Mimic the Master
An Attitude Like Christ
“Attitude” Series
I. Introduction
A drunk named Joe was miraculously converted at a Bowery mission. Prior to his conversion, Joe had gained the reputation of being a dirty wino for whom there was no hope, only a miserable existence in the ghetto. But following his conversion to a new life with God, everything changed. Joe became the most caring person that anyone associated with the mission had ever known. Joe spent his days and nights hanging out at the mission doing whatever needed to be done. There was never any task that was too lowly for Joe to take on. There was never anything that he was asked to do that he considered beneath him. Whether it was cleaning up the vomit left by some violently sick alcoholic or scrubbing the toilets after careless men left the bathroom filthy, Joe did what was asked with a soft smile on his face and with a seeming gratitude for the chance to help. He could be counted on to feed feeble men who wandered into the mission off the street, and to undress and tuck into bed men who were too out of it to take care of themselves.
One evening, when the director of the mission was delivering his evening evangelistic message to the usual crowd of still and sullen men with drooped heads, there was one man who looked up, came down the aisle to the altar and knelt to pray, crying out for God to help him to change. The repentant drunk kept shouting, “Oh God, make me like Joe! Make me like Joe! Make me like Joe! Make me like Joe!”
The director of the mission leaned over and said to the man, “Son, I think it would be better if you prayed, ‘Make me like Jesus!’”
The man looked up at the director with a quizzical expression on his face and asked, “Is he like Joe?”
Well, you may not have people running down to the altar screaming “Make me like Korrey or Jeremy,” but tonight, we’re going to talk about having the attitude of Christ, and what it means to Mimic the Master. If you mimic somebody, what are you doing? You’re imitating them, you’re being like them. So, if you mimic the master, what are you doing? You’re being like Jesus. In terms of attitude, how was Jesus?
II. Jesus Had An Attitude
Philippians 2:1-5 (NIV) “1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”
Check it out. Mimic the Master. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Well, look at that passage again. What kind of attitude did Jesus have? Love, tenderness, compassion, humility are four aspects of his attitude from that passage. Where else can we find aspects of Jesus’ attitude? What about the fruit of the Spirit?
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) “22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.”
All of those things permeate Jesus’ attitude. Shouldn’t those very same things permeate your attitude as well? The word Christian means “little Christ” or “one like Christ.” Don’t you think you should have the same characteristics that he does?
This attitude thing is more than a matter of acting like you should act, it’s a matter of knowing who you are. Let’s say the President of the United States, President Bush came in here to Get Real tonight. He doesn’t come in here to give us a speech about the war, or to recruit us to fight. He comes in here giving everybody high-fives and shoutin’ “What it is, Jive Turkeys.” So you’re like, “What’s up, Pres Dog.” Then he plops down on the chair beside you asks for a sip of your coke and he starts telling you a story about a girl in his class at school. You think, boy, he’s not acting like the President should act. True. He’s not acting like the President should act, but why isn’t he? He has amnesia. He’s forgotten who he is or where he’s supposed to be and what he’s supposed to be doing. The President can’t act like the President if he doesn’t know that he’s the President.
Well, if you’re not acting like you’re supposed to act, let me say this, you probably have spiritual amnesia. You have forgotten who you are, and you might need a swift kick to the back of the head to jolt your memory. Well, let me be the one to do that.
III. You Have the Attitude of Christ
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Galatians 3:27 (NIV) “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
When you put on pants, do people see your bare butt? When you put on a long sleeve shirt, do people see your bare arms? No. It’s the same thing when you clothe yourself with Christ, do people see the old you? No.
When you are born again, when you become a Christian, you automatically get Christ’s attitude. It’s part of the Get Out of Hell Free card. It’s part of the deal. Just like a Happy Meal includes a burger, fries, a drink and a toy. The Happy Deal includes salvation, healing, prosperity, a new nature, a new attitude, and a whole slew of other stuff.
Clothing yourself with Christ is a lot more than just putting on a “Jesus” t-shirt or a WWJD bracelet. When you clothe yourself with Christ, you wear more than just a piece of fabric, you wear his very nature. You see, you now have a divine nature. It is your nature to be like Jesus. It’s not just about trying to mimic the Master anymore, it’s about knowing who you are, being yourself, and actually mimicking the master. If you know you have the attitude of Christ, you’re more likely to act like it. If you know you’re wearing Jesus’ nametag, you’re more likely to act like Him. If you know you’ve got his picture I.D. in your wallet, you’re more likely to act like Him.
Acts 17:28 (NIV) “28For in him we live and move and have our being.”
If you’ve found yourself in Christ, if you’re living in him, moving in him, and having your being in him, you’re going to be moving around with his attitude, and you’re going to act like He acts.
IV. Acknowledge Your Attitude
Philemon 1:6 (NIV)“That the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”
In order to see Jesus’ attitude and the fruits of the Spirit abound in your life, you have to acknowledge the fact that you have his attitude and the fruit of the Spirit. How do you acknowledge something? It’s more than just knowing it’s there, you have to say something.
You walk into my house. I hear the door open and close. I know somebody is in there. I may even see you out of the corner of my eye, but have I acknowledged you? No. Until I say, “What’s up, dog?” I haven’t acknowledged you.
Acknowledge is to admit to be true, to confess, to recognize the authority or claims of, to express thanks for, to state that one has received something.
You have to admit the truth and state that you have received the attitude of Christ. Until you do so, the sharing of your faith may be ineffective, or in other words, it won’t work.
You may be telling people, “I’m a Christian,” but if you haven’t acknowledged that you have Jesus’ attitude, they’re going to see you blow it by cussing out the lunch lady when she doesn’t give you enough smashed potatoes and they will not want anything to do with you or your Jesus. But if you acknowledge that you have the attitude of Jesus, and mimic the master, you’ll tell people, “I’m a Christian,” without saying anything. And the sharing of your faith will be effective.
So acknowledge that you have the attitude of Jesus. Look at your neighbor and say, “I got the attitude of Jesus.” Everyday, acknowledge the good things that God has put in you, and watch your life change for the better.
V. The Rented Body
Galatians 2:20 (NLT)“20I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
“I consider myself as having died and now I’m enjoying a new existence, which is simply Jesus using my body.” - Distilled Bible
Paul recognized that his identity was completely swallowed up in Christ. So much so, that he said it wasn’t him that was living, but it was Jesus through Him.
Well, if you’re letting Jesus use your body, “rent it out,” so to speak, then his attitude coming out in you is a given, right? If Jesus is the one living in your body, using it to drive around, and eat cheeseburgers and the like, then his attitude is going to come with it, right? So, your body drives up to the drive-thru at Burger King and orders a double-Whopper with cheese. But instead, you get a Fish sandwich. Is your body going to whip the car into a parking space, get out and run into BK, and throw the Fish sandwich in the manager’s face and demand that they give you your double-Whopper and your money back? No. It’s not. Your body is being rented out by the Master. But you say, “If he’s just renting it, then he doesn’t own it and I can take it back whenever I want to.” The truth is, he’s not just renting.
1 Corinthians 6:19,20 (MSG)“19Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. 20God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.”
God owns the whole works. He’s not just renting your body. He owns it, so let his attitude come out in you. Let’s pray.
