Garwood Presbyterian Church

Developing Your Character: Becoming Like Christ

1. Review
   1. Our first purpose from God is to know Him and His love for us.
   2. Our second purpose from God is to worship Him by expressing our love back to Him.
   3. Our third purpose from God is fellowship, because we are a family, and individual members of one body, the body of Christ on earth.
2. Our Fourth Purpose From God Is To Become Like Christ = Discipleship
   1. Being part of a small group of Christians you can trust helps you to become like Christ.
      1. Because you can be honest about your problems and find support to overcome them.
   2. Because you are as sick as your secrets.
      1. Anything that stays a secret, retains power over you.
      2. Proverbs 28:13 says, "The one who conceals their sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy."
   3. James 5:16 says, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."
      1. In revealing there is healing.
   4. God also develops our character, so we become more like Christ, through 4 "T's".
      1. The Truth
      2. Trouble
      3. Temptations
      4. Trespasses
3. The Easiest Way God Helps You Become Like Christ Is By Making His Truth Available To You
   1. Jesus prayed in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."
   2. II Cor. 10:4-5 says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
      1. This means we need to change our thinking from our way to God's way.
      2. Especially since our thoughts justify our emotions which determine our actions.
   3. Therefore, make God's Word of the Bible your authority.
      1. Not your culture, your traditions, hour feelings, or your own way of thinking.
   4. Learn God's truth until it becomes part of you.
      1. Listen to it, read it, study it, meditate on it, and memorize it.
   5. Apply it to your life. Only when you apply it, will it bless your life.
      1. Jesus said, "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."
4. Being Able to Trust God, Obey God, and Forgive People Are 3 Wonderful Qualities to Have
   1. Jesus completely trusted God, obeyed God, and forgave people.
   2. How does God develop these qualities in our lives?
      1. He uses trouble to train us to trust Him.
      2. He uses temptations to teach us to obey Him.
      3. He uses trespasses to tell us to forgive others.
5. God Uses Trouble to Teach Us to Trust Him
   1. Romans 8:28-29 says, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."
      1. God will work something good out of the trouble in your life.
      2. That something good is for you "to be conformed to the likeness of his Son."
   2. Every problem in your life has a purpose - the big ones and the little ones too.
      1. They are to develop your character.
      2. Romans 5:3-4 says, "We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."
      3. For this to happen, focus on your reaction to the problem, instead of on the problem.
         1. Your reaction tells you why God allowed the problem, and where in your life your charac-ter needs developing.
         2. For example, if a problem causes you to be depressed, then God is telling you that you need to develop joy. If a problem causes you to become angry, then God is telling you that your character needs to develop peace.
      4. God allows trouble in your life in order to develop the Fruit of the Spirit in you.
         1. The Fruit of the Spirit = God's character.
         2. If we would stop complaining about the problem, and focus on our reaction, we would learn where we need to develop the Fruit of the Spirit in our life.
         3. Instead of asking "Why?", we should ask "What?". "What are You trying to teach me, God? What are You telling me that I need to change in my life?"
         4. The sooner we cooperate and change, the sooner God can take away the trouble, be-cause it has done its job.
6. God Also Develops Your Character So You Become More Like Christ Through Temptations
   1. God wants temptations to teach you to obey Him.
      1. Satan means for it to bring you down.
      2. And your sinful nature will want to cooperate with him.
      3. But every temptation is also an opportunity to obey God and become more like Jesus.
   2. Every temptation is a test of whether you love God more or the temptation more.
      1. For example, the temptation to steal money is a test of whether you love money more or God more. The temptation to engage in a sexually immoral relationship is a test of whether you love that person and sex more or God more.
   3. To defeat temptation:
      1. Don't try to resist it.
         1. Your thinking about it only puts it on your mind until you give in to it.
      2. Instead, think of something completely different, from God.
         1. Phil. 4:8 says, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."
      3. Be part of a small group of Christians that you can share your struggles with, who will support you, encourage you, and hold you accountable as you ask them to.
         1. Or else have a prayer partner you can do the same with. See Ecc. 4:9-10.
7. We Can Also Become More Like Christ Through Trespasses Being Committed Against Us
   1. Trespasses teach us to forgive.
      1. When we forgive, we are truly being loving and more like Jesus who forgave completely, even from the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
   2. Forgiving is difficult; it goes against our desire for justice and revenge. To forgive:
      1. Realize that to forgive is not to drop the issue, but to hand it over to God.
         1. If the person is not a Christian, they will have to account for what they did, and without Christ, they will have to pay the penalty for it themselves.
         2. If the person is a Christian, they will be forgiven it, but, then, so will you of everything.
      2. Remember that God has already forgiven you of everything.
         1. He only asks you to pass on what you have already experienced.
         2. "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.", Ephesians 4:32.
      3. Rejoice that the deepest hurt someone has caused you can become your greatest ministry for the Lord.
         1. This happens after we have experienced healing of the hurt.
         2. Part of the healing process, besides giving our pain to God and letting His love flow into us where we were injured, is for us to forgive.

Let us "in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.", Ephesians 4:15