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In today's discipleship themed sermon, Reverend Daniel leads us to examine the Apostle Paul's model of spiritual parenting, discovering how imitation leads to identification, which in turn leads to growing towards maturity. Let's prepare our hearts for today's word.

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Good morning, church. This morning's reading is taken from 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 7 to 8, and 11 to 12. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 7 and 8. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. Verses eleven and twelve. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

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And is very much similar to the culture of the day. But in the context of the time of Paul, uh Paul's way of discipling has imitation as its foundation. In his day, fathers were expected to model appropriate behavior to their children. I wonder today whether that is a prerequisite. Before you can be a father, you must promise to model your life for your children to follow. But that was kind of expected in the culture of the day during Paul's time. So one such saying goes like this: Regard your father's conduct as the law and strive to imitate and emulate your father's virtue. Let me repeat again. One such saying goes like this: Regard your father's conduct as the law and strive to imitate and emulate your father's virtue. So Paul was instrumental in bringing about the spiritual birth of many of the Corinthians. He writes in 1 Corinthians 4 15, for though you have countless guides in Christ, people that show you the way, you do not have many fathers. For I have become your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. So Paul sees his relationship to the believers at Corinth as one of a father, uh, son, father-daughter relationship. He says, through the gospel I have become your father. Paul then draws out the natural implications in the following uh verse, 1 Corinthians 4 16, he says, I urge you then be imitators of me. The word imitate comes from the Greek word mimiomai, which from which we get the English word mimic. All of us here, we we do understand what mimic means, right? I mean we we see it in uh I I didn't observe it earlier with children, but sometimes if uh you have uh two children in your home, sometimes the younger one will mimic the older one, right? Uh certain actions, you know, and I remember growing up, uh when uh Caleb was growing up, I see I I see many photos where uh we managed to snap photos where she was looking to the sister, you know, and looking at what she does, and he will try to imitate, right? So that's very natural for children, right, to mimic the actions. I mean, if they have a sibling, if not, then the parents or someone in the family. So it is almost instinctively within us, our human nature, to mimic someone, even though a lot of times as we grow older, we are not so explicit. You know, we don't share it so openly that actually I'm mimicking someone, there's someone that uh I can identify with. But nevertheless, uh so imitation is about mimicking, about following uh certain patterns of what someone does. And often the word uh mimiomy, when is being used, is often accompanied by another uh Greek word uh which is translated as typos, which is uh variously translated in English as an example, as a model or as a pattern, right? A type of something. So it's derived from the word meaning to strike something, to leave a mark or a blow or an impression, right? Let's say if uh I mean can picture a very angry man one day comes back from work, he he he punches into the wall, he leaves uh what his imprint, right? So uh every day he comes back, he reminds himself of his anger and maybe repenting before God each day. So it's a visual reminder of you know his act of anger, but it's also a picture of uh probably a typos, in in some sense, uh an impression that is being left. So similarly, in as we look at physical objects, a hammer blow on a piece of wood will leave an indentation, right? You take a uh a metal hammer and you you just uh launch it uh on a block of wood, uh naturally there'll be indentation. A signaled ring pressed against wax will leave an impression, almost like a seal. So, in other words, what Paul was saying, and Paul and Timothy during the their times was that their lifestyle, how they live as believers, became the mo for the Philippians. So some of you, including me, will say, wow, such a high calling, how can we ever achieve that? How can I ever be an example to someone in church, not least my own children or my own spiritual children, but this is the model I like to suggest to us that of spiritual parenting that um Paul is speaking about. So though mentioned earlier in 1 Corinthians 4 16 of the need to imitate him, Paul writes again in the same letter to the believers at Corinth, a few chapters later in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 1, be imitators of me as I am of Christ. His converts were to imitate the evidence of Christ in him. You know, have you ever wondered why doesn't uh Paul simply say, imitate Christ? You know, like sometimes we will say, right, uh, don't follow me, you know. I'm just like some of us are leaders, just follow Christ, don't look at me, I'm just I mean, I'm nothing, don't follow me. Follow Christ. Right? Paul would say the opposite. He wouldn't say, uh don't look at me, look at Christ. He would say, Imitate me as I imitate Christ. Why so? Why did Paul you know say, imitate me as I imitate Christ? And this is the the crux of my first point about imitation, which is this. This is because God often works in our lives by placing our lives next to another life or another observable life. So the crux of imitation is this. God often does it, he molds us and shapes us by placing our lives next to another life. And another life which is we can observe in person and understand what it means to follow Christ. So imitation has the sense of following someone, following the lifestyle of