Created to Become Like Christ
October 17, 2004
Philippians 2:5
20th Sunday after Pentecost
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
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Philippians 2:5
Your attitude should be the same
as that of Christ Jesus.
Introduction
We have been studying (in order of priority)
the Biblical purposes for our lives.
The first one is Worship.
That’s what God designed us to do.
Worship is the single most important thing we do.
Worship claims every part of our lives.
Worship is our 24/7 job for God.
Our second purpose
is Fellowship.
We love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We are learning, that when we make time for fellowship,
we find fulfillment and satisfaction
that money can’t buy, success can’t buy,
fame can’t buy, power can’t buy, this world can’t buy.
Our third purpose
is the topic of this sermon.
A great place to start is with
Romans 8:29.
From the very beginning
God decided that those
who came to Him -
and He knew who would -
should become like His Son
You and I were Created to Become like Christ.
We are not there yet.
But we are on the way!
The moment you accepted Jesus Christ into your heart
he began to help you to
take on more of his values,
accept more of his point of view,
develop more of his character.
God is working in us
to bring us to spiritual maturity.
Physical maturity happens on its own.
We don’t have to do anything there.
Just by eating and sleeping and staying alive
our bodies naturally mature.
Emotional maturity:
well, that takes some work.
But usually, emotional maturity
can be tracked along with physical maturity.
We tend to grow up emotionally
about the same rate that our bodies do.
Spiritual maturity,
is unique.
There is a time element,
but it is not limited by time.
I’ve seen young people who are
rock solid in their walk with the Lord.
I’ve see senior citizens who are baby Christians.
Spiritual maturity
is not directly linked with age.
You will grow spiritually
as you stay close to Jesus Christ.
Time is important,
but obedience is more important than time.
An open heart is more important than time.
The ability to fully commit ourselves is more important than time.
You might ask the question,
“What does spiritual maturity look like?”
For that we have a clear answer.
Spiritual maturity looks like Jesus Christ.
In Hebrews 1:3
the Bible says,
The Son is the radiance of God's glory
and the exact representation of his being.
Jesus is our model of spiritual maturity.
We were created to become like Christ.
We have a word for that.
We have a word that describes the process
of growing in Christian character
and becoming more like Jesus.
The word is discipleship.
Discipleship is the third purpose of our lives.
It is one of the basic reasons we were put on this planet.
How does God do it?
How does God do it?
How does God help me to grow spiritually?
United Methodists
have a standard answer for that question.
We talk about the “Means of Grace”.
The “Means of Grace” are the normal ways
God uses,
to help us grow up spiritually.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement
wrote a sermon entitled “The Means of Grace”.
He listed three:
Prayer
Searching the Scripture
Receiving Communion
Over the years, United Methodists have added to the list.
John Wesley’s sermon
and the idea of using the “means of grace”
has been useful to millions of Christians
over the last two hundred years.
I’m not going to talk about the means of grace
in this sermon.
Instead, I’m going to lift up three things
that Rick Warren says
“You may have not thought God uses, but he does.”
1) God uses trouble
to teach us to trust him.
In the Bible,
the word trouble is often called “trials”.
Trials are difficult and challenging situations
that were designed by God
to draw us closer to him.
I don’t know about you,
but I don’t like trouble.
I don’t like trials.
I’ve done a survey,
and this is what I’ve found.
Nobody likes trouble. Nobody likes trials.
But here is the thing.
God uses trouble
to help us grow in character.
So, while trials are something we dislike,
something we want to avoid if at all possible,
God takes those trials
and uses them to help us.
Let me give you an example from my life.
My brother.
My brother had a sociopathic personality.
He was born without a conscience.
I know this because in the late 1970s
his psychiatrist called me on the phone
and told me
1) that my brother had a sociopathic personality
2) he belonged in an institution because he was dangerous
3) I should be aware that my brother was capable
of murder and I should be careful.
That phone conversation
was a wake up call for me.
From that day until now I have tried
to love my brother
and still protect my family to the best of my ability.
In all honesty, when my brother died last year
I was a relieved.
That was one of the biggest challenges in my life.
Am I a better man because of this life long trial?
I know I am.
I had to trust God, because no other options were available.
In Romans 8:28
the Bible says,
In all things
God works for the good
of those who love Him,
who have been called
according to His purpose.
Now this is just one story, and one trial.
I know that everyone here
has something difficult in your life.
It might be a physical problem in your body.
It might be a member of your family.
It might be a problem at work,
or a tragedy in your past
that has changed your life.
Whatever it is,
God is going to take that trial
and turn it into a blessing for you
and for all the people you love.
Rick Warren said,
“Every problem has a purpose.”
I believe that is true.
I don’t like it.
I would change it if I could.
But God didn’t put me in charge of the universe,
and I have learned
that the purpose of my life
is not comfort.
The purposes that guide my life are greater than that.
The third purpose
of my life
is discipleship
and that involves spiritual growth.
Here is the second thing that
“You may have not thought God uses, but he does.”
2) God uses temptations
to teach us to obey him.
Temptations do not come from God.
