Becoming more like Christ

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Well, glory.

Amen.

Jesus is what?

Awesome! He always is, always will be awesome.

Well, I could tell you, but I don't want to take up any more time of my preaching.

So I want you to turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 3.

2 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

And we're gonna be looking at today.

A lot of you have been wondering, and thank you for many of you that follow uh your own Facebook with me uh every Saturday morning, anywhere between eight and nine o'clock, most of the time.

Uh I do the word for the week.

And if you're not uh a friend, befriend me and join us every Saturday morning.

Uh from like I said, usually I try to get in there close to eight as I can or no later than nine, but sometimes I'm out ministering, and uh so if I'm doing that, a lot of times I'll take you, I'll do it right wherever I'm ministering and kind of let you be a part of that as well.

But anyway, it's going great.

Keep praying.

Hopefully, we can be moving into the chalet that God's allowing us to build to minister to pastors.

Hopefully, in March.

We have been pushing hard.

Can we?

Hey, give God a clap offering for that.

Amen.

I have been busy.

Uh somebody said, Well, how did how do you like retirement?

I said, retirement?

What's that?

Uh I'm more busy now than I've ever been, but it's been great to be praying in a couple of weeks.

I'll be in Florida at a big Christian school, opening their new year with a revival in the church at Morningside.

So uh God's beginning to open the doors now.

I'm letting people know that uh we're we can come and will come some.

I'm not gonna, I'm gonna be doing a lot of ministry on campus, though, so that's part of my goal.

But when Rick asked me to preach about a, I guess, a month ago, I said, sure.

And then I started asking the Lord what he wanted me to preach, and I never could get an answer.

So eventually then God said, I've given you the answer.

You've had it for weeks.

I want you to preach what I've laid on your heart for you for 23.

I mean, I mean, I was digging, I told Susan, I've been just eager.

God just grabbed my heart because it's been a transition for us this year, and still is a transition, but we're having a ball doing it.

God's blessing in unbelievable ways.

He's providing stuff unbelievably.

He's answering prayers, I pray, and he answers it the next week.

It's been awesome to see how he's been working on this project that we're doing so that we can minister to pastors.

It's just been phenomenal.

Got a lot of concern.

Got some churches now too helping support it.

So that's been exciting.

But what I wanted to say today is you've got a goal.

If you don't have a goal right now, you're already backslidden.

If you don't have a goal for 23, today's the first, you're backslidden.

Everybody has a goal.

How many of us have a goal to lose some weight this year?

Five of us?

Oh my goodness.

Hey, some of you need to get on board.

I'm not the pastor.

I can say that now.

But no, I'm but hey, hey, we all have goals.

My goal is the same goal I've had every year, but other goals is to get off sugar as much as I can.

Susan said it's not happening for two reasons.

I get so grouchy she doesn't want to be around me.

That's part of it.

But let me tell you what God's laid on my heart for me this year.

Here's my goal.

2 Corinthians 3, verse 18.

2 Corinthians 3:18

I want you to read with me.

Well, not read with me, but follow me.

And then I want you to also be ready to go.

We're going to spend a good bit of time in Ephesians 4 this morning.

2 Corinthians 3, 18.

But we all, that's the body of Christ, with open face.

That means we are unveiling ourselves.

In other words, we're opening our hearts.

We're opening ourselves, hey, to the Lord, to the truth that God's about to teach us.

And he says, Paul says, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord.

And now that glass means a mirror.

As you and I are standing before a mirror, we are looking at our reflection.

And here's what we're seeing.

We're seeing how much we look like Jesus.

That's the whole context of this verse.

And he says, because you're gonna, if you're honest with yourself, you're gonna look and you're gonna know how much you are like Jesus or how much you're unlike Jesus.

And the whole purpose of this reflection is the next phrase: are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

In other words, in 23, your goal should be, and by the way, if you're taking notes, go to the app.

The app's up there, and uh we'll see the title of the message, is from this verse, Becoming More Like Christ.

Now that's an easy cliche.

That's all our goal.

If somebody says, Oh, that's my goal, I want to be like Christ.

Okay, well, how are you gonna do that?

I want to bring one of the most practical lessons you'll ever hear.

And this is one of those you'll put a little store by and go back and listen to it about every at least two months or every quarter and see how much of the principles that God's teaching us this morning you're applying in your life.

