Transforming Into the Character of Christ

### Bible Reading

1. Romans 13:14 (NIV) - "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh."
2. Philippians 3:10-14 (NIV) - "I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
3. Luke 6:40 (NIV) - "The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher."

### Observation Questions

1. According to Romans 13:14, what are we instructed to clothe ourselves with, and what should we avoid thinking about?
2. In Philippians 3:10-14, what does Paul identify as his ultimate goal, and how does he describe his approach to achieving it?
3. What does Luke 6:40 suggest about the relationship between a student and their teacher, and what is the expected outcome of full training?
4. In the sermon, what are the five key elements of the cyclical process for transformation mentioned by the pastor? [18:03]

### Interpretation Questions

1. How does Romans 13:14 challenge us to change our daily behavior and mindset to reflect Jesus more accurately?
2. What does Paul's determination in Philippians 3:10-14 teach us about the importance of perseverance in our spiritual journey?
3. How can the principle in Luke 6:40 be applied to our efforts to become more like Jesus in practical terms?
4. The pastor mentioned that surrender is a critical step in becoming like Jesus. What does it mean to surrender our own ways and desires, and why is this step so challenging? [27:58]

### Application Questions

1. Reflecting on Romans 13:14, what specific desires of the flesh do you need to avoid thinking about this week, and how can you actively clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ?
2. Considering Paul's goal in Philippians 3:10-14, what is one specific area in your life where you need to "press on" and strive to be more like Jesus? How can you take a practical step towards this goal this week?
3. Based on Luke 6:40, identify one characteristic of Jesus that you want to develop in your life. What practical steps can you take to train yourself in this area?
4. The pastor emphasized the importance of examining our lives against Jesus' life and teachings. What is one area in your life that, upon examination, does not align with Jesus' example? What steps can you take to surrender this area to Him? [23:59]
5. The sermon highlighted the need for community in our transformation journey. How can joining a life group help you identify and address your blind spots? What steps will you take to get involved in a life group this week? [38:44]
6. The pastor mentioned the role of the Holy Spirit in empowering us to change. How can you rely more on the Holy Spirit's guidance and power in your daily life? What is one specific situation where you need to ask for the Holy Spirit's help? [34:13]
7. Reflect on the pastor's challenge to ask the Holy Spirit if you look like Jesus every time you see your reflection. How can you incorporate this practice into your daily routine, and what changes do you hope to see as a result? [38:10]

Day 1: Embracing Transformation Beyond Desire
Desire alone is not enough to become like Jesus; it must be coupled with action. This transformation is a journey that begins with a genuine longing to change, but it must not end there. The true test of this desire is the willingness to engage in the process of becoming more Christ-like, which involves knowledge, examination, surrender, work, and reliance on the Holy Spirit. It's a path that requires dedication and the conscious decision to pursue spiritual growth every day. This pursuit is not about perfection but progress, as one moves closer to the example set by Jesus.

"Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror." - James 1:22-23 ESV

Reflection: What specific action can you take today to move from merely desiring to be like Jesus to actively transforming into His likeness?

Day 2: The Discomfort of Spiritual Examination
The process of examining one's life against the teachings and example of Jesus can be a challenging and uncomfortable experience. It requires honesty and vulnerability to identify areas where one's life does not align with the life of Christ. This self-examination is not meant to bring about shame but to illuminate the path toward growth and transformation. It is an essential step in the journey of becoming more like Jesus, as it reveals the aspects of life that need to be surrendered to His will. Embracing this discomfort is a sign of maturity and commitment to spiritual development.

"But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor." - Galatians 6:4 ESV

Reflection: In what area of your life have you noticed a significant gap between your actions and the teachings of Jesus, and what steps can you take to address this?

Day 3: The Power of Surrender in Transformation
Surrender is a pivotal step in the journey to becoming like Jesus. It involves letting go of personal desires and preferences that are not in line with Christ's example. This act of surrender is not about losing one's identity but rather about discovering true purpose and fulfillment in Jesus. It is a daily decision to choose His will over one's own, trusting that His ways lead to a more abundant life. Surrender is the gateway to deeper spiritual transformation and alignment with the character of Christ.

"Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." - Matthew 10:39 ESV

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you find yourself holding back from surrendering to Jesus? What would surrendering this area to Him actually look like in terms of daily habits?

Day 4: Daily Choices Reflecting Jesus' Character
The transformation into Christ-likeness is an ongoing process that requires daily choices and actions. It is not a passive state but an active pursuit of embodying the character and behaviors that Jesus exemplified. This work involves consistently choosing to avoid sin and to practice the virtues that Jesus taught and lived by. It is a journey made in the company of fellow believers and with the support of the Holy Spirit, who empowers and guides us along the way.

