Imitate Love And Perseverance Series

Spiritual Mile Marker for the year – number 10 “Imitate Jesus”

Summary of Series: Imitators

Thesis of series: We live in a society that seldom reflects Jesus. As Christians, we are called to be His reflection, to do His will and to keep our hearts blameless.

Sermon1: Reflect His Image! 1 Thessalonians Chapter 1: The premise of our subject today comes from 1 Thessalonians 1:6 were Paul commends the church in Thessalonica for being imitators of Jesus. They are such great role models for other Christians and churches to follow that their devotion and mirror image of Jesus was known throughout the region. It all was revealed through their faith, hope and love!

Sermon 2: Be His Image! 1 Thessalonians Chapter 2: Being an imitator of Jesus means we view things differently than the world. This means we answer questions differently about significant goals in life. We have different priorities in our life than a person who does not know Jesus. We strive not to please people but God. We have a joy that is empowered by the Holy Spirit not by temporal things. And it means we imitate Jesus by investing in the lives of others!

Sermon 3: Show His Image! 1 Thessalonians Chapter 3: To show the image of Jesus we need to do three things: 1. We show His image when we have the ability to go through trials and tribulations and not quit, not become disheartened, not be troubled but instead reveal a divine peace of mind through the whole ordeal. 2. We show the image of Jesus by investing into the lives of others. 3. We show the image of Jesus by praying for others.

Sermon 4: Live His Image! 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4: To be imitators of Jesus and to do God's will means we lead moral and holy lives. To be imitators of Jesus means we love each other. To be imitators of Jesus means we work hard and keep ourselves from drowning in debt to others.

Sermon 5: Focus on His Image 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5: We need to focus on His return, do God’s will, keep our hearts blameless and by all means build each other up and not tear each other down.

Sermon 6: Boast of His Image! 2 Thessalonians Chapter 1: Are you boasting about Jesus and His image – are others looking at you imitating Jesus and boasting about your faith, love and spiritual maturity? Paul did of the Thessalonians! Are there those in our community boasting about our perseverance as a Church or as believers? Do others see us standing up and boasting for the image and the message of Jesus?

Sermon 7: Imitate Christ not the Antichrist! 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2: The section of the letter was not to arouse fear but to calm fears and apprehension. It was to tell the people of God to be ready for Jesus return when you see these things happening in the world. Three questions arise to me out of our chapter: Who is the Man of lawlessness? What power is holding back the rise of the antichrist? How do I keep from being deceived by the Great Deceiver?

Quote for Morning Star News Letter: http://www.morningstarministries.org/resources/prophetic-bulletins/2012/fullness-time

One reason so many Christians have been repositioned in recent times is because the Holy Spirit is helping them get into position to catch the spiritual waves they are called to ride. There is a great wave of the Holy Spirit that is about to move across the entire earth, but it is still crucial for every individual to be in the place that they have been called.

The Holy Spirit is omnipresent, so we may think that it does not make a difference if we are in a specific location, but it can make all the difference in the world for us. The Lord Jesus appeared to more than five hundred people after His resurrection, and He instructed them to go and wait for the promise of the Father in Jerusalem. Three hundred and eighty did not wait long enough and missed the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Hopefully those who were of the three hundred eighty received this promise later through the church, but we do not know for sure. Certainly the Lord is gracious, but as the Apostle Paul warned, we must behold both His kindness and His severity. God resists the proud, and it is the pride that caused the fall in the first place, which has us thinking we do not need to obey the Lord, but rather we can attain by our own means.

We are told in Hebrews 6:12 to be imitators of those who through “faith and patience inherit the promises.” Waiting forty days in Jerusalem did require patience, and it sifted out those who did not have it. Impatience is not a fruit of the Spirit and those who are led by their impatience will not be led by the Spirit. Three hundred and eighty did not fully obey the Lord, and they missed Him on the Day of Pentecost. Being in the right place is one of the telltale signs that we live our lives in obedience to the Lord. He told us not to call Him “Lord” if we do not do what He says. Only those who follow Him, obeying Him as Lord, will be in the right place at the right time to receive what is promised.