the another, of another. So Paul can in the same breath then say to the believers in Philippi, in Philippians 3 17, brothers, join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk in according to the example you have in us. So very much uh close walking together, uh taking note and observing each other's lifestyle. And again, uh it's peppered all throughout the New Testament. Paul's way and manner of ministry is about imitation. Again, from Acts 20, verse 18 to 21, uh, in his uh speech to the Ephesian elders, in his so-called farewell speech, in Acts 20, verse 18 to 21, he says this you yourself know how I live, my manner of life among you the whole time, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews, how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. So Paul is saying that how I lived, my manner of life, my lifestyle, was one of humility and tears, enduring hardship from the plot of the Jews, focusing on the core message of the gospel and preaching from in public and from house to house. So Paul was, in other words, desirous, even though he wasn't explicit on this, but the way he gave his speech, he was indicating that he was desirous that the efficient elders emulate his example. So again, 1 Corinthians 11, verse 1, he says, Be imitators of me as I am of Christ. On another occasion, which we have uh heard this scripture be read before in 2 Timothy 3 verse 10 to 11. Again, one of his last uh his last letter and testament to Timothy, his disciple, uh, at his again a farewell time, you know, when someone says farewell, it's always a time of departure and uh so-called wrapping up. And through hearing someone's farewell speech, you get a glimpse of the heart of the person. So it's it's no surprise that to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, and then again to Timothy, uh, when he was not certain whether he'd be released from jail, he was writing the letter to Timothy, exalting him in the ways of God. He again talks about imitation. He says in 2 Timothy 3 10 to 11 to Timothy, You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystria, which persecutions I endured, yet from them all the Lord rescued me. So imitation is the foundation, and God has often begins to grow us in discipleship by placing our lives next to another observable life. Let me move on to my next point. So, therefore, through imitation then flows what I call identification. Identification. Uh, there's a definition provided by uh D. Nike and Tibur, 1968. It's a bit dense, but uh dense as in quite a long definition, but I think I leave it there because it is a good uh comprehensive understanding of what identification is in the context of uh imitation. I thought it is quite true in some cases. So identification is the process in which a person believes himself to be like another person in some respects, right? We can't totally be like someone. When we say to identify, we don't mean that you be exactly like the person, like a photocopy. It doesn't mean that. It means that there are certain qualities or certain desirous behavior traits, character traits, or perhaps uh the person's disposition that draws you to the person. So some commonness, which is uh usually a great draw. Uh that is why uh a lot of times when we say friendship is about the years that we know someone, maybe I know someone for 40 years, it may be true, but friendship could also be as short as one year, but the sharing can be much deeper. Why? Because of commonness. There is a certain commonness shared between, let's say, A and B, and this A and B can identify with one another. So all it takes is a year to build close, deep, discipling relationships. Whereas versus someone you know for 10 years, but there isn't that kind of identification happening or imitation, therefore, you always know the person from a certain distance. So again, identification is the process in which a person believes himself or herself to be like another person in some respects, commoners, either that or certain qualities or traits that you just pick up from the person and say, Yeah, this is what I want to follow. So it may not even be a formalized relationship. You may be observing from afar. Even as I'm speaking, there may be uh some of you here may be inspired by someone in the congregation, and from far you are admiring or you are looking, that person has this certain quality, and you observe and from from far you you kind of learn from the person why the person does certain actions or certain traits. So it may not even be formalized yet at this stage. Right? So what happens next is you will then experience successes and defeats to model after the person in some way. You know, you will you discover that in your actions, then you you tend to talk like the person in some way, or you tend to have certain values that that you pick up from the person. And uh so it may be, there may be times of success, there may be times of failure. Uh you tend to pick it up as your own and consciously or unconsciously then model your behavior after the person. So a lot of times it is more instinctively developed, this identification than force upon. That means we see, we there's some commonness, we connected with the person, and then we start to observe the person and so on. So, some comments on how a person identifies with another person. Uh, this is what uh someone who is in a mentoring relationship says. I identified with someone because the person gave himself to me. So these are some important qualities, you know, when we reach out to someone and you give yourself to another. Uh, so there's some identification happening. Another person says, I was allowed into the heart of the person. The person begins to just share openly about the good times or the good parts of his life, but also the not so good parts, the struggles. So you identify with the person because the person wears his heart on his sleeves. So there's nothing to hide. You see the good, you also see the bad. You know, I'm not trying to just present to you a good front and trying to uh in some way be hypocritical to just say that all is well when deep down I'm hurting. But as real as you can, the good parts, the not so good parts, we see it all. So when when there's a kind of identification at that level, then you would there's a possibility of certain um growth happening. Another person could say the passion I observe in the person made me want to be like him or her, right? Like certain traits that you see in so in a certain person, the passion or how the person does things a certain way, and it inspires you. You want to be identified with the person. So I just want to share a short snippet. I won't reveal names, but an example of uh identification that I realized also took place uh not unusually, uh, I guess for most of us, most of us also, during my the time when I was a youth or when I was growing up. So I remember in my growing days the person who I look up to or identify with uh actually happened because I was drawn to the person in some way. There was a desire to be like the person in some way. So I was attracted to the person. Uh I'm using it in a neutral sense. I was attracted to the person because he was relationally strong. Right? And he he was always able to connect with uh with others and he often took time to relate to people, even if it means to spend a couple of hours. Though I realized that I will never be like the person in many ways. Uh firstly, uh by nature he's an extrovert and he tries, he gets energy through relating to people. So I'm definitely not like him in that aspect, but uh through him I learned the importance of being relationally connected in ministry. And in my own journey, I do experience success in identifying with that trait of being relatable, but there are times that I failed too. Nevertheless, the trajectory is clear to consciously and unconsciously model my behavior after the person. So, yeah, I think it's not a bad thing. I like to suggest to us that this whole idea of identification that builds on imitation should be something that we willingly uh kind of accept, right? Because as Asians, a lot of times we are a bit shy, you know, to ask others to follow traits in which God has endowed uh endowed us with. But I think if we were to follow the way of Paul, then imitation has to be a way of life. It cannot be just confined to textbooks or seminars or talks or CE courses uh that informs us another way, but it must be life upon life. You know, God works often in our life again by placing our lives next to another observable life. So do we identify with at least someone and seek to be like the person in some way? Right? I believe we all do, right? We all do, whether in our growing days, formative days as a youth, or even today, perhaps we have mentors, mentees, or whatever, you know, someone in whom we are able to impart to, someone in whom we are able to identify with. So for Paul, there was this identification, it wasn't just a physical identification, but there was uh emotions being uh involved. It was an emotional identification in Paul's model of spiritual parenting. We see that because he uses maternal and paternal images to convey the connection he has with his uh with the believers there. So we see um some of the maternal image being used in the 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 7 to 8. Uh the words that I highlight in yellow, it says, but we were gentle among you, maternal image, gentle, gentleness, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children, emotions, right? So being affectionately desirous of you. We were ready to share with you what's that? Not only the gospel, but also our very selves, again, life on life, our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. You know, every sentence here uh is full of emotive languages, language, sorry, you know, that Paul was desirous to share, not just uh intellectual cognition of what the gospel message is, but also our lives, because the gospel is fleshed out and flesh in our lives. So Paul says we are affectionately desirous of you. So there's emotions involved in his identification, almost like how a nursing mother would care for their children. This is how Paul felt for the believers in uh whom he's writing to in First Thessalonians. And we see also the paternal image uh represented in 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 11 to 12. Now he switched over to a father image. He says, For you know how, like a father with his children, we exalted you, we encouraged you, we say, Come on, you can do it. You know, just step over, then take the next step, cross over the border. No, that's a role of the father to spur, to encourage, to challenge limits, to see potential, and to drive our children in a good way. Right? And yeah, we exalted you, we encouraged you when you were depressed or sad. We say, Go on, you can do it. We charge you, we give you the confidence to walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. So the emotional connection that Paul used in this uh 1 Thessalonians calls to mind a picture of a coach. This is what a coach does. They see potential, they help us develop those qualities in our lives. So for Paul, the primary goal of the Christian life is to reach the state of maturity in Christ. So he writes in Colossians 1, verse 28 to 29, Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ. So Paul's goal was through imitation and identification, uh, living out the gospel in our lives that people will sharpen people and they will grow in maturity. And for this, Paul says, I struggle, I toil with all the energy that Christ works in me. Again, in Galatians 4.19, he says, My little children, again using family language, for whom I'm again in the anguish of childbirth. You know, so you are you're wondering, you know, Paul agonized over uh their growth, the growth of the believers in Galatia who were plagued by uh false doctrine, right? Uh until Christ is formed in you. Right? So there's an agonizing, there's a walking through, right? So his whole being is involved in discipling the believers. It's not just an intellectual exercise. So for Paul, it is a growth of in a person's