More Like Jesus #1-A Deeper Life

“MORE LIKE JESUS #1-A DEEPER LIFE”

PHILIPPIANS 3:10

INTRO: "Putting on Christ" ... is not one among many jobs a Christian has to

do; and it is not a sort of special exercise for the top class. It is the

whole of Christianity. -- C.S. Lewis, Christian Reader, Vol. 33, no. 2.

If there is one thing lack in many of our lives it is CHRISTLIKENESS!

Our heart’s desire as believers should be to be more like Jesus! We

must gain a greater intimacy with the Lord if we are ever to become

the holy and godly people God desires for us to be!

In a world bent on enticing us away from growing deeper in our love

for Christ, how can we become more godly and holy? Charles

Swindoll says, “The secret lies in our returning to the basic disciplines

of Christ. Religion won’t cut it! We live in a spiritual hothouse where

we talk religious talk, send out religious letters, write religious

pamphlets, and do religious Bible studies. It’s easy to become

religious instead of godly.” (Charles R. Swindoll. So, You Want To Be

More Like Christ?p. 12). Sad to say we have many in our Churches

today who merely go through the motions. They sing without feeling,

they listen without purpose, and they leave feeling as empty and

unchanged as they did when they came. Friends, we must begin

deepening our lives with an intimacy with the Lord.

Paul’s desire is given us in Philippians 3:10—“That I may know him,

and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings,

being made conformable unto his death.” Paul wanted to know the

Lord in an intimate way. The word know in our text means to

“perceive, be sure, understand.” Paul says, “That I may be fully

acquainted with his nature, his character, his work, and with the

salvation which he has worked out. It is one of the highest objects of

desire in the mind of the Christian to know Christ.” (Albert Barnes.

Albert Barnes’ Notes On The Bible. e-Sword. Version 7.7.7. Copyright

realized that Christ is our victory and apart from Him there is no

victory. Paulknew that greater is He that is in us than he that is in

the world. Paul rejoiced in the fact that we are more than conquerors

through Him!

Friends, if we are going to become MORE LIKE JESUS then the first

step on our journey must be INTIMACY. The intimacy I am speaking

about means “pronounced closeness of friendship or association.”

(Funk & Wagnall’s Standard Desk Dictionary. Volume 1, A-M. 341).

We must deepen our love for Jesus. I want to speak tonight on the

subject “The Deeper Life.” How can we experience the deeper life? By:

(1) DEEPENING OUR FIRST LOVE

PHILIPPIANS 3:10a—“That I may know him…”

A. DESIRE. Friends, if we are going to be more like Jesus then we must first

recapture the desire to know more and more of Him each day. Many times,

sadly but truly, God’s people lose their desire for godly things. I am not

implying these folks are not saved but I am saying that they have left their

first love. I am saying that Jesus is not as precious to them as He once

was. Do you recall when you were first saved? Your love and devotion for

the Lord was growing and getting stronger each day. Do you recall when

you would speak about the Lord and the fire of excitement would burn in

your soul? Do you remember when your prayers were unrehearsed and

untried and you truly felt His power as you communed with Almighty God?

Do you remember when God’s Word was a wonder Book to you filled with

amazing insights you had never know before? Can you remember when

sharing with someone His love was the highlight of your week? Do you

remember when your devotion to the Lord was consistent, enriching,

fulfilling and deep? What happened? Where is that desire for the Lord, my

friend? When Paul wrote—“That I may know him…” he spoke of enjoying

the Lord’s presence and experiencing the Lord’s power! His desire was to

be like his Savior. Friend, can that be said of you?

B. DEVOTION. Do you realize that you can have duty without devotion? Did

you know that you can redeemed and yet your heart not be right with God?

Do you realize that you can be a song leader, piano player, Sunday school

teacher, deacon or pastor and simply being going through the motions? In

Revelation 2:1-4 we read Christ’s letter to the Church at Ephesus—“Unto

the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth

the seven stars in his right hand who walketh in the midst of the seven

golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and

how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which

say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast

borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not

fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left

thy first love.” Of the early Churches the Church at Ephesus ranks near

the top. They were sound in doctrine, solid in leadership, and stood firmly

against deception. But the Lord in v4 says—“Nevertheless I have

somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” Much had

changed at Ephesus since Paul wrote his final words to them in his Epistle

to the Ephesians “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in

sincerity. Amen.”(Ephesians 6:24). Instead of their love increasing for the

Lord it had actually decreased. Instead of them being HOT they had grown

COLD! What happened at Ephesus is exactly what has happened in many

a believer’s life—“thou hast left thy first love.” Friends, our love for Jesus

should grow stronger and deeper every passing day! If we find ourselves

less in love with Jesus today than we were yesterday then there are two

things we must do:

REMEMBER. “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen.” (REVELATION 2:5a). Consider where you are now. Are you close to God? He is precious to you? Does pleasing the Lord mean more to you than pleasing yourself?

REPENT. “…repent, and do the first works…” (REVELATION 2:5b). Turn back to the Lord. Be zealous, diligently, faithful, watchful, prayerful, and careful to do all the Lord desires of you.

To be MORE LIKE JESUS we must start by DEEPENING OUR FIRST LOVE and secondly we must…

(2) DISCIPLINE OUR LIVES

PHILIPPIANS 3:7-9—“But what things were gain to me, those I counted

loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

A. SPIRITUAL EXERCISE. The key to intimacy with God is discipline.

Someone has said, “Discipline is the other side of discipleship. -- Henri

Nouwen, Leadership, Vol. 2, no. 3. We will never experience A DEEPER

LIFE until we discipline ourselves. Paul wrote to young Timothy in 1

Timothy 4:7-8—“But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise

thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but

godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is,

and of that which is to come.” Timothy was the young pastor of the Church

at Ephesus. Ephesus was the most easily accessible city in Asia, both by

land and sea. Its location, therefore, favored its religious, political and

commercial development, and presented a most advantageous field for the

missionary labors of Paul. The city stood upon the sloping sides and at the

base of two hills, Prion and Coressus, commanding a beautiful view; its

climate was exceptionally fine, and the soil of the valley was unusually

fertile. (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. e-Sword. Version 7.7.7.

Temple of Artemis—one of the wonders of the ancient world—drew

worshippers from every corner of the empire. Ephesus was a very busy,

rich, and sensual place to be a Christian. Many young preachers’ desire is

to pastor a large Church in a great metropolitan area. But many find that

the demands of leadership and the concerns of so many drain them of their

devotion to the Lord!

Paul instruction to Timothy was: “Discipline yourself for the purpose of

godliness.” In other words, “Timothy, get serious about your walk with

God! It’s time to step up, young man…godliness won’t just happen”

(Charles R. Swindoll. So, You Want To Be More Like Christ? p. 12). Friends,

Do you know what is missing from many believer’s lives? It is that “first

love.” It is that great love for the Lord which motivates us to be the best we

can be for Him! Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:14—“For the love of Christ

constraineth us…”. We have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts, and

this causes us to love God intensely, and to love and labor for the salvation

of men. And it is the effect produced by this love which…bears us away

with itself, which causes us to love after the similitude of that love by which

we are influenced; and as God so loved the world as to give his Son for it,

and as Christ so loved the world as to pour out his life for it, so we,

influenced by the very same love, desire to spend and be spent for the glory

of God, and the salvation of immortal souls (Adam Clarke. Adam Clarke’s

pursuit of doing “spiritual things” I can fail to “discipline” myself and

“exercise [myself]…unto godliness.”

B. SPIRITUAL EXCELLENCE. Friends, all of us need to grow more intimate

with the Lord. But, as we have seen, gaining intimacy with God requires

spiritual discipline. One of the hardest things in the world for us to do it

seems is to give our full attention to God. God desires of us no mere show

of spirituality but a passionate spirituality that flows from the very depths

of our soul and is authentic. When we humble ourselves before God and

let Him the Heavenly potter mold us, if we remain soft and pliable in the

potter’s hand, we then can experience the spiritual excellence that He

desires for each of us. Friends, that what I want!

Friend, I don’t know about you about I want depth, not heights. I want

substance, not speed. I want fulfillment in my walk with the Lord, not

mere talk about fulfillment. Richard Foster’s meaningful work Celebration

of Discipline includes these words: “Superficiality is the curse of our age.

The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The

desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or

gift people, but for deep people” (Charles R. Swindoll. So, You Want To Be

More Like Christ? p. 15).