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." - Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV

Reflection: What is one habit or behavior you can change today that would make you more like Jesus in your daily life?

Day 5: Relying on the Holy Spirit's Power
The journey of becoming like Jesus is not one that can be completed in human strength alone. It requires the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. While personal effort is necessary, it is the Spirit who provides the strength and wisdom needed for true change. Believers must rely on the Holy Spirit to overcome their shortcomings and to live out the life that Jesus modeled. This divine assistance is a gift that enables us to grow in Christ-likeness each day.

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." - John 14:26 ESV

Reflection: How can you be more open to the Holy Spirit's guidance and power in your life today, and what might be the first step in allowing the Spirit to work more freely in you?

All right, well today is a pretty awesome day. We're excited about not just the kickoff of a new series, but as you heard, it is the launch of our all-church life group campaign, and we're excited about that. At least I am. Apparently, none of you are at all, even in the slightest. It's too late; you missed your moment.

No, but we are excited. And if you're maybe wondering, what do I mean by all-church life group campaign? What you have to understand is that here at CLC, one of our values is that we do life together. But that's not happening right now. Okay? You're not doing life with somebody; you're just sitting in a church service staring at a guy talk.

Life happens when we are in community together, when we're in circles, not just rows. When we're in someone's home and we're talking with them, when somebody knows our name, knows our struggles, is praying for us—that's community. That's doing life together.

And so we do that here at CLC through our small group program called life groups. Usually, what we do is we have three semesters or three seasons of life group in a year, and we have what's called free market groups, which basically means we don't care what you meet about; we just care that you meet.

So like, if you like to sew, there's actually a sewing group that's been a part of CLC for a long time now. Actually, if you like to play basketball, there's probably a basketball group for you. If you like to cook food, there's a cooking group. If you like to eat food but you don't want to cook it, there's like a go-out-to-eat group. If you want to study a book of the Bible, there's a group for that. Whatever you're wanting to do, there's a group for it. And if there isn't a group for it, that means you should start a group for it.

But once every year, once every other year, we do an all-church campaign where we put the free market stuff on hold. We put a pause on that so that collectively, as an entire church, we could be unified, that we would have the same goal, the same purpose, we'd have the same conversations, and that we would all learn and grow and develop together, running in the same direction. Isn't that cool?

And so that's what we're kicking off today. And here's the deal with an all-church campaign: we really mean the entire church. So we want everyone to be in a group. And so this is where we're hoping that peer pressure will work, right? Because you don't want to be the one guy in the room not in a group.

Okay, so right now, I just want you to know you need to be in a group. Don't miss out on what God's going to be doing through these next six weeks. You can get all the information at go.clc.tv/groups. You can find a group if you're not a part of a group yet, or right after service, out in the lobby, you can stop by the table and get more information there.

But I really want to challenge you not to leave or not to end today, I guess, without being connected to a group. But you might be asking a very important question: what are we going to be talking about in this small group over the next six weeks? And that's a great question. I really am so glad that you asked it.

Because what we're going to do over these next six weeks is we're going to be learning what it means to be like Jesus. We're going to take what we learn from the stage and we're going to talk it out and walk it out in our groups in the community over the next six weeks.

And so we're going to learn how to think like Jesus, how to serve like Jesus, how to pray like Jesus, how to love like Jesus, and how to live like Jesus. And then we're going to walk that out over the next six weeks.

And we're doing this because, as disciples of Jesus Christ, let me just say that our relationship with God is not about a box we check on forms to say, "Yep, I'm a Christian." And it's not about the social club you're part of on weekends. When we say that we are Christians, it means that we are followers of Christ, and God has commanded us to become less like us and more like Him.

And so really, the command for all of us is to be like Jesus. And if you need more motivation for why you would want to be like Jesus, other than just the obvious that God told you to, and if God told you to do something, I don't know, I might be crazy, but I think you should probably do the thing that He told you to do.

But if you need more than that, let me just remind you of a commercial back in the early '90s. How many of you remember the "Be Like Mike" commercial? You remember that one? I remember that one. So it came out like '91 or '92, so I was like about this tall at the time. I was a little white kid that couldn't jump and had no business being on a basketball court. And guess what? I wanted to be like Mike because everybody wanted to be like Mike, right?

I mean, Pastor Asa wanted to be like Mike so much that in high school, he shaved his head bald. True story. Ask him after service. But we all wanted to be like Mike. Why did we want to be like Mike? It's not a trick question. Why would you want to be like Mike?

'Cause he's the GOAT! Thank you! Can we just kill this dumb argument conversation? It has no place in the house of God because Michael Jordan was, is, and will ever be the GOAT—the greatest of all time. Whoever you are that thinks otherwise, God bless you.

