Like Jesus | In His World

About this series:

Jesus calls each of us to become more like him - by being with him, learning from him and imitating him. This is sometimes known as the process of spiritual formation or the process of sanctification, where we progressively leave a self-focussed life and adopt a Jesus-focussed lifestyle. That’s because, just as he called his first disciples, he calls us to “Come, follow me” (Matthew 4:19), a journey John Mark Comer describes as being with Jesus, becoming like him and doing as he did (see Practicing The Way).

And deep within every true Christian is a desire, put there by God, to change in a Christ-like direction. In the new covenant we are transformed into people who want to be with him and want to become like him - “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33); “I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:27).

But this process of transformation is not only the work of the Holy Spirit within us. In partnership with God, it is the fruit of us aligning ourselves with his plan to transform us to be like Jesus. How this all works and how we are changed to become more like Jesus will be explored through this series.

About this talk:

Following Jesus takes place not in an idealised vacuum with him, but in the real world with its real challenges. Which is exactly where Jesus lived his life - in the dust and dirt of 1st century Jewish life. Jesus is clear that we are not taken out of this world, but are called to do life with him in this world. And so, with all its ups and downs, it is in the everyday experiences that we change and grow to become more like Jesus.

And part of the reason for being in this world is that we are called to follow Jesus under the gaze of those who do not follow him, thus being a witness of what life can look like when Jesus is your master. We are witnesses of the reality that there is nothing so precious, rewarding, meaningful and true as knowing Jesus. One day he will transform / renew this world, but until then we are living witnesses that he is King and that his kingdom is coming.

It is instructive that Paul’s great explanation of the life and ministry of Jesus in Philippians 2:5-11 is followed (note the “therefore,” v 12) by an instruction - that we should “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Because Jesus has humbled himself for us and been exalted by God, Paul urges his readers to press on (“to work out your salvation”) despite their difficult circumstances in which they are being opposed, suffering and struggling (see 1:28-30).

The hugely encouraging part of all this is that, as much as they work out their own salvation, “it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.” And they are working this out in the face of a world that is opposed to the rule of God - “a warped and crooked generation.” It is right there, in his world, that Jesus calls us to follow him - to be with him, to become like him and to do as he did.

And right there - in the world - the disciples of Jesus are to live in stark contrast to those who do not follow him: “blameless and pure” in contrast to “a warped and crooked generation.” Right there they will “shine among them like stars in the sky.” Often Christians are eager to fit in with the people around and not appear too different, but that may be a mistake according to these instructions, which urge us to let our difference be plain for all to see. A. W. Tozer wrote, ‘Men are impressed with the message of the church just as far and as long as she is different from themselves. When she seeks to be like them they no longer respect her.’ This does not mean we should seek to be contrary simply for the sake of it, but that if we are being true to Jesus we will be distinct from the rest of the world.

So how do we live as followers of Jesus in a world that doesn’t follow him? How can we leverage life in this world as a way for us to change rather than seeing it as a barrier to change? And what does being a witness look like?

Audio only