BE...the Christ-follower

[this is week #1 in a message series called BE, from The Westside Gathering]

BE… the Christ-Follower

What’s the most popular question you heard growing up?
What to you want to ____ when you grow up?

We all had a longing to BE something. In grade 11 I aspired to be the next Kenny G (maybe you saw him in the early 90’s on Arsenio Hall too, cool eh?!?).

What do you long to be?

Whatever is it, there’s a gap: Who you are versus who you’re meant to be.

Let me ask you a really important question: Are you the Christ-follower you’re meant to be?

When Jesus first met some fisherman on the shores of a sea in Israel he said, Follow me, I will make you fishers of men. I.E. This is who you are, follow me, and you’ll discover who you are called to be.

Jesus made a big claim when he said: I came that they may have life, a full life.
Jesus came to give us what we didn’t have.
Jesus came to remake us into what God always intended us to be.
Jesus came to teach us how to live the life we were meant to live.

Through the New Testament letters we read countless reminders that the early followers of Jesus longed to BE something as well – to be like Jesus.

…I want to live as Christ
…it’s no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me
…we are formed into the image of Christ
…be clothed with Christ
…take on the mind of Christ
…your attitude should that of Christ

It wasn’t only during their lives that these Christ-followers knew they were meant to be like Jesus. Their eternal hope was filled with the same goal.

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will BE has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall BE like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

From the 1st call to follow Jesus, to the life lived reflecting Jesus, all the way to the final picture of being like Jesus, the life of a Christ-follower revolves around… Jesus.

If this is true? And if you are a follower of Christ? Let me ask you again: Are you the Christ-follower you’re meant to be?

If not… why not start today, and BE WHAT YOU WANT TO BE.
Recognize the tension between who you are today versus who God intends you to be.

Close The Gap

HOW?
I would suggest you might have to close another gap to start the process. The gap between you and Jesus.
If Jesus is what the life of a Christ-follower revolves around – if Jesus called us to follow him, and Jesus is the model of who we’re meant to be, and Jesus is who we’ll become like when God fulfills history, then Jesus is the best place to start.

But that will take intentionality. You must choose to close the gap. You must choose to be formed into the image of Christ and allow God’s power to work within you and shape you.

Dallas Willard said, we’re all being spiritually formed; our hearts are shaped whether we choose to or not, in one direction or another.

You don’t have a choice about being spiritually formed, but you do have a choice in the direction.

Closing the Gap Between You and Jesus.

These 3 action words will help you start closing the gap.

LISTENING
Jesus said that his sheep hear his voice.
Listening isn’t just hearing. Do you remember the music while you were on hold with the doctor’s receptionist last week? It’s not because you didn’t hear it, it’s because you weren’t listening. It wasn’t important to you.

Closing the gap between you and Jesus means you believe listening to Jesus is actually important. Do you believe that?

Here’s a few more things about listening:
Listening requires attentiveness.
Listening requires humility.
Listening requires time.
Listening requires trust. You listen to people you trust.

LEARNING
Learning sticks. It’s not about passing a test, but learning how to live. You learn when you know you need to be different. Learning comes from a desire to change. You can know the bible and desire no change. Know principles and never live any differently. Many engage in prayer and are never shaped by God’s heart.
Jesus taught his disciples so their lives would be different. He commissioned them to teach others so the world would be different. Learners become different people.

LIVING
Listening + Learning = Living.
The last step in closing the gap between you and Jesus is living. Your life is a result of your listening and learning. Jesus didn’t only teach his disciples to teach the people his commands. Read carefully: teach them to obey my commands.
Don’t stop at listening and learning… LIVE IT OUT.

Time to Decide
In the 3rd Indiana Jones Movie, Indiana is on search for the Holy Grail (the cup of Christ). Close to discovering the cup, he is captured by another zealous hunter who knows that Indiana can get the cup for him if he’s motivated enough. This enemy shoots his Indy’s father and raises the stakes. His father needs the cup to be healed by its power. This hunter makes the challenge: Indiana, it’s time to decide what you believe.

Indiana gets up and heads for the most difficult part of the search, 3 obstacles that need his full belief in the cup’s existence and his full trust in the instructions that his father compiled for years. He must now live it!!

The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man logically analyzes his reasons for believing, but how far in practice he will stake his life on his belief.

[T.S. Elliot]

How far in practice – in life – will you stake your life on the call you have to follow Jesus?

Close the gap and live it.

BE THE CHRIST-FOLLOWER YOU’RE MEANT TO BE.

RESPOND/REFLECT:
1. what does it mean for you to be called a follower of Jesus?
2. compare your description to the scriptures quoted above
3. what's the tension between who you are and who God intends you to be?
4. what do (or be) you need to do to close the gap (relieve the tension) so you can become who God wants you to be?
5. what's stopping you?