Created to be like Jesus
Created to Be Like Jesus
The Purpose Driven Life # 4
October 16th and 17th, 2004
Introduction
We have been talking about the purpose driven life. Acts 13:36 tells us about David and how he fulfilled God’s purpose in his generation. I love the marriage of the eternal with the contemporary. It was God’s purpose in a contemporary setting.
We talked first about worship-we were planned for His pleasure and our first purpose is to live a lifestyle of worship not just by singing but with our lives.
Next we talked about being formed for His family-fellowship. We are called to believe but we are also called to belong. We are in Christ and we are called to His Body. All of us should be involved in a local church.
This week we are talking about being created to become like Jesus-discipleship.
This one is near and dear to my heart as a pastor and even because of my personal upbringing. I was born again as an 11 year old boy in a Baptist Church. There is no question that I had a real experience with God. I was so excited about what had just happened to me that I was looking forward to what came next. What came next was more sermons about getting born again. It seemed after a couple of months that my greatest days were behind me and after getting born again it was all just holding out and hanging out until heaven. It is hard to convince an 11 year old boy that the next great event in his life was heaven. It didn’t provide me with a lot of ammunition for life.
I went to school looking for other Christians and if they were there they were in the closet. After a few months I was just another worldly kid who happened to believe the gospel but didn’t think it was relevant.
The other side of that is that when I came back to the Lord I saw a lot of people who I knew were serving God and they had tons of Bible knowledge and went to lots of meetings but after about a year I realized that most of the people I knew were still in grade school as Christians. There was a lot of knowledge out there but not as much practice. They had confused knowledge with maturity and discipleship. The very thing that grabbed my heart was when Ron Tucker was preaching to Christians and challenging them to grow. I realized there was life after the new birth.
Over the years I have watched people who grew and matured and those who didn’t I and have noticed that those who mature are able to practice Christianity.
Matthew 28 NIV
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in a the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”[1]
The Message
/“God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”[2] /
-Notice the emphasis on obedience and practice.
-It is like the difference between reading a book to someone about playing basketball and showing them how to play. The book provides direction but it is theory until you get your hands on the ball.
-Paul told his disciple to follow what he said and what he had done while he was with them. His teaching and life were the same. That is discipleship.
-Jesus appointed twelve that they might be with Him.
-The Jewish leaders took note of the disciples in Acts that they had been with Jesus.
-A PhD is ok but a BWJ is better.
-A PhD can make you smart but a BWJ can make you different.
-So what is the goal?
My third purpose in life is to become like Jesus.
(on the sermon outline)
“From the very beginning God decided that those who came to
Him - and He knew who would - should become like His Son...” Rom 8:29 (LB)
“God wants us to grow up ... like Christ in everything.” Eph. 4:15 (Msg)
-I spent several weeks looking at discipleship already in 2004 but I want to use this outline to see it from still another point of view.
(sermon outline)
“In all things God works for the good of those who love Him,
who have been called according to His purpose.” Rom.
8:28 (NIV)
-God uses life to teach us how to grow.
-Don’t you do that with your kids? When something happens you say so what do you think about that? What did we learn here?
-God is a good steward. He uses everything. He doesn’t cause bad things but He uses them.
-We are looking at becoming like Jesus which is the true measure of discipleship.
-What did Jesus go through that we can learn from?
-Three tools- three unexpected tools.
God uses troubleto teach us to trust Him.
Matthew 16 NIV
33 /“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” [3]/
Psalm 34 NIV
19 /A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;[4] /
Acts 14
21 They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God/,” they said. [5] /
-What a message to tell new believers!
-He told them the truth. The key is to follow Jesus and overcome them.
-You are equipped to be an overcomer!
-Disciples are stable and steadfast. We face problems with the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. This is how we overcome.
-If you want to split the Red Sea you got to have some Egyptians chasing you.
-If you want to speak to the sea you need a storm.
-Every miracle in the Bible has a common denominator. They all began with a problem.
-Follow the example of Jesus. He faced opposition in perfect love and always won.
