Week 6 – Jeff Maness – October 29th, 2017
At some point in our life, all of us have someone we look up to so much that we say, “I want to be like them.” Spiritually speaking, we usually only say that about Jesus. So is it ok to ever want to be or try to be like someone else besides Jesus? The Apostle Paul tells us, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” If it’s ok to be like Paul, what about him should we desire?
Walk This Way: Be Like Paul
1 Corinthians 11:1 1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
I want what Paul had because what Paul had we really need.
Big Question: What parts of Paul’s life do we need?
Main Scripture: Acts 20:18-24
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Acts 25:23 So the next day Agrippa and Bernice arrived at the auditorium with great pomp, accompanied by military officers and prominent men of the city. Festus ordered that Paul be brought in.
Acts 26:17b-18 Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.
Acts 20:18-21 18 When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now 19 I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. 20 I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. 21 I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.
1. We need the heart of Paul
Romans 9:2-3 2 My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief3 for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.
2. We need the hearing of Paul
Acts 20:22-23 22 “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.
3. We need the hope of Paul
Acts 20:24 24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.
Philippians 1:20-24 20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
For more background information, read Acts 20-28.
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