potential towards maturity that he exalts and he encourages, he mothers, he is gentle among them. So one uh example of this is Paul's relationship with Timothy. I mean, as a as a kind of a point example about how this uh moving towards one's potential takes place. Paul and Timothy had a close personal relationship through his communications with Timothy and with other congregations. His relationship with Timothy is often described as one of a father and a son or a brother. For example, in Philippians 2.22, Paul describes Timothy by commenting, but you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father, he has served me with me in the gospel. So Paul describes his relationship with Timothy as like a father to a son. And in Philemon 1 verse 1, Paul also opens the letter with a greeting to Timothy, identifying Timothy as his brother. So the solid bond between Paul and Timothy again is played out in his last letter and testament, 2 Timothy 1 verses 3 to 4, which as he writes this personal letter to Timothy, he says, I thank God whom I serve as I as did my ancestors with a clear conscience. As I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day, I've been praying for you, and as I remember your tears, I long to see you that I may be filled with joy. Again, emotive language, Paul is saying that I love you, Timothy. I love you, and I long to see you that I may be encouraged by your life, your growth, your advancement of the gospel. So there are two ways I like to share with us in terms of how Paul kind of spurred Timothy in the growth process. How did Paul lead Timothy to a point of reaching his potential? First, is he recognized the good in Timothy, right? And we see that we see it in Acts 16, verses 1 to 3. Uh when Paul met Timothy while he was traveling through Lystra, he discovered that Timothy was the son of a believing uh Jewish and a Greek father, and that people spoke well of him. So because of that, Paul was kind of saw the good in Timothy, and instinctively, perhaps, or prayerfully, uh through the process, he was drawn to Timothy, and from then on, Acts 16, verse 3 tells us that Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him on his journey. So in Acts 16, that was the beginning encounter of Paul and Timothy, and perhaps it was the good that Paul saw in Timothy, the potential that he saw in Timothy that drew him and drew Timothy to him. So a lot of times, I mean as pastors or as leaders or even as members, we need to learn to see the good in others, to see the potential. Because if we can't see the good in others, we can't see the potential, then it's bad. There's not nothing we can mentor. But we if we always see, ah yeah, that person, no, it's la-da-da-da. So all the bad things, one whole page, then we are not able. But if we learn to see the good in others, we see beyond uh failings, mistakes, uh, we see beyond um the things the person does, but we look into his heart and his character, which is foundation, foundational, right? So uh so we need to learn to see the good. That's the beginning of all. We don't see the good in others, then there's nothing to, no potential to talk about that we can spur someone on. So we need to, like Paul, learn to recognize the good in others. Um scripture doesn't say how Paul recognized the good in Timothy, it just says that he uh he, because people spoke well of him, he's of a good repute, you know, and therefore there was a certain attraction to him. So the second step is then Paul uh, besides just saying that Timothy is good and there's certain good and wants him along, the only way to involve or grow a person is to put a person through challenges, right? And I think that's the way uh research has shown in discipleship that we grow best when we face challenges. Right? If we don't face challenges, then we will never grow. We will still be an infant, uh baby Christian, even after 40 years. But through challenges, even through crisis, God grows us. So, similarly, for young Timothy, how does Paul grow him? You know, of course, with the right teaching and doctrine, that's enough, but Paul didn't send him for further doctoral studies, even though that is needed in some way, if there's a need, but Paul immersed Timothy in ministry. Paul does not shy away from uh giving him over to the school of hard knocks and letting him learn the challenges, how to pick up himself again, how to face challenges, crises in the church, and learn to walk through that. So, in a way, vocale, which we've been hearing for the past few weeks, is a good attempt because we are saying uh we immerse ourselves in church work or mission work uh or admin work for one year and just test out that calling. And if it's not there, that's fine, right? So in Acts 17, verse 14, we observe that Paul's strategy for equipping Timothy begin with an early challenge. When Paul was preaching in Berea, some of the Jews came to agitate the crowds. Immediately, Paul separated himself from Timothy and their partner Silas and gave them instructions to meet him in Athens. In the meantime, he actually charged, like a good father, he charged Timothy and Silas, nurture the congregation at Barrier, you know, uh establish them in the Lord. So he was able to release him into the ministry and entrust him with the role. And that's how he grew. So as Paul gained confidence in Timothy's competence as a minister, he employed he sorry, he employed Timothy in one of the most challenging ministerial environments, the church in Ephesus. So uh so there were false doctrine and heresy among its members, and because the city of Ephesus was was a place that was famous for its cult, temple cult worship, and there was also a lot of commercial interest in the city because of the worship of Artemis, and because of the preaching of the gospel, came against the powers of the land, and because of that, uh the people revolted, and that so there were a lot of things, basically, he had to deal with practical issues that they were confronted with. So when Paul heard that the condition, the church in Ephesus was facing a worsening time, he