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[0:00] Jeremiah 17.

[0:12] Jeremiah 17. Jeremiah 17 from verse 7. To me this boils down for us what God wants for us.

[0:51] He wants us to grow. It's his will that we grow. Like a tree. Grow. God expects us to grow. Not to be static. Stuck. But extending.

[1:03] Advancing. Increasing. As a tree that fairly plants itself and is sustained by the nourishing waters. Not a wispy piece of grass.

[1:14] But a strong leafy vibrant tree. Drawing nourishment. Bearing fruit. God wants for each of us to grow in our faith. And for us as a people of God.

[1:25] As an assembly of God. As a church of God's people. To grow. To extend. To increase. And the pictures of this growing. This extending. This increasing.

[1:36] Are many and varied through the word of God. You see this picture in Jeremiah of the tree. Likewise the Psalm 1. A blessed man like a tree. We see many pictures of this growing.

[1:48] This picture of growing. It's clearly God's plan. God's design. His plan. His plan. For us. His people. Individually. Each one by one. And. As his body.

[2:00] His church. To be. Growing. As his body. Paul writes of this growing. This analogy.

[2:10] This analogy. Of a body. Likewise. The analogy of a body. We see that in Ephesians 4. From verse 13. You want to just turn there.

[2:21] Ephesians 4. Verse 13. We see. On verse. 13. Of Ephesians 4. Till. We all come.

[2:33] In the unity of the faith. And of the knowledge. Of the Son of God. Unto a perfect man. Unto the measure. Of the stature. Of the fullness of Christ. That we henceforth be.

[2:44] No more children. Tossed to and fro. And carried about. With every wind of doctrine. And the slight. Of man. By cunning craftiness.

[2:54] Whereby they lie. In wait to deceive. But. Speaking the truth. In love. May grow up. Grow up. Into him. In all things. Which is the head.

[3:05] Even Christ. From whom. The whole body. Fitly joined together. And compacted. By that. Which every joint. Supply. According to the effectual working.

[3:16] In the measure of every part. Make an increase. Of the body. Unto the edifying. Of itself in love. Grow up into him. Increase of the body. Here we see the divine blueprint again.

[3:28] For the church of God. That increasing. That extending. That growing. In the picture here. Of a growing body. The effectual working. Of every part. It's God's plan.

[3:39] That we be mature. Not as children. It says. No more as children. Tossed to and fro. Grow. But as mature. As grown. Full grown.

[3:51] Men and women. Full grown. God gives the increase. It tells us. Elsewhere. That God brings the increase. Paul.

[4:02] Watered. Paul's planted. But God. Brought the increase. So we see. This is what God wants for us. This is his will for us. His will for us. Is that we grow.

[4:13] That we not be stagnant. And static. But that we be mature. And extending. Increasing. Growing. How. Is the question.

[4:24] How is this to be. How can this be. How can we reach this maturity. In our faith. I believe the answer is found here. For us. In verse 13.

[4:35] Where the answer is found. Is in verse 13. It tells us. Till we all come. In the unity of the faith. And of the knowledge of the son of God.

[4:47] Unto. A perfect man. Unto the measure. Of the stature. Of the fullness of Christ. A perfect man. There's a sense.

[4:59] Where there's a completeness there. There's a wholeness. There's a maturity there. That we can attain. That we can aspire to. Verse 13. Till we come. To that.

[5:11] Measure. Of the stature. Of the fullness of Christ. And verse 13. Really is the heart of this message today. The truth. Of what it takes. What makes.

[5:22] For Christian maturity. The reality that should shape us. And move us. Towards spiritual growth. And real fruitfulness. Christian maturity.

[5:38] When we become a Christian. When we're born again. We receive his new life. That's just the beginning. Isn't it? It's just the start. And he wants us to grow.

[5:49] Talks about the measure. It tells us of the measure. Of the stature. Of the fullness of Christ. There's a going on. That we read of here.

[6:02] Of a maturing. Of phases. Of stages. Of measures. And just as a human body grows from babyhood. Through childhood. Through youthhood.

[6:12] To adulthood. There's various stages. To attain that stature. Stature. Stature. It speaks of. That height.

[6:23] That measure. That extent. Doesn't it? That growth. When someone has a stature. It tells of how.

[6:33] That we should not look on the stature. Of the man.

[6:44] What was that occasion? That was. Samuel was looking to anoint. The sons of David. And. Right. Amen. Yeah.

[6:54] Not look at the stature. But look at the heart. Amen. So the stature. And so they didn't choose. The. The strongest looking. Son.