Because we're gonna look at how we are conformed into the image of Christ.

We're gonna look at how we become more like Christ.

Becoming more Christ-like doesn't mean that you lose your individuality.

Not at all.

In fact, God created the characteristics that make you unique.

Can I get an amen?

Hey, not an o-me, but an amen.

Somebody said, Well, I don't like what I am.

Well, you better like what you are because God likes you.

God, hey, the Bible says in Psalms 139, verse 14, that God created you.

Psalms 139:14

Not only in Genesis in his image, but you are fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are his works.

Can I get an amen?

Folks, God likes you.

Turn to your neighbor and say, God likes me.

Hey, God likes you.

I got good news.

He likes you a lot.

So, hey, what we're seeing in becoming more like Christ is that, hey, Christ's likeness is about, and I want to give you three things under this first point, in the first point, if you're taking notes, becoming more like Christ is number one, transforming.

It's transformation.

Amen.

In fact, what we see right here in this transformation, God is transforming your character, not your personality.

Let me repeat that.

That's very important.

See, a lot of people think you're going to change your personality.

Let me tell you, I was crazy before I got saved.

Amen.

And getting saved didn't make me less crazy.

Actually, it made me more fanatical.

I was, hey, I was crazy trying to figure out what the answer was, and then when I found the answer, woo-hoo-hoo! Yeah, hallelujah.

Now I know what's real.

And I'm not ashamed of it.

Jesus is awesome everywhere I go.

It's unreal how we're getting to minister to people, especially on a pickleball court.

You'd be amazed.

But what I'm saying is, he's interested in transforming your life.

And he's interested in transforming it from the inside out.

And that's what we're going to be talking about, this transformation.

In fact, Paul in Ephesians 4, and we'll get there in a minute, he talks about putting, and in fact, when Rick was talking this morning, I said, I thank you, Lord.

You told me this is what I should have been preaching all along.

Putting on, hey, putting off the old man and putting on the new man.

You say, Well, what is that?

We're going to see.

We're going to look at it.

It's going to be awesome.

But right here, we see what he tells us right here.

That God wants to rey to transform us from the inside out.

And he does that, and I love this by one, transformation, but secondly, by growth in the midst of adversity.

Growth in the midst of adversity.

Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

2 Timothy 2.3 and 2 Timothy 3.12.

And then he says, Count it not strange.

Listen, concerning the fiery trials.

Why couldn't he have just said trials?

Why have they got to be fiery?

I mean, I can take a little bit of trial, but why do I have to be on fire?

I mean, just ripping it and snorting it.

My goodness, Lord, can't you just ease me into it?

No.

No.

We're just going to throw you in the fire.

In fact, that's what I was going to preach, the fiery furnace this morning.

But we see that he says, think it not strange concerning the fiery trials, that something's strange, but they're here for a purpose, and that purpose is to transform you.

To transform me.

When you take a piece of iron or gold, you throw it in a fiery furnace.

What?

To burn off all the dross, to burn off all the impurities.

So we see that it's growth in the midst of adversity.

It really is.

And then the third thing we see, Paul's talking about, and boy, this is good.

You say, well, Pastor, okay, okay.

But how does this really happen in real life?

How does this transformation really happen in real life?

You know how it happens?

It happens through your choices.

My choices.

Your choices.

Which brings me to that third point.

It's transformation.

Hey.

It's I'm talking about transformation in adversity.

But the key is what Darren just said: obedience.

Obedience.

If you're willing and obedient, now watch, you shall eat the good of the lamb, but if you refuse and rebel, you should be devoured by the sword.

Isaiah 1, 19 and 20.

So it's very important that we understand that.

Amen?

It really is.

God wants to transform us.

How does he do it?

He does it.

Hey, through growth in the midst of adversity, and the key to how that happens, and by the way, it's being obedient.

And once you are obedient, you know what happens when you're obedient and you do what God tells you to do?

You ready for this?

Hey, it opens the door for his power.

His word is with power.

It opens the door for his love.

Hey, it opens the door for his protection.

It opens the door for his wisdom.

So it's so important that you understand that.

What did Jesus say?

If you love me, what?

And what did he say in John 8?

If you know the truth, the truth shall what?

Set you free.

And then verse 36 says, and if you are set free, you're free indeed.