2 Corinthians 2 NIV
14 /But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. [6] /
Message
/In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. [7] /
Fill in the blanks:
· Keep a spiritual journal
“At the Lord's direction, Moses kept a written record of their
progress.” Num. 33:2 (NLT)
· Remember the reward
“Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an
eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Cor. 4:17 (NIV)
(slide)
God uses temptation to teach us to obey
-God doesn’t bring temptation or cause evil or tempt you with evil.
-Evil comes and the key to discipleship is discipline.
-My prayer is “Lord help me master myself.”
-Think about it. Disciples are disciplined.
-God only lets you fight battles you can win.
Example
In the Rocky movie where he fights Mr. T Rocky is fighting all of these guys who aren’t quite up to his standard. They were called ringers. The truth is; if you know who you are in Christ; every battle is a ringer.
(outline)
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted
by the devil.” Matt. 4:1 (NIV)
"’Get out of here, Satan’ Jesus told him. ‘The Scriptures say,
Worship only the Lord God. Obey only Him.'" Matt. 4:10 (LB)
KEEP FOCUSED ON BIBLICAL THOUGHTS
“Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right.”
Phil. 4:8a (LB)
-If you can control your thoughts you can control your mouth and if you can control your mouth you can control your whole body.
-What are you thinking about? You are going to see some more of that in the book. There is some great information about controlling your own mind.
Ephesians 4 NIV
22 /You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. [8] /
GET A SPIRITUAL PARTNER
-Make yourself accountable to someone else.
“You’re better off to have a friend than to be all alone... If you
fall, your friend can help you up.” Eccl. 4:9-10 (CEV)
-Confess your sins to someone so you can be healed.
-You need a friend you can trust.
God uses trespasses to teach us to forgive
(slide)
“People passing by shook their heads and hurled insults at
Jesus ... and the elders made fun of Him... Even the bandits who
had been crucified with Him insulted Him in the same way.” Matt. 27:39-44 (TEV)
“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive these people, because they don't
know what they are doing.’" Luke 23:34 (NLT)
-There are situations and people in your life who will rub tyou the wrong way.
-This is how you learn to forgive and release others.
· Remember God has forgiven me
“Forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.” Eph. 4:32 (CEV)
-You and I didn’t deserve forgiveness but we were given it anyway.
-Forgive others even when they don’t deserve it.
-You be the leader and the mature one to release others.
EXAMPLE
Someone on the job who tried to overcharge us. We gave him the rest of his pay even though he didn’t finish. As I prayed about it it became clear to me that I had to walk in integrity and fulfill my word even if he didn’t. It cost us about $8000 or more. The point is that God blessed us in other ways. Integrity is always the right way.
· Remember God is in control
“You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good to
save the lives of many people, which is being done.”
Gen. 50:20 (NCV)
-This is the story of Joseph. He committed himself to God and even though he was abused more than once God brought it out in the end.
-In that way Joseph was like Jesus. The devil came to Him but had nothing in Him.
-Because Jesus walked in perfect love He was untouchable.
-When you aren’t touchy you are untouchable.
Unreasonable love changes lives.
-This is showing love that isn’t based on reason and what is fair. It is reckless love. It is unreasonable or unlearned love.
“We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go
through the hard times with Him, then we're certainly going to
go through the good times with Him.” Rom. 8:17 (Msg)
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”
Phil. 2:5 (NIV)
· We are called to be disciples
· We are called to be like Jesus
· The more we are like Jesus, the more we are His disciples
Philippians 1 Message
/I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.[9] /
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a Or into; see Acts 8:16; 19:5; Romans 6:3; 1 Cor. 1:13; 10:2 and Gal. 3:27.
[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Mt 28:18). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[2]Peterson, E. H. (1995). The message : New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs (Mt 28:1). Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress.
[3]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Jn 16:33). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[4]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Ps 34:19). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[5]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Ac 14:21). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[6]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (2 Co 2:14). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[7]Peterson, E. H. (1995). The message : New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs (2 Co 2:1). Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress.
[8]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Eph 4:22). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[9]Peterson, E. H. (1995). The message : New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs (Php 1:1). Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress.