Phil Beach Jr. emphasizes the call for Christians to live lives worthy of being role models, urging believers to reflect on whether their actions and decisions align with the teachings of Christ. He highlights the Apostle Paul's bold invitation to 'follow me' as a challenge for Christians to embody a life of heavenly wisdom, maturity, and love, rather than earthly wisdom and division. The sermon encourages self-examination regarding how one's life can influence others positively, particularly in areas such as wisdom, relationships, and Christian liberty. Ultimately, Beach Jr. calls for a commitment to live transparently and authentically as representatives of Christ, fostering unity and spiritual growth within the community.

Open your Bibles for a short time this morning until 12.30, God willing. As you know, last week we began a series entitled, Follow Me. There's a question mark at the end of that. Follow Me. And I asked a series of questions, rhetorical questions, some of which were, if you were to make a public announcement to all the people in your life who you are currently influencing, who are within the sphere of your influence, and you would say to them, follow me, could you have confidence that if they followed you that they would get a proper representation of what a Christian should be like? We determined last week that Paul made a most bold statement a number of times while he was writing to various different churches, and that statement was, follow me. Many times, and this is true, we don't want people to follow us, we want people to follow Jesus, and indeed that's true. Ultimately, Christ is our example. However, we saw in the Bible that Paul's life was of such a stature, Paul's life was so committed to Jesus Christ, Paul's life was so sold out to obeying the Word of God, that he was able to say in a number of instances to believers, follow me as I follow Christ. And we saw last week how the ultimate intention of being a Christian is that our lives might become role models for our brothers and sisters to follow. Now, I want you to think about this very much this morning, because surely, if the Holy Spirit of God moves in our lives, and the Lord Jesus Christ truly apprehends us, and we begin to experience a continuous revival, which is what we've been praying for, one of the most outstanding, dominant, predominant effects that it will have on you and I as Christians, is that our lives will truly become more and more role models for other people to look at and say, wow, I could follow brother so-and-so in that area of his life. I can follow sister so-and-so in that area of her life, because those areas of their life are so committed to the Word of God, and I see such a testimony of Jesus Christ. If our Christianity does not produce in us a life that is worthy of people to look at and say, surely, that's just what a Christian ought to be like, then we need to make sure our Christianity is real. Because Christianity is not a talk, a profession only. Christianity is not just an outward ritual, where we go to a building, and we sing a few songs, and we lift our hands up, and we give our money to the church, and we talk about the Bible, and then our lives contradict everything. Christianity has to be a people being conformed into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. So having laid that foundation last week, number one, Paul said, follow me. Number two, Paul's life was a model life for Christians. And number three, it's God's will that all Christians grow to the place where they can say, follow me. Now, before we get into this message this morning, which basically is going to be, God willing, I might not get through the whole thing, but that's alright, we have next week. But basically what this week's message is going to be, is we're going to take the foundation that we laid last week, and we're going to build upon it. And the way we're going to build upon it is this. We're going to see four specific areas in Paul's life that he actually admonished people to follow. Four specific areas that Paul chose to ask people to follow him in. Ask yourself this question before we begin. Am I living my life aware of the heart-searching truth that it ought to be a model for other Christians to follow? As we mentioned last week, the conversations you have on the phone, are they model conversations? The way you talk to each other. Could another Christian listen in and say, now that's a good model, that's a good example I'd like to follow. The way you talk to your children, your husband, your wife. What about the way you spend your money? Is it a good example that other Christians can look in and say, now there's a good example of being a wise store of the finances that God has given. Could you say that with all honesty? How about how you spend your time alone in your house when no one's around? Remember that old program on TV when we were kids called Candid Camera? Can't think of the star. Alan Funt. But you remember Alan Funt would show up at the most unlikely places. The most untimely places. The times when you didn't think anybody was really paying attention, Alan had a camera going and would come out and say, surprise, you're on Candid Camera. Well, I want you to know, beloved, you're on Candid Camera today. Your life is being viewed by people. Your life is being observed. And God wants your life to be so dedicated and so filled with His Spirit and so in union with His Son so that your life can be an ever-increasing testimony of an example that other Christians can follow and be led to the cross of Jesus Christ. I want to encourage you and exhort you and admonish you and beg you to pray that your life, that you might live your life with this in mind. Don't separate your life from your Christianity. Don't separate your actions from what you say. Let your life be transparent. Act and do and think as if all the Christians would come and wonder whether they can follow what you're doing. Now, 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verse number 16 is the first place where we're going to go. 