Christ is Our Example

1 Peter 2, and we'll be reading verses 18 through the end of the chapter. Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.

For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?

But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.

He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate. When he suffered, he made no threats.

Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

Well, the snow reminds us that it will soon be Christmas and we will be thinking again of the incarnation of our Savior.

I trust not just in December, but all year long. Of course, we know that the Lord Jesus, the eternal word became flesh in order to save us.

That the incarnation was all about Jesus coming to this earth that he might live and die on behalf of his people and thereby secure our salvation.

But in doing that, after living here for 33 years, when he went back up into heaven after his death and resurrection and ascended to heaven, he left behind an example for us to follow in his steps.

We had it read for us in 1 Peter 2.21. Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.

Tonight we're going to consider the example of Christ. We all know something of the benefit of an example that's set before us. To see someone doing something that we might then imitate them.

I want to give three cautions about the example of Christ. And the first caution is simply this, that following Jesus' example is not the gospel.

Trying to be like Jesus will never save you. How many of you have heard of Charles Sheldon's book, In His Steps?

Anybody? Yeah. I won't ask you how many of you have read it, but you've heard about it. You who have read it know that it's a novel, a very popular novel.

It was first published in 1896, and it sold more than 30 million copies, ranking as one of the best-selling books of all times.

It was written by Charles Monroe Sheldon, an American minister in the congregational churches. And the main character in this book is the Reverend Henry Maxwell, who one Sunday challenged his congregation to do nothing for the next year without first asking the question, what would Jesus do?

So don't do anything without first asking, what would Jesus do? Now, the republication of that book in the 1990s contributed to the whole craze of wearing WWJD bracelets and T-shirts, and it was put on all sorts of marketing schemes.

And we were told to ask that question, what would Jesus do? That's the theme of this story that Sheldon wrote.

And the rest of the book goes on then to show how different individuals' lives were transformed by that challenge. What you may not know is that Charles Sheldon was a leading advocate of the social gospel movement.

A movement within Christian liberalism seeking to bring the kingdom of God to earth through the social reforms and actions of people who imitated Christ.

But here's the critical flaw in his book. Trying to be like Jesus will not save you. It's because we are not like Jesus that we stand condemned by God.

We stand under his wrath. And we need much more than just an example, don't we? We need a redeemer to die on the cross in our place to take our punishment for having not lived like Jesus would.

So the gospel is not try to be like Jesus. Ask what would Jesus do and then imitate him. That's the liberal's gospel though. That is the liberal's gospel.

Jesus is just our example. That's it. And that's all. Even on the cross, they would say. We just read it in verse 21 of 1 Peter 2. Jesus is there dying not to turn God's wrath away from us and burying it himself.

But he's just dying for us as an example. As an example of suffering wrong. As an example of loving your enemies. And we should imitate him.

It's called the moral influence theory of the cross. And that's what the cross was. It was an example that might influence us to morally behave like Jesus did.

But without the clear presentation of the gospel, imitating Christ amounts to nothing more than just another works salvation scheme.

It's not a small thing to leave out the gospel. Yes, Jesus is an example. And we're going to spend the rest of the evening on that example.

But I want to caution you as we begin to not think that being like Jesus is the way to be right with God. No, we need him to be far more than an example to us.

We need him to be a redeemer. A propitiating atonement that would turn God's wrath away from us by burying it in our place. The second caution is that Jesus' example must be informed by God's word.

Asking the question, what would Jesus do, must be governed by scripture. The answer must be governed by scripture. There's far too much, well, I think that Jesus would do this.

Or I think Jesus would do that. And cut loose from the Bible, this may be nothing more than a Jesus of our own imagination. I think that Jesus, if he were in my shoes, would divorce my spouse and run off with this new soulmate that I've met.

I think Jesus would affirm gay marriage. I think Jesus, you see, cut away from scripture, this question could lead us far from Jesus and his word.

That's the second caution. Jesus' example must be informed by God's word. And then the third caution, there are some things we should not imitate about Jesus.

