The first question is this, WWYDWJ?. Let me interpret that, "What will you do with Jesus?" or to put it another way,"Who do you say Jesus is?" I placed this question first, because it is the most important of all. How you answer this question will determine where you will spend eternity. At the end of time, all humanity will be measured and judged by the person, Jesus Christ.

When Jesus was born and just a few days old, an old prophet named Simeon greeted Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus in the Temple. Taking baby Jesus in his arms, Simeon proclaimed in Luke 2:34, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against." Simeon knew that the child in his arms was not just any child! He had been told by the Holy Spirit of God that before he died, he would personally behold the Lord's Christ, the Redeemer of mankind. Simeon held in his arms the Savior of the world, the Redeemer of mankind, the One sent by God to take our sin out of the way, so that we might be reconciled with Him. Those who received this child, His message, ministry, and mission, would be received by God. Likewise those who rejected this child, His message, ministry, and mission, would be rejected by God.

This last year we witnessed the passing of many of the world's great people. Among them was one of the world's great comics, Red Skeleton. At one time, this man was the measure of all comedians. He was out front leading the way, and all future, aspiring comedians measured themselves by him. If they were to make it to the "big time," they had to be as creative, as funny, as Red Skeleton. Soon however, Red's glory faded. He was a has been, replaced by a brighter star. The same could be said for all other worldly great people, actors, designers, sports heros, musicians and politicians.

Listen, Jesus remains the measure of all humanity. His star will never fade. His powerful life and redemptive work will never lose its significance! He did what no other man could do. He made a way for man to be reconciled to God through His sinless life and atoning sacrifice upon the Cross. It is by Jesus Christ that all are measured. His is the standard that we must attain to be accepted by God, or else face the sure and certain judgement of God upon our sin. However, Jesus came not to just provide a standard which no one could meet, but to become a sacrifice we all could receive by faith.

In Matthew 16:13-17, Jesus put this important question before His disciples. Notice His words. "When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that Thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." Peter got it right! Just as Simeon held in his arms the right baby, Peter held in his heart the right person, the right answer. He was persuaded beyond doubt that Jesus was the very Son of God, the promised Redeemer and Savior of the world!

Later Peter preached Jesus Christ in Acts 4:11-12 and said, "This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

How can you face another year without knowing God through faith in Jesus Christ? Think of all the sudden, unexpected things that took place in 1997, the tragedies that took both young and old into eternity! Death can knock at the door of your life, ready or not! Who knows what this year has in store for everyone in this auditorium.

Once we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, the second important question becomes, WWJD? "What would Jesus do?"

My niece's little son would die for a Nintendo. Well, Josh was given a Nintendo for Christmas. You cannot imagine the joy that filled this boy's heart when he opened that present and made the discovery. However, there was one problem. There was a missing part, an adaptor necessary to connect it to the television, so on Christmas Day, the Nintendo just sat there in the box. That's torture! Nintendos are for play, action, not display.

So it is with our salvation. Salvation is not a gift to put on the shelf. It is not for display only. Salvation is designed for action, to be put to use.

Salvation is in three tenses being, regeneration; which is deliverance from the penalty of sin in our past, sanctification; which is deliverance from the power of sin in our present, and glorification; which is deliverance from the presence of sin in our future. Salvation, the second spiritual birth is just the beginning. The fact is, we need the life of Jesus as well as His death. Paul in Romans 5:10 says, "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." We are not saved to live our lives as we see fit, but as God sees fit. We are saved to have Jesus Christ in us, so that He might live through us! Paul would remind us that we are not our own, we are "bought with a price!" Indeed, the Scriptures tell us that God's great purpose is for us to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:29 says, "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."

The apostle Paul often expressed his desire to be like Jesus, to live as Jesus lived, to do what Jesus would do. He expressed this desire and goal to be like Jesus in different ways. In Galatians 2:20 he said, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." In Philippians 1:21 he said, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." The apostle Peter put it another way in I Peter 2:21. "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps:"

In 1896, a man named Charles Sheldon wrote a book called "In His Steps." Sheldon in his book, tells of a ragged man who speaks to a Midwestern church congregation and says, "It seems to me there's an awful lot of trouble in the world that somehow wouldn't exist if all the people who sing such songs went and lived them out." The man then dies in front of the whole congregation. The pastor and congregation who are shocked and ashamed by such testimony, proceed to pledge to live their everyday lives asking themselves, "What Would Jesus Do?" in any and every situation in life, regardless of the consequences to themselves or others. While only a handful of people accepted that challenge, the results radically transformed the church and its community.

Not long ago, Charles Sheldon's great-grandson Garrett, rewrote the book with modern characters in another book called, "What Would Jesus Do?" In the early 90's, youth pastors around the globe became inspired by the book and began using the logo WWJD? to challenge their youth groups. Soon there were WWJD? bracelets, shirts, bumper stickers, cups, and caps everywhere as a reminder of the great challenge to live for Jesus. The movement began to grow and youth groups everywhere became transformed as teenagers began to ask themselves, "What Would Jesus Do?" in any and every situation, regardless of the consequences to themselves and others.

