Reaching Forward to God’s Goal of Christlikeness in 2016!

^"Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, ¹⁴ I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. ¹⁶ In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. " –Philippians 3:12-16, Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

I used the Scripture passage above in a sermon I shared at Community Church this morning.  It was humbling to hear how God used the message to touch the hearts of His people. The central idea of the message was that “God’s goal for you and me in our spiritual journey in 2016 is Christlikeness.” To realize this goal, there are three crucial things we must have in place, namely: 1. A START OF OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY, i.e. to make a decision to follow Jesus if we haven’t already done so; 2. A STRENGTHENING OF OUR FAITH (through fellowship with others, the reading of His Word, and our own desire to grow, cf. Proverbs 27:17; Romans 10:17; 2 Peter 3:18; Ephesians 6:10); and 3. THE SANCTIFYING POWER AND PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

Christlikeness is important in our day and age because of Worship, Our Walk with the Lord, and Our Witness. In worship, we give God His “worth-ship”—He’s worthy of all praise, honor and glory. As we worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:21-24) both privately and publically, our hearts are changed. One writer put it this way:

“…God wants to change your heart. God loves you just the way you are, but refuses to leave you there. He wants you to have a heart like His. He wants you to be JUST LIKE JESUS.” ~Max Lucado

In our walk with the Lord, we experience a constant tension between the things of the flesh and the things of the Spirit. The Apostle Paul has this response, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). The more we draw closer to Jesus, the lesser the temporary things will have a hold on us. The lyrics of a song help to clarify it: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus; Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

Lastly, our witness will result from our Christlikeness as people see Jesus in us and ask questions about spiritual transformation. Let us then be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us and let us do it "in a gentle and respectful way" (1 Peter 3:15, NLT).

I believe we are most like Christ when we go a step further in our witness and make disciples who make disciples. Let us, therefore, preach the Gospel (share the Good News) and if necessary let us use words!