The Bible tells us that'll be a great and a glorious time for those who know him to see him like he is It'll be a time of guilt and condemnation for those who do not know him. It's all about a relationship Do you know him or don't you know him? It's all about a relationship We've been on a journey here past Sundays. We've been on a journey called a 40 days of a purpose driven life. And for those of you who have been reading in the book by Rick Warren, I'm sure you've been getting blessed like many of us have. There's such rich nuggets in this. There's so much in it. And I think after we finish it once, I'd encourage you to go back through it again. It's almost a great devotional book. It's loaded with so many gems. It started off with the question, what on earth am I here for? And it answered it very succinctly. Well, it's really not about you. It's about God. That's what you're on earth here for. You were planned for God's pleasure. You were formed for God's family is what we've looked at. And today we're going to look at the fact that we have been created to become like Jesus Christ. We call this being conformed to his image, is what the Bible talks about it. And that's quite a process that we're involved in. It's an adventure to become like Jesus. I want to give a couple of comments in explaining this about what does it mean, this Christ-likeness? What's involved in this, anyway? So we're going to look at that, and then we're going to look at some of the dynamics. Would you bow with me as we pray, please? Father, thank you. Thank you for all that you've done. You're the creator God, Lord God, Jehovah. You are the one who has this great eternal redemptive plan. Thank you. We pray today you would open our eyes and help us to understand what it means to become like Christ. And then we would grab a hold of the resources you've given us to move in that direction, to give you honor and glory. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. I thought about this. What does it mean to be like Christ? And I thought, we have to go back to the beginning in the Bible. In the Bible, when the account is given of God's creation, it stands out very clearly that when God created the earth and all that was in it, it was good. It was very good. And so then God said, let's create man in our image. And it was good. It was very good. But then very quickly we find out that something else happened. Man went astray and this thing we call sin came in and that came with a judgment. And this wonderful good earth all of a sudden was marred. because evil entered in in a way that has affected everything in this earth ever since. And I don't know what your worldview is, but the Bible's belief system paints the earth as that, that there is good and there is evil. But in God's eternal plan, he had a way that man would be redeemed, that man could be rescued and delivered out of this because of God's tremendous love. And that was wrapped up in Jesus Christ. Christ was to be the Savior. Christ was to be the sacrifice for our sins that would pay the price and make it right that we could be right with God. And then God's plan was that we would all move to become like Jesus Christ. that we would not be God, we would not become a God, but we would have godly-like characteristics. And these are seen so much in Jesus Christ. And we get little glimpses of these in the Bible. For instance, in Galatians, we have the scripture that says, the fruit of the Spirit is love, and joy, and peace, and longsuffering, and gentleness, and goodness, and faith, and meekness, and self-control. That's a picture of Jesus, the perfect man. Oh, you can read through the Gospels in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and I urge you to do that. I urge you, don't ever get far away from reading in the Gospels. Day by day, walk with Jesus, see what he's like, the opposition he meets, the opportunities he has, how he interacts with people, and you begin to see this perfect one. There's another glimpse of Jesus in what his whole mindset was, what his mentality was in Philippians. The apostle Paul is writing there and he says, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be made equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself He got himself, humbled himself and became obedient. Obedient unto death. And this is a couple of glimpses that we have into the picture of what Jesus Christ is like in his character and that character that God wants to form in us to be like Jesus Christ. And in 2 Corinthians 3.18, we read that there's a process that's going on for those who are moving in that direction. It says, as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more. More and more, and we reflect. We don't have it within ourselves, that kind of glory. It's a glory He places within us, and it reflects. And it's that. Now let me give you several, you can call them components, basics, dynamics, whatever you want to. As I've thought about this, there's excellent material in the book. I want to supplement some of that. I thought about this. What's involved in this? And it seems to me that the first part we find over in Romans 12.1. Turn in your Bibles, if you will, to Romans, the book of Romans. That's in the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Those are the Gospels. Then the book of Acts, and right after the book of Acts comes the book of Romans. Paul, again, is the writer. The book has 16 chapters in it, and in the 12th chapter, Paul makes an amazing statement that it links back to the whole first 11 chapters. because he's taken the time in the first 11 chapters to go into detail about what I just said of man's falling away from God, being in rebellion to God, and how God's plan was to bring man back because of his tremendous love. So in 12.1, Paul starts off with this. He says, Therefore, in light of all that God's done, I beg you, I beseech you, I appeal to you, my brothers and sisters, present your bodies a living sacrifice unto God. How do you respond to this tremendous message of what God's done? I'll tell you what you do. You get before God and say, here I am, God. Take me, use me, I'm yours. A living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God. It's your reasonable service. Someone who has rescued you, delivered