Because you know he was not only man, he was also God. And as God, he accepted the worship of man, didn't he?

When Thomas fell down and said, my Lord and my God. You shouldn't do that. You shouldn't imitate Jesus in that way. He walked on water. You shouldn't imitate him in that way.

Anyway, he was pretty harsh with his tongue at times because he knew what was in a man. And we don't. So there are things about Jesus as God that we are not to imitate.

That's simply the third caution. But all those things having been said, there is a proper biblical teaching on Christ as our example that we simply cannot ignore.

That he has left behind us, for us, an example that we should follow in his steps. And so do the scriptures we're going to go tonight and ask. What is it then about Christ that we're to imitate?

Not at all claiming to be exhaustive and that this is all. But what is it about his example that we are to follow? There are some things that we're very safe in following because the scriptures themselves set it before us.

First of all, turn to 1 John 2 and verses 3 through 6. And I'll read this passage and see if you can just answer that question.

What is it about Christ here and his example that we are to follow? 1 John 2, 3. We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.

The man who says, I know him, but does not do what he commands, is a liar and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him.

This is how we know we are in him. Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. Must walk as Jesus did.

Do you see the example set before us here? In the Lord Jesus. This is how we know we are in him. To be in him is to be united to him like a branch is united to the vine.

That's what it means to be in him. And so that his grace, the sap of his grace is flowing from him to us who are united with him.

His life flows to you. And anyone in him, therefore, will be seen to walk as Jesus walked.

To live as Jesus did. Anyone united to Jesus will therefore follow his example. And the example that is stated in this passage is obeying God's commands.

You saw that. To obey his commands. Jesus obeyed his father's commands. And children, you see it at age 12.

One of the commands of God is children, obey your parents. And at the end of that chapter, Luke 2, we find the Lord Jesus going home as a 12-year-old.

And this is the summary statement of his adolescent years then. It's one of the last things we hear about him until he's 30 years old. And what did he do?

He went home with his father and mother. And were obedient to them. He obeyed his parents. Thereby obeying his father's command.

Children, obey your parents. We see him at age 30 entering into the wilderness and going 40 days and 40 nights without food. And being tempted by the devil to turn the stones into bread.

And we see Jesus each time not wanting to break God's command. Not wanting to disobey his God. So strong is that desire he would rather starve than to break his father's command.

And then on the eve of his crucifixion, we hear him saying to his disciples, the world must know that I love the father and that I do exactly what my father commands.

And so he went to the cross. Obedient unto death. Even the death of the cross. It was the hallmark of Jesus' life.

That he was obedient to his father's commands. To study the life of Jesus is a study in obedience. And what John is saying is that anybody that claims to be united to him, to be in him, must walk as he walked in obedience to his father.

You see, this shouldn't surprise us because the Christ that we're united to loves his God and obeys his God. And if it's his grace that is flowing from him, the vine, into me, the branch, then it shouldn't be surprising to find that all who are in the vine are marked by the same characteristic.

They don't break God's commands. That's not the rule of their life. They follow God's commands. Not perfectly. But when they fall, they confess and they get back up and they repent and they go again.

Because that's the grace that's flowing from Christ, the vine to the branches. They follow Jesus' example of obedience. They walk as he walked.

So we cannot claim to be in him unless we behave like him. That's the first thing we notice. We're to follow Jesus' example of obedience. That's pretty safe, isn't it?

We don't go astray. We stick to that and we ask, what would Jesus do? Well, what did Jesus? Is there a command of God? That's what we're to do in whatever situation it is.

The second part of Jesus' example that we are to follow is found in 1 Peter 2 and verse 21, the passage that was read for us. The context here begins back in verse 18.

So here's a slave and he's got a harsh master. A master who's not good. He's not considerate at all towards his slave. He's abusive.

Nevertheless, the slave is here commanded to submit to his abusive master with all respect. Now that's not an easy command, is it? To submit to an abusive master.

