose to do what you can do, not what you want to do”.
Role Model:
Lifestyle means a way of life established by a society, culture, group or individual for certain behaviour, communication and relationship. Lifestyle includes quality of food habits, dressing sense, the standard of residence, eye contact, walking style, communications skills and convincing presentations of words and personalities. “Some decisions made as a result of ignorance, rebellion and stubbornness can have lifelong repercussions”. “Successful people generally set goals and objectives; highly successful individuals make evidence-based decisions that move them deliberately toward those goals” (from Celebrations: 7th Day Magazine).
The real role model for the LIFESTYLE OF A DISCIPLE OF CHRIST has to be drawn only from Jesus Christ by close watch and observation. The disciple is the one who denies himself and takes up the cross (Mathew16:24). From 22.11.2019 to 31.12.2019, I was fasting for forty nights to study the personal life of Our Lord Jesus Christ from the Gospels of Mark and Luke. Both contain 40 chapters and I was deeply meditating each chapter on each night. It was very interesting and thought-provoking. For making and multiplying disciples we need the style of Jesus.
I was going through the vision and mission statements of Jesus Christ. Luke 10:19 was his VISION– “Empower the Disciples of Christ” and Luke 19:10 was his MISSION – “seek and save the Lost” (Mathew 18:11).
1. LIVE WITH THE PRESENCE OF GOD
CORAM DEO is a Latin phrase refers ‘in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the honour and to the glory of God’ Living before God in all areas of Life. Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit(Luke 4:1). He was led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1). He fasted for forty days and nights (Luke 4:2, Mark 9:29). He was tempted (Luke 4:2). He acquired his power and strength from the LORD. Jesus Prayed to have intimate commune with God. Isolated intimacy with the Father was his main motivation (Mathew 14:22-23, Mark 1:35). His prayers were with such intensity of focus that at the end of His life He even sweat great drops of blood (Luke 22:44). Coram Deo was his anthem.
Franck DeCensom one of the contributors to the CBN.com says, “Jesus’ prayer life reveals that Jesus was having an advanced intimate relationship with the Father and also having a friendship with God (John 8:16, 16:32, and 8:28-29). His ministry for 24 hours a day, seven days a week did not prevent him to spend time in prayer, he engaged himself in conversation with the Father and with the Spirit (Luke 5:15-16).Gospel of Mark records that Jesus had time to pray very early morning (Mark 1:35), noon, evenings and in the nights(Luke 6:12). Prayer requires wrestling in the Spirit with passion and fervency. More prayer equals more help and more blessings from God. God is looking for a person who can pray and intercede for the nations (Isaiah 59:16). Ceasing to pray for the known people is sin(1 Samuel 12:23).
2. LIVE WITH THE MIND OF CHRIST
Jesus Christ was a man of gentle, humble and meek spirit. He exhibited humility through his servanthood leadership and culminated in Forgiveness.
a. Humility
Christ made himself nothing (Philippians 2:7), he humbled himself (v.8), and made himself of no reputation. The concept of empty is “KENOSIS” in Greek. Jesus has given himself to be subjected as a little, feeble, weak personality in the hands of Mary and Joseph. He accepted the silent period in his life- “kenotita” (Luke 2:7).
Paul uses the word Morphe instead of the schema. Morphe is “an essential form it never altars, expression of the reality”. Schema is an outward, temporary, changes from time to time, circumstance to circumstance, person to person and situation to situation.
Jesus never gave place for violence, grasping, exploiting but completely existed with MORPHE. Christ became Jesus not an avatar but an incarnation. It’s not temporary but permanent form. Empty yourself is the core, means completely neglected and forgotten. His form cannot be changed once for all he became flesh.