The Holy Spirit & Christ Likeness

The Holy Spirit and Christ likeness

In Bethlehem 2,000 years ago a male Child was born. He was conceived by the H.S. One of His titles was

Paraclete = ( helper). He gave Himself to helping others. When He saw hungry people He fed them. When He saw sad people He cheered them. When He saw weary people He strengthened them. When He saw discouraged people, He encouraged them. when He saw poor little children, He blessed them. When He saw bereaved people. He comforted them. He never hated anybody, When people cursed Him, He blessed them. When people hated Him He loved them. When people despitefully used Him, He prayed for them. When one betrayed Him, He called Him friend. When people revived Him He did not retaliate. He never sought vengeance. His feet never trod a wicked path. His mind never had a wicked thought. His hands never took that which they should not have take. His tongue never spoke that which was sinful to speak. His heart never entertained an unholy motive. His hands never performed a sinful deed. It was wonderful. One of those who knew HIM best summarized His life by saying He 'WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD."

ACTS 10:38 "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." Yes it was wonderful! Yet there was something sad about this. You say, "Some thing sad about this wonderful life of Jesus? "YES, there was something very sad. The sadness is that His entire life was spent in a small geographical area of no more than 75 miles by 40 miles and in a chronological era of 33 years.
America never saw Him. China never saw Him. Southeast Asia never say Him. The islands of the sea never entertained Him. Europe never saw Him . The other countries of the Middle East never saw Him. People of Russia never saw Him. Only those who lived in that small little country of Palestine an only those who lived during His brief life span on earth saw this wonderful life. Do others not need to see HIM too? Is it fair for most of the world to love and die and never see the life of Jesus? NO.
No, it is not fair. So God conceived a plan. This plan was that there would be a Jesus in every county. His plan included that there be a Jesus in every city of every country and in every neighborhood in every city and in every home, factory, office. shop and school of every neighborhood. He arranged for each of His people to have access to the same power through which He lived His life. That power was the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not live His life, perform His miracles, preach His sermons nor do His deeds as God. He did them as a Spirit-filled man.

Luke 4:1And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, That same H.S. has been made available to every Christian so that every one in the world will have opportunity to see the amazing life that Jesus Lived. So every country can see Him, every business can see Him, every office can see Him , every factory can see Him, every home can see Him. There are so many passages that remind us of our obligations to be Christ like.
We are to represent Christ on earth. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are here "IN CHRIST STEAD" (place)
II COR. 5:20 "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."

1. WE ARE TO HAVE HIS MIND Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

2. We are to do His work. JOHN 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

3. We have been sent by Him, even as He was sent by the Father JOHN 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

4. We are to attempt to live in His likeness PSALMS 17:15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

5. We re to be exactly as He was as we walk and talk among men.
I JOHN 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

6. We are to Love as He loved JOHN 15:12 "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you."

7. We are to DO as He did. JOHN 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

Ill. a little boy whose dad served in a church for years, would take his little boy everywhere with him as he ministered for Jesus. They rode the church van together, Dad took him to S.S., His dad taught him how to behave in church, etc.....The dad one Sunday morning while going home asked him, what he learned in S.S. that day: He said, "I learned about God" the dad said, "What did you learn about God." Boy : "I learned that God loves me more than anybody loves me." Dad: what else did you learn . Boy: I learned that when I do bad , GOD spanks me and does He spank me hard! Dad: What else did you learn" Boy: I learned that after God spanks me, He hugs me and tells me that it hurt......HIM......more that it hurts.......ME... HEY DADDY, ARE YOU GOD? THAT daddy hugged his little boy to his breast and said, "NO, son, I am not God, but I am glad you think I am, and I hope after you have been in our home for 18 - 20 years, that you still get me mixed up with Jesus!

Ill. A little boy used to call a preacher friend of mine, Brother GOD. One day that preacher preached on Hell, fire and brimstone, He looked up at his mother and said, MAMMA AIN'T GOD MAD TODAY! That preacher later went by that little boys house, and he heard the little boy scream out at his mother, MOM, BROTHER GOD IS HERE. The preacher said, I noticed the little boys bike chain was broken, so I tried to fix it, but I failed. As I left, his father came home from work, His father saw the broken bicycle and said, HEY SON, IS YOUR4 BICYCLE BROKEN, and the little boy replied YES DAD. DAD: "Let me fix it for you" SON: "YOU can fix it daddy? DAD: Why would you ask me that? Boy: "Well, God came by and he couldn't fix it and if God couldn't fix it, daddy, you dead sure cant"

That preacher told how that one day that same little boy came to his church with his shoes untied, so the preacher stopped to tie his shoes. As the preacher walked away, the little boy said to his mommy MOMMY.- DI D you SEE GOD TIE MY SHOES.? THESE ARE BUT A FEW ILLUSTRATIONS TO REMIND US THAT WE ARE TO BE LIKE JESUS. We are to be like Jesus: He cannot be here in person to forgive now, so I have to show people how HE forgives.
He is not here in person to feed the hungry, To strengthen the weak, To clothe the cold, To help the widows and orphans, So HE says to me and to you SHOW THEM HOW I WOULD LOVE, SHOW THEM WHAT I WOULD DO. GO WHERE I WOULD GO. PREACH WHAT I WOULD PREACH. TEACH WHAT I WOULD TEACH. SING WHAT I WOULD SING. LOVE AS I WOULD LOVE. FORGIVE AS I WOULD FORGIVE. BE KIND AS I WOULD BE KIND. DO GOOD AS I WOULD DO GOOD
So I set out to be like Jesus. I tried so hard, I would sing all the right songs. I would really try, but I would fail. I found myself in many areas of my life failing.
I found myself not loving my enemies. Not wanting to clothe the ones less fortunate than me, those that really needed clothes, not wanting to feed the hungry ETC......
I FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO BLESS THOSE THAT Cursed ME.
I found that I would rather have some one cheering me than me to have spend all my time cheering others. The more I tried to be like Him, the more I failed. Then one day I came across a verse that transformed my life: Romans 8:1 "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you".