Come on, Michael Jordan's the GOAT! So we all wanted to be like the best. But you know who's better than Michael Jordan? Jesus, right? And so the whole point of this series is we don't want to be like Mike; we want to be like Jesus for the simple reason that, you know, you know why we want to be like Jesus? 'Cause He's better!

It's just a better option than anything else. If it's between me and Jesus, Jesus is better, right? I love you, soul, but if it's between you and Jesus, I'm picking Jesus because Jesus is just better.

And when we look at His life and we look at how He loved people and how He served people and how He cared for people, we look at how He taught and how He thought, and all of these things, there's something inside of us that should just say, "I want to be like that." Am I the only one?

And so our main passage for this six-week study is found in Romans 13:14. And before we turn to it, I want to tell you the verse actually starts with this word "but." And I want to teach you a little something: that anytime you come across the word "but" in the Bible, you need to ask a very important question: what is that doing there?

Because the word "but" is pretty much always separating two ideas, and most of the time, it's a bad idea and a good idea, right? A lot of times, it's like there's a famine coming to the land, but God will provide for you, right? There's destruction coming, but God's going to protect you, right? There's something bad, but there's something good in God.

And so when we look at this word "but," we back up a little bit, and leading up to verse 14, what Paul is saying to the Romans is the night is about to end and the day is coming, and so we need to live differently. And so he's giving them a list of don'ts. He says, "Don't be drunk. Don't be sexually immoral. Don't be jealous." He's laying out this foundation of all the things that we need to lay aside in this relationship with Jesus.

But he adds the word "but" because he wants to balance the conversation—not just to tell you all the things you shouldn't be doing anymore; he wants to tell you what you should be doing instead. So he says, "Don't be drunk. Don't be sexually immoral. Don't be jealous, but be like the Lord Jesus Christ."

So that when people see what you do, what's going to happen? They will see Christ. And so when we get this part right up here, when we get the "be like Jesus," this is what happens: people get to see Christ. The problem is the opposite is also true. When we don't do this well, when we are not like Jesus, then people don't get to see Jesus, and it's a real problem.

It actually reminds me of what Gandhi said when he said, "I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Let me tell you, that hurts. And it hurts because I can see truth in it. And I don't know about you; you probably have known some Christians that didn't act a whole lot like Christ.

And you may even be in this room right now or watching online right now, and you're saying, "I actually don't like Christians, but I'm giving this Jesus a chance because I'm hoping that He's different than the Christians that I see." And when people see us as hateful or hypocritical or heartless or judgmental, we don't draw them to Jesus; we push them away from Jesus.

And when people see us, if all they see is us, we've got a problem. And so the question that we're going to be asking in this series is: who are you reflecting? When you go up to the metaphorical mirror and you check out your reflection, are you just seeing yourself and your blemishes and your problems and your issues? Are you just seeing you, or are you seeing a reflection of King Jesus? Who do you see in the mirror?

And this is going to be a little bit challenging. We're all going to have to take some serious, some very hard, some very sobering looks in the mirror. And when we see something that doesn't reflect Christ, we need to do something about it.

And so we're going to take this look in the mirror, and when we don't like what we see, then we're going to do something about it. That same guy that talked about being like Jesus, Paul, he also talked about a goal that he had in his walk with Christ. He talks about it a lot. It's kind of a famous passage in Philippians 3. He says, "Not that I've already obtained this," speaking of the goal, "or I'm already perfect, but I press on to make it the goal my own because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I've made it the goal my own, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal."

We love that verse, right? "I press on to the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Not a trick question: what's the goal? For three verses, he keeps talking about, "I've got this goal. I'm pressing towards this goal. I want this goal." There is a singular focus in Paul's life as he follows Christ. He wants one thing. What does he want?

So here's when you run into something in Scripture that you need clarity on: we allow Scripture to interpret Scripture, right? That's the principle that we live by. And so it's actually interesting; Paul doesn't leave us guessing. If you just back up a few verses—which is what you usually have to do when you're reading the Bible and you come across something you don't understand—back up a few verses. We go to verse 10, and he says, "All I want"—so this is clearly the goal, right? If this is all I want, this is the goal—"is to know Christ and the power that raised Him from death. I want to share in His sufferings and what? Be like Him even in His death."

And so simply put, Paul's goal was to know Jesus and be like Jesus. I'm talking about Paul's goal because he had a singular focus for his walk with God, and anything in his life that didn't help him achieve that goal, he was getting rid of. He was cutting it loose, and he was saying goodbye to a lot of stuff so that he could reach the goal because it was the most important thing.

And so we're talking about Paul's goal because I'm curious about your goal when it comes to your relationship with Christ. What's the goal that you have? What is the thing that you're chasing after, that you're desperate to receive, the thing that you want more than anything else?

