TXT3

There are two interpretations to Finding Your Following.

1. Do people follow you? If so, who?
2. Who are you following?

Think about those questions for a moment. Really. Stop reading right now and answer those questions.

Answering one can answer the other. Show me the kind of people who follow you and I can make a pretty good guess as to who you’re following.

Last Sunday, Jimmy talked about being like our Father, a.k.a. God. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul wrote, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

If you’ve been having a hard time in your spiritual life, seek out a mentor. Find someone you respect and admire for their knowledge, their heart, and the way they live their lives. Then ask if they’ll invest in your life. As you begin to see change in your life, you’ll begin to follow Christ more on your own accord than having to be prodded. (Although we all need motivation from time to time from our trusted friends).

It’s important to truly think about who you’re following because, no matter who you are, someone is following you, whether you know it or not. As Kelly said here, you might be the only Bible some people read. And I’d like to think they’d get a better impression of the life of a Christian from you than from something like this:

I mean, their hearts are in the right place (I guess), but…

Growing up I often heard the phrase, “you are the only bible some people will ever read”.  On Sunday night, I was confronted by an even more challenging thought, “you are the BEST Christian that somebody knows”.  That brings it a little closer to every day life, doesn’t it?  That question should make you stop and evaluate how you are living your life everyday.  To know that I am the best example of a Christ-follower for somebody.  That should be overwhelming.  The interesting thing is that rather than bringing an unbearable amount of pressure to my life, this question really reminds me of the freedom that we have because of the Grace offered by Jesus.  He accepted me when I was the best non-Christian that somebody knew.  He offered me a come as you are request.  After I accepted His invitation, my life has been in process ever since.  I have many flaws and imperfections, yet I am reminded daily of God’s love for me and when I allow His love to guide my life, I am becoming the person He created me to be.  When that happens, though still imperfect, I believe a life in process reflecting God’s love is a pretty good image for those who don’t know Christ to see.  It’s real.  It’s authentic.  It’s honest.

Application

• Take a dry erase marker and write “Do people see Jesus when they see me?” on your bathroom mirror. If you have kids, you might write, “Do my kids see Jesus when they see me?”
• Ask your spouse or child to identify a characteristic of your life that needs to conform to the image of Jesus (warning: this is not for the sensitve person. It will hurt)
• Sometime this week, tell your spouse or your children what you see in them that resembles Jesus
• Identify some of the good characteristics in your life and write a letter to your parents telling them what qualities you are thankful that they gave you.
• If you are a country music fan, download Rodney Atkins “Watching You” and give it several listens this week.
• Hopefully you took notes on this week’s message. Go back through your notes and spend some time this week meditating on the verses used.
• Invite someone to come with you this week to TXT3

Text Questions

What percentage of Christians do you know that really “look like” Christ?
Out of 65 total responses, 77% said a quarter, 22% said a half, 1% said three-quarters, and no one said most (more than three-quarters).

How often do you look like Christ in your everyday life?
Out of 84 total responses, 4% said never, 23% said seldom, 43% said sometimes, 31% said often, and 0% said always.

Video

Clean Slate

Music

Now
Love the Lord, Lincoln Brewster
All Because of Jesus
Jesus Messiah, Chris Tomlin
Shine Your Light on Us, Robbie Seay Band

Have you ever seen a 2 year old who was sarcastic, cynical, and thought that she was the greatest thing God ever created?  I haven’t . . . yet.  Reflecting back on tonight’s message makes me a bit fearful of what that precious little girl could become!  Lucky for us, her mom is pretty solid.  Jesus told people that when they looked at Him, they were seeing God.  Walking out of the worship center I passed a mirror that had the words “When they see you, who do they see?”  I want the world to see Jesus when they look at me.  I want my 2 year old to graduate high school and think that her dad was the most authentic Jesus follower she’s ever seen.  I’ve got a long way to go!

One of the blog suggestions was “How to talk to friends about God who may not want to hear it”.  That is a great question and very hard to answer in a general format because everyone of your friends is a unique individual in a unique stage in their life.

If a friend asks me to stop inviting him to church, should I respect their wishes?  Probably so!  That is a hard thing to do, but we aren’t in the business of saving people . . . that is the Holy Spirit’s job.  I’ll let the Holy Spirit work on my friend, but there is one thing that I can’t do.  I can’t stop talking about Jesus.  My friend is going to hear about Jesus, what He’s doing in my life, what’s happening in my church, etc.

The only way my friend isn’t going to hear about God is if they stop hanging around me.  I hope that doesn’t happen!