[7:07] But they. They chose. David. Had the stature. That. That internal stature. That stature. It speaks of the.

[7:18] That physical. Build. That. That height. That. That. That. That extent. Of a man. And so. There's a sense where. We don't want to be. Having the stature of a child.

[7:29] But a stature of an adult. And. Paul prayed and yearned for this spiritual growth. In Galatians 4.19. We. We read.

[7:39] Galatians 4.19. Says. My little children. Of whom I travail in birth again. Until Christ be formed in you. Galatians 4.19. He says.

[7:50] I travail in birth again. He was the one who. Brought them to life. As the. The one who. Nurtured them to receive. The new birth.

[8:00] To be born again. He says. I travail again. Like someone in childbirth. Until Christ be formed in you. Until Christ be formed in you. God wants for us. As his people.

[8:12] To attain to this. That Christ would be shaped in us. That. Christ would be manifest by us. It is that. That we can seek for. That. That Christ be formed in us.

[8:24] That Christ. Be such that. That. That is what we seek for. That is what we. Yearn for. That is what we want to develop. That Christ be formed in us. So we'll attain to that.

[8:35] Unto a perfect man. Unto the measure of the stature. Of the fullness of Christ. So Paul tells how this body grows. It grows stronger. As a child advances.

[8:46] And becomes an adult. As an adult has that stature. That. That maturity. So too. We. As God's own people.

[8:57] Individually and corporately. We can advance. An increase. Tells us the increase of the body. Unto the edifying of itself in love. Now this increase is not necessarily.

[9:08] In numbers terms. It's in that. Not so much in quantity. But the quality. Isn't it? That the increase that God wants for us. Is in the very core of us. It's inside of us.

[9:20] That building process. That he. He makes for us. As his church. That he wants us to mature. And central to this is love. It says. Making increase of the body.

[9:30] Unto the edifying of itself. In love. So central to this is love. And it tells us here. About our position. In Christ. To the Colossians.

[9:41] Paul writes. In Colossians 1.28. He tells of Christ in you. The hope of glory. That's Colossians 1.27. Christ in you.

[9:52] The hope of glory. And it tells of this Christ in you. The hope of glory. That whom we preach. Warning every man. And teaching every man. In all wisdom.

[10:04] That we may present every man. Perfect in Christ Jesus. Now we know. The doctrine of sinless perfection. Is a false doctrine.

[10:16] But there is a sense. Of Christian perfection. That we can aspire to be. Perfect in Christ. Paul said he wanted to present. Every man. Perfect in Christ.

[10:28] Now I don't believe. We attain that. This side of heaven. But that is our aspiration. Isn't it? Christian perfection. He says be perfect. As my father in heaven. Is perfect. We are to present.

[10:40] Ultimately present. Every man. Perfect. In Christ Jesus. The perfect man. He tells us all. It's like. There's that ultimate aspiration.

[10:51] That we have. The ultimate. That we aspire to. That we endeavor for. Is to grow. To be like Jesus. And really. In simple terms. That's. The key message.

[11:02] This morning. Is to be like Jesus. To be like the Lord Jesus. Jesus. And as Paul said. I press towards the mark. He says. I've not attained it yet.

[11:13] I'm not there yet. It's still a journey for me. I'm pressing towards the mark. I'm running for that finishing line. But this is my object. He says.

[11:24] Our object is this. Christ in you. Christ in you. The hope of glory. That expectation of glory. Christ in you. What does that mean? Christ in you. We can use that term.

[11:36] Really glibly. And. You know. Without really digging deep. What does that really mean for us? That we as individual.

[11:48] Christian people here today. Those who know the saviour. Who have been born again. That Christ is in you. Christ is in you. This is the secret really. If you like.

[11:58] The hidden truth. Of how we can be. Like that flourishing tree. It's Christ in us. It's Christ in us. Here's the source. Here's the source of that spiritual growth.

[12:10] To know the Lord Jesus as our saviour. That's the beginning. When we're born again. And then that flourishing. Like a tree. Like that body. From babyhood. Childhood. Youthhood.

[12:20] Adulthood. The increase of the body. To the stature. The fullness. The perfect man. That we can present every man. Perfect in Christ. It's Christ in you.

[12:31] That's what makes it happen. That's what makes it possible. And this is the will of God for you. That you grow. And this is how you grow. It's how we can grow. How we can know the spiritual maturity.