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verse number 16. Listen to what Paul says here. This is the first example of Paul saying to the church, follow me. 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verse number 16. Wherefore, I beseech you, be ye followers of me. That is the most profound statement in my opinion. I would like if you would all in your own hearts together say with me, be ye followers of me. Let's all say it out loud together. Be ye followers of me. How does that make you feel? Be ye followers of me. Could you say that with all confidence? Don't be discouraged if you can't, but surely let that become your goal. Now, as I said, it's our goal that Jesus be the one that people follow, but inevitably, people are going to look to us. Inevitably, people are going to look to you. People look to people. It is an unavoidable fact. So, if people are inevitably going to look to us, our lives need to be worthy enough for them to look and see a model that properly represents Christ. Now, in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verse number 16, where Paul says, follow me as I follow Christ. Listen closely. This statement in 1 Corinthians 4, 16, gathers up all that Paul had written prior to this. This statement gathers up everything that Paul had written prior to this in 1 Corinthians 1, 2, 3, and 4. Now, there are a few issues that Paul dealt with in 1 Corinthians 1 through 4. And it was, listen, it was his way of understanding these issues that he is saying now in 1 Corinthians 4, 16, follow me. Pattern your thinking. Pattern your thought process. Pattern the way you think about these subjects just like I'm doing. So, in order to derive an understanding of what Paul meant when suddenly he goes, follow me in 1 Corinthians 16, we have to know the topics that he dealt with. I would like to discuss them briefly with you. And I want you to listen to this, but also I want you to listen to God speak to your heart. Listen to God speak to your heart. And remember, when we deal with a particular subject, ask yourself this question. Is this subject that is being spoken of now something that I am properly handling so that people can look at it in my life and say, now there's a proper representation of how Christ would be. Okay, the first subject is found in 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1, Paul deals, listen, Paul deals with worldly wisdom versus heavenly wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1, worldly wisdom versus heavenly wisdom. Now, Paul contrasts the wisdom that comes from the world and the wisdom that comes from God. And Paul was basically saying in 1 Corinthians that in the church there is no room for worldly earthly wisdom. There is no room for worldly earthly wisdom in our own lives. Now, basically, listen closely, the way that you can distinguish between and decipher between the wisdom that comes from earth and the wisdom that comes from God is this. It's very simple. This will put handles on this so that you can measure in your own life what kind of wisdom is operating. The wisdom that comes from God is a wisdom that is found and operating in your life through being on your knees before God. And the wisdom that comes from man is the wisdom springing out of our own understanding, out of our own thinking, doing things our own way without seeking the counsel of God. So how much wisdom is operating in our life that we are able to say along with Paul, follow me. Practically speaking, earthly wisdom will reign in our life if we have not come to the place where we have learned by the discipline of God to take everything in our life daily to God in prayer. Now, I'm not talking about ritual prayer. I'm not talking about this little prayer from your mind, you know, where you just pray a little prayer because it's a ritual thing. I'm talking about daily coming before God as an individual, as a family with your husbands and wives, with your children, with the members of the body of Christ and gathering together all the things going on in your life, mentioning them to the Lord and praying, oh, dear God in heaven, we ask you for your divine wisdom. In this situation, we ask you for your divine wisdom. In that situation, God, we don't want to choose our own way. We don't want to go in our own path, Lord, but we're looking to you to guide us. I'm talking about an effort where you are looking to the Lord Jesus Christ for the source of all your direction and all your plans. That's heavenly wisdom. Now, let me give you an example of a contrast that's in the Bible regarding these two issues. Turn your Bibles to James, if you want, chapter 3, verse 13 through 18. Just listen to some of the characteristics of earthly wisdom versus heavenly wisdom. Now, beloved, I want to remind you this morning that Paul is wanting us to follow him in regards to the example that he sets in relation to heavenly wisdom operating in his life. And if we're going to do that, we've got to see the difference between earthly and heavenly wisdom. This is super practical stuff. It's not way up here. It is practical stuff. Listen closely, verse 13. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter, envying, and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion in every evil work. Now, beloved, you can be sure that earthly wisdom is predominantly controlling your life. If, in fact, your heart is filled with bitterness, envying, and strife, verse 16, if there is confusion and evil work in your life, they are the fruits, they are the characteristics of earthly wisdom. Now, don't write this off real easily. Don't write it off. Bitter, envy, and strife in your hearts. Do you know strife is arguing? Strife is quibbling with one another. Bitterness is resenting people. Bitterness is gossiping about people. Bitterness is talking evil about people. You cannot have the wisdom of God that descends from above controlling your life if these things are in your life. Self-deception is, I think something is true when it's not. That's what self-deception is. And if we believe that our lives are worthy to be role models for heavenly wisdom, and yet we have envy and strife and bitterness