you, given you new hope, given you a new future, brought you into his own family, given you rewards that are unbelievable for eternity. How do you respond? Here I am, God, as a living sacrifice. Take me. And we call this surrender. Surrender. This is really quite a process. Many of you have been involved in this for years. Some of you probably say, well, yes, and sometimes it's been good, and sometimes it hasn't been so good. But you always come back to a point of surrender. One of my heroes, modern day heroes, a man by the name of Leroy Iams. Leroy Iams served with the Navigators for years. He went home to be with the Lord about a year ago. Leroy was born and raised over Neola, Iowa, went off into World War II. He was a Marine. Landed on some of the islands, got shot up. And after World War II, he came to know Christ. God changed Leroy's life, and he set off on a course just to be a disciple of Christ, to make disciples, to evangelize. Served with the Navigators for years and years, ministering in the United States and around the world. Wrote books. He was a dynamic speaker. He was a man of passion. He was a man of just a rugged single-mindedness. He was a man of a lot of fun. You just had fun around Leroy. My wife was his secretary for several years. And when Leroy was the US Area Director, and after I was getting underway on staff, I spent a little time with Leroy one day. And he said, well, brother, what's on your heart? And I said, I'm interested in your secretary. He said, oh, tell me about that. I said, OK. And the next night I went out on a date with his secretary and proceeded to develop a relationship and stole his secretary away from him. Leroy said, well, he said, I lost a good secretary, but I gained a lot better navigator staff man. And he's right. Nancy has been all of that. With all that I've said about Leroy, I mentioned he died about a year ago. Nancy and I went out to services in Colorado Springs. Leroy died with Parkinson's disease. Many of you are familiar with Parkinson's. His Parkinson's was the type, not so much of the shakes that some people have, but a rigidity. And it was really something to see this guy who used to lift weights, drink tiger's milk. He was kind of a man of men. Here in these later days, Parkinson's disease just taking him down, down, down. His son, Randy Imes, walking with God, serving God, shared at the memorial service that this bothered him as he watched his dad, who had served. This doesn't seem right, doesn't seem fair. His dad answered, he said, Randy, he said, if this is God's will, I will be done. If this is God's will, I will be done. Leroy had learned throughout his life to surrender, surrender. It was like Jesus that Philippians two, he became obedient unto death. Do you remember when Jesus was in the garden? And when he prayed, God, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, what? Not my will, but thine be done. How do you learn to surrender like that? You begin with a presentation day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, for Christ to be formed in you like that. It's a life-death principle in the scriptures. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. Seeds either die or they rot Did you know that? They die and become fruitful or they rot You make the application the spiritual realm on that one Jesus said in Luke 9 23 and 24 if anyone will come after me He must deny himself take up his cross daily follow me for whoever wants to save his life will lose it But whoever loses his life For me will save it. This is one of these upside-down value systems that Jesus has if you want to get you give If you want really to have life give your life away and Come and die with me. And you say, whoa. But those who follow the appeal find out he's right. He's right, and he has that. So I always have to face, am I surrendered? I was talking with somebody out in the lobby afterwards, and I said, yeah. I said, if you read through the rest of Romans 12, it's a fascinating passage. We're going to look at 12 too in just a minute. which has a principle of transformation about it. And then three has a matter of how you start getting self-identity. And then four, five, and a couple other verses start talking about your giftedness, of who you are. And then the chapter ends with all kinds of relationships and all the rest. It's a fascinating chapter, a very helpful chapter. But I'll tell you, all of that chapter is meaningless if you don't make application on verse one. And I have found through years in my own life, and as I've talked to other people, and some of the issues they talk to me about, this is what I'm struggling with, I have to go, yes, but are you surrendered? If you're surrendered, it doesn't make any difference what you need to know or what you need to do out here. If you're not surrendered, this won't make any sense. It's bottom line. It's unavoidable. You see, everything else becomes selective if you don't have total surrender. Total surrender. God knows that. He knows the way he can only bless our lives so richly is to have it all. When we do, because he loves us so much, and we open those hands and give it to him, he just dumps it in. Well, the second one I mentioned is Romans 12, 2. You've got it there. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you can prove what's that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. In the message it talks about being changed from the inside out. We renew our mind, we start getting God's word and figuring out how God wants us to do. Yeah, it involves the mental. Christianity is not just an emotional experience, it's just not a series of that, but it involves the mind, it involves the heart, the will, the total person. And we're to be renewed. Changed from the inside out. We have we're doing some developing of materials to work with men called high quest We started a number of groups on this and one of our staff that I co-labor with down in Kansas City with the Navigators has got a number of men and we've designed a high quest study group where three or four men get together and for about 10 or 12 weeks they go through a series of some studies. But in this they take time to start opening up their lives one to another and in this opening up their lives they get support. We start off when we say, because we care, what do we need to know? Because God's word is true, what's he speaking to you about? And because God's word needs a response, how are you going to respond to God? And then fourth, we come in again, how can we help you in that? We develop a safe environment and we share with one another and are helping. One of the fellows down in Kansas City is involved in one of these groups. Very soon on in this with his group. He said you know my marriage has fallen apart. It's rocky. It's shaky I don't I I don't know if it'll last or not things are not well at all So these men said we know how to pray and they got they start praying praying for this guy About eight nine weeks later Came down getting ready to go off to his high quest group in the morning And he noticed on the table there was an envelope from his wife, and he looked at it with almost fear and trembling of what it might contain. Opened it up and here was a letter with just a note. Note saying, hon, I like so much what you're doing. Keep going. She was seeing change in her husband's whole character. Change, that's what it's about. He was changing in the way he was responding. And that's what it's about, becoming like Jesus Christ, God changing us inside out, taking away anger, taking away lust, taking away harmful, hurtful ideas, thoughts that we are so filled with, transformed by God's word. And in the book, we found out that Rick Warren mentions that in this transformation process, God uses troubles. God uses troubles to even do this. And if you're like me, I've lived enough of life. Sometimes I think that's all life has is troubles. You just seem to get over one and you start thinking, oh boy, we're up here on this little plateau only to find out, hey, there's another big hill. You find life that way? I got over this one. Soon as we get this one, then we'll be, whoops, there's just another one. Does your life go that way? Whether it's paying off bills, or whether it's making plans, or it's in relationships, or it's work you got to do, there's just one after another after another. Well, that's the anvil of life that God uses to put us on there and start hammering and helping us to become all that he wants us to become. In fact, James says, my brethren, why, when you got those troubles, welcome them as friends. That's a very loose paraphrase of James 1, 2. Welcome them as friends. I don't think I've got that spiritual yet. I Don't go around seeing troubles when all of a sudden the car needs a new transmission What a wonderful thing my car needs a new transmission. This is the greatest week of my life. I Really don't respond that way I'm kind of like you it's going to cost how much Should we fix it or should we junk it? I don't know what to do troubles are like that But oh, Peter says this, 1 Peter 5.10. He says, but the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, but that's mature, strengthen, settle you. To him be the glory forever and ever. He's using those sufferings, those troubles, to help us become what he wants us to become. That's the way God does it. So I look at my trouble and my suffering. Do I surrender and let God do his transformation? Because that's what he wants me to do. And to trust his grace? I think of the Apostle Paul on this. Boy, a bright man. A man with a tremendous amount of drive and determination. Brilliant mind. And Paul is moving ahead, serving God, and all of a sudden, he starts experiencing what is called this thorn in the flesh. And he says, this is hard to work with. I can't work with this. And he gets alone with God, and he begs and he pleads, God, remove this from me. And he says, three times I did this. And God said, my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness. Paul says, therefore, will I glory in my infirmities all. This comes from you, God? All right. Thank you. Praise God, I can boast about my weaknesses now, what I can't do. And most of us, that sounds like, whoa, that's kind of a spiritual high. Who goes on those kind of trips? Hey, folks, that's to become common lifestyle for you and me. Yeah, it's out there. That's to become common. That we glory in our weaknesses. We can all stand up and say, I've accomplished this, I got this, all the rest. But how about when I start unfolding, let me tell you how I struggle. This is where the grace of God comes into my life, my struggles. Most of us in our one-on-ones and small groups and everything, When we peel that back in an environment of safety, environment of trust, that's where we start getting help. This is who I am. This is where I need to help. Transformation, that's involved in that. Surrender to God. Well, our time's almost up, and I want to get a couple of things in here before we close. Turn over to 2 Peter, if you would. 2 Peter chapter 1. 2nd Peter the Apostle Peter's writing and Boy, does he unload a message in this short little book of 2nd Peter? He greets these people and then he gives them a tremendous challenge to grow in their faith So he says in verse 3 his divine power God's divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness Did you get that? God has put the resources out there for everything that you and I need for life, the kind of rich life He wants us to have, and for what else? Godliness. Everything I need to become like God, God said, I put it all out there for you. It's His power that's behind it. He through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness and he says through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desire. God has resourced us. God has set it up. He's given us these tremendous powers through his promises. Now, many of you are in different Bible study groups and all, and there's a couple of groups that I'm involved in also. One, we've had some who've met with us for some time in a Bible study book called the Two Seven. It's a Navigator series. We've done book one and now in book two, and then got another guy, Brian. I'm going to ask Brian and Valerie and Steve if they'd come up here. I asked them if they'd do this. And in the first service they come up and I asked them some questions that they were totally unprepared for. And I know they've gone back now and got everything prepared just in case I might send them a curb. But we get together and there's