CONFORMED TO HIS IMAGE

                                       CONFORMED TO HIS IMAGE

"For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers." Romans 8:29

  As children of God, we want to be like Jesus, and our Heavenly Father's intention is to conform us into His image, but we must realize that that is solely the handiwork of God Himself, and not of our doing. Yes, we actually have a part and responsibility; we yield, and we follow. There is only one Lord Jesus Christ, so it is not so much us trying to be like Him, but rather us allowing His nature to shine through us, praise His Holy Name! He will never force us. We have no supernatural ability to grow from an infant into an adult; it is already in our created makeup, but to grow into a healthy adult, we need to eat properly, get the appropriate rest and exercise, and maintain proper hygiene. The actual growth is otherwise spontaneous, and so it is in Jesus.

"YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN"

  First and most important of all, Jesus said, "...you must be born again." John 3:7. Outside of Christ, we are "...dead in our trespasses and sin." Ephesians 2:1. In that state, we are in no way ready, let alone able, to be conformed into the image of Christ. Like having our own DNA, which is the blueprint and seed of the being we will develop into, Jesus must be in us before all else, because it is nothing of us and all of Him. We are Born Again when we believe and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that He died for our sins and rose from the dead three days later (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Therefore, God sends forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, "crying, 'Abba, Father!" Galatians 4:6. As you can see, with Christ in us, we have all that is needed to be like Him; however, for us to be conformed to His image, we need His Spirit, character, and nature to come forth in and through us. Have you been Born Again? Have you given your life to Jesus Christ? For this position of faith, the next constant obstacle is our flesh, "For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." Galatians 5:17, 16

OPEN FACE

 " And we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18

  From this passage of Scripture, Paul is making reference to the veil that Moses put over his face to conceal the glory of God that was reflecting off of him after he came down from the mount. That veil is an obstacle between Christ and us. With an open face as we behold Him, nothing obstructing, we are transformed into His image "from glory to glory," by His Spirit.

  For us to have unhindered growth in Christ, and for Him to easily shine forth in us, there is to be nothing in our lives closed off to Him. He must be the Center of our lives and of all our love and affections, and have full access to every nook and deepest corner of our lives. When Jesus is not the Source of our energy and expressions of faith and love, we become religious and superficial. In one instance, while I was living in the church, the Lord sent along this troubled fellow. He needed help for sure, but my heart was not open to him. To me, he was a burden to my comfortable life. Nevertheless, dutifully I did all the right things, but he wasn't responding and was closed to our presentation of the Gospel and our help. I finally asked him, "Why don't you respond? We are doing everything we can to help." He simply answered, "Because it is forced."

 Pardon me, but I am going to refer to an old secular song by Simon and Garfunclel, "I AM A ROCK." The song is about hardening oneself and keeping oneself isolated, not letting anyone in, so as not to be hurt. We can easily give in to that, and perhaps most of us had at one time, but in Christ, hopefully no longer. Whether deliberately or unwittingly, we set up barriers in our hearts, believing they will protect us from hurts. Often, we are unaware of the barriers, at least some of them, let alone how to remove them. Leave that to the Lord. He gently and lovingly can and will exchange them for His grace and love. All we need to do is surrender to Him and trust Him; otherwise, we will be enslaved to our fears and inhibitions, or selfish inclinations, and crippled in our service to Him.

  As a new Christian and a young man, I was zealously trying to follow Jesus. One day, the Lord said to me, "Open up, or I can't use you." A little while later, one of the ladies in the church told us that the Lord had told her to open up, or He can't use her. That confirmation made it clear to me. The deepest part of my heart was closed and shielded. That is where I felt most vulnerable and, therefore, what I diligently guarded. I did not realize that I had built up walls in me so as not to be vulnerable or hurt. It is in the tender and most vulnerable parts of our lives that Jesus works in and through us. If you want Jesus to shine forth in your life, He must have full access to the deepest parts of your life, your heart, and all that pertains to it. As I said, He won't force His way in; however, when He has been given unrestricted access, and we have entrusted HIM with all our cares, fears, and insecurities, we can say as David said, "I love the Lord my Strength. The Lord is my rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my Strength, in whom I will trust; my Buckler, and the Horn of my salvation, and my High Tower."  Psalm 18:1-2. Paul expressed it like this, "For this cause (the Gospel) I also suffer these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed, for I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day." 2 Timothy 1:12