ILLUS: Hanging out at church hoping it will transform you into a deep

Christian is only slightly less foolish than expecting enough time

in a garage to turn you into a car. Our environment—even a

spiritual nurturing one—won’t change us. The Spirit of God

working on our will changes us. (Charles R. Swindoll. So, You Want

To Be More Like Christ? p. 15).

Friends, we must discipline our lives if we are going to have A DEEPER

LIFE. We must all strive to be the best we can be for the Lord!

ILLUS: [Frank] Lubauch states that he started [his] minute-to-minute

practicing of God's presence by "trying to line up my actions with

the will of God about every fifteen minutes or every half hour."

Most of us would fall far short of doing so once a week. We excuse

ourselves by stating we are too busy with our everyday priorities to

move toward a more God-centered life. We feel this minute-by-

minute approach is a discipline for full-time religious professionals

in our midst, but not for us. -- Jim Smoke in Whatever Happened

to Ordinary Christians?Christianity Today, Vol. 33, no. 9.

The DEEPER LIFE requires that I discipline myself in two ways:

SURRENDER (ROMANS 12:1-2). I must be willing to give myself totally to God. I must not hold anything back.

SUBMISSION (MATTHEW 26:39b). His will MUST be my will! His WAY my way.

To be MORE LIKE JESUS we need to begin by DEEPENING OUR FIRST LOVE and we must DISCIPLINE OUR LIVES and finally we must have a…

(3) A DESIRE FOR WISDOM

PHILIPPIANS 3:10—“That I may know him, and the power of his

resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.”

A. A SURPASSING WISDOM. In vv. 7-8 Paul said—“But what things were

gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all

things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:

for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung,

that I may win Christ.” Paul desired that superior light, information and

blessedness that comes only through knowing Christ. Friends, more than

merely knowledge, we need wisdom! Paul wanted not merely a knowledge of

the Lord, but a wisdom that far surpasses anything else this world has to

offer. Paul “the farther on he went with his Lord, the less attraction the old

life held for him…Some of us may think we know Christ but our false

perspective of what is worthful shows up our ignorance. We may speak the

language of one who knows the Lord intimately, but as long as we cling to

the things of this world to the extent they mar our vision of Him, we remain

in ignorance and poverty” (Lehman Strauss. Devotional Studies in

Philippians. pp. 162-163). As we grow deeper in the Christian life, God

begins to bestow up us more and more of His mind. As God works in our

lives we become more and more like Christ.

B. A SUSTAINING WISDOM. Friends, when tragedy comes to our lives, we

don’t need more knowledge. Nor do we need more skills. But we do need

depth. The wisdom to understand that God is working in our lives to

accomplish His perfect will. We need the sustaining wisdom which Job had.

When life had fallen apart for Job he had the wisdom to say—“But he

knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as

gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.

Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed

the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” Where did this

wisdom come from? It came from Job’s experience of the DEEPER LIFE.

After Paul prayed three times for his “thorn in the flesh” to be removed and

three times the Lord said no, Paul said, “Most gladly therefore will I rather

glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2

Corinthians 12:9b). Where did this sustaining wisdom come from? It

came because Paul had experienced the DEEPER LIFE. Paul gives us an

example of wisdom at work. Rather than getting dejected and feeling sorry

for himself, He boldly declared, “I will choose to embrace my affliction so

that I can have the privilege of experiencing even more of Christ’s power

over me.” (Charles R. Swindoll. So, You Want To Be More Like Christ? p. 16).

Paul was determined. It was his purpose to progressively become more

deeply and intimately acquainted with Jesus.

CLOSING: Intimacy is the state of being intimate (Funk & Wagnall’s Standard

Desk Dictionary. Volume 1, A-M. 341). Intimacy is characterized by

closeness, contact, and familiarity. Intimacy brings a warm and

satisfying friendship with God. Friend, let me ask you tonight, How

far are you away from God right now? Has your zeal for Him

lessened? Do you sing and think of something else beside Him

while you are singing? Do you find yourself critical of your

brothers and sisters in Christ? Is coming to God’s house a joy or a

burden?

Paul would respond this way: “My determined purpose is for that

never to be true of me. I will pursue a relationship with Him that

becomes so close, He and I will walk consistently together through