Jump Start # 1727

1 Corinthians 4:16 “Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.”

  I was watching a TV show the other day when an ad came on for another show. It was a short preview, a teaser, to try to lure viewers to watch. The show is called, “Impastor.” I’ve not watched it, but the teaser was enough for me to say, “No.” A troubled man takes on the identity of a “Pastor” who dies. The man moves to a small town and “pretends” to be the “pastor.” The ad shows him smoking, drinking and caught in a compromising situation with a woman. I suppose all of this is supposed to be funny. Many would like to find a preacher that relates to their lifestyle and is like them, even in the sinful ways. Having “cracks” in the preacher’s character makes him seem more human, I’ve heard people say. The show is about a man who doesn’t believe what he is doing. He’s a fake. While the country will laugh and laugh at the silliness of this show, it poses a deeper thought for us.

We need men and women who are spiritual giants. We need to look up to those who do have a great character and are indeed doing as God says. Instead of bringing every one down into the sewer with the rest of us, we need to see those who have risen above that in faith. They are leaving footprints that point the way to Heaven.

Our verse is one example of this. Be imitators of me, is what Paul wrote. He said this again in the eleventh chapter.  The young preacher Timothy was told to be an example to those who believe. Pretending to be what you are not is the definition of a hypocrite. Our young people need to see the examples of spiritual giants today. We need examples of marriages that are thriving and pleasing the Lord. We need examples of dedication, sacrifice and service. Pointing to failures doesn’t disprove what God says. It merely indicates that someone couldn’t make the right choices. Within our fellowship, we have heard of far too many leaders who destroyed their marriages because of adultery. When this happens, it is devastating to a congregation. Years of good can be lost by the lack of faith and the poor choices of a few. Satan will do anything to crush the good that a congregation is doing.

The preacher is not better nor any different than the rest. The preacher must guard and feed his faith, just like everyone else. He is tempted and he must deal with worry, fear and discouragement, just like the rest of us. We may expect more out of the preacher than we ought to, but he must understand that he is a role model. As he is teaching others, he must first teach and believe what he says himself. What you will find as you get to know your preacher is that he is not that different from you. He has chosen to live what he believes. You, just like him, can make the same choices. You, like him, can lead your family and others to the Lord. You, just like him, can please the Lord.

Paul’s words to the Corinthians echo that very thought. Who would dare say that they could be like Paul? He seems so lofty, right and holy. He seems perfect. He’s not. He needed Jesus as much as you do. He had his struggles as you do. Follow the leader, is the idea behind this verse. Paul was letting the Corinthians know that they could very well imitate him. Imitate him in faith. Imitate him in attitude. Imitate him in behavior.

I believe for too long we’ve allowed people to discount what Paul says here. “There is no way, I could do what Paul did?” And with that, they are given a pass to remain spiritually weak, indecisive, and even indifferent. “I can’t,” we assume, so we don’t even try. We remain as we are. There is a major problem with this thinking. When we agree to this, we are discrediting what God says. God says, through Paul, that we can imitate him. Why then, do we not believe that? Is it because that requires more effort than we want to give? Is it because we have to leave some things that we don’t want to leave? Is it because we are comfortable being weak and nothing is required of us?

Imitate me, is what Paul said. Be a spiritual giant in your family. Be the one that people go to for their questions. Be the one that others look up to. Be the one that leaves spiritual footprints for others to follow. We don’t need more to fake their faith. We don’t need more pretenders. We need genuine men and women, who are walking by faith and making serious spiritual decisions based upon prayer, hope and Christ. Our times, need spiritual role models. Our times, need men who preach who are genuine. They are not “impastors.” We need men who love the Lord, serve Him sacrificially, and realize that it is by the grace of God that they are saved. We need people to show us how it is done right. We need success stories. We need to show ourselves and the world that God’s plan works and it makes us a better people. We need more, “Stand up, stand up for Jesus,” and less sitting on the premises.

Mocking faith and showing the failures of believers has always been the way of Satan and Hollywood. A show illustrating deep faith, rich values, commitment to marriage and God would seem “boring” to world. They don’t want that. But God does.

Could you list a dozen spiritual heroes today? Could you list a dozen preachers that are walking by faith? I read a book a while back that disclosed the number of preachers through the years that had failed morally. The number was huge. We don’t need that. We need to know the number that succeed. We need to know that we can make it. When I’m sitting on an airplane, don’t tell me about the number of planes that crash. Tell me about the thousands everyday that land safely and successfully. Sitting in church, I don’t need to hear about failures. That doesn’t help me. I need to see those that made it successfully.

“Impastor” won’t be around for long. Folks will tire of it and want to move on to the next sordid and raunchy show from the sewer of Hell. It reminds us of our role. People are counting on you and I. They look up to you as a parent, grandmother, teacher, preacher, elder. This is much bigger than just yourself. Your choices can be the very thing that encourages someone else or it can be something that crushes the hope that they have in you and in the Lord.

Imitators—my list is long of great men of God among us today. They are busting it for the Lord. Every week they are pouring their hearts out for Jesus. Get to know these kind of men. Bring them into your congregation. Talk to them. Hear their stories. See their faith. Follow their footsteps.

By good friend, Rickie J. and I always end our emails with the same expression. It came from a little boy who pulled on my suit jacket just as I was getting ready to step up to preach. The little guy whispered, “I wish I was you.” WOW. That stuck with me. This is what Rickie and I tell each other, “I wish I was you.”

I believe in many ways, this is what Paul was trying to get the Corinthians to see and to say.  Can someone say that of you?

Roger