Living Like Jesus Series

Living Like Jesus

Series: Knowing Jesus

February 21, 2010

As some of you may or may not know… I’m a big fan of the TV series, “24”. In case you’re ignorant (like I was) about “24”, it’s a 1-hour drama that centers around Jack Bauer (played by Kiefer Sutherland), He’s an American intelligence agent for the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU). Bauer is America’s best and last hope against international terrorists, drug trafficking and just plain evil. Each episode covers 1-hour of real time, and an entire season’s story takes place in one 24 hour day.

Jack Bauer is the ‘new’ Chuck Norris. Here are a few facts about him…

• He never uses a bullet-proof vest. Instead, he relies on his mane of chest hair to stop any bullet that tries to penetrate his skin.

• If you wake up in the morning, it’s only because Jack Bauer spared your life.

• JB’s favorite color is sever, terror, alert red… his 2nd favorite color is violet… but only because it sounds like the word ‘violent’!

• J.B. lost his car keys once, and spent the next 3 hours torturing himself until he gave up the location.

• Superman wears J.B. pajamas

• J.B. doesn’t miss. If he didn’t hit you, it was because he was shooting at another terrorist 12 miles away.

• Killing J.B. doesn’t make him dead… it just makes him mad.

• When life gave J.B. lemons, he used them to kill terrorists, ‘cause he hates lemonade.

• J.B doesn’t sleep. The only rest he needs is when he’s knocked out, or is temporarily killed.

• J.B. could get off the ‘Lost’ island in 2 hours.

A lot of people would like to live a day in the life of Jack Bauer! Unfortunately that’ll probably never happen! But what CAN happen (and I want to challenge you to do today) is to live a day in the life of Jesus. In fact, I want to challenge you to live ALL of your days like Jesus Christ! In Mark 1:14-38, we’re given an example of 24 hr. segment in the life of Christ and I think it’s something we can all learn from, so that we can live the life of Jesus! Even though Jesus didn’t fight terrorists (per se), and stop an atomic bomb from going off… he did deal with some threats of a much more serious nature. READ

The 1st thing we need to do if we’re going to live the life of Jesus

1. Follow His Footsteps

The 1st thing that happens in this 24-hour period of time is the calling of Jesus’ disciples. The timing is interesting to me, because it’s right on the heels of John the Baptist being put into prison. It’s almost like John’s imprisonment was the ‘checkered flag’ for Jesus to take off! And that’s what he did! God had been counting down to this very moment all through history…(tick tock, tick tock) and now the time had finally come for the rule of God to begin on earth!

As Jesus leaps out of the starting blocks, he begins to tell people excitedly…“At last the time has come!”… “The Kingdom of God is near! Turn from your sins and believe this Good News!” –Mark 1:15 (NLT) The word Jesus used for ‘good news’ was actually a word that meant, “the good news of victory!” It was like a messenger coming back from the battlefront and announcing that the battle had been won! And that’s what Jesus is telling us! The battle with evil is won! Get excited!… and then get involved! Because the next thing he does is to begin recruiting volunteers who will not only help spread the message…but will live it out!

Jesus is on a mission! As He’s going along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he’s not taking some leisure walk at the beach… (La-de-daa… ). NO! He’s looking for these guys! He’d been watching, evaluating them for months. Now (with his decision made) he goes out searching for them, and He found them… where else? …fishing on the Sea of Galilee! See, fishermen are very predictable people! If you don’t know where they are… try the nearest lake or stream!

You ask, “Why was Jesus gathering these men together in the 1st place? What did he need them for? Couldn’t he do the job of proclaiming the kingdom himself?” Later in Mark 3:14,15, Mark answers that question for us. READ it with me… “Jesus chose twelve men and called them apostles. He wanted them to be with him, and he wanted to send them out to preach and to have the authority to force demons out of people”. – Mark 3:14,15 According to Mark 3, the reason Jesus chose these guys wasn’t so he could start an “All Boys Club”… but so they could watch his life, and then go out and duplicate what they saw Him do and say, in their own lives! By the way, that’s a pretty good definition of what it means to be a ‘disciple’ of Jesus Christ! “Watch what He did and said…and then learn to do and say the same thing in your life!”