This fact is made crystal clear
in James 1:13
which says,
When tempted,
no one should say,
"God is tempting me."
For God cannot be
tempted by evil,
nor does he tempt anyone.
What is temptation?
Temptations are situations designed by Satan
that are intended to harm us.
Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary says,
“Temptation is an enticement
or an invitation to sin,
with the implied promise
of greater good
to be derived from
following the way
of disobedience.”
Temptation is all about
obedience and disobedience.
When we face temptation head on,
and make the hard choices
that God wants us to make,
we grow a LOT.
We learn how to obey God.
We learn that
following Jesus
is not always easy,
but it is worth it.
Jesus was tempted.
He went into the desert.
He was without food and water
for 40 days.
Every temptation that the devil
threw at Jesus
was designed to short circuit
the cross.
The devil didn’t want Jesus
on the cross.
The devil tried every sneaky,
underhanded trick in the book
to keep Jesus away from the cross,
but it didn’t work.
Jesus obeyed the Father.
Jesus died the cross.
His death
purchased our life.
His obedience
empowers our discipleship.
His love
casts out our fear.
I love what Rick Warren says
about the best way to beat temptation.
Rick said,
“When you’re tempted, don’t resist it.
Because as you’re resisting it,
guess what you’re doing?
You’re just thinking about the temptation!
You’re getting into a spiritual tug-of-war with Satan,
and he always wins!
You don’t resist it,
you just drop the rope and you walk a different direction
and you think about something different.
This is a verse that I’ve used
literally hundreds and hundreds of times in my life,
“Whatever’s good, whatever’s right, whatever’s true”.
When I’m tempted,
it’s my favorite verse to use to turn my thoughts
from what’s wrong to what’s right,
so I’ve memorized it very well,
because I’ve been tempted a lot.
If you’ll take a verse like this
and let it turn your mind from what’s wrong to what’s right,
you’ll find that the temptation starts to drop away.
You refocus on something else.
You keep focused on good thoughts.”
This is exactly right!
Do you know
how to get rid of a bad idea?
There is only one answer that works.
In order to get rid of a bad idea,
GET A BETTER IDEA.
By the way,
the Scripture Rick was talking about is:
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable
--if anything is excellent
or praiseworthy
--think about such things.
Obedience is God’s better idea!
Obedience is not easy,
but God never said
we have to face temptations or trouble alone.
We are a family.
If one of us is tested,
we are there to back each other up.
If one of us is tempted,
the same is true.
Just look at Alcoholics Anonymous.
If you know anything about AA
you know that they work together,
to keep their sobriety.
Together they are able to do just that!
Did you know there is no other known cure for alcoholism? No doctor, no
psychiatrist, no therapist,
no research scientist, on the face of this earth can do
what this group of determined men and women
does every day.
What is their secret?
Nobody in AA is alone.
Dear ones, hear the good news.
Nobody in our church family is alone.
Nobody in our church family is alone.
Nobody in our church family is alone.
Once again,
we learn about the compelling importance
that every Christian
needs to be connected to a few other believers
in a small group.
That’s where we get our support.
That’s where discipleship and spiritual growth
flourishes.
Let’s review.
The first point was:
1) God uses trouble
to teach us to trust him.
The second point was that
2) God uses temptations
to teach us to obey him.
Here is the third point.
3) God uses trespasses
to teach us to forgive.
What are trespasses?
Trespasses are when people hurt you.
Have you been hurt?
I have.
You have too.
You can’t live on this earth
without being hurt by people.
And I have news for you.
You can’t live on this earth
without hurting people.
That’s a frightening idea,
but it’s true.
Why is that?
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US,
has been damaged and broken by sin.
God doesn’t like this.
We don’t like this.
But that is the truth.
What did Jesus teach in the Lord’s Prayer?
“forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us”
I like how Rick Warren said,
“God never wastes a hurt.”
God takes all the hurts in your life
and he uses them
to make you more like Jesus Christ.
When someone has hurt you
God gives you the
power and authority
to forgive.
And when you exercise
God’s amazing forgiveness power,
you character grows.
How do we tap into that power?
I’m going to tell you.
Your power to forgive
is found
by recalling how much
God has forgiven you.
In Ephesians 4:32
the Bible says:
Forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.
Forgiveness is a deep level
of spiritual maturity.
Problems are challenging,
but not as tough as temptations.
Temptations are difficult,
bun not as hard as forgiveness.
The amazing thing is
that God is in control
over all these things.
The world is eager to hurt you.
The devil wants to ruin you.
And quite a few people
have the desire to make your life hard.
But none of those people or powers
is a match for God.
The third most important purpose in your life
is to become more like Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:28
In all things God works for the good
of those who love Him, who have been called
according to His purpose.
PRAYER
Lord, I thank you for grown-up Christians.
I admire their patience, their kindness, and the way they love!
They face trouble by trusting you.
They defeat temptation by obeying you.
They are hurt, but they forgive.
Baby Christians are always thinking about themselves,
but mature disciples know how to be there for others.
Lord, make me like that! Help me to grow!
Let me embrace your character, your strength, and your wisdom.
In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.