And I think that there's a problem today where there's a lot of Christians who have the wrong goal. They're chasing after the wrong thing. Let me phrase it like this: is your goal heaven, or is your goal Christ? Because I think a lot of people have made this the goal, right? The goal is just heaven. It isn't Jesus.

And so we pray a prayer for some fire insurance, right? 'Cause we don't want to go to hell; we want to go to heaven. So we pray that prayer, but our faith journey just kind of ends right there because we've already received the thing that we think is most important—a one-way ticket to heaven.

But there's a real problem when we make heaven the goal because what happens is we end up making Jesus just a means to an end. And we don't need to become like Jesus because we've already used Jesus to get the thing we wanted most.

And here's the thing: the goal of Christianity is Christ. It's right there in the name. But more than that, you can't actually have as a goal something you've already been given for free. Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The moment you make Jesus Lord of your life, heaven is already gifted to you.

So why are you still chasing after that 20 years later? You've got the wrong goal. Heaven is the gift; Jesus is the goal. And when we live for heaven instead of living for Jesus, then we just use Jesus to get something we want. That's not good.

So heart check time. Gonna poke you a little bit. Heart check: what's your goal? Like honestly, really truthfully, is your goal just heaven? Is your goal just to not go to hell? Or is your goal to become like Jesus? And it's a question that I can't answer for you, but it is a question that right here at the beginning of the series you have to answer.

Because as the author Relle Goodrich said, "It is near impossible to be genuinely Christlike without earnestly desiring it." You must want to be like Christ before you can be like Christ. And so right here at the beginning of this series, we have to start with a desire that says, "Most of all, I want to be like Jesus. I'm not chasing after heaven; I'm chasing after a relationship with Jesus. And I want, more than anything else, to be like Him instead of like me."

And so we take this burning passion and we become like Jesus by praying like Jesus and serving like Jesus and thinking like Jesus and loving like Jesus and living like Jesus. And so on Sundays here on the stage, we're going to talk about it in groups throughout the week all over the area. You're going to be talking about it.

And then here's what we're going to be doing: we're going to keep going back to the mirror. We're going to keep checking our reflection and seeing how does this compare to Jesus? When I look in the mirror, do I just see me, or do I see a reflection of Jesus? Because when the world looks at you, we want to make sure that they see Him, not us.

Okay, and so for the time that we have left this morning, the 20 minutes or so that we've got, I want to just lay out a foundation for how we actually do this thing right. Because how many of you know that having a desire is a great start? It is where you have to start. But if it never becomes more than a desire, it doesn't happen, right?

I desire to lose 50 pounds; it ain't going to happen just because I want it to. Like, I want a million dollars; it ain't going to happen just 'cause I want it. And you might want to be like Jesus, but it's not going to happen just because you came to church today.

There are some things that we need in order to transform, to be changed from us into Him so that we're less like us and more like Jesus every single day. And so there's five things that we need. I'm going to go through them real quick, and we're going to kind of break them down a little bit.

But we need knowledge, we need a period of examination, we need a moment of surrender, we need to get to work, and we need some supernatural power. If you're going to change to be less like you and more like Jesus, you need those five things.

Let's take a look at them one at a time. So first, you need knowledge, okay? Because you can't become like Jesus if you don't know what Jesus was like. Make sense, right? So this whole process really begins with increasing our knowledge, gaining knowledge of who Jesus is.

Luke 6:40: Jesus Himself said that a disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. So we need some training. We need to study under Jesus like He's our teacher and we're the student, and we're going to do whatever it is He tells us to do.

But you have to understand that this is not about what we think Jesus is; it's about what we know Jesus is based in Scripture. Because there's this really scary thing that's happening right now where somebody will be talking about Jesus, and I won't even recognize the person they're talking about because he's not in the Bible.

Has that happened to anybody else? Somebody's talking about Jesus, and you're like, "That is not Jesus in Scripture." And that's a major problem that we have because what happens is people try and transform Jesus into their image instead of allowing their image to be transformed into the image of Christ. And that is dangerous ground to be on.

And so we need to have a better knowledge and understanding. That's why Paul starts his goal with, "I want to know Christ," right? That's the beginning point for this.

And so I want to give you three practical steps for how you can gain knowledge of who Jesus is. You ready for this? This is really important. You're going to write these down, okay?

Step one: you're going to open up your Bible and read about Him.

And step two: you're going to open up your Bible and you're going to read about Him.

Are you ready for step three? You writing these down?

Okay, step three is you're going to open up your Bible and you're going to read about Him. 'Cause if you want to know Jesus, then you got to meet Him in the pages of Scripture, okay? That's where you meet Jesus.