[12:43] How we can be a vibrant. Fruit bearing Christian. Here it is. Now years back I saw. Of an evangelistic campaign. That was based on the slogan.

[12:57] Ask me about Jim. Ask me about Jim. J-I-M. And when someone did. They said what's this? Who's Jim?

[13:08] What's this about? Jesus in me. That was the meaning of it. Jesus in me. And really that is. What makes all the difference for us.

[13:18] Isn't it? As God's own people. Christ in you. This is what makes the difference. This is how we can grow. As we are more like. Our Lord Jesus. As we grow closer to him.

[13:31] This is how we can grow. This is how we can be like a tree. This is how we can be like a mature. Full grown adult. This is the answer for Christian growth. Christ in you.

[13:42] Christ in you. How to attain Christian maturity. How to know spiritual growth. It's letting God have more of you.

[13:53] Letting him have more of you. Now. Of recent days. I've heard you can go to a seminar. By Tony Robbins. And I don't know.

[14:03] What is it? A thousand dollars a day. You can pay him. Something crazy like that. And he tells you the secret. Of human potential. Of human growth. Of self growth.

[14:16] And it boils down to. Unleash the power within. Now. I wouldn't recommend that. People here today. Don't unleash the power within. But unleash his power within.

[14:27] Amen. Christ in you. His power within. Unleash his power within you. As a Christian. And then you can flourish. Now. You don't have to pay me what you pay Tony Robbins to tell you that.

[14:40] But. Now. This is much, much more than what Tony Robbins can teach you. Because. All the self-help. All the self-help gurus. All the self-actualization. New age. Guru type teaching.

[14:51] Such as that. All the personal coaches that you can take. And try to extend. And improve yourself. Can't beat this. Jesus in me.

[15:02] It's Christ in you. It's Christ unleashed within you. Unleash his power within you. And really the. Absolute standard. Our absolute standard.

[15:13] Is Christ himself. There is no. Nothing higher. Nothing higher. That's the stature. That's the absolute pinnacle. Isn't it? Our standard is absolute.

[15:23] Christ himself. And think of all the things that this means for us. If Christ is in you. That hope of glory. That expectation. Glory.

[15:34] It's just around the corner. For the meantime. It's letting him. Have his way with us. Isn't it? If Christ is in you. Think. What does that really mean then?

[15:46] If Christ is in you. Which he is. If you're a believer. If anyone be in Christ. He's a new creature. Old things have passed away. Behold. All things have become new. If Christ is in you.

[15:57] Then the qualities of Christ. Should come. Out of you. It should exude. Out of you. These actions. Of Christ. Think. If Christ is in you.

[16:08] You know Christ's victory. You know his victory. We are more than conquerors. Through Christ. We know Christ's power. We know his love.

[16:19] The love of Christ. Is in us. Not our own. But beyond. Far beyond. And above. His love. The holiness of Christ.

[16:30] Is in us. So we see. What is God's will. That we grow. How. It's Christ in you. So how do we really make that happen.

[16:43] When the rubber hits the road. How do you apply this. Is this just a theory. Just a concept. Just some theological truth. The application of this. It's in the day by day.

[16:54] When the rubber hits the road. When we're at the workplace. When we're at the coal face. When we. Got the neighbour. Peering over the fence. And when we've got the.

[17:04] The argy bargy. And the. The humdrum. And the. Day by day drudgery at times. The. Irksome things of life. At times. The hard things of life.

[17:15] How do we apply this. Will we grow. Determined to grow. Determined not to stay. In babyhood.

[17:28] But to. Attain unto the stature of Christ. To. Attain unto that. To aspire to that. To move into manhood. Into maturity.

[17:39] Paul prayed for this transformative work. That Christ would be formed. In you. He prayed for the people at Galatia. That Christ be formed in you. And if Christ is in you.

[17:50] He will show. His presence. His character. His spirit. If we could but grasp this. In a. Greater. Deeper way.

[18:01] This. Fundamental truth. Christ in you. Then surely godly graces and fruits. Should. Naturally happen. And they would abound.

[18:12] More and more. And we would be better equipped to face. The challenges and tests of life. The trials. The realities. And better able to overcome.

[18:23] And better able to overcome. All the heartaches and hurting. That is all around us. In the real world. Christ in you. Christ in you. Now you might feel. Well.

[18:34] Preacher. I'm feeling really inadequate. I know that I fall. Far, far short of that stature. You know. You know. We all. Come short of the glory of God.

[18:46] Don't we? We know that. We need his grace to. Bridge the gap. To lift us up. It's