TO BE LIKE JESUS
ROM 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to
those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He
foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might
be the first-born among many brethren;"
MIND
Rom 12:1, I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of
worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable
and perfect.
Daniel Webster was an outstanding statesman, lawyer, orator, and leader. At a banquet
in his honor, one man asked Mr. Webster, "Sir, what is the greatest thought that ever
entered your mind?" Without hesitation, Webster replied, "The greatest thought
that ever entered my mind was the thought of my responsibility to God." As he spoke,
he wept, excused himself from the banquet, and went outside to get control of his
emotions. When he returned he talked for thirty minutes about man's responsibility to God.
1 Cor 2:16, For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE SHOULD INSTRUCT HIM? But
we have the mind of Christ.
ATTITUDE
What kind of an attitude do you have? Many think it doesn't matter. They seem to be
content to go through life with a depressing, negative attitude. But what does the Bible
teach?
PHI 2:3, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind
let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; 4 do not merely look
out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this
attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus," 6 who, although He existed in
the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied
Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 And
being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point
of death, even death on a cross.
It does matter. What is an attitude? Your attitude is one of the ways you communicate
your mood to others. Think of attitude as your mental focus on the world. Like using a
camera, you can focus or set your mind on what appeals to you. You can see situations as
either opportunities or failures. You can concentrate on selected aspects of your
environment and ignore others. Quite simply, you take the picture of life you want to
take.
POSITIVE ATTITUDE
When we are optimistic and anticipate good and successful events, we are said to have a
positive attitude. This draws people to us and tends to encourage others in positive ways.
The Holy Scriptures teach that our job is to encourage one another - not discourage them.
HEBREWS 10:23-25, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love
and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near."
When we are pessimistic and expect the worst, we have a negative attitude. This tends
to discourage others and people often avoid us.
Emphasizing the positive and diffusing the negative is like using a magnifying glass.
You can place it over good news and feel better, or you can magnify the bad news and make
yourself miserable. Your attitude is determined by which situations you have a habit of
magnifying. If you continually focus on the problems, the result will be exaggerated
distortions and fears of those problems.
HOW DO I CHANGE?
The following scripture tells us to turn the problems over to God, stop worrying, and
concentrate on the good.
PHI 4:6-8, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which
surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if
anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things."
BEAR CROSS
Mat 16:24, Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If
anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow
Me.
LOVE
John 15:11, "These things I have spoken to you, that
My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. 12 "This
is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his
life for his friends.
1 Cor 13:4, Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and
is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked,
does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but
rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. 8 Love never fails;...
MINISTRY OF
RECONCILIATION
2 Cor 5:17, Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things
passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who
reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19
namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their
trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg
you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
FORGIVE OTHERS
Mat 6:11, 'Give us this day our daily bread. 12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from
evil. <For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.>' 14 "For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do
not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
LOVE ENEMIES AND BE
PERFECT
Mat 5:44, "But I say to you, love your enemies, and
pray for those who persecute you 45 in order that you may be
sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and
the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?
Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? 47 "And if
you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the
Gentiles do the same? 48 "Therefore you are to be
perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
GROW THROUGH ADVERSITY
Heb 5:8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.
1 Pet 5:10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who
called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and
establish you.
JESUS CAME TO SERVE
MAT 20:28, "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and
to give His life a ransom for many."
SERVE OTHERS - ESPECIALLY THOSE
WHO ARE OPPRESSED OR WITHOUT CHRIST
The Sermon on the Mount was immediately followed by "deeds in the valley".
Christlike values lead to servant actions - and it was obedient action that Jesus cared
about, not just sermonizing. Jesus modeled how to do the will of God by actively serving
many different people, including such undesirables as lepers, an officer of the Roman
occupation troops, the sick, the demon-possessed, cave dwellers, tax collectors, and a
diseased, outcast woman. If we want to be like Jesus we need to befriend those who are
weak, under oppression, or without Christ. In other words we need to serve those who need
our help - not those who don't. Like Him, we need to become "a friend of
sinners". He offered much more than religious information - he served them.
PRIORITIES
John 4:34, Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the
will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.
Mat 16:24, Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If
anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow
Me.
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