And so you're going to start in the Gospels. You're going to open up your Bible and go to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It's a little bit past the halfway point in your Bible. Flip it open, find Matthew; that's the place to start. It is the story of Jesus—what He did, what He said, how He lived—and you're going to learn all you can from Jesus.

Then you're going to go to the rest of the New Testament. These are letters from the early disciples, and what you're learning there is how did the early disciples interpret and apply what Jesus did and taught, right?

And then you get to go back into the Old Testament, and you read it as a Christian, not as a Jew. That's an important part because you need to be looking for Jesus on every page. And guess what? If you look for Him, you'll find Him.

It could be a Levitical law, but the Levitical law is pointing to Christ, right? It could be a Genesis creation story, and Jesus is right in the middle of it, right? Wherever you are in the Old Testament, you can be finding Jesus.

Now, I want to give you a couple of resources to help you in this journey or tell you about a couple of resources. One is, it's one of my favorite Bibles. I picked this up years ago. It's called the Jesus-Centered Bible, and it's still one of my favorite Bibles. It's a study Bible that every single little footnote or little insert in that Bible is pointing out Jesus in what you just read.

So when you're reading a parable, it's talking about Jesus. When you're reading about David, it's showing you how does David point to Christ? How does Jesus fulfill what David's talking about? Every single page you're on, it has something in there about Jesus. It's an awesome Bible. I picked it up on Amazon. If you order it right now, it'll probably be at your house by the time you get home because Amazon is crazy like that. But it's an amazing Bible—the Jesus-Centered Study Bible. You can pick it up; it's great.

The second resource that I would like to tell you about is in a week or so, I guess two weeks, on Tuesday, March 5th, we're starting Life University up again. And one of the classes, it's got a really sexy title, so I know a lot of you have already gotten excited about it, 'cause it's called "Introduction to Biblical Interpretation." Yeah, come on! Some people are excited about that! My nerds, come on, nerds!

Let's unite! But this Introduction to Biblical Interpretation really is an important class for you to take. It'll be available online after the fact, so it'll be available for everybody. But I really do want to encourage you to take the class because we're going to give you tools for how you can properly—emphasis on properly—interpret Scripture for yourself.

So that the only time you're eating good is not when you come to church, right? If the only time you get Scripture into you is because a preacher told you what to learn about it or what to think about it, you're missing out. Because God wants you to hear from Him on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday too, okay?

And so we want to give you the tools so that you can properly understand and interpret Scripture in its context. And honestly, I think after this class, you're going to be a better congregation because you're going to be sitting there listening to a preacher, and you're going to pull out your Bible and be like, "That doesn't actually say what he just said that it said," right? You're going to fact-check the preacher, and it's going to be awesome, okay?

And so I want to encourage you: you can take that class. You can go to go.clc.tv/university to get the information and to sign up for it.

All right, I'm going to try and move a little bit quicker because we got four more things to cover. But we use Scripture to gain our knowledge of who Jesus is, what He said, what He did, how He taught, how He loved, how He lived. We're going to learn all that we can about Jesus, and then we take what we've learned and we go back to the mirror so that we can look at the mirror and say, "Okay, how do I compare? How do I match up with Jesus?"

Right? And so that's the examination part of this process. We need to compare what we're seeing in Jesus to what we see in our own lives. How does my life, how does my behavior, how does my speech, how do even my own thoughts compare to what I've just learned about Jesus?

And more importantly, where do we not come into alignment? Because if Jesus is here and I'm here, guess which one of us is in the wrong place? We are, right? And so we need to gain that knowledge so that we have something to compare our lives to.

In 1 Peter 2:21, it says that this is what you were chosen to do: Christ gave you an example to follow, right? So Jesus is our example; He's our template; He's our blueprint. We follow Him, right?

And so if we learn something about Jesus, we need to measure it against our own lives. So if we learn that Jesus spoke the truth with love, okay? Every time we see Him in an interaction with somebody, there's love and there's truth in it. What about us?

Have we been a little heavy on the love and a little lacking on the truth 'cause we don't want to ruffle feathers? We don't want to offend anybody; we don't want to pass judgment on anyone, so we're just kind of keeping in our own little sphere, keeping our mouths shut, and we think that that's love, but there's no truth in it?

Or are you the opposite end of the spectrum, and you're just doing drive-by Bible slaps, where you're just slapping people with truth on Facebook without actually having any love for the person that you're writing? We need both in balance 'cause that's what Jesus modeled for us, okay?

How about the way Jesus prayed? How does how Jesus prayed compare to how we pray? Because Jesus prayed like all the time. He prayed before, during, and after like every ministry moment. We see Him praying with people; we see Him praying for people; we see Him retreating away to a secluded place and praying on His own.

