Sunday, March 27th, 2011

Following Christ’s Example

We’ve probably all read stories like Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper” or heard about shows like “Undercover Boss.” Someone of high standing steps down incognito to a lower station in life. A king finds out what it’s like to be a commoner. A CEO find out what it’s like to be an entry-level employee.

In this morning’s passage we’ll see the Ultimate Undercover Boss, Jesus, the King of glory, stepped down as far as He could go. And He didn’t do this just for a week, but for a lifetime.

In this passage we are called to follow Christ’s example. Look at verse 5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”

You may not know but scientists have been able to get a chicken to sound like a quail. They actually took tissue from the parts of a quail brain that they thought controlled the bird’s call and implanted it in the brains of 5 chicken embryos. And the experiment worked. The five chicks sounded like quails.

If you have become a follower of Jesus, the day you turned from your sins to Him, you became a new creation 2 Cor. 5:17 says.

But, unlike the chickens, you have to put on the mind of Christ everyday. You don’t just get a Christ brain transplant. That would be nice.

Rom. 12:2 says that you are transformed by the constant renewing of your mind.

Now what is “Christ’s mind” referring to in chapter 5? The context is humility. He’s saying, “Follow Jesus in His humility.”

Mark Twain once said, “Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.”

It’s not easy, but it’s necessary if you want to be His follower. It’s necessary if you are going to live a life of unity, if our church is going to be unified.

This morning we want to follow the humility of Christ, our Perfect Example.

We’ve probably all read stories like Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper” or heard about shows like “Undercover Boss.” Someone of high standing steps down incognito to a lower station in life. A king finds out what it’s like to be a commoner. A CEO find out what it’s like to be an entry-level employee.

In this morning’s passage we’ll see the Ultimate Undercover Boss, Jesus, the King of glory, stepped down as far as He could go. And He didn’t do this just for a week, but for a lifetime.

In this passage we are called to follow Christ’s example. Look at verse 5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”

You may not know but scientists have been able to get a chicken to sound like a quail. They actually took tissue from the parts of a quail brain that they thought controlled the bird’s call and implanted it in the brains of 5 chicken embryos. And the experiment worked. The five chicks sounded like quails.

If you have become a follower of Jesus, the day you turned from your sins to Him, you became a new creation 2 Cor. 5:17 says.

But, unlike the chickens, you have to put on the mind of Christ everyday. You don’t just get a Christ brain transplant. That would be nice.

Rom. 12:2 says that you are transformed by the constant renewing of your mind.

Now what is “Christ’s mind” referring to in chapter 5? The context is humility. He’s saying, “Follow Jesus in His humility.”

Mark Twain once said, “Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.”

It’s not easy, but it’s necessary if you want to be His follower. It’s necessary if you are going to live a life of unity, if our church is going to be unified.

This morning we want to follow the humility of Christ, our Perfect Example.