commissioned Timothy to go there to oppose the errors, correct their false understanding of the truth, and return the church to the true doctrines of the gospel. So Timothy's ministry in the church at Ephesus was no easy task. But Paul trusted him again, tested him, trusted him, gave him clear instructions how to deal with the heresy and how to preach the true gospel of Christ. So we see that for Paul's relationship with Timothy began with a sense of recognizing the good in him, choosing him as the right person to accompany him in the gospel, in the gospel uh work. And from then on, he equipped him by releasing him into ministry, empowering him for success, employing him for effectiveness at the church, in burial, and also in Ephesus. Um, and also by communicating to him with a sense of uh fatherly and motherly uh fatherly exaltation as a son, brother, and messenger of Christ. So we see here that growth in a person's potential towards maturity involves firstly recognizing the good in others, and secondly, helping a person grow in potential by dealing with challenges that they go through. Let me summarize. In Paul's model of spiritual parenting, imitation, as I mentioned earlier, is the foundation of everything. From imitation comes the process of identification and a growing into a person's potential towards maturity. So I try to do a kind of a one-sentence uh summary to just help us to nail these ideas and concepts in our lives. Imitation is all about placing our lives next to another observable life. And believe me, believe it or not, we are always doing that. We are always looking for someone we can imitate because uh social media and all, we see we are always curious about what someone else is doing. Right? We are we are always uh just uh some say kepo or you know, we always what's the person doing? Because we are always looking for models, you know, like it or not, is inherent in our human nature, in the way God created us for community. So identification, I try to break it down in uh simple terms, is basically some quality of a person you observe in someone. Usually you're attracted by a quality or character trait first that you perhaps aspire to become, and then you uh consciously or unconsciously model your behavior after the person. So growing into person potential towards maturity then involves recognizing the good in others and dealing with challenges that come. Let me just close with uh kind of a short uh uh example of this, what I'm working through. So recently we as a I'm leading a connect group, we just almost finished the book of Jonah, right? The book of Jonah, four chapters, right? But I find it's a very deep and rich book uh in which uh it haunts me because it reveals God's heart for the world. And of course, everyone says it's the missionary book of the Bible, and I have to confess that it is the missionary book of the Bible, four chapters and yet so profound. But what I'm uh um kind of grappling with is a question that came at the end of the book of Jonah. The question is this Are you okay if God loves your enemies? Right? Because Jonah was sent to the Ninevites and he hated them to the cause such that he was even be willing to go all the way to the opposite end and say, God, I've enough, you know, anyone but this group of people. And God had to, you know, through various circumstances, in the wheel, mouth of a fish and uh belly of a fish, and and so on. And uh eventually he went. But after that, again he got angry with God. He said, God, why, you know, why did you, even though I preached a message, but I thought perhaps you may judge them, but why did you, you know, have mercy on them and relented? So at the heart of Jonah is a revelation of God's character, and his character is this he is a compassionate and gracious God. Because Jonah 4 talks about that uh again. Jonah 4 when talks about the compassionate uh nature of God, a compassionate and merciful God, he's quoting from Exodus where God reveals himself to Moses as a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. So, right now I'm just rereading the book of Jonah with with the help of uh a guide uh for my quiet time in just sharing with you my own journey because I want to tease this out further. I mean, how can I grow to embody this compassion and mercy of God more in my life? Because I realize it is challenging to love my enemies, you know, or those who do evil to us, you know. I'm sure all of us are so profound, you know, God's love and compassion. So I'm re-dive, I'm diving into the book of Jonah. So sometimes identification may not come through a person, usually it comes through a person, but it can come through your study of the word. Certain books of the Bible, you're just drawn to it, and and I identify with Jonah because I think I may be like Jonah. So I'm saying, Lord, help me to grow in potential towards maturity, help me to recognize the good even in evil, and to deal with the challenges of my own prejudices, just as Jonah had his own prejudices, and help me to imitate uh the example of who God is, his character, his compassionate and merciful nature, more so that I can grow towards spiritual maturity. So, I mean, this is just a live example of something I'm walking through. And I believe what I'm sharing with you, this model of imitation, identification, and growing into potential towards maturity, is not uh something very difficult, but it's actually can be fleshed out in many ways. And I pray that if you can, maybe just take a snapshot of this last slide. It's a good summary. And may the Lord speak to you and help you to grow, you know, whether it's through a former mentor, someone you look up to, which you may uh start to connect with the person and establish a formal mentoring relationship, or it could be even like me, uh, a book that I'm impacted by, which is uh the book of Jonah.

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We pray that you've been ministered to by the Word of God today. If you'd like to know more about Ishun Christian Church, please visit our website at yccanglican.com. Have a blessed day.