What about us? Do we just pray when the food comes to the table? Do we just pray when there's a panic moment? We're like, "Oh, Jesus!" And I'm even not sure if it's a prayer or taking the Lord's name in vain because it's like it's a real blurry line that you're crossing right there.

But what is our prayer life compared to Jesus's prayer life? Because He prayed a lot. How about compassion? How often do you read in Scripture you hear about how much Jesus loved people? He was moved with compassion. He would see somebody hurting, and He would do something about it.

But what about us? When we see someone hurting, do we try and walk on the other side of the road, not make eye contact with them at the window? Like, what are we doing when we see somebody in need? Are we just worried about our own problems, our own issues, or are we actually caring for the people around us?

How about forgiveness? When we look at Jesus, Jesus is on the cross forgiving the people that are crucifying Him. What about you? Do you forgive the people that hurt you? Have you been waiting for them to apologize first before you'll forgive them? 'Cause I don't know; I've read my Bible a bunch, and I don't ever see Jesus waiting for them to apologize when He's on the cross.

It's a little sobering, isn't it? How about mercy? How does your mercy compare to Jesus's mercy? I love reading about Peter because Peter, he was an idiot sometimes, and that makes me feel good about myself sometimes. But Peter would always be saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing—just open mouth, insert foot.

And yet Jesus had so much mercy and grace for Peter that He even still used Peter to start the church. What about you? When your coworker screws up a project, is there mercy? Is there grace like Jesus has given you for them?

How does our life measure up to Jesus's life and His teachings? And when we learn something about Jesus, we hold it up against our own reflection, and we see there's a problem here. I'm falling short. And then it's time for the next part of the process, which may actually be the hardest part of the process because it's surrender.

And surrender isn't a lot of fun, but if you're going to become like Jesus, who do you need to not be like? Like you, right? Because you can't be two people. You can either be Jesus or you can be you, which means if you're going to be like Jesus, you have to surrender your own way. You have to lay down your own life in order to be like Him.

He said in Matthew to His disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must"—it's not a suggestion, right? You must—what? "Give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me." If you're going to become like Jesus, you have to become less like you.

And so in every single area of our lives that we measure up against Jesus, for every area that doesn't align, we have to surrender that area, okay? We have to lay those things down. So if my thoughts don't match Jesus's thoughts, I need to take those thoughts captive, right?

If my speech—the words coming out of my mouth—don't match what came out of Jesus's mouth, then I need to shut my mouth even when I want to give somebody a piece of my mind, right? If my sexual desires don't match up with Jesus's teachings on sexuality, then I have to deny my flesh, crucify my flesh to follow Him, right?

And when becoming more like Jesus becomes our greatest desire, then every other desire in our lives has to become submitted to Him so that when Jesus comes to us and says no, we don't argue. We don't look for a scriptural loophole, and we don't pretend like we didn't hear Him when He says no. We surrender that area to Him.

And so we get this knowledge of who Jesus is, we take it to the mirror to see the reflection, to examine our lives compared to it. Any area that doesn't match up, we surrender. And then it's time to get to work.

And this is maybe the thing you didn't want to hear today: that you don't get to become like Jesus just because you want to, right? You actually have to put in the work. There are things that you need to do. You need to make choices to do the things that are going to make you more like Jesus and to stop doing the things that are going to make you less like Jesus.

This is work that we have to do. We find it in Ephesians 4:22. It says, "You were taught to leave your old self." You know what that takes? Some work to leave some old things behind. This means that you must stop living the evil way you lived before. That takes work to stop doing those things.

And that old self gets worse and worse because people are fooled by the evil they want to do. You must be made new in your hearts and in your thinking. I wish we had more time to talk about this, but your actions stem from your feelings and your thoughts. And so if you're going to be transformed in the image of Christ, you need to do something about your feelings and your thoughts.

And then you can be that new person who was made to be like God, truly good and pleasing to Him. And so if we're going to be like Jesus, if we're going to leave that old self behind, then there's some work we need to do.

And so we're going to help you with that work. So next week, you're going to learn how Jesus prayed, and then it's on you to pray like that, right? Then you're going to learn how Jesus served, and then it's on you to serve like that. And then we're going to learn how Jesus loved, and it's going to be on you to start loving people like that.

There is work that we need to do. And we get in a lot of trouble when we know what it takes to look like Jesus, but we refuse to do the things that will make us look like Jesus.

We go back to that mirror, and we're like, "Wow, I look nothing like Jesus." Oh well, no! There's some work that has to be done once we've examined and once we've surrendered, right?

Jesus's half-brother James, he said it like this: "Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." So there's some things that we need to do.

And so all of this, this isn't about information for the sake of knowledge. This is information to fuel a transformation, right? And as your knowledge grows, you keep going back to that mirror. You keep examining your life and Jesus's life: where do we not match up?

