MAY I BE MORE LIKE CHRIST IN THE NEW YEAR!
Philippians 3:2-14
Greenmount and O’Leary Churches of Christ
January 01, 2016
Audio Link to this sermon: http://chirb.it/fsdJd1
INTRODUCTION:
1.) On this New Year’s Day we reflect on both the past and also the future.
2.) Because we have been given the privilege of entering into another year of life we can resolve to changing and improving in one or more areas of life.
3.) If I was to make a prayer for the New Year it would be “May I be More Like Christ in this New Year!”
A.) May all that I am and do in this new year be a reflection of Jesus Christ.
4.) A little more than a century ago Charles Gabriel penned a hymn expressing that which could be our prayer for the New Year:
More like the Master I would ever be,
More of His meekness, more humility;
More zeal to labor, more courage to be true,
More consecration for work He bids me do.
Take Thou my heart, I would be Thine alone;
Take Thou my heart and make it all Thine own.
Purge me from sin, O Lord, I now implore,
Wash me and keep me Thine forevermore.
A.) If we would be more like Christ we must realize:
I) THERE CAN BE OBSTACLES IN BECOMING MORE LIKE CHRIST.
1.) Religious heritage can be an obstacle in our relationship with Christ.
A.) It was for Saul of Tarsus whom we know better as Paul the Apostle.
aa.) If there was anyone who could have boasted about his Jewish heritage it would have been the Apostle Paul.
aaa.) Philippians 3:4-5
ab.) Certainly among the Jewish people few would have excelled in the Jewish faith more than the Apostle Paul.
ac.) I would be surprised if Paul did not have times even after coming to Christ when he was tempted to take pride in his religious heritage.
aca.) Even though Paul had the goal of living for Christ, he may have had times when human pride caused him to think back of his glory days in Judaism.
.01) After all, his former days as a Pharisee would have been days he would have received much honour and praise from the people as one who had his act altogether spiritually.
B.) Our stories may be different than Paul’s, but our religious heritage can also be an obstacle in developing a closer relationship with Christ.
ba.) Most of us in this room are at least second or third generations of an active faith and involvement in the Church.
baa.) We can rejoice that the faith of our fathers has also extended to us and our families as well.
bb.) Though there is a great blessing in this, it can be a source of pride that can be an obstacle to our developing a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.
bba.) We do not have to come from a Jewish background to have a pride in our religious heritage.
.01) Even as Christians we can be hindered in our own spiritual walk because of pride.
2.) Religious zeal can also be an obstacle in our relationship with Christ.
A.) Before coming to Christ Paul certainly had religious zeal.
aa.) There would not have been too many as zealous or excited about their faith as Saul of Tarsus.
ab.) Yet in Saul’s zeal, he went to the point of persecuting the church, and killing Christians.
aba.) Many can have a religious zeal, but that in and of itself does not bring one closer to Christ unless it is a zeal focussed on intimacy with Christ.
3.) Religious service can be an obstacle in our relationship with Christ.
A.) Saul was certainly active in religious service.
aa.) He spoke of himself as a Pharisee of the Pharisees.
ab.) In many ways the Pharisees were the ones who tried to protect Judaism from becoming liberal.
aba.) Certainly, in this role, Paul would have been very active in religious service.
abb.) In some ways Paul’s commitment to religious service was an obstacle to a close relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
B.) Like the Apostle of old, Christians can become so active in the church and the ministry of the church that it is possible to miss the goal of drawing near to Christ.
ba.) As we come into this New Year, our focus must be Christ and Christ alone!
4.) Religious regrets can be an obstacle in our relationship with Christ.
A.) Through the years, I have found that some Christians have religious regrets that are allowed to become obstacles to a close relationship with Christ.
B.) By religious regrets I am referring to the inability to forgive ourselves for sins and wrongs we have done.
ba.) While Christians can on some level accept the forgiveness of Christ, there are those who cannot come to forgive themselves.
baa.) When a Christian has this lack of self-forgiveness it leads to feelings of guilt, shame, and inadequacy.
.01) These are burdens and obstacles none of us can afford if we want to come closer to God in this New Year.
.02) In some ways it is a form of idolatry in that it puts us in a position of judgment greater than the judgment of God himself.
bb.) When Christians cannot forgive themselves they carry with them throughout life feelings of guilt, shame, inadequacy.
bc.) Perhaps the key to developing closeness with Christ is to recognize in the heart what we already know in the head.
bca.) That is to believe and live our lives in the knowledge that the grace of God through Jesus Christ has forgiven us of all sin.
