Seek To Be Conformed To Christlikeness 1 John 2:3-6 Galatians 5:22-25 Romans 8:29-30 Ephesians 4:7-16 Colossians 1:9-14 Colossians 3:5-17 12.13.19

SEEK TO BE CONFORMED TO CHRISTLIKENESS

BREAD

³ We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. ⁴ The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.   1 John 2:3-6 (NIV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.   Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV)

²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.   Romans 8:29-30 (NIV)

⁷ But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ⁸ This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”  ⁹ (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? ¹⁰ He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) ¹¹ It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹² to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.   Ephesians 4:7-16 (NIV)

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰ And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  Colossians 1:9-14 (NIV)

⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.  ¹² Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. ¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.   Colossians 3:5-17 (NIV)

BUTTER

“To be like Jesus is to be sanctified — set apart for God’s holy use — in the truth of God’s word (John 17:17), which becomes our word (John 17:20). The most Christlike people have ‘the word of Christ’ dwelling in them richly (Colossians 3:16), and they speak what should be said, and refrain from speaking what should not be said (Ephesians 4:29). The most Christlike people seek God’s glory more than anything else, and this pursuit is what governs what they say.  The glory we seek has a great deal to do with what we choose to say or not say. When our primary pursuit is our own glory, we will hardly ever say anything that might endanger it. What others think of us will dictate our words (John 5:44). We will speak like everyone else speaks for the reasons everyone else speaks. What frees our tongues for God is what freed Jesus’s tongue for God. He sought the Father’s glory and trusted the Father to glorify him. If our tongue is tied, it very well could be that we value our glory above God’s.  One of the great freedoms for which ‘Christ has set us free’ (Galatians 5:1) is the freedom from the tyranny of pursuing our own glory. True freedom is pursuing God’s glory and trusting the Father, like Jesus did, to glorify us in the most satisfying ways at the proper time.”  Jon Bloom

“Whenever you react with praise and thanksgiving for an opportunity to grow more like Jesus in your way of reacting to things, instead of grumbling or feeling self-pity, you will find that that whole situation will be changed into a great blessing.”    Hannah Hurnard

“The goal is Christlikeness.  The power to achieve this high calling, is only through the all-achieving indwelling Omnipotence of the Holy Spirit residing in every true believer of sweet Jesus.  Our willingness, lame and limping as it so often presents, to this superlatively high calling is our meager contribution.”  BHY

“Hear the prayers of Your people as we call out to You. Give us self-control on those occasions when we're tempted to demoralize and put people down. Make us aware that a godly life preaches an unforgettable message to the unsaved. Help us remember that we're soldiers away from our home in heaven, living in a culture that's lost its way and is in desperate need of Jesus Christ. Keep us easy to live with, strong in faith, unbending in our convictions yet full of grace toward those who are bound by sin and captured by habits they cannot break. Enable us to shock this pagan culture with lives that are authentic, that stay balanced, that are still fun, and that ultimately glorify You, O God . . . just like Jesus did.”   Chuck Swindoll

“The whole message of the Gospel is this: Become like Jesus. We have his self-portrait. When we keep that in front of our eyes, we will soon learn what it means to follow Jesus and become like him.”   Henri Nouwen

“We can’t bring ourselves to say that we have no intention to make significant and noticeable progress toward Christlikeness. But neither do we find ourselves simply doing the things of Jesus.”   Gregg Ten Elshof

“Because Jesus wasn’t about doing big things. He was about doing the right thing. And often for Him, the right thing was noticing one simple soul…Could we try to be more like Jesus, this perfect man who was never too busy to notice someone who needed His touch?  He could peek into the heart, respond with love, and then do it all over again the next time He encountered someone who simply needed to be seen…The simple act of noticing someone as they journey through life can lovingly mirror the behavior of God.”    Karen Ehman 

“It is essential that every journey in Christ begin with the realization that none of us has the ability to get better apart from the redeeming and restoring work of Jesus in our lives. The first step in becoming like Jesus is acknowledging how unlike Jesus we are. We must not suppress the doubts we have about ourselves. Instead, we must start listening to those doubts and applying the truth about Jesus to them. We must not try to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Rather, we must realize that we don’t even have boots. We must not merely think that we have problems. Rather, we must understand that we are our own biggest problem, our own worst nightmare, our own worst enemy.  As Shakespeare quipped, ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves.’”  Scott Sauls

“We will never put God in a nice little convenient proverbial box of our own makings and imaginations.  He is so totally other – His thoughts are not our thoughts neither His ways our ways.  His paths for us are always perfect and pleasing and have our best interest at heart though unimaginatively hard.  His ways may not lead us into comfort and painlessness.  Indeed, His children should not expect to be carried into heaven on a bed of down though He can do so if He so desires.  More often than not, His ways lead us into circumstances ‘far beyond our ability to endure’ to demonstrate to the unbelieving world (and to ourselves for that matter) His power in our lives whether it be by miraculously changing our circumstances or just as  miraculously (or even more so), by changing our hearts through the circumstances. His good ways will always lead us on paths of conformation to the fullness of His precious Son – that’s the purpose.  He wants us to be like Jesus – whatever it takes - and we want that too.  That is the abundant life.”   BHY

HEART SAVOR

·       Those who claim to be a Christian are to walk as Christ did – through His power, for is glHHis glory, for our good.

·       Flaw fleshed cannot muster up the strength to walk as Jesus did.  The power comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit as we relinquish our will to His safe keeping.

·       Our lives are to manifest in increasing measure all the Fruit of the Spirit – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.  If we “fan into flames” these in our lives, it will keep us from being ineffective and  unproductive.