Blueprint

WELCOME
Pastor Chris Paavola:
Well, hey everybody. Good morning. Good to be with you guys. You guys look good today. Turn to the person next to you. Tell him you look good. I like that. That was good. That was good. You skipped over his wife and he looked over at the buddy sitting next to him. Anyway, yeah, good to be with you guys today. My name’s Chris Pavela and it is awesome.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Today is actually the first day of our kids’ ministry. They’ve kicked off in the fall here, and it is, we love that. We’re excited for that. You guys, there are so many volunteers. It’s like over 70 people on the monthly rotation of being youth ministry or kids ministry volunteers. And so I know in this room right now there’s people who are going to serve at the next service and or serve in another week during this service. And so can we just give a hand for all of the volunteers you guys who make Sunday morning happen and the kids just have an awesome age appropriate time down there where they experience Jesus down the hall and we are in here and moms and dads feel like it’s a little easier to focus. So can I get an amen? Some of you all should have said amen. Louder.
Yeah, but we are starting a series today called Under Construction where we are just embracing the mess that is out there. We thought why fight it? Why try to cover it up and pretend it’s not there? It is ugly out there and really stressful. But we said, okay, let’s just use the construction process out there to really just talk about the metaphor and be a metaphor to talk about the process of becoming like Jesus. Because every single one of us who follows him, we are in this process of becoming like Christ. And honestly, if you’re here today, and maybe that sounds a little pious, if you’re here and you’re just looking into this Christianity thing or you’re on the fence a little bit, I get that this might seem unrelated to you, but today you’re honestly going to hear why Christians struggle with the process of being like Christ and why this is hard for us.
And then if you’re a follower of Jesus, I hope today and in this series that we can identify some of the places that maybe you’ve stalled out, where you keep on stumbling in this process of becoming Christ and really just go, okay, yes, I understand the importance and take up the mantle and of I’m going to take a step forward in becoming like him. Because how many of you guys raise your hand if you know a home that could use some people who act like Christ. How many of you guys know a school that could use Christians to act like Christ? How many of you guys know of a church where we would benefit if Christians started acting like Christ? Yeah, you can raise your hand. It’s okay. That’s what we’re going to be talking about. And today we’re starting this whole series of talking about the process of becoming Christ and under construction by talking about the blueprints.

IT STARTS WITH A BLUEPRINT
And I had no appreciation for how much went into the idea of a blueprint. I mean, there’s so much that goes into it way beyond, Hey, we could use a few more seats up there or we could use it. And it is insane how much and the amount of detail that’s in these drawings. Every page is like this is a page that’s just for the wall coverings and the flooring, and then you’ve got pages that is the electrical, and then you’ve got pages that’s like the HVAC systems and the wiring. And then this one is like these are called cuts. Am I saying that right? These are the cuts, yeah. Yeah. Okay. Someone No their head. Yeah. So this is the elevation drawings and the cuts of what different sections and I-beams and corners are going to look like. It’s insane how much goes into this.
I actually emailed Tom Beuchler is our property chair, and he comes with decades of experience in the construction business as a working with Schweitzer, which is a construction firm here in town. And he is by default become our construction manager as a church. And we are so blessed to have him, you guys, I don’t know where we would be without him. And so Tom was here at the first service today and we thanked him, but truly God sends to us and God is just like, I’ve gifted you for this. It is just awesome. But I asked Tom to write out a description of some of the steps that are required before we even get to a blueprint. So check this out. He said, in order to get to a blueprint, you need to have a needs assessment, then input from stakeholders, then a conceptual budget, then a feasibility study, then a financial assessment, then an approvals process, then requests for proposals from consultants, facility assessment by consultants, negotiate and finalize contract terms and conditions with consultants.
Then you have a schematic, budgeting, develop a preliminary milestone, schedule approval from funders, governmental review for zoning and code compliance, design reviews and preliminary designs, progress to final design, procurement review and approval of final design documents. And then you hit print. That’s everything that goes into the blueprint. And I think that is a lesson of itself for us as we think about this process of becoming like Jesus. It starts with the blueprint, but there is so much that goes into the blueprint of you and I becoming like Christ. There’s a lot that goes into this.
So I think sometimes we just hear the term be like Jesus, and we’re the general vague concept of being like Jesus, we all get that. Even the most ardent of atheists would understand like, oh yeah, Jesus, he was this nice guy. But I think when we just leave it in kind of conceptual and theoretical and it doesn’t get down into the granular when it’s just a idea of a blueprint and we don’t have all of the steps leading up to the very detailed blueprint.