I don't know about you, but I'd like to be set free from all the bondage and all the sin that this world's trying to pour it on us, pile on us to detour us from being like Christ.

Boy, I know I fight it every day.

So we see transforming our character comes through growth in the midst of adversity, and the key is obedience.

Obedience.

It opens God's power.

And by the way, God waits for you to act on his instructions.

You want his power?

Can I get an amen?

You want his love?

You want his faith.

Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word.

You want his, hey, you want his power?

Yes, you do.

Well, you've got to be obedient.

Remember Israel?

When they came up to the river Jordan, it was in flood season?

And he says, Are you going to cross over?

They said, but Lord, it's at the highest flood season of the year.

It we'll drown.

He said, No, no, no, you got to trust me.

Well, you know what?

I'm sure I would have said, well, if you allure the water like you did at the Red Sea, we'll cross it.

Hey, uh uh.

That's hey, the Old Testament, hey, hey, hey, Moses is, hey, Israelis faith is not gonna help your faith.

It's not gonna help my faith.

He says, you gotta step out.

And he says, step out.

And when they stepped into the water, step into the water.

Yeah.

And when you do that, guess what happened?

The water parted.

The Jordan River parted.

But they had to be obedient.

When Naaman wanted to get healed, he said, you gotta go dip yourself seven times in the dirty Jordan River.

I'm not gonna do that.

Well, you won't get healed.

But after he dipped his, finally lowered his pride and did it, with that little servant girl was giving him the truth from God, and he dipped his self the seventh time and came out, his leprosy was healed.

But he had to be obedient first.

You with me?

Say, I'm with you, preacher.

You gotta be obedient.

That's the only way it's gonna work, folks.

The book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that's written therein.

Then shall I make thy way prosperous?

And then shall you have good success.

Now let me ask something.

I hope you're a little better on this answer than you were on gold at the beginning.

How many of you want to be prosperous and successful?

My goodness, some of you, are you alive?

This is a new year.

Pastor, you've been telling them, let's go.

We just today, this morning, we're hitting the reset button.

Amen.

So becoming more Christ-like is through transforming your character.

It's growth in the midst of adversity and it's obedience to God unconditionally.

Woo! Write that down.

It's obedience unconditionally.

You got to do it his way, not your way.

Can I get an amen?

Say this with me, church.

His way, not my way.

I've tried to, have you ever tried to bargain with God?

Huh?

Have you ever tried to bargain?

How many of you tried to bargain with God?

And if y'all don't see every hand, I'm preaching on line.

Hey, by the way, I'll go ahead and tell you, line lips are abomination unto God.

They will not go unpunished.

Get those hands up.

Oh.

And this is good.

The second thing I want to look at this morning.

What we must do to become more Christ-like.

Ephesians 4.

Go there.

Woo-hoo-hoo! Oh, this is gonna hurt.

Paul in Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

Spiritual growth, when we look at spiritual growth, could be compared to a seed being planted in the ground.

It could be compared to a building or a child.

Each requires some participation.

When planting seeds, we must water, fertilize, and protect.

When we build a building and lay the foundation and build it, then we have to what?

Do maintenance on that building.

And then with a child, we know that we have to what?

Educate them.

We have to ready?

Discipline them.

That's a lost art today.

We have to teach them how to work.

That's another lost art.

Have you seen it everywhere I go?

Help want it, hell born in, hell born.

Everybody I talk to, all these people, one of the reasons I've had trouble with building our this chalet is people don't want to work.

Say this with me, church.

No, look to your neighbor and say, work is good.

God said you're gonna work six days and on the seventh rest.

Some of you like working one day and resting six.

And on that fifth day you work, you like breaks.

Alright, now I'm meddling.

Let me go.

Look at what he says.

Verse 22.

Here it is.

There's three things here we're gonna look at.

First of all, we have to decide.

We have to decide something.

Verse 22, that ye put off concerning the former conversation.

At word, if that's the King James, you've got another one that probably says behavior or conduct.

I like the word conduct because I'm using three C's.

Conduct.

You gotta put off the bad conduct.

You gotta put off that conduct that you've been living in the past before you got saved.

Are you with me?

I didn't hear amen on that.

That means so be it.

You with me now?

Because this is important.

So he says, we gotta put on a new conduct.

It's gotta be different.

It's gotta be different.

Every area of the past, we changed.

Rick quoted it.

New creation, old things have passed away.