But again, it's the vine that's providing the grace to be able to do what he commands. And his grace enables us to do hard things.

So he's had a day in the fields. He's faithfully served his master another day. But he gets blamed for something he didn't do and he's beaten for it. Well, he's not to fly in the face of his master with anger and sinful speech.

But he's to continue to submit with respect because he's conscious of God. He's conscious of God, the higher authority.

And so he goes on submitting with respect. He bears up under the unjust treatment. Under the abuse that he has wrongfully suffered.

Because that's what pleases God. Did you know that? That when you do right and suffer for it, it's pleasing to God.

And that's what causes this slave to bear up under unjust suffering. Because it's pleasing to God. And because this is what you were called to.

Called to. See that in verse 21? To this you were called. This was a sign to you. Because Christ also suffered for you.

Leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. So Christ's sufferings for us did more than leave us an example. We can see that in verse 24.

That his death for us was burying our sins in his body on the tree. He was paying the price for those sins. His death on the cross did more than leave an example for us.

But it did not do less. It did leave us an example of how to suffer wrongfully. And we should follow in his steps.

So consider his example of unjust suffering. He was innocent of any wrongdoing. As verse 22 says. He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth.

He did nothing wrong. He said nothing wrong. And yet they falsely accused him. They smeared him with lies. They found him guilty in a kangaroo court. They insulted him and then crucified him.

And mocked him some more. The greatest injustice that has ever been suffered. Jesus suffered it. The greatest violation of his rights.

So we look at our bracelet and we say, What would Jesus do when I am mistreated? What would Jesus do?

When somebody says something about me that's not true? When somebody gives me treatment that's not deserved?

Well, first, we can go beyond just asking, What would Jesus do? To what did Jesus do? Can't we in this instance? What did he do?

Well, first we're told what he didn't do. He didn't do what most men do. He did not retaliate, verse 23 says. He made no threats. That's what most men do when they're mistreated. Notice the emphasis upon the self-control of his tongue.

It's what he did not say to those men that were pounding the nails through his hand. You just wait. You're going to get yours. No, he didn't say that.

He did not threaten. There was no getting even. There was no retaliation.

Our flesh is so good at getting back and giving back what we receive. Those words just fall off our tongues, don't they? When someone says something bad to us, it just falls off our tongues to say something hurtful back, to treat them as they have treated us.

But he didn't answer in kind. When cursed, he blessed. When reviled, he answered kindly. Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.

And so Jesus was not overcome by evil, but he overcame evil. He overcame evil with good. He did not retaliate and threaten.

That's the negative he didn't do. But instead, here's what he did do. He entrusted himself to him who judges justly. Verse 23 says. He didn't play the judge himself.

He didn't exact his form of immediate justice. But he said, Father, I am trusting the judgment of these people to you. I'm entrusting my soul to you.

I'm going to believe that you are the one who will settle the matter completely and perfectly. And so he just entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

I'll wait for your judgment. So brothers and sisters, that's the example that's set before us. That's what he left behind for you to imitate.

These are the footprints that we're to step in and we're to walk in as we have our rights violated and suffer unjust treatment from our boss, from our spouse, from our government, from a wicked world, from whomever.

You're asking, what would Jesus do? Should lead you to ask, what did Jesus do? For he's laid down an example for us to follow.

So as harsh words come at you, you look to your example. And you send a gentle answer back that turns away wrath.

Harmful cutting words, ouch, that hurt to hear that. And before you respond, you hold your tongue long enough to consider, what did Jesus do?

And then you give back a kind, respectful answer. You refuse to play God. You refuse to get even. That's his job.

And so like Jesus, you entrust yourself and your cause to him who judges justly, who will repay with perfect justice, and all with a heart that knows that you too need mercy in the day of judgment, even as they do.

So there's his example. There are his footprints. They're very evident for us, aren't they? Now put your feet there. Follow his example.

His example of unjust suffering. And then thirdly, his example of self-sacrificing service to others.