JESUS PERSONALITY
I think that might be part of the reason we stall out. When I say be like Jesus, if I said be like Benjamin Franklin, he’d be like, you want me to wear spectacles? What do you mean by that of Benjamin Franklin? But you don’t know Benjamin Franklin, but if I said you should be more like your favorite uncle instantly, you know exactly what I’m talking about down to the personality and the character traits and the qualities of your favorite uncle. And I think the command to be like Jesus is supposed to be that detailed. When you open up scriptures and you look at the gospels or the biographies of Christ, they are extremely detailed giving us a glimpse into who he is. It doesn’t read like a mythology book. It reads like a person interacting with other people. In theology, there’s this term called two natures of Christ, and you’ve got this divine nature and then the human aspect of Christ. And it’s not like he’s half man, half God. He’s not Achilles, right? He is fully man and fully God. And sometimes it is just this mind melting collision when it happens in the life of Jesus. When you read the stories, you see his full divinity and his full humanity on full display. It’s like he’s the God who never sleeps. And then you can read a passage where he is sleeping in the stern of a boat and then he stands up and commands the waves to be still because he’s God.
You can read that He’s the God who needs nothing. Neither hungers nor thirsts. That’s the Old Testament. That’s how it describes him, that yet Jesus would fast and grow very hungry. And so he’s the God who feeds the crowds, but he’s the God who fasts or you can read that he is the eternal God ever living. And yet you can see him on a cross saying, why have you forsaken me in breathing his last? And these are these moments where the full human and divine nature of Jesus collide. And I think that gives us permission to start plumbing into the depths and looking at the humanity, the person, the description, the detail of Jesus. It’s really remarkable. You can read how he has compassion and Jesus is a compassionate guy. Of course, of course. But then you’ll read, he gets really fatigued and you get this idea that he sigh when he sees the crowds coming to him because he’s really tired and they keep coming.
You can read about how sometimes he seems ambivalent to what’s going on. They try to draw him into political discussions, and then other times he’s absolutely presence with people. You can give an indirect answer and you’re like, what are you talking about Jesus? And then sometimes he gives really direct answers. It’s really hard to pin him down. Author Philip Yancy took a stab at trying to get into the character and the heart of Jesus, and he writes this in his book, “the Jesus I Never Knew. He says, Jesus urged obedience to the mosaic law while acquiring the reputation as a law breaker. He could be stabbed by sympathy for a stranger yet turn on his best friend with a flinty rebuke. He had uncompromising views on rich men and loose women, and yet both types enjoyed his company.
One day miracle seemed to flow out of Jesus the next day. His power was blocked by people’s lack of faith. One day he talked in detail about the second coming another day he would say he knew neither the day nor the hour. He fled from arrest at one point and marched inexorably toward it at another. He spoke eloquently about peacemaking and then would tell his disciples to procure swords. His extravagant claims about himself kept him at the center of controversy. But when he did something that was truly miraculous, he tended to hush it up. Two words. One could never think of applying to the Jesus of the Gospels boring or predictable. How is it then that the church has tamed such a character and effectively declawed this lion of Judah certifying him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies?” I love that He’s trying to get to the mystery underneath this guy.
And I think sometimes when we have this mystique of Jesus or the institution of the church, we lose the character of this man that’s at the center of it all. And I love the pictures of Jesus when he’s with the crowds and there’s young and old, rich and poor, and that crowd is religious pharisees and irreligious prostitutes. There’s Roman soldiers bent on occupation and dominance standing next to Jewish zealot rebels. And they would stand there and listen to him talk and be so captivated by him. They would forget to eat for days on end. He is nothing like this picture of Jesus. We get from paintings where he is stoic and floating or in Hollywood where he’s just this almost comatose guy with glassy eyes and on Prozac just kind of floating through life. That’s not the Jesus we get when we open the pages of scripture.
And when we start to read the gospels, we get this incredible picture of an incredible man with incredible character. And that is who you are called to be like, actually there’s the term Christian. We have this hunch that it means little and that in a place called Antioch, it was actually a derogatory term. Well look at those little Christs walking around. And the Christians were like, I like that. I’ll own that term. And they reclaimed it and said, yeah, I’ll own this. This is a term I will own. It’s endearing. I am a little Christ.
There are Rabbis when they would call students to follow them, it was like being selected for a travel team in sports. And it was like, I’ve chosen you. And I went, yeah, I get to spend $1,500, lose my Saturdays. But yes. And so Jesus is like, or the rabbis would be Follow me. And when a rabbi called you to follow him, it was a high honor and you would do everything to mimic them.