Behold, all things become new.

Let me tell you something.

If you claim to get saved and a month later you back cussing and drinking and going everywhere you were going before you got saved, I'm gonna tell you something.

You didn't get saved.

You just had an emotional.

Emotional decision.

And that's okay.

A lot of supposedly salvations are emotional.

They're not real.

You say, now wait, how can you prove that?

Well, I'll just tell you what scripture says.

Jesus Himself said, You shall know them by the fruits that they bear.

I'm not judging your salvation.

I'm just inspecting fruit.

I'm a fruit inspector.

Hello.

Doesn't take me long to be around people.

And I meant let me tell you what God's.

God has thrown me into a group of people that they have no clue what salvation is.

I'm having a ball.

They think I'm crazy.

Because I Jesus is awesome.

Do you know Jesus?

He's also fishing.

I go through and I share.

They just look at me like I'm crazy.

And then all of a sudden they say, hey, Pastor, can I talk to you for a minute?

But listen to me, folks.

When you get saved and you really get the real thing, you change.

You're not the same man or woman you used to be.

This lovey-dovey, easy believism.

Folks, Jesus says, if any man come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Let me tell you what we need in America.

We need some genuine, real Christianity.

So watch what he says.

Not only the conduct, but then notice what he says in that same verse.

The old man.

You got to put off that old filthy man.

Did you know there's nothing good about us?

All my righteousness, say it with me, you know it, is as filthy rags.

There's none righteous, no, not one.

There's none that understands, there's none that seeketh after God.

So, ladies and gentlemen, let us realize something.

We were not worthy of salvation, but because of God's love, hallelujah, in his grace, we've been born again.

We become a child of the king.

A new creation.

The old man.

And by the way, it's a daily dying.

I wish it was a once and for all sanctification, but sanctification is a process.

You with me?

Oh boy, this is oh, this truth.

Look at it.

So what we're seeing right here, effort, by the way, effort has nothing to do with salvation.

You with me?

I'm gonna give you a little theology real quick.

Hey, it has nothing to do with salvation.

But let me tell you, effort has everything to do with spiritual growth and sanctification.

It doesn't happen automatically.

Don't you wish it would?

Some denominations and the good people believe that you can come to this altar and they call it praying through.

And you pray through to supposedly you're sanctified.

And when you get up, you don't, you're really not gonna sin anymore.

I don't know about you, but I wish that was true.

I'd be right now praying to my heart's content.

I'd be praying and asking the Lord, am I through?

Am I through yet?

Am I through yet?

And I wouldn't get an answer.

You know what he'd say?

You ain't home yet.

Oh, y'all missed that.

Oh, did I did I mess that up that bad?

You're not home yet.

Because we're not gonna be through with spiritual growing until we get home.

Paul says I die daily.

Amen.

I die daily.

Oh, oh, that's so good.

Oh there's three responsibilities we have.

It's our responsibility in becoming more like Christ.

Number one, deciding to put off what?

The old man.

The conduct, the creature, the old man, and then the corruption.

He says there in that verse, deceitful lust.

Gotta put it off.

You gotta put it off.

Look at it.

You gotta put it off.

Now, what's this?

How do we do that?

Number two, by renewing.

Look at what he says, verse 23.

Renewed in the spirit of your mind.

Hmm.

That reminds me of Romans 12, too.

Be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the what?

Renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

Oh my goodness, what is God's perfect will for your life?

It's to be conformed to his life.

See it?

And how do we do that?

By putting off the old man.

How do we do that?

By renewing.

Renewing what?

Our minds.

See, what you think is what you are.

And what you think is what you do.

And what you do is what you become.

Have you ever heard this?

This is pretty good.

God just whipped the fire out of me with this the other day.

Sow a thought.

Reap a habit.

Sow a habit.

You ready for this?

Reap a character.

What is he trying to transform?

A character.

Listen.

Sow a character.

Reap a destiny.

Pastor, that's good.

That's convicting.

So what are you thinking about?

What do you think most about?

What you think most about is eventually what you're going to become.

Can we all say o me together?

O me.

So in 23, we've got to ask God to help us control our thinking.

Can I get an amen?

Casting down imaginations.

And every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10, 5.

Wow.

I need help there.

Do you ever have a bad thought?

Turn to your neighbor.

I'm going to help you.

I don't want to preach online, so I'm going to help you.