In John chapter 13, we see this so clearly. And Jesus, you remember his last Passover meal with his disciples. It's held in a borrowed upper room, and it was completely furnished with what they needed for this Passover feast.

There was even a pitcher of water, a basin, and a towel lying at the door. The only thing missing was a servant to do the task of the dirty task, the low-down task of washing the dirty feet of the guests.

And so that job didn't get done. As the disciples filed in, they went right to the table, and everybody sat down. And the basin and the water pitcher and the towel just stayed by the door.

It was now time to eat. Food's being served. And the dirty work is still undone. And nobody's about to stoop to do the slave work on the way they were arguing about who was the greatest.

So he got up from the meal. He went over and took off his outer clothing and wrapped a towel around his waist.

Now that's the Lord of glory looking like a common slave. And after that, he poured the water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

And when he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes, returned to his place, and asked them, Do you understand what I have just done to you?

You call me teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your teacher, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Now we don't believe that Jesus' example here should become a third element of the communion service, that we not only break the bread and partake and drink the juice, but that we also wash one another's feet.

Some people do that, thinking that that's what they ought to do to follow this example. I say we don't believe that to be the case, but rather we do believe that it means that we must find all sorts of ways to follow Jesus' example in our day, in our culture, in our dealings with one another.

Jesus' example meets us right here, in our day, teaching us to spot the needs of others, to develop an eye for needs in the body of Christ, and then not to wait for somebody else to do something about it, but to jump in ourself and to do the needful task.

Jesus' teaching example teaches us that instead of competing over who's the greatest, we ought to be seeking to be the first one to serve, the first one to get down and do the dirty work.

Indeed, Jesus said, if you want to be great in God's kingdom, learn to be the servant of all. And so Jesus' example will not allow us to think of any task as being beneath us.

I could do that, but that's beneath me. There can't be anything beneath us when the Lord of glory is down on his knees, dressed like a slave and doing the work of a slave.

The thankless task, the thing that nobody else sees and praises, nobody else wants to do, but it needs to be done. That's what Jesus did.

And that's the example. I've set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. It may be getting on your knees not to wash the feet of your brother or sister, but to pray for your brother or sister.

Hard work. Hard work. And maybe serving them by visiting them, praying with them, encouraging them, taking a meal, giving some money, some time.

There are many things to be done if only we'll have the heart to follow Jesus' example here. And it's in giving that we receive, in refreshing others that we are refreshed, in serving others that we are blessed, even as our Lord finishes in verse 17 of John 13.

Now that you know these things, you will be blessed in the doing of them. Could I challenge you tonight, as that pastor in the novel challenged his congregation, that before you pillow your head tonight, write down the name of someone that you intend to serve by his grace this week.

Following his example. And then keep your eyes open for all sorts of service opportunities. And before you dismiss it, saying, I'm too busy.

Somebody else must do this. Pause long enough to ask, what did Jesus do? And go and do likewise. What Jesus did in John 13 was just, was also something of a picture of a greater service that he was going to do for his disciples.

He was going to do more than wash their feet. He was going to wash their hearts and the record in heaven from sin. By dying on the cross from them, he was going to cleanse them with his own blood.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. And not just washing feet, but by giving his life, laying down his life as a ransom for many.

It was by serving us that he saved us. And his ultimate service accomplished our salvation. But it also left some footprints behind that we are to walk in as well.

And that brings us to the fourth example that Christ has given us. And it's his example of a life of love. Obviously, it overlaps with service because service is an expression of love.

But there are passages that set before us the example of Jesus' life of love as something that we are to emulate. Notice how the Apostle John would urge us to love one another in 1 John 3.

1 John 3, verses 11 and 12. He begins this section on loving one another.

And how would he stir us up to love one another? Verse 11.

This is the message you heard from the beginning. We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, but instead be like Christ.

So don't follow Cain's example, but rather follow Christ's example. He picks up on Christ's example down in verse 16. He talks more about Cain and his hatred, but follow Christ's example of love in verse 16.

This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. Do you see?