IMITATION
There’s a book called The Mishna. It’s not in the Bible. It’s a separate book called The Mishna. And it talks about how students would copy their rabbi. They would wake up when their rabbi woke up, they would sleep when he slept. They would try to establish the same sleeping patterns. They would eat food when he ate food and they would chew like he chewed. They were trying to copy all of his mannerisms.
If he had a little tick, they would get that tick too. If he spoke in a certain cadence, they would try to match the cadence because they wanted to be like the Rabbi Jesus or the rabbi that they were following. And in the mission it says that students would follow their rabbi close enough walking with him. So if he had a hitch in his git and a gates in his walk, they would try to mimic it, right? And you should follow him close enough. And here’s the phrase, they used to be powdered in the dust of the rabbi, the dust that he’s kicking up. And I love that image for us that we are covered in the dust of our Rabbi Jesus, that we follow. I love that picture. And actually you can see this idea of imitation and copying. It’s almost like when Shane Gillis does a Donald Trump impression, or like Robin Williams used to do Eddie Murphy impressions.
You get this idea that that we’re imitating, we’re mimicry, we’re impersonating the rabbi that we’re following. And you can see it, one young Jewish man who went through a school where he followed a rabbi named Galileo, and he wrote later on about how we should follow our own rabbi. Take a look, apostle Paul says, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” Which by the way, if you’re a parent, that’s a phrase to hold onto for your kids, kind of stings a little bit. Ouch, imitate me as I imitate Christ. But you see in there, Paul, this young Jew who studied under a rabbi telling us to do the same as we follow Rabbi Jesus, imitate him. Get a hitch in your git. He had copy, his mannerisms, his quirks, his cadence in his voice. Another young Jew named John echoes the sentiment. He says, “Whoever abides in Jesus ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”
I love that. Or in Jesus’s own words that we just heard. “Whoever is not willing to carry his cross and follow me, cannot be my follower.”, which is the word for disciple, student follower. We are called to be like our rabbi. Jesus, you and I are called to be like Christ. So yes, Love like Christ, but also:
Serve like Christ.
Suffer like Christ.
Endure like Christ,
Bless like Christ,
Thank like Christ,
Speak like Christ,
Pray like Christ,
Preach like Christ,
Proclaim like Christ,
Comfort like Christ,
Confront like Christ,
Worship like Christ,
Hunger like Christ,
Surrender like Christ,
Lead like Christ,
Teach like Christ,
Be Humble like Christ,
Forgive like Christ,
Welcome like Christ,
Weep like Christ,
Rejoice like Christ,
Anger like Christ,
Defend like Christ,
Live like Christ and,
Die like Christ.
This is what it means when you are invited to be like Christ.

WHAT’S AT STAKE
And that begs a question, I think, well, why? For what reason? Because it’s a good thing. There’s a lot of good things we don’t do, but they’re good. When’s the last time you cleaned your oven or your gutters or under your fridge? It’s good. When’s the last time you did it? There’s a lot of good things that we don’t do. And so it has to be more than, oh, it’s good to be like Christ. To what end? Why? I mean, okay, if we can be crass about this, you’re forgiven. You’re under the cross of Jesus. You’re in Christ. If you’re a follower, I’m forgiven.
So why do I have to be like him now? I’m in. Who cares? I mean, when you got justification, who needs sanctification? I’m under the cross. I don’t want to pick it up and walk with it too. To what end? Why? And that’s where I love the words of Paul when he’s reflecting on this idea of being like Christ. He has this one moment where he lets us into the motive for him. And I would say for you and me in Philippians three, he says, I want to know Christ to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings becoming like him in his death. And so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

10 I want to know Christ to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings becoming like him in his death. And so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Phillipians 3

And I love that little section there because buried in the middle of that word, I highlighted power. Y’all say power.

Response: Power.