and arguing and tempers and anger and all these things controlling our life, and we're not making a real attempt by God in prayer to deal with these things, we are self-deceived. We are self-deceived. Verse number 17, but the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits. Without partiality, without hypocrisy. Oh, beloved, earthly wisdom lives in the life where the heart is full of envy, jealousy, bitterness, arguing, arrogance, backbiting, gossip, slander, judging people after the flesh, having a critical heart, a judgmental heart, but notice heavenly wisdom, pure, clean, lives that are transparent. When I think of pure, I think of transparency. I think of cleanness. I think of humility. I think of meekness. I think of gentleness, easy to be entreated, full of mercy. When I think of mercy, I think of very long suffering, very patient. I think of love. Love is not easily angered. How easily do you get angered? How easily do you find the water starting to boil in your blood? You might not fly off outwardly, but inwardly it's boiling. Some people express their anger by just yelling and screaming. Other people hold it in without partiality, without hypocrisy. Wow. So are we getting a little picture here of what earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom is? What kind of wisdom is in your life? Is it worthy for people to look to as a role model? Moving on. Chapters 3 and 4 deal with how to look at churches, listen, and ministers. How to look at churches and ministers. Paul is saying here, follow me. He had a life that was full of heavenly wisdom. Now he's saying in chapters 2, 3, and 4, follow me in the example that I set regarding churches and ministers. There's two words that Paul deals with in describing the Corinthians, carnal and spiritual. The carnal Christian is the Christian that's predominantly controlled by their fleshly, earthly nature. The spiritual Christian is predominantly controlled by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Paul is saying to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 1, And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with meat. For hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are you able. For you are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you envying, strife, divisions, are you not carnal and walk as men? One says, I am of Paul. Another says, I am of Apollos. Are you not carnal? Are you not creating divisions? The second area of Paul's life that we are to follow and that is to be modeled in our life is a spiritual, mature way of looking at each other and at ministers of the gospel. The wrong way to look at each other is with eyes of competition. We're competing with one another. With eyes of jealousy, we're jealous one of another. With eyes of rivalry, we're fighting with one another. With eyes of contention and strife, another wrong way of looking at one another is wanting to have favorites or specials like they were doing in the Corinthian church. One said, I am of Paul. Another said, I am of Apollos. Beloved, when we see the kind of life that Paul modeled, we ought to be desiring more and more that this kind of life be put inside of us and that we can model it this way. Now, what about ministers? How are we to look upon ministers? This one's mine. This one's yours. No, Paul said, don't look at it that way. Paul says here in verse number five, who then is Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed even as the Lord gave to every man. Verse number 21, therefore, let no man glory in men for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come, all are yours. And ye are Christ's and Christ is God's. So firstly, Paul shows us that we need to have a heavenly wisdom and not an earthly wisdom. Secondly, Paul shows us that we need to have a mature way of viewing one another as opposed to a carnal, immature way. A mature way generates unity. It generates oneness. An immature way generates divisions, contentions, jealousy, and striving, fighting with one another. And such a way results in damage to the kingdom of God. How are you doing? How are you doing? Are you competing, striving against your brothers and sisters, comparing yourself with each other? Well, I don't know why they're doing that. I can do a better job. How are you viewing one another? Are you working against each other? Or do you see that your brother's strength is your strength because you're of the same body? Your brother's gift is for you. How do you look at each other? How do you look at ministers of the gospel? Do they become a source of division in your mind where you want one for yourself? I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos. Or do you realize that God is speaking through all of His genuine ministers and we have to learn to receive from all of them? Paul says, follow me in this way. Don't be carnal. Don't be a seed house or a place where seeds of carnality and division and strife fester. Don't let your life be governed by an immature, carnal way of viewing one another and viewing ministers of the gospel. But rather have a mature outlook. A mature outlook. We are all laborers together. You are God's husbandry. You are God's building. We are all ministers together. Those who are ministers. We're all one family. We're all striving toward one goal. To be like Jesus Christ. A house divided against itself cannot stand. And the reason why Paul said, follow me in this area, is because if we don't come to a mature understanding in regard to viewing one another and in regard to viewing all the different ministries and ministers in the body of Christ, the house of God will be divided. And if the house of God is divided, it will not stand. The devil will get in and bring weakness and bring defeat in our lives. This is true in families too. If a family doesn't stay together and work together and pray together and strive together and help one another, instead of beating up on each other and fighting with one another and criticizing one another, if a family doesn't stay in God, then the family will be divided. And if the family is divided, the house cannot stand. If