I Must Work

Passions of Christ

Text: 1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also [am] of Christ.

Paul admonishes us to follow him as he followed Christ. This morning that is what we want to preach on: following Christ. But rather than looking at a copy which was Paul, we shall go back to the original which is Christ.

We will look at one statement of Christ’s and cull from it, "things that drove Christ." Or said another way, "Passions of Christ."

So in following Christ this morning, I want not to look at the fruit of who He was and what He did, but the root from which those fruits sprung. I want to look at the things that motivated Jesus, and challenge us that we have these same motivations at work in our heart and lives.

Here is out text:

John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

From this simple text of scripture I want to share 5 things that drove Christ. 5 things that highly motivated Him. 5 things that were roots of all He said and did.

5 things that drove Jesus from John 9:4 :

Primacy

Responsibility

Activity

Urgency

Intimacy

When we speak of things that drove Jesus we are speaking of the things that erupted from the center of His being and directed the course of His life. To be driven according to the dictionary means to force someone or something to go somewhere or do something:

Jesus had passions that He followed, Jesus had some things that highly motivated Him. We could call them the roots of all He said and did. Since we are to be His followers, it would be wise for us to see that we have these same roots in ourselves.

1. Primacy

Primacy simply means the state of being the most important thing.

Jesus said I must work the works of Him that sent Me...

I must work... in other words I am under a Divine compulsion, I have to do this, it is of the upmost importance, it is my "raison d’etre," it is that for which I have come. It is the guiding principle of my life. It is cetral to Who I am and what I have to do.

In life there are things:

you can do

there are things: you would like to do

there are things: you hope to do

there are things: you desire to do

Then there are things you must do.

The old joke is that the only two things you have to do in life are pay taxes and die.

Jesus said: John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me...

Jesus understood God’s plan for His life to be a must, not an option.

He was driven by a passion and desire to do first of all what God wanted for Him to do in life.

That first of all attitude is why I chose the word primacy.

Is God’s plan for you one of primacy? It should be especially if you want to be a follower of Jesus.

I must... other things beckon but they must take a back burner.

I must... other things have their place, but this thing takes first place.

2. Responsibility

Responsibility can be defined as something that it is your job or duty.

Jesus said: I must.

In our first point we covered this phrase as it relates to the importance we place on our God given task in life, it must be our first priority. Now we amplify that and say that not only is our God given task to be our first priority in life, it is also to be understood as a divine responsibility laid upon us. It is one that requires individual accountability.

"I" must.

There is a unique and special purpose for all of us. What are the, "I must’s," of your life? Jesus fulfilled His personal and unique responsiblity in life. He fulfilled His, "I must." Have you? What are your, "I must’s?"

Jesus was driven by a strong sense of personal responsibility to fulfill God’s task for His life, and He made that task one to which He gave the greatest primacy, it is echoed in this statement:

John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

Him that sent Me speaks of his solemn obligations and responsibilities before God.

3. Activity

John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

Jesus said that there were things He had to do. He called them working the works. Jesus has not called us to simply speak things, but to also do things. The Christian life is one that is not exemplified simply by belief but also by activity. Jesus didn’t simply preach the gospel, He healed the sick, cast out devils, and fed people.