Pastor Chris Paavola: There it is. Earlier in the service, I asked you guys who thinks they know of a home that would benefit if people started acting like Christ and you guys raised your hand? Who knows of a school, who knows of a church? And you guys raised your hand? That kind of flips the question, how many of you guys know a home that would benefit from the miraculous power of Christ at work? How many of you know a suffering or sick person who would benefit from the power of Christ?
A school, a church, all of the power of Christ, the supernatural power of Christ is on display, changes the world. It’s not just our character, it’s his intervening power. And if I’m God, I’m going to pour out my supernatural power on the people who are doing my work. You want to see God work in your life, do the work of God with your life? I mean, so many of us, I think are caught up in like, Hey, God, I’m on this mission. I’ve got this thing that I’m doing. Can you come bless it? And the picture we get in scripture is leave your life and join Jesus on his mission to seek and save the world.

YOU FIND CHRIST’S FORGIVENESS
WHEN YOU ARE IN HIM

That’s who He’s going to pour out his power on the people who are doing his work. That’s why we need to be like Christ. Here’s a way I would phrase it. And you find Christ’s forgiveness when you are in him. You’re in Jesus, you’re forgiven. You got the get out of jail free card. Yeah.

YOU FIND CHRIST’S FORGIVENESS
WHEN YOU ARE IN HIM
BUT YOU FIND CHRIST’S POWER
WHEN YOU ARE LIKE HIM

And you find Christ’s forgiveness when you are in him, but you find Christ’s power when you are like him. You want to see the power of God on full display, be like Christ and you’ll see it. So it kind of brings us to the question we’re just talking about all these verbs and adjectives and adverbs that describe Christ, his character, his personality that we see come alive teaming in the scriptures and in the Gospels. And when we read them, it’s just like we get a glimpse into the person, the rabbi that we’re following. So here’s these words again. Just take a look at the list. Which one of those y’all, that blueprints that God has for you, not your blueprint, for you, no God’s blueprint for you? Which one of those words is the biggest renovation?
Which one is the most visible construction that you know need to work on? Gone. I see some for myself. And in this series under construction, we’re going to start the process. But today I wanted you to get the blueprint, the vision of what God is wanting to do in your life when he says, I want you to be like Christ. Scripture says, we are being transformed into his image. And this series is where we go, okay, let’s get serious about this. Let’s be intentional, and I hope you can join us in this process. Now, I know when I show a list like that and we talk about being like Christ, it can feel a little guilting and a little bit of regret, and that’s okay. That’s called the law, right? Scripture has law. That’s gospel. What you do, what God does. Bad news, good news, right?

FORGIVENESS
So that’s okay, but I don’t want to leave you out of here carrying bags full of guilt, right? No guilt trips. I want to leave you with freedom because those words, you are not trying to do those words to earn God’s good graces. You’re trying to do those words to be like Christ because Christ earned God’s good graces for you. It’s a thankful response. You’re not trying to become something you aren’t. You’re trying to live out something. You already are in Christ. And so remember, yeah, you find Christ’s forgiveness when you are in him, but you find Christ’s power when you are like him. And so if you’re feeling guilty, let me remind you the words from Romans eight verse one.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So, because you are in Christ Jesus and grateful response, let us be like Christ Jesus.

PRAYER
Lemme pray for us, heavenly Father, first of all, just acknowledge in this moment that we are not always like your son. We’ve fallen short. Some of us have stalled out and quit altogether. We get rebellious, and we’re just not all that interested in peeing like Him. Forgive us Lord. And God, I prayed for every person in this room and every person watching online or listening later on, what aspect of Christ’s character and his personality, and his motivation and his drive, which one do you want me to take on and to really focus on in this next few weeks, so that just as we are in Christ, we can be like him and experience his power and that the power of Christ, the miraculous healing, supernatural power of Christ may be at work within us, changing our homes, our church, our schools, our city.
So God, make us like your son. I’d be remiss if we move on from this, if there’s anyone in the room or anyone who can hear the sound of my voice, who has never confessed with their heart or confessed with their lips and believed in their heart that Christ is Lord God, I pray that you would hear that simple profession of faith in this moment, and that you would remind them by their spirit and let them know by your spirit that there is now no condemnation for them because they are in Christ simply through faith.
And as followers of the Rabbi who keeps walking, trying to mimic him as much as we can, we now repeat the words he taught us to pray, saying together, our Father, who arts in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.