the house doesn't stand, then we're gonna be defeated. This is such an important issue. I don't want it just to be a sermon. Don't want it just to be information. I'm praying God will help you see how practical this stuff is. It was not just a nice thing that Paul said, follow me. It is a vital truth. We must follow the example that he set because it is only that example that'll bring us to maturity. And if our lives do not line up to these kind of examples that Paul wants us to follow, then we need to pray, oh God, do a work in me. Deliver me from earthly wisdom. And remember the source of earthly wisdom is a heart that's not right with God. And then deliver me from wrong views regarding my brothers and sisters and regarding ministers of the gospel. Deliver me, Lord. Let me have a mature outlook. A mature outlook. So that's the first point. Wisdom. The second point is how we view ourselves and how we view ministers and other preachers of the gospel. Now in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul makes this, again, this incredible statement. Verse one. Be ye followers of me even as I am of Christ. Now, we saw in 1 Corinthians 4, 16 that the statement follow me included how we look at our life and what kind of wisdom is controlling it and how we look at our life and the way we're looking at each other and the way we're viewing other ministers. Now, as we go to 11.1 in 1 Corinthians, we hear Paul say, follow me as I follow Christ. This statement is in reference to what Paul has been talking about, listen, from chapter 8 to chapter 11. In other words, he gathers up all of the truth and the principles that he himself exemplified in dealing with a very important issue that I'm about to talk to you about and said, follow me in this area just the way I follow Christ. Now, you might ask yourself, well, what is that particular area that Paul's dealing about? This in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 is Paul and the subject of Christian liberty. We hear a lot about liberty today, don't we? What kind of an example did Paul model about Christian liberty that he is admonishing us to follow in his own life? This statement is in regard to the Christian and his conscience and Christian liberty. Now, before we go into just a few scriptures here to capture what Paul was telling us regarding this subject of Christian liberty, I want to first talk to you about abuses of Christian liberty. Does everybody here know what Christian liberty really means? There's a lot of people who feel that Christian liberty means I'm under no laws, I'm under no bondage, I'm under no kinds of rules, I'm free as a Christian, I'm not under the law, I can do what I want. Now, is that what Christian liberty is? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. The Bible speaks about two kinds of liberty in the Scripture. We're going to deal with the liberty of the Christian's conscience in this portion of Scripture. But there's another liberty that the Scripture speaks about, and that's found in 1 Corinthians 3 and in Romans 8. But I'll read 1 Corinthians chapter... I'm sorry, it's 1 Corinthians... Oh, I'm sorry, 2 Corinthians 3. Please just bear along with this because it's very important for us to understand so that we don't abuse this term Christian liberty. I know Christians, listen, I know Christians who engage in promiscuity and say they're not in bondage and they're free, they're not under the law. I know Christians who engage in excessive drinking and say, brother, don't put any bondage on me, God doesn't care, I'm free. I know Christians who live as close to the world as they can and say, I'm not under the law. I have liberty. But beloved, when the subject of Christian liberty comes up, it has nothing to do with how close we can get to the world before we get burnt. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse number 17. Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Now what do you think that means? Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Some people feel like what that means is that if the Spirit of the Lord is present, there's real, real, wild, charismatic worship. That's liberty. That's not what this is talking about. Some people feel like when it says where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, there's no rules. I can do what I want. That's not what it's talking about. The liberty here that the Bible's talking about is found right in the context. It's, listen, it's the liberty from the damnatory power of the law. It's the liberty from the power of sin. As a Christian, I am free from sin. Not free from, I'm not free from doing what is right. I'm free from sin. Romans chapter 8 says, the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free, has liberated me from the law of sin and death. The liberty that the Christian should be enjoying is the liberty of a life that is free from the power and dominion of sin. So that now, listen, I am no longer a slave to sin, but I am free to what? Become a slave to God. See, I'm emancipated from the slavery of sin so that I can willingly become a slave to righteousness. If you don't have a desire in your life to experience this kind of liberty, then the liberty that you want is a perverted liberty. When Jesus came in Isaiah chapter 61 and says, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel. What did he say his ministry was? Isaiah chapter 61. I want to read just a few verses here. Isaiah chapter 61. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives. Hallelujah! So when Paul talks about the liberty of the believer in the Scriptures, it's always referring to two. Either the liberty of the believer from the law of sin and death, or the liberty of the believer in his conscience. But that liberty regarding conscience has to be governed by the law of love. And that's what we're going to look at. But I wanted to first deal with this idea of Christian liberty. The liberty that the Christian enjoys is freedom from the power of sin. So many Christians go around boasting about a freedom that they have, a liberty that Christ gave them, but it has nothing to do with a joy in their life that they're being delivered from the power of sin and that they have now been able to offer themselves as slaves of righteousness. How many of you consider yourself a slave? A slave. That's in the Bible. Romans chapter 6. So the effects of true Christian liberty are joy and peace that we've been free from sin. Now, what about the liberty of conscience? The liberty of conscience. 