O To Be Like YOU!
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The Goal Of Discipleship Is That We Become Like Christ!
For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Paul Uses Christ As The Model And Example For Discipleship
Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
The First Step To Becoming Like Christ is HUMILITY!
Being teachable
And making Christ’s pattern our EXAMPLE!
Putting others 1st
Think of our problems in our world
Think of our problems in our community
Think of our problems in our home
Think of our problems in our church...
These problems would DISAPPEAR if everyone thought of others’ interests before their own!!
Mother Teresa said...
Just allow people to see Jesus in you
to see how you pray
to see how you lead a pure life
to see how you deal with your family
to see how much peace there is in your family.
Then you can look straight into their eyes and say,
“This is the way.”
You speak from life, you speak from experience.
But Pastor, I Cannot Do That On My Own!!!
Yeah, that’s why it called transformational discipleship. YOU are being made new, daily. And, in your own power you can’t. But, as Christ’s power transforms you, you can...
Christ’s Work On The Cross Makes This Transformation Available
Christ didn’t simply die to forgive us of our sins. He died to give us POWER over sin and death. He died so we could be TRANSFORMED.
The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not SIMPLY that we are forgiven - it is that yes we are forgiven but we are also given the POWER of TRANSFORMATION!
When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
The Power Available To Us For Our Transformation Is HUGE!
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
Transformation Recognizes The Power of God’s Spirit That is Available To Us So We Can Live Differently
There SHOULD be a marked, drastic, dramatic difference from who we used to be and who we are now because of Christ’s power!
Let me say it differently… There should be a marked, drastic, dramatic difference between who we are and who the world is because of Christ’s power.
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
NOTICE - the first mark of this transformation is our humble relationship with each other...
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
For Paul, the way we treat each other is a mark of whether or not we have the Spirit… The lack of humility towards each other is a mark of our sinful nature… Then Paul discusses the complete transformation of believers once they are humble and teachable.
How Are YOU In The Department of Humility & Being Teachable?
Notice I did not ask how you are compared to how you used to be? I asked, simply, are you humble? Are you teachable?
Are you biting at each other and devouring each other? Are you picking apart others, but demanding grace for yourself?
Do you have the attitude that YOU are perfect and have it all figured out? Or maybe you have the attitude that maybe you aren’t perfect, but at least you are better than (and fill in the blank with someone’s name…)
That’s NOT humility. That’s not being teachable...
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
I have witnessed my share of Pharisees in the Church
People who think they have it all together
People who put rules and regulations over others
People who forget about their own transformation but scold and shame others to be transformed...
Scripture Call Us To CONTINUALLY Be Conformed to Christ’s Example
How are you in that?
None Of Us Are Completely Transformed
Many here might say, “Pastor, I am Good!”
My answer, “There’s more for YOU and US to learn about what it means to be like Christ.” The attitude of humility keeps that in our minds - we are constantly learning.
Paul, the missionary par excellance, and writer of over 60% of the New Testament even declares that HE hasn’t been completed in this journey of becoming like Christ....
I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
So, Have you Given Up Pressing On?
None of us have arrived
None of us are perfect in putting others first and being like Christ
We ALL Need The Gracious Reminder That We Are A Work In Progress
God is still working on you
God is still working on US!
How is God’s Spirit speaking to you about how you can be more teachable today?
How is God speaking to you about how you can be more humble in your relationships with others?
Is there a way you can be more humble?
Is there a way you can set aside your desires and put the desires of others first?
In what ways are you putting self before others? In what ways are you putting self before God?
Don’t give up on your transformation. God hasn’t given up on you yet, so you can’t give up on yourself.
May we continually be transformed more and more to be like Christ!