.01) For the Christian, there is no longer condemnation.
.02) 1 John 3:19-21
bc.) As Christians we have to take seriously the reality that we have been made new in Christ Jesus.
bca.) It is only when we can accept that truth that we can come closer to Christ.
II) THERE NEEDS TO BE A CONSCIOUS GOAL TO BECOME MORE LIKE CHRIST.
1.) To become more like Christ, our focus must be on Christ.
A.) If we want to become more like Christ in the New year it is not something that will automatically just happen.
B.) The first half of Prov. 23:7 in the King James says: “ For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”.
ba.) If we want to become more like Christ it is going to take a conscious effort and determination to become more like our Lord.
2.) To become more like Christ our highest priority must be giving Christ first place in all that we are or hope to become.
A.) Philippians 3:7-8
3.) To become like Christ we must desire the righteousness of Christ.
A.) It means that we are genuinely reflecting Jesus Christ because we have completely surrendered our lives to His Lordship.
aa.) May that be the prayer and goal for our lives in 2017.
4.) To become like Christ we must desire closeness with Christ.
A.) Philippians 3: 10-11
aa.) It is the desire to experience in ourselves the power of his resurrection.
ac.) It is the desire to be so close to Christ that we are not afraid even to share in his sufferings.
aca.) It is that desire to be so close to Christ that we might not only have to suffer for Christ, but even be willing to die for Him.
acb.) Such a desire for intimacy with Christ gives us hope that even in death we will one day experience the resurrection from the grave.
B.) It is one thing to have the goal of closeness with Christ but to actually achieve that:
ba.) To achieve that goal:
III) THERE NEEDS TO BE A PLAN OF ACTION TO BECOME MORE LIKE CHRIST.
1.) We need to take an honest evaluation of where we are at.
A.) Sometimes we look at Paul and the other Apostles with envy at their spiritual walk with Christ.
B.) We need to remember they were no different than we are.
ba.) These men of old had the same spiritual failures and short-comings that we have.
C.) Paul looked at his own life and he did not see himself as having everything together in his spiritual walk of faith.
ca.) This may be a surprise to many of us.
cb.) Paul, like you and I had to take an honest evaluation of his life.
cba.) Note how Paul concluded his evaluation:
.01) Philippians 3:12a.; 13a.
2.) We need to press towards a higher walk with Christ.
A.) Philippians 3:12b.
B.) Paul recognized that if he was to have a closer walk with Christ it would not just happen, but would take a determined effort.
ba.) He knew that to have a closer walk with Christ He would have to press on in his walk with our Lord.
bb.) Wherever you are in your walk of faith today if you want to be at a higher level in your walk with Christ one year from now it will not just happen.
bba.) If we do not make a conscious effort to grow in our relationship with Christ then we will be in the same place spiritually one year from now as we are today.
.01) If you are at the place you want to be then you have already reached your spiritual goals.
.02) But if you and I are growing in our walk with the Lord we will never become satisfied with where we are at spiritually, but always want to grow and become closer to Jesus Christ.
bbb.) That closer walk will only happen if we are determined to press on in our prayer life, Bible readings, and all others areas of our spiritual journey with Christ.
3.) We need to forget what is behind.
A.) That includes many things:
aa.) Our successes.
aaa.) Past glories were great at where we were then, but will do little to bring us forward in our walk with Christ in the future.
ab.) Our failures.
aba.) Past sins, regrets, failures, and disappointments must be left in the past.
abb.) To take them with us into the New year will only hold us back.
.01) They will weight us down.
.02) They will take our eyes off of Christ.
.03) They will keep us from moving ahead in our walk with Christ.
4.) We need to strain toward what is ahead.
A.) Philippians 3:13-14
B.) I picture this as straining at the oars when the wind and tide are against you.
ba.) Just as we can only make progress at the oars if we keep straining at them, likewise we can only move ahead spiritually if we keep straining at our spiritual oars.
CONCLUSION:
1.) I want to close with a few mores lines from Charles Gabriel’s hymn: “More Like The Master”
More like the Master is my daily prayer;
More strength to carry crosses I must bear;
More earnest effort to bring His kingdom in,
More of His Spirit, the wanderer to win.
More like the Master I would live and grow;
More of His love to others I would show;
More self-denial, like His in Galilee,
More like the Master I long to ever be
2.) May it be our prayer as well to be More Like Christ in the New Year!