The apostle Paul made this very commitment. He never wore a WWJD? bracelet or shirt, but he had resolved none the less, to live his life for Jesus, no matter the cost or consequences. In Ephesians 5:1 he wrote, "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children." The Greek word here for "followers" is mimetes (mim-ay-tace'). The word means to imitate and describes a mimic, an actor. True Christians are imitators of Christ. In Acts 11:26, it says the followers of Christ were "first called Christians at Antioch" because their lives, actions, values, and attitudes reminded unbelievers of Jesus Christ! Paul thought he knew God until he met Jesus Christ. Jesus came to this earth to reveal God and redeem man. Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, confessed Him as Lord and Savior, and became a mimic, an imitator, a follower of Jesus!

The apostle Paul voices his WWJD? Commitment in Philippians 3:7-14. Paul says, "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Here we can see that Paul had a passion for Jesus Christ. He wanted to be identified with Him, please Him, and live for Him. However, Paul also knew to do so was not easy. He had his own struggles in following Jesus. He surly would tell us that doing what Jesus would do, requires preparation. Here are four steps from Paul's life, to consider as we make our own WWJD? Commitment.

Step One: LEARN the Scriptures which include the words and deeds of Jesus Christ. In Philippians 3:10, Paul expressed the desire to know the Savior. He said, "That I may know Him." How can we aspire to do what Jesus would do in every situation no matter what the cost or consequences, if we do not know Jesus?

When you have been married for twenty five years, you begin to know what a spouse will say, think, respond, and feel about most everything! How does this happen? We get to know a person by spending time with that person, entering into the life of that person!

Its the same with Jesus Christ. We must become disciples of Jesus, if we are going to do what He would do in each and every situation. A disciple is a student, a pupil. To know Jesus we must search the Scriptures, study the life of Jesus, the words of Jesus, the desire of Jesus, what made Him happy, what made Him sad, what made Him mad. It is more than putting on a shirt or bracelet. It is putting on a life!

Step Two: LISTEN to the Spirit of Christ within. Jesus speaks to His followers, not just through the written Word, but through His indwelling Spirit. The voice of the Holy Spirit, is also called the Spirit of Christ, because He always confirms the will of God and of Christ.

Just as we tune in on a certain frequency to hear our favorite radio station, we must tune in on the voice of God, the Spirit of Christ within. Those who truly seek the Lord, His will, His way, will find Him!

Step Three: LEAN upon the supernatural, spiritual resurrection power of Christ. Paul wanted not only to know more of the person, Jesus Christ, but he wanted to know more of the power of the resurrected Christ. In Philippians 3:10 he says, "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection."

There is no power in the logo WWJD? There is no power in a bracelet around your wrist, on in a shirt. Truly, we do not possess the necessary power to face the opposition and live for Jesus. The power must come from the Holy Spirit of God within our hearts! Notice these verses. In II Corinthians 4:7 Paul says, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." Then in Romans 8:11-14 Paul says, "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." We must remain connected to the power source of God's Spirit!

Step Four: LOVE the Savior, Jesus Christ more than anything. Paul was willing to suffer to know Christ and follow Him. In Philippians 3:10 he concludes, "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death." Jesus said to be His disciples, His followers, we must "deny ourselves." Sin is selfish, it is preoccupied with pleasing self, loving self over God and others. Self is our greatest obstacle to overcome, if we are to be like Christ.

A father and his small son strolled down the street in Chicago past the place where a skyscraper was being constructed. Glancing up, they saw men at work on a high story of the building. "Father," said the little boy, "What are those little boys doing up there?" "Those are not little boys, son. They're grown men." "But why do they look so small?" "Because they're so high," his father answered. After a pause the boy asked, "Then, Father, when they get to heaven there won't be anything left of them, will there?" It's so true. The nearer we come to Christ, the less others see of us and the more they see of Christ.

With sarcasm, Wilbur Reese writes: "I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb not a new birth. I want about a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. I'd like to buy $3 worth of God, please." How much of God do we want? How closely do we want to follow in Christ's steps?

Do we want enough of God that we stop using our money, resources and time selfishly, and start using them to help others and build the kingdom of God?

Do we want enough of God that we develop a ravenous hunger for the Word and let all other priorities fall behind it?

Do we want enough of God that we become passionate about prayer instead of speaking to God in thoughtless, trite phrases when we want something?

Do we want enough of God that we give ourselves as humble servants to others?

Do we want enough of God that we learn to forgive those who hurt us, forgo bitterness, give up resentment, and if possible, make peace with our enemies?

Do we want enough of God that we develop His compassion and love for the most unlovely, that we lay aside our pharisaical, condescending attitudes and love all men with the passionate love of Christ?

How much do we want to follow "in His steps?" How serious are we about doing what Jesus would do? How much of God do we want? Three dollars?... Discipleship is far more than a What Would Jesus Do wristband. Jesus said in Luke 14:33 "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."

So, have you answered life's two greatest questions?

First, WWYDWJ? or "What will you do with Jesus?"