I'm going to surrender those things that are not right, and I'm going to get to work doing the things that I need to do because let me tell you, most of the time when you look in that mirror, the thing that you're seeing that doesn't look like Jesus is called sin.

And you don't stop sinning just because you're sad about sinning. You stop sinning when you put in the work. You do the things that you need to do to avoid that sin, and it starts with repentance.

Okay, but the best part of this journey—we'll close with this—the best part of the journey is that God doesn't expect you to do it all by yourself, which is great news because if He did, you were in trouble, right? 'Cause I know I'm in trouble. Like, I know myself all too well, right?

If it's just up to me to be able to become more like Jesus, I might as well try and become more like Michael Jordan. I got about as much of a chance of that happening, right? But the best part of this journey is that God knows how much help we need, and so He gives us help.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "So all of us who have had that veil removed"—that veil is talking about salvation, that moment that you acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and Savior—"there's a veil that's removed from your life so that you can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord, who is the Spirit, makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image."

It's really the power of the Holy Spirit that we need at work in us. And that doesn't absolve us from our part, but it should give you some strength and some courage to say, "I'm going to do what I can do, and even though I know it's not going to be enough, the Holy Spirit's going to show up and make the difference."

If you want to be like Jesus, then you are going to need some serious help. But what I love about this is that God wouldn't tell you to be like Jesus if it was impossible for you to be like Him. He's telling you to do it because He knows you can, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

See, God knew you needed help, so He sent the Helper, right? To transform us into His glorious image. And so we do our part, right? We gain the knowledge that we need, we go to the mirror, we examine our lives, compare to what we just learned, we do the work of sacrifice, of surrendering and laying down the stuff that makes us less like Jesus and more like us.

We lay those things down, and then we get to work doing the things we need to do, making the right choices, avoiding the wrong choices. But even when we do all of the right stuff, we're still going to need help.

And so the Holy Spirit comes in. And so when I'm about to say something that Brent would say that Jesus wouldn't say, the Holy Spirit can say, "Uh, zip it! Like, don't just say that!"

When I'm about to do something that Brent would do that Jesus wouldn't do, I need the Holy Spirit to sometimes slap me in the back of the head—hopefully just a tap on the shoulder, but sometimes He's got to slap me to say, "Don't do that!"

Right? When I'm holding tight to something that I know I need to surrender, it's the Holy Spirit that comes in and gives me the strength and the conviction to let those things go.

And so we do what we can do, and then He does what only He can do, and together we become more like Jesus.

So here's your five things: you need knowledge, examination, surrender, work, and power. And what we have to understand about these five things is that this is a cyclical process.

And what that means is it's not a list that you just run through and then you're done, right? You don't go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, I'm done. No, it's a cycle.

So you gain some knowledge about Jesus, you examine your life compared to that knowledge, you surrender the areas that don't match up, you get to work making up the difference, and then you ask the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do.

And then you gain some new knowledge about who Jesus is, you examine it against your life, you surrender the areas that don't line up, you get to work on making up the difference, you ask the Holy Spirit to come in and do what you can't do.

Then you get some new knowledge about Jesus, you examine your life against it, and you will spend the rest of your life doing this. And that's Christianity. That's what it means to be a follower of Christ—that we are constantly learning and growing and surrendering and working and asking the Holy Spirit to come in and do what only He can do.

And when we do this process over and over and over again, then guess what? Tomorrow you'll look more like Jesus than you do today. And next week, you're going to look more like Jesus than you do right now. And next year, you're going to look a whole lot more like Jesus than you do right now.

And step by step, day by day, we are becoming more like Christ. So like Jesus, we're going to pray and serve and think and love and live like Jesus.

As we close, I got two challenges for you—two things I need you to do. Number one, I want to plant a little seed in your head. That's why I use object lessons like this. Every time you see your reflection for the next six weeks, I want you to ask the Holy Spirit, "Have I looked like Jesus today?"

Every time you look at your reflection—if it's your bedroom mirror, your bathroom mirror, if it's a little hand mirror, if it's your car mirror, man, if it's a puddle in the parking lot and you see your reflection in it—I want you to ask the Holy Spirit, "Do I look like Jesus today?"

And if I don't, teach me. And if I don't, help me to surrender. And if I don't, then show me what work I need to do. And Holy Spirit, if I don't look like Jesus today, help me be more like Jesus than I was before.

And every time over these next six weeks, every time you see a reflection—if you go to the bathroom here in the church, I want you to look in the mirror and ask yourself, "Holy Spirit, do I look more like Jesus today than I did last Sunday?"

Every time you see your reflection.