WE MUST BE BROKEN

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Psalm51:17

 For Christ to come forth in us, those hard shells of attitudes, insecurities and fears, pride, coveteousness, and whatnot must be broken. Watchman Nee said that God uses natural circumstances to break through the hard shells of our lives. "And not only this, but we also exalt in tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5 NAS

 "For You, O God, has proved us: You have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid affliction upon our loins. You have caused men to ride over our heads. We went through fire and water, but You brought us out into a wealthy place. Psalm 66:10-12

  Regardless of how hard we try, we are unable to orchestrate the changes that are needed to purge those restrictive or unhealthy areas in our lives. That is something our Heavenly Father alone can do. When we are aware of a sin or unChristlike behavior, we repent and surrender with all our heart, and yield to His Word and Holy Spirit; however, without our conscious effort, our Loving Heavenly Father orchestrates situations that produce the results He is looking for. One of the best examples of this is Peter's denial of Jesus. Notice that he, in his heart and mind, was completely yielded to the Lord, but like all of us, there was something in him that he was not only unaware of but completely unable to do on his own. "And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not. And when you are converted, strengthen your brethren.'" Luke 22:31 After Peter was broken and converted, a new and powerful fragrance of Christ came forth through his life; and what is more, that which was his desire became his ability and reality - to follow Jesus to the end! Are we any different or less needy of God working in us that which we cannot accomplish in ourselves? Remember, after his devastating failure, he had the faith to turn back and thus became the Peter we all admire. By the way, that is one reason why it is so important for us to also pray for one another. Perhaps those situations or tasks we want to avoid are the very things we need to face for our prayer to follow Jesus with all our hearts to be answered. It is called taking up our cross of following Him ("...If anyone wishes to come afterMe, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."). The resurrection follows the cross. Does not that hardened shell of self-will, self-ability, self-pleasing, pride, fears, and inhibitions need to be broken for Christ to come forth in us, since we of ourselves cannot break them? He always does such a perfect job.

  BECOMING A DISCIPLE

   What God is looking for in us is not just a one-time or occasional display of "Christ in us, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27, but an ever-increasing spontaneous, daily expression of Christ in our lives. When Jesus is in our hearts, there are definitely occasions when any of us can say, "Wow, that was not me! I know it was the Lord using me." Awesome displays of the power of God are not really what I am referring to here, but having more of the fruit of the Spirit, "...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..." Galatians 5:22-23. These are the things that not only bring blessing to us and others, but also greatly reveal the character and nature of Christ and our Loving Heavenly Father. They leave a lasting impact and testimony in the hearts and minds of those whom we touch, as well as push back the powers of darkness. Now, I in no way intend to minimize the value and importance of Jesus performing signs and wonders through us, but the genuine fruit of the Spirit is also a testimony of His signs and wonders, especially if obtained by a consistent and enduring lifestyle. Not only is our Heavenly Father watching you, but also the people who know you are, and sometimes those whom you are not aware of. This world is in desperate need of hope, and seeing Christ in us and despite us is a huge display of hope.

"...NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE BE DONE." Luke 22:42

  How do we enter into what is required in us? Of course, we start with our faith by taking up our cross and following Jesus. How do we follow Jesus? "How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to your Word?" Psalm 119:9 We start off with this understanding, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9. When I became a Christian and read the Bible for the first time, two distinct thoughts hit me. I was not living anything like the Lord wants me to live. And, my society is not living anything like God wants us to live. I knew right then I needed to start to reform my thinking and ways to be more like His. That is an unending journey. I needed not only to read the Bible, but to put it into practice: "But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only..." James 1:22. The first step was to attach myself to a local church fellowship, get under some good Bible teaching, and become a disciple. We are not just individuals unto ourselves, but members of the Body of Christ. "He takes the solitary and puts them in families." Psalm 68:6. "But now has God set the members every one of them in the body, as it has pleased Him." 1 Corinthians 12:18. 

