1 Thessalonians 1:6-7
“Imitators of the Lord”
INTRODUCTION: Paul commends the Thessalonians’ for becoming imitators of God. The rest of Thessalonians is about how to be imitators of the Lord. To imitate something you have to get to know it. To imitate God you have to get to know God, not God as you make Him up but God as He really is. Francis Chan in “Crazy Love” starts out by telling us we need to get a hold on who God is. “A lot of people say whatever you believe about God is fine, so long as you are sincere. But that is comparable to describing your friend in one instance as a three-hundred-pound sumo wrestler and later describing the same person as a five-foot-two, ninety-pound gymnast. No matter how sincere you are, both descriptions of your friend simply cannot be true.” It does not matter how sincerely you believe if you are sincerely wrong. But I do not want to go off on a tangent here so let’s focus on this call to be imitators of the Lord. How far does this go? How radical do we get? Can we not enjoy a movie, must we become missionaries?
1. YOU BECAME IMITATORS OF THE LORD
A. John 15:12 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you”
B. John 14:23 “if anyone loves me he will obey my teaching”
C. James 1:22-25 listening and doing
D. John 13:15-17 setting an example for you
E. Romans 12:2 be transformed
F. Romans 8:29 “be conformed to the likeness of His Son
2. HOW TO IMITATE GOD
A. ALL POWERFUL AND ALL KNOWING (JOKE)
B. VALUES
C. COMPASSION
D. LOVE
E. JUDGEMENT
F. GIFTS (which enable us to serve God in our own unique way)
3. HOW TO START
A. CLEAN YOUR SLATE (put all your ideas, values, and notions a side, giving God a new canvas to paint on.)
B. BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND
C. START KNOWING AND ACCEPTING GOD AS HE REALLY IS
D. START LETTING GOD DRAW A NEW PICTURE OF WHAT YOUR LIFE SHOULD AND WILL BE.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, here I am. My life is filled with many things, values and attitudes that I have acquired. Lord I give them all to you for you to wash them all away so that I might know you as you really are. Lord reveal yourself to me today and each day that I might become the person you want me to be. Help me to know and imitate you in every part of my life. Lord whatever your will for my life is, may your will be done. AMEN
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
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