The second thing I want you to do is get in a group because there's a problem that we have. If I'm looking at my reflection in the mirror, how many of you know I can't see what's going on back here, right? 'Cause I've got blind spots.

We all have blind spots. In fact, there's some times when I can look at myself in the mirror and not see the big old stain on my shirt. But then I leave the bathroom, and my wife says, "Hey, what's that on your shirt?" And I just saw myself, but I didn't see it.

We need somebody else in our lives to be able to point out the things that we don't see, to correct us, to challenge us, and to encourage us in this journey to be like Jesus.

And you need the correction, and you need the challenge, but you also need the encouragement because what's going to happen is you're going to start looking at yourself in the mirror, and you're going to see a lot of you and not a lot of Jesus, and you're going to get discouraged by that.

But somebody else that's looking at your life is going to say, "Man, look at how far you've come! Look at how much God has been doing in your life! Man, the way you just talked to that person—that was amazing! That was awesome! You were so much like Jesus in that moment!"

And they can encourage you when you don't even see the good that you've seen happen or that's happened in your life.

And so I want to just challenge you: this is an all-church campaign for a reason because we want the entire church to become more like Jesus so that when the world looks at us and what we're doing, they're not seeing us; they're seeing Jesus. Sound good?

So right after service in the lobby, you can sign up for a group. You can go online to go.clc.tv/slg/groups. But I want everybody to be plugged into a community where you can become more like Jesus and less like you.

Let's pray.

Father, we just thank You right now that You are at work in our lives, that You are even in this moment bringing conviction. You're speaking to us. There's some people in this room, probably some people online right now, that they don't even have to look in the mirror to be able to see there's some stuff in my life that doesn't match Jesus.

And so for all of us that are feeling that in this moment, we actually start by saying thank You. Thank You that You would bring that kind of correction to us, that conviction to us. But we just ask that there wouldn't be condemnation, that this wouldn't be a guilt trip, that this wouldn't be a feeling of, "Man, I've blown it," but this would be that moment where we can say, "Jesus, I need You because my greatest desire is to be less like me and more like You, but I am falling short."

So Jesus, I need You. I need the Holy Spirit to come in and make up the difference. Father, challenge us today to truly examine our lives compared to You, to surrender any area that doesn't line up, for every sin in our lives that we've become comfortable with, that You would make us uncomfortable with it today, that we would surrender everything to You and that we would get to work doing the things we know we need to do so that we could become more like You.

And then Holy Spirit, we just ask that You would move in our lives, transform us into Your glorious image. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen.

I'm going to invite you to stand to your feet. Yeah, we can celebrate that moment! Pastor Moy is going to come in a moment and give you some instructions on your next steps. But for this moment, for all of us, for those of you that just prayed that prayer, for those of you that are deciding today you're going to be more like Jesus, let's just take this time of worship to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us.

"Disciples of Jesus Christ, our relationship with God is not about a box we check on forms to say yep I'm a Christian. It's about becoming less like us and more like Him. The command for all of us is to be like Jesus." [05:00] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"When you look in the mirror, you might see a lot of you and not a lot of Jesus, and get discouraged. But others will see how much God has been doing in your life, how you've become more like Jesus." [39:50] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"If my thoughts don't match Jesus's thoughts, I need to take those captive. If my speech doesn't match Jesus's, I need to shut my mouth. When becoming more like Jesus is our greatest desire, every other desire has to submit to Him." [29:18] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"We need to compare what we're seeing in Jesus to what we see in our own lives. How does my life, my behavior, my speech, and even my own thoughts compare to what I've just learned about Jesus?" [23:59] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"If you're going to become like Jesus, you have to become less like you. For every area that doesn't align, we have to surrender that area. You must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow Him." [28:36] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"It is near impossible to be genuinely Christlike without earnestly desiring it. You must want to be like Christ before you can be like Christ. So we must start with a desire that says, 'I want to be like Jesus.'" [15:33] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"You need knowledge, examination, surrender, work, and power. This is a cyclical process, not a list you run through once. You gain knowledge about Jesus, examine your life, surrender, work on it, and ask the Holy Spirit to help." [36:33] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"God wouldn't tell you to be like Jesus if it was impossible for you to be like Him. He's telling you to do it because He knows you can, with the help of the Holy Spirit." [34:49] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"When we look at Jesus's life, how He loved and served people, there's something inside of us that should just say, 'I want to be like that.' Our main passage for this study is Romans 13:14, 'But be like the Lord Jesus Christ.'" [07:30] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)



"The goal of Christianity is Christ. Heaven is the gift, Jesus is the goal. You can't have as a goal something you've already been given for free. The moment you make Jesus Lord of your life, Heaven is already gifted to you." [14:51] (Make clip | Crop for social media | Crop + Caption)