When Jesus laid down his life for us, he was purchasing our salvation. It was nothing less than him receiving the punishment that we would have received for all eternity.

That obviously is important, but it is not so important that it takes away the example of how we are to minister to each other.

Yes, it's the greatest example of love. We don't even know what love is except by this, that Jesus laid down his life for us on the cross. But it's like in the same breath, John says to us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

So his laying down his life is an example to us. Besides purchasing our redemption, it's leaving an example for us that we should do towards our brethren.

As Paul Tripp says, it was cruciform love that's shaped around the cross. That's the way we love each other, where we die to self in order to serve one another's good.

We die to our desires, our self-interest, our things in order to enrich others. And he goes on and explains that example of Jesus laying down his life, his great love for others in verse 17 and 18.

Here's the example that we're to follow in. So that if anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Jesus didn't love people in a way that didn't cost him anything. It cost him his very life and so it's going to cost you something too.

Maybe material possessions, maybe money, maybe food, maybe things, maybe time. Maybe laying down a very part of your lives in order to enrich others.

It took part of your life to earn that money that you share. It took part of your life to prepare that meal. It took part of your life to buy that food, to give your time.

You're laying down your life and that is exactly the way that Jesus loved us. He gave his life. He laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

So lay it down, brother and sister, following Christ's example of love. These are the footprints left in the sand by our Savior.

Turn over to Ephesians chapter 5 where the Apostle Paul says to the church at Ephesus in verses 1 and 2, Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Live a life of love. Okay, I want to live a life of love. How should I live a life of love? Well, just as Jesus did. In other words, follow his example. Just as he loved us and gave himself up.

Go and do likewise. You can't follow his example of love without it costing you, without giving yourself. That's what his example requires and that's what it means to walk in these steps and to follow his example.

You remember the same thing's true in Philippians. Paul is there exhorting another church, the church at Philippi, Philippians 2, verses 3 and 4, to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

And each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. And if you think that's costing you too dearly, then before you shut down in self-protective living and just live and be and do for you, first consider the example that Christ left for you.

Verse 5, your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped and held on to, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient.

to death, even death on a cross, let that mind be in you which was also in Christ. You see the example motif. Follow his example in putting others' interests above your own, seeking their good at the cost of yourself.

In John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35, our Lord sets before us his own love as the example we are to follow with each other.

A new commandment I give you, love one another. There's nothing new about that, but there is something new about what follows. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

There's the unique, distinctive supernaturalness of love. It's Christ's love, the way he loved us. It's beyond our ability. But because we are in Christ, his own love is made manifest in us.

And that's why when we love each other in this way, it reflects so well upon our Savior. Because by this, all men will know that you are my disciples. Because you have love for one another.

And when they see that kind of love, they'll say, something about their life reminds me of him and his love for us.

I wonder if anyone would think of writing on your gravestone, she lived a life of love. Well, that's the example we're to follow, isn't it?

The life we're to imitate, a life of love just as Christ loved us. And how do we live our life? One day at a time. And that means if we live a life of love, then this sort of love needs to tincture all our days.

This day, tomorrow, and every day after that. We sing that song, that every departing day henceforth may cease. Some work of love begun, some deed of kindness done, some wanderer sought and won something for thee.

The example of Christ, of living a life of love. And lastly, his example of a self-denying pursuit of the lost. Pursuing their salvation.

You find it in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Paul speaks of the believer's freedom to eat food that is sacrificed to idols. Since idols are nothing, he says, and the earth is the Lord's and everything in it is to be received with thanksgiving, therefore you are free to eat this meat that was offered to idols.

And yet, if you're eating such food would cause someone to stumble or would hinder them from coming to Christ, don't eat it. Just don't eat it. Sacrifice the expression of your Christian freedom and refrain from eating.

There are more important things than eating. And eating what we like, namely the glory of God and the salvation of sinners. So, 1 Corinthians 10.31, that's the context of this passage.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, you see it's in the context of setting aside your liberties about what you eat or drink or whatever you do. Setting them aside.