I had always thought that passage dealt with the resurrection of the body, I thought that our Lord was saying that if HIS Spirit dwelt in us, we would be resurrected someday, even HIS body was resurrected. Then I became aware that ROMANS 8:11 is not talking about our coming physical resurrection but rather the availability of the resurrected life while we are yet in the body. Our Lord is saying that if the H.S. can raise up Jesus from the dead that same H.S. can raise me up from SELFISHNESS, SELF-CENTERDNESS IN ORDER THAT I MAY LIVE A RESURRECTED LIFE.
That Resurrected life can only be lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. If the H.S. of God could raise the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, that same H.S. can raise us to walk in the Spirit and to have daily victory to live a resurrected life. Bear in mind that it was by the H.S. that Jesus cast out devils MATTHEW 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. It was by the H.S. that Jesus offered Himself as our substitute Hebrew 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

ILL. In Rome you can visit the Vatican City, where the Sistine Chapel adorned with Michelangelo's famous painted is. called the "Last judgment" The painting covers the entire ceiling and much of the walls. It is an unbelievable work of art. NOW suppose for a minute, that we could go to this place, and the Lord Jesus was to say to me, 'PAINT ANOTHER LAST JUDGMENT like the one painted by Michel Angelo. It matter not how hard I tried, I could not paint a likeness of that masterpiece. I would say. LORD, TRY THOUGH I MAY, MY PAINTING IS AS A CHILD'S FIRST GRADE ATTEMPT. There could be a way, perhaps, that I could paint another Last Judgment. Suppose God offered to take the spirit of Michelangelo and place e that spirit with my body. Could I not them make a replica of his famous painting?

To be sure, it would take some time, Day by day, week by week ,month by month, and even year by year I would add a little bit as did Michelangelo until someday perhaps I could, with Michelangelo's spirit with me , make a replica.
POINT: The Lord Jesus came to me and said, 'MY CHILD make another life like MINE. I tried, but I failed. I miserably failed. Then one day He said to me YOU COULD SUCCEED perhaps if I would put MY SPIRIT in you. So He made His Spirit available to me, and by the Spirit I can attempt to paint a likeness of the life of the Son of God. Yet again I fail. I could not match His masterpiece. I could not completely show this old would how HE lives.

Then I came across what to me is the most important Scripture in the Bible on the subject: II COR. 3:18 But 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. notice the words: "are changed into the same image from the glory to glory, and notice the words.......even as by the spirit of the Lord. Then it dawned on me...... I AM NOT THE PAINTER....I AM THE CANVAS! THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE PAINTER My Job is simply to present myself, or to yield to Him

ROMANS 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. So as I yield to Him, just as a canvas yield to the artist, the H.S. paints from glory to glory a likeness of Christ in my life, Ah, here is the secret: Yield, Yield, Yield Yield......etc......
See, He does the work that I can not do. Yes, I tried to be like Him-- I failed. Then in the power of the H.S. I tried to paint His likeness. This helped some, but I again failed. Then I realized that I am not the painter, I am the canvas and as a canvas Yields to the master artist while the master artist paints day by day........The more He painted the more my life began to look like HIM. So every morning I yield to HIM then I ask HIM to let me cross the path of people that He would Help, to feed the hungry that He would feed, to Heal those hurting that He would Heal, ETC .......

????? what value is it for my life to be like Jesus if my path does not cross the path of that one that Jesus would help today.
Ill. story of how a preacher helped a song director get his false teeth no body knew who it was that gave the $400.00 to get his teeth. But if you could hear that man sing today. He used to sing with his mouth almost shut, not he lets the sound of Heaven roar from his heart as he sings. because of the kindness we often show, many have sent the love of God manifested n our lives, and that caused the lost to seek that which we had. A living God who lives in us who teaches us how to show the world HIS love, Grace and Mercy.

INVITATION: may God forgive me, for the many times that I have forgotten to ask HIM to let my path cross the path of that one that our LORD would help, and may God forgive me for the many times that I have crossed such paths and have forgotten or refused to help.
In Bethlehem 2,000 years ago a male Child was born. He was conceived by the H.S. One of His titles was Paraclete ( helper) He gave Himself to helping others. When He saw hungry people He fed them. When He saw sad people He cheered them. When He saw weary people He strengthened them. When He saw discouraged people, He encouraged them. when He saw poor little children, He blessed them. When He saw bereaved people. He comforted them. He never hated anybody, When people cursed Him, He blessed them. When people hated Him He loved them. When people despitefully used Him, He prayed for them. When one betrayed Him, He called Him friend. When people revived Him He did not retaliate. He never sought vengeance. His feet never trod a wicked path. His mind never had a wicked thought. His hands never took that which they should not have take. His tongue never spoke that which was sinful to speak. His heart never entertained an unholy motive. His hands never performed a sinful deed. It was wonderful. One of those who knew HIM best summarized His life by saying He 'WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD."

ACTS 10:38 "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." Yes it was wonderful! even though His life was only observed by those in a 75 x 40 mile parameter for only 33 years, Yet thanks to God His plan makes it possible for everyone of His people to be like Jesus and to so yield himself or herself to the master painter, which is the H.S. that people every where in every country, state, county, city, township, neighborhood, school, office, business and home can see the life that JESUS lived. Oh H.S. of God may people who cross my path have that privilege and the blessing of seeing Jesus! ........through me.