Turn to your neighbor and say, I have bad thoughts.

And don't you ask him what kind of thoughts.

Don't you ask me, honey.

I know Susan.

She'll get in the car.

We'll start home today.

She'll say, What kind of thoughts have you been thinking about?

You know you would.

That's between me and the Holy Spirit.

I thank God for my accountability, partner.

I got a tough one.

Now watch.

Oh, this is getting good.

It's getting convicting.

All right.

And the third thing.

Not only we decide to put off the old man, we have to renew our minds.

Look at the third thing.

We got to clothe ourselves.

Here we go.

We got to put on our clothes.

The right clothes.

You ready?

Look at what he says here.

Boy, this is getting really good.

I call it, if I I kind of wrote in my margin here, my outline.

Your mind, the man, the old man, you got to put him on.

And then the manners.

That's the way I remember stuff.

Manners.

In other words, our clothing, we got to put on our clothing, which would be our manners.

And what is that?

Are you ready, real quick?

Verse 25 says, you got to tell the truth.

Hello.

Uh-oh.

You man.

Well, we're in church.

Do you know we're not going to tell a lie in church?

Huh?

You just did.

Folks, people lie today, from the government all the way down to the preachers.

Hey, hey, we'll lie in a heartbeat.

Do you know 95% of Americans a day believe it's okay to tell a little lie?

Lying lips are abomination unto God.

They will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 12, 22.

Secondly, look at what else.

Temper, verse 26.

We got to control our temper.

We got to control our temper.

Anybody got a problem with temper?

Three of us.

Four.

Thank you, five.

Yeah, yeah.

Hey, raise your hand.

Quit bumping everybody.

Raise your hand.

Huh?

No, I don't have a temper.

Verse 28.

Thievery.

Stealing.

Do you realize people steal every day?

I don't steal.

I've never stole anything.

Have you taken more than your appointed break time?

And I'm not even going to ask you about your income tax.

You ever stole a pen?

Yep, I got one right here, open door Baptist Church.

Oh, that's a gift, though, in my.

Oh, thank you.

Huh?

You ever gotten more money back at the cashier and realize it and keep it?

That must have been God's will.

The little cashier gave me$10 more than she's supposed to.

Do you know when she Annie's up that day?

She'll be held responsible for that.

Are you with me?

Rick, why'd you ask him to preach?

Verse 28.

Not only thievery, but look at verse 28 too.

Let him that steals steal no more, but rather let him labor.

Ho ho! There's that word again, work.

Turn to your neighbor and say, work is good.

Work.

That's not an evil word.

Work.

My soul.

Listen, as Christians, you ought to be the best employer and the best employee.

Hey, if you're the boss, you ought to be the best boss.

If you're the worker, you ought to be the best worker.

Don't be talking about your employer.

Be praying for him and thinking, God, you got a job.

Yeah, because I don't like my job.

Well, that's your problem.

You don't like it?

Get to another one.

But ask God, ask God to give you a job.

And then be the best you can.

Alright, here we go.

We're putting on clothes.

Alright?

By the way, 2 Thessalonians 3.10 said, if you don't work, you don't eat.

I know you didn't want me to quote that one.

Oh, by the way, you said, well, yeah, but the government gives it to me.

Can I tell you something?

The government's, it's not the government's place to take care of you.

I'm gonna say that again.

It's not the government's place to take care of you.

Or me.

I'm the work.

And look what else it says: the work to give to those who are in need.

Is that not something?

Hey, God blesses.

Listen to me for you that are making a lot of money.

You better listen to me.

And I'm gonna tell you from experience, the more God gives you, the more you need to use it for his glory.

And if you'll do that, he'll bless you.

He'll bless your gizzard.

I don't know why I said that sounded good.

But now listen, you gotta work.

You gotta work.

And then verse 29, tongue.

Uh-oh.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good, through the use of edifying, that it may be minister of grace unto his hears.

Listen to me.

If it's not good, if it's not necessary, if it's not building up, and if it's not spoken graciously, don't say it.

Well, preacher, that'd have shut my mouth.

Yeah, it probably would.

And we're all guilty.

Aren't we all guilty of that?

We are.

We all have bad tongues sometimes.

I do.

You know why you have a bad tongue?

You have a bad thought.

That's good, preacher.

Have you ever heard somebody say, Well, I just can't help myself.

I just speak my own mind.

Well, bless your heart.

You need to change your mind.

Renew your mind.

I had a lady tell me that.

Remember, Susan?

She used to say, Well, I can't help it.

That's just who I am.

I said, Well, you need to change who you are.

Well, I can't.

I said, No, I understand that.

But Jesus can change it.

She opened the door and I was just ran slapped through it.

And then verse 30, we gotta take care of the temple.

That's where that sugar, I gotta get the sugar out.

And then verse 31.

We gotta, hey, look at verse 31.

This is awesome.

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking be put away from you with all malice.

In other words, you know what that means?

Treatment, how we treat people.

Which brings me to verse 32.

Be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving.

You know what being tender-hearted means?

It means showing sympathy.

It means helping people when nobody else wants to help them.

I want to be so sensitive to this new year to help people.

You know when you really are helping people and you want you just want to be a blessing?

It's when you help people that there's no way they can help you back in return.

Now that's helping people.

That's helping people.

I want to be that way this year more than I've ever been.

I don't want to be too busy to be too sensitive.

And I've been there.

Some of you are there now.

We are there.

It's the world we live in.

It's not, and don't say it.

It's still our fault.

But we're in a culture that's anti-Christ, anti-the word, anti-everything.

And one of the best things that hey, Satan does to good people, good Christian people, he gets them too busy.

Hello.

You say, I don't know if I'm too busy, ask your wife.

She'll tell you.

I don't know how many times I've dealt with couples, and the husbands get so caught up in their jobs and in the work that they forget their time with the Lord and what they're supposed to be doing with the Lord and in the church.

And then things happen.

Bad things.

All right, let me finish.

Woo! I knew it's gonna be point number three.

So turn to your neighbor and say, we need to put on the right clothes.

And there they are.

Hey, I told you you're going to go back through this message about every quarter and ask yourself about the clothing.

Are these clothes on?

If you just bless somebody out, they ain't on.

Hello?

If you just had a fight with your wife or your husband or your kids and you hadn't forgiven them, they ain't on.

If all you're doing is griping and complaining and gossiping, they ain't on.

I'm working on it.

I hope my wife's been seeing a little difference.

I'm working hard.

She said, not yet.

No.

But now here, real quick, and we'll finish it up.

Becoming more Christ-like, to make us more Christ-like, God uses three things.

Are you ready?

Now this is really good.

Number one is Word.

Remember being obedient in the introduction?

His Word.

All scriptures given by the inspiration of God.

Now watch.

And it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.

Now listen, that the man of God may be complete.

In other words, he's being transformed.

He's being conformed to the likeness of Christ so that he can, verse 17, says, do the work for Christ.

Well, that's good.

My papa, who was my theologian, said, Do you know what that means?

All scripture, reproof, correction, structure.

He said, God's word teaches you what's right, what's not right.

Hey.

How to get right and how to stay right.

Isn't that good?

His word, Jesus said it this way in John 15, 3.

Now you're clean through the words that have spoken unto you.

You got to stay in the book.

Turn to your neighbor.

Got to stay in the book.

It's the word of God.

By the way, let me help you.

You got to memorize the book too.

You know what?

Somebody asked me the other day, why do you memorize scripture for 40 years?

Because I'm scared of what I would do if I didn't.

I'm a wretched, no good, self-centered.

And I'm not going any further.

And I need the word of God to crucify me.

I need it constantly going through my mind.

And the Christian music.

I was going over the mountain the last few days, going back and forth doing stuff, and where I meet with a bunch of pickleball players, so I can play, but also we fixed to start a Bible study with them.

But I just listen to praise and worship music.

And God's been working on my heart.

By the way, just act like I hadn't preached to you today.

God doesn't.

Oh, he's eating my lunch.

And I won't, you know, misery loves company.

All right, now listen.

The word, the word, say this with me.

The word works.

It cleanses you.

Second thing he uses is People.

His people.

Are you ready?

You got to see this real quick.

Look at Hebrews 10.

Go over to Hebrews 10 and look at verse 24.

And let us consider one another to provoke.

Oh my goodness.

Look at that word provoke.

You know what it means to stir up?

Hey, we need to be stirred up.

You know why you come to church?

So the Lord can use people in the church to stir you up.

As iron sharpen, you got it.

Yes.

But but not only that, let me show you what else.

This is so good.

Let us consider one another.

That word consider means we care about one another.

Can I get an amen?

You come to church because you care about me.

I come to church because I care about you.

You come to church because you want to encourage me.

I come to church so I can encourage you.

I also come to church because I need encouraging.

Man, I'm down and about.

I've been, Satan has whipped me good this week.

Can you help me?

Can you pray for me?

Can you love on me?

Can you do something?

Just do something.

I'm hurting.

Amen.

You said I would be crazy to say all that.

Well, it's inside and it's killing you.

Let it out.

How can I help you if I don't know you need help?

By the way, I know by the way you look.

You said, Now how you know that?

For the glory of the Lord is your strength.

If you got joy, you don't do this.

How you feel?

I feel fine.

Can I pray for you?

No, I'm okay.

I got it.

Hey, let me tell you something.

When the Holy Spirit's in your heart and you're walking in the Spirit, not in the flesh, there's joy on your life.

You're joyful.

You don't have to be a fanatic, or you don't have to jump up and holler like I do.

You can be like my beautiful, godly, Holy Spirit wife.

You know what you can do?

You can just cry.

Or you can just smile.

And I meant that in a good way, honey.

Really?

I mean, I I people think they go up to her all the time, say, is he like that all the time?

She said, Well, only when he's, hey, hey, he's got two speeds.

He's either, hey, crazy and loud or dead.

When I go to sleep, I'm, and by the way, I can go to sleep quick.

We can be driving and talking.

I can go to sleep.

Darren was bringing me back from a preaching one night, and he was just talking.

And I about 10 miles out, headed back home.

I was gone to sleep.

I don't even remember a word he said.

He's still talking though.

But listen, listen, folks.

People.

And then look at what he says.

Hey, to provoke unto love and to good works.

You know why you come to church?

Listen to me.

All right, Rick.

This is gonna help you.

Help us.

This is my church, too.

I'm a supporter of this church in always.

Listen, listen.

You come to church because you love people.

You come to church because you love God.

God loves you because He loves people.

Can I get an Amen?

And you've got a place in this body.

And if you go back and read the first parts of the chapter, it's about the gifts.

Everybody has a gift, everybody has a part in the body of Christ.

And if you're not in this body fulfilling your part, listen, the body is suffering.

I need you.

I need you.

And I'm, oh, I get when I get, I was telling them I'm so excited about her plate.

When I see people start using their giftness and their talents in the body of Christ, that gets me excited.

And you young people, listen, the younger you can get started using your gifts for the glory of God, the more excitement, the more joy, the more contentment, and the more success you'll have.

Ask my wife.

She started very young.

God has blessed her.

Christy started young.

People.

And then the last thing.

Difficult circumstances.

Now watch this.

Provide the environment we need to show Christ-likeness.

We are in difficult situations because that gives us an opportunity.

What?

To show Christ-likeness.

To show that confirmation.

And let me show you what God says about that in 2 Corinthians chapter 1.

2 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

The God of all comfort, verse 3, who comforts us in all our troubles, that we may be able to comfort them which are, hey, which are in any trouble, by the comfort where we wherewith we have been comforted ourselves by God.

Is that not great?

That's why we're here.

Listen, listen, I need comfort.

I need comfort sometimes.

I guarantee you, with a crowd like this this morning, you've been through stuff that I might be going through that you can sit down with me and you can just love on me.

You can let me pour my heart out.

And then you can say, Well, let me share my testimony to you.

That's why in 2023, you need to make a commitment this morning.

You need to make a commitment this morning that you're not gonna miss church.

You're gonna be with the people of God.

So now watch this.

Here's what happens.

Here's the confirmation, here's the conforming.

Are you ready?

When you take the word of God and you engage with people through difficult circumstances, that is the process that the Lord is using to conform you into his image.

Now that's good.

And if we break that process, and it is a process, all these great football teams that we saw yesterday and all, every one of those great coaches, every one of them, not one of those four yesterday or five, they were asked a question.

How does this what they say?

Process.

It's a process.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Christian life is a process.

Amen.

And you have been given this morning the process.

We have.

So this new year, let's make a covenant together as we stand to our feet.

Can we make a covenant this morning that we will follow the process?

And that is what?

Being obedient to his word.

Ministering with people through difficult circumstances.

That's the process.

We've got to start.

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