Because you want to see people saved. Notice he says, so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the church of God, even as I try to please everybody in every way, for I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ. And so Paul says, if eating meat will cause someone to stumble, maybe hinder them from coming to Christ, I will never eat a pork sandwich again in my life.

You say, what? That I should control the expression of my freedom and give up my freedom for the sake of another?

Paul says, that's what I'm doing. And I want you to follow my example because I'm following the example of Christ. Is changing your diet just so others might be saved a bit extreme?

Not at all when you consider what's at stake, the glory of God and the salvation, the eternal salvation of just one sinner. Anybody going to complain in heaven?

Oh, I sure lived a bummer life. I didn't eat pork. But she's here with me. He's here enjoying the glories of heaven.

Nobody's going to regret that. Follow my example, Paul says, even as I am following the example of Christ. Think of Jesus' freedom set aside.

All for the greater good of God's glory and the salvation of sinners. He laid aside the glories of heaven, the rights he had to stay in heaven and enjoy all that was there that was rightfully his.

And yet, he laid it aside, didn't he? Willingly, lovingly, in the pursuit, the zealous pursuit of our salvation. Are you sacrificing anything to see sinners saved?

Say, don't I have the right to have every evening at home with my family, sitting in front of the TV? Well, you might. You might. But maybe if you got out and met a sinner and studied the Bible or did something to seek to reach another, God would use it in their salvation.

This is the example Christ laid down for us. Paul was putting his feet in Jesus' footprints. What are we doing for the salvation of others?

The example of Jesus simply will now allow us to be indifferent toward the lost. He came to seek and to save sinners at the great cost to himself. Follow his example. The apostle is urging us.

I don't need to spend any time on point number six. Charlie reviewed it from Hebrews 12. But we see that Jesus is the greatest example of faith.

After coming through Hebrews 11 and all the examples of faith, we come to chapter 12 and we see the ultimate example of faith. For the joy set before him, that's faith.

All he could see was nothing but pain and suffering and sorrow, but there was joy set before him that he saw by faith. And so he persevered all the way, enduring the cross at shame until he was done.

There's our example. The greatest example of faith. Walk in his steps. There are many other places in the Gospels where his life leaves behind a trail of footprints of examples for us.

His prayer habits of regular time alone with his father. His careful regard for the Lord's day. His custom to be in the synagogue on the Sabbath day.

His way of dealing with people. You get a read in the Gospels how Jesus deals with people. Follow his example, his tenderness, his wisdom. Wise serpent, harmless as a dove.

So in Scripture, the example of Christ is set before us not as a way to be saved, but as a way to glorify him, a way to live the way we were meant to live.

There's the perfect man. Emulate him. How will I do that? By being in Christ, by trusting him as my Lord and Savior, having his grace flowing through me, enabling me to love, to seek the salvation of the lost, to sacrifice something that's mine for the good of another brother or sister, to obey the commands of Jesus.

Asking each day and in each situation, what would Jesus do? Or even better, what did Jesus do? And then going and doing likewise by his grace and for his glory.

Make it your daily aim. Make it your daily goal. Why do I live today? I want to be like Jesus. Be like Jesus, this my song.

In the home and in the throng. Be like Jesus all day long. I would be like Jesus. You know, that's where God's taking us. He's predestined us to be conformed to the image of his son.

That he might be the firstborn of many brothers. He wants a whole family that looks like his son. And he'll have it one day. He's predestined it. So get busy seeking to be like Jesus.

For just as we have born the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. Make that your daily prayer. Because we need more than an example set before us.

We need that grace and power of Christ to live as he lived. So look to him for his grace and find your joy in bearing his likeness.

His call to his disciples after all is follow me. Isn't it? Follow me. Well, let's make that our prayer even as we sing our closing song from the overhead.

Stand with me as we sing that the mind of Christ might be in us from day to day. And let's make this our prayer to our Father in heaven.

Amen. . Thank you.