several things that we try to do in this time. One is that we're trying to memorize some of God's word so that we'll have it. We study scripture. We learn how to go day by day to meet with the Lord, how to get a prayer list for people we want to see come to Christ. Just a number of things we do. And I wanted to ask them about some of these exceeding great and precious promises. I don't know what you think of with promises. But I got to think that one of the greatest promises that you could ever get is a question of what happens when I die. What happens when I die? Is it just a big black something out there? Does God have something to say about that? He does? Valerie says yes. Brian? Yeah. Steve? Yeah. Which one of you want to share something with it? Oh, you did first time, didn't you, Valerie? You got it down now, huh? 11 and 12. And this is a testimony. God has given us eternal life and his life is in his son. He who has a son has life. He who does not have a son of God does not have life. 1 John 5, 11 and 12. We took an evening and we talked about for some time what it's like to have no assurance about what happens when you die. Have you talked to anybody recently who has absolutely no idea about what's going to happen when they die? If so, you'll find that there's usually a certain amount of fear that starts coming in. It's a scary, scary thing to think, I'm gonna die and I don't know what's out there. Maybe there is a heaven. Maybe there is that place called hell. And here's a, God says, what? God has given us eternal life. And this life is. In his son. has the Son of God, who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. Isn't that something? That is a fantastic promise from God. And then there's all kind of Christians. You say, yeah, I'm hooked up with God. I know God, but I fight temptation like you wouldn't believe. You don't know the kind of temptations that I fight. The first Corinthians 10, 13, no temptation is easy except what is common to man. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you're tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10, 13. Is that a good promise? Huh? No temptations taking you. We get all the same. I can tell you what you struggle with because all I have to do is read my own heart. You know? But God is what? Faithful. And He also, He filters everything that comes through our way. How do we know that? He won't let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. Isn't that amazing? God says, I promise you, you're going to get nothing unless it's past my desk okay. I promise you that. Isn't that good? Huh? Now, if some of you are like me and us, sometimes we drop it and we fail. Yeah, and there's sin. What do you do with sin? Is that it? Am I done with God? Steve? No. assurance of forgiveness first John 1 9 if we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness oh man if we confess he cleanses he purifies from all unrighteousness is that a good promise huh yeah do you think everybody knows that who's a Christian no says somewhere in there that God's nice. Yeah. Hey, what are some other highlights? What are some other things that you've been grateful for as we've gotten together and done some of this work? The encouragement to keep on striving for consistent, quiet times, to clear away the clutter in your life and the chaos and find that time. Well, to get with him daily and start your day out right and then keep his word in you all day and just keep going back to it on the verses you know and of what your daily devotion was. Like they said, it helps you to carry on and keep going with everything that you're doing. It gives you hope, I guess. Reminding you it comes to mind those verses when you need them And I guess it's like God helping you to continue So do you guys think what you've been doing is worthwhile? Yes Would you recommend it? Yes, definitely sure Thank you very much, I'll tell ya I know some of you, there are a number of you involved in different groups and different studies and everything, but I would say, if you're not in some kind of a study where you're learning how to develop this relationship with Jesus Christ, you can change that. Look me up. We'll make sure that you get some help in that direction and be able to learn how to call on that divine power. Perseverance, there's no shortcuts to maturity is another thing. It takes time to grow up, This is a marathon, this is not a sprint in being changed to become like Christ. I sometimes refer to it, it's crockpot cooking in a microwave world. We all like the microwave. Go home, slap it in there, give it three minutes, it's ready. Boy, becoming like Christ, it's in the crockpot, simmering and taking time. And this aroma and all the taste is worth it. I want to end with just one last one. I thought about this this morning, and some of you have seen the Rocky films. How many of you have seen the Rocky films? You'll remember? I thought of the last film. You know the story of Rocky the boxer. The different The different competition he has through each movie and the last one that was made, he ends up coaching a young guy coming up. Kind of a brawler like Rocky was. And the guy goes on to do good. And then his promoters are edging him on. The fight of fights will be if you can get Rocky in the ring. And you can fight Rocky. But Rocky won't do it. But they orchestrate a time when they're down in the local hangout. And they edge on, and they finally end up in a street brawl. This is where Rocky really had his roots. This is where he got started. And he takes a beating, like he always does. And he's down, and it looks like he's out. And there's some flashbacks from old Mick. And in it, get up. Get up! Get up! And he uses some language I can't use. as he urges him on. That's the Christian life of transformation of discipleship. Keep going. Get up. Keep following Jesus. It's worth it. Father, thank you. Thank you for such a great salvation. Help us to be people who are surrendered totally to you. Help us to be transformed by your power. Help us to grasp on to your divine power through those precious promises and persevere and never give up. By your grace, never give up until we're home with you, Lord Jesus. It's not our will, but may it be yours that is done. We pray in Christ's name, amen.