1 Corinthians chapter 8. Now, as touching things offer to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but charity edifies. This particular situation was as follows. These believers were living in a town where there was available for them to buy meat. This meat was sold in places that were owned by people who worshipped idols. And what they did is they had the meat available. It was like if you go to Romania, you can really see this because they still have that culture. In Romania, you go into the town and they just have these shambles. Long tables. Not shambles. What's the word I'm thinking of? No, you don't know. I don't either. But they have long tables and they have meat on it. And Paul was here saying this meat was many times offered to the idol that the owner worshipped. And so therefore, the question is, as a Christian, as a Christian, should I buy that meat that I know was offered to an idol? Or shouldn't I? Well, the way Paul dealt with this is this. He said basically, listen, you know and I know that there's no God but the Lord God and there's no Christ but the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, so if you go to a place where they buy meat and you don't ask any questions and they don't ask any questions and you just buy it and nothing said, that's fine. But if on the other hand, you go to a meat owner and they say, hey, guess what? This meat that you're about to buy has been offered to my God. Paul said, then don't buy it. Because if you buy it, you are going in their eyes validify that God. As a Christian, you're going to say to them, oh, well sure, I believe in that God too. So what Paul was saying was this, and this is the whole bottom line of what he was saying about how to follow him in this area. Let your Christian liberty and your conscience be governed by love. Even though you have no problem with buying meat that's been offered to an idol. If in buying that meat, it's possible that you might lead someone astray or if someone thinks that by buying that meat, you as a Christian are placing your blessing on their God or their idol, then don't buy it. Because why should you let your liberty and your conscience cause your brother to stumble? So turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 9. Paul here is still dealing with the issue of liberty. In chapter 8, he dealt with the liberty to buy meat offered to idol, but how love needs to govern that liberty. Now in chapter 9, listen to what he says. He's talking about his own personal liberty. He says, am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ? Are you not my work in the Lord? If I be an apostle as others, yea, doubtless am I to you. My answer to them that do examine me is this. Have we not power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles? And as the brethren of the Lord in Cephas? Or only am I in Barnabas. Have not we power to forbear working? Who goes to a war any time at his own charges? Who plants a vineyard and eats not of the fruit? Or who feeds a flock and eats not the milk? Say I these things as a man, or doesn't the law say this too? Now, go to verse number 15. But I have used none of these things, neither have I written these things that it should be done unto me. Now you see what Paul's doing here? He just got done explaining to the Corinthians all of the liberty and the rights that he had as an apostle. He had the right to travel with a wife if he wanted to, if he got married. He had the right to travel with a Christian woman, a sister. Listen, he had the right to be paid for being a preacher of the gospel. But he said, I have not used any of these rights. Now see what he's doing? He's contrasting the way the Corinthians are operating and showing them how he's operating. They had these great rights and their conscience didn't bother them. And all they cared about was this. I'm going to use my Christian right and my conscience and I don't care what anyone... His liberty by love. Is your love governing your liberty today? Is your love governing your conscience today? Your conscience might not bother you about something, but is it causing someone else to stumble? And if it is, then why are you indulging in it? Why are you engaging in it? Are you thinking of your brother? Are you thinking of their sake? Or are you only thinking of yourself? Now we're going to close. Listen closely. Verse number 31, chapter 10. Verse 31, chapter 10. Listen closely. Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God. Even as I please all men in all things. Listen, not seeking my own profit, but that profit of many that they may be saved. Then it goes right down. Be ye followers of me. We must be delivered from selfish ambition. Lest our liberty and our conscience be used for our own pleasure. We disregard other people and we hurt people. We're going to conclude this next Sunday. And I am hoping the Lord will grant us liberty because next Sunday, we're going to look at the secret of being able to have a life that is a model for others to follow. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the word. Thank you for the sobering truth that we are called to model what it's like to be a Christian. I'm asking you, Lord, to take these truths, create hunger within our hearts, help us to meditate on these things and search them through in the scriptures and come to a mature understanding that our lives might be governed by love and by maturity. I pray for Jesus' sake. Amen. Hallelujah. Let's sing a song and ask the Holy Spirit to minister to us and ask yourself this question. I know I've said it over and over again, but it's very important. Ask yourself this question. Am I a role model? Can I say, follow me in this area of Christian liberty? Can I say it?