 Next, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we need to seal our covenant with God through baptism. Then we should expect to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 3:13-17,Colossians 2:11-12, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:1-4, 37-38.

  From there, we enter into the day-to-day disciplined life of a follower of Jesus. What I mean by this is that we must implement all the teachings and training of Christ into our daily lives, whatever that may entail. I have said this before, we become the hands, feet, and voice for Jesus in our day-to-day lives, in every activity, no matter how unrelated they may seem. This is the new reality, "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20. By our obedience to the faith, His Holy Spirit in us is free to express Himself through us.

CRITICAL EXERCISES OF FAITH

 PRAYER- "Pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17.  Dear friends, what we mustn't forget is that through Jesus we enter a new and everlasting relationship with our God, the Creator of the Universe, Who, in Christ, is actually our Father. As in any relationship, to grow and remain strong, we need to spend deliberate time with God. The whole reason for Jesus' life, death, and resurrection was to be reunited with God. When we talk of prayer, yes, it is a time to present our petitions and requests, but Oh how it must be far, far more than that. It must be a living communion with Him. He is so close that He dwells in us by His Spirit! Make sure your times with the Lord are more than issuing requests. Commune with Him in love! Enjoy His company and make prayer a lifestyle.

WORSHIP - "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve." Luke 4:8 Wholehearted expressions of worship to the Lord not only glorify Him, but whelm our entire being in His presence. Along with so many other benefits, it is a bonding expression that helps seal our intimate relationship with Him, and gives us a taste of what Moses experienced on the Mount.

FELLOWSHIP - "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from Whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of evey part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Ephesians 4:15-16. Fellowship with God's people is a critical part of our growth in Christ! An important indication of our walk with Jesus is the spontaneity of our fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We all have the same faith, the same Holy Spirit, and are a part of His body. As in a family, while the siblings interact, they should grow and develop into more rounded human beings; how much more so as we fellowship in the love of Christ. Yes, there are conflicts and hard-to-resolve issues at times, but He has, through His Word and Holy Spirit, given us all the tools needed for each one to come forth reflecting His image.  

WE MUST BE FREE "Stand fast in the liberity wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Galatians 5:1 

A sure way for us to stifle the Spirit of Christ in us is to allow our faith to be bound up by rules, regulations, traditions, and commandments of men. The Gospel of Christ has freed us from the slavery of our religions and traditions so that we can serve the Lord with joy and love. I am not in any way advocating lawlessness, but as John Wesley said, "Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can."  Let's let the love of Jesus shine forth in our lives.

STRIVE TO BE UPRIGHT AT ALL TIMES - "Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait on thee." Psalm 25:21 A sure way to sabotage our life of faith is to allow unrighteous thoughts, desires, and motives to lodge in our hearts and minds. "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23 

BE EVER READY TO ALLOW FOR CHANGE - "Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God." Psalm 55:19. We can get set in our ways and feel that some of our behavior or reactions are acceptable. If we find ourselves justifying ourselves, especially regularly, we must return to the fear of the Lord and examine ourselves afresh before Him. Is that the way Jesus would behave or react? Let us be diligent to humble ourselves before the Lord and others, and not let our ways be a stumbling block to others. "Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, that I might not cause my brother to stumble."NAS "Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of God: even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." 1 Corinthians 8:13, 10:32-33

WALKING IN LOVE - "Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love." Ephesians 5:1-2, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." John 3:16, "The goal of this command is LOVE, that comes from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and a sincere faith."            1 Timothy 1:5 NIV, "And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. GOD IS LOVE; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16 When we are walking in the love of Christ, He is shining through us. How wonderful is that!

CONCLUSION - May Jesus shine forth in our lives, and let Him have His way with fear and trembling. Let us stay close to Him and forsake anything in our hearts that gets between Him and us. He loves us so much!