Page 102 - Back to Bethlehem 2-5-19

I think the Apostle John might have had that in mind when he
wrote 1 John. He addresses fathers. He addresses young men
and he addresses children. Perhaps Jesus had that idea of
growth in Mark 4:28, “The soil produces crops by itself; first
the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.”

We want to be conformed to Jesus. We want to be like Him.
Ephesians 4:13, “…until we all attain to the unity of the faith,
and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to
the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of
Christ.” We want to grow up in Christ. Galatians 4:19, “My
children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed
in you..” We don’t want to get all confused about being like
Jesus. I don’t want to talk all about sanctification. I don’t want
to talk about the steps in how you grow in Jesus. I want to look
at what it means to become like Jesus in the simplest way
possible.

If you like outlines, here’s the outline. First I want to give the
starting point of being like Jesus. The starting point is the
guarantee that someday I will be like Jesus. Then I want to
show you the process of becoming like Jesus. Then I want to
show you the consummation, when we finally arrive. So, I want
to show the starting point, the process and the consummation
when we finally become like Him.

In each case I’ll give a Bible illustration. And to discuss the
starting point I’d like to go back to the beginning. God wrote a
principle in nature. He wrote that principle in nature because
that principle illustrates the spiritual truth. Genesis 1:11&12,
“Then God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants
yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with
seed in them, on the earth’; and it was so.” Genesis 1:21&22,
“And God created the great sea monsters, and every living
creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their
kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it
was good.” Genesis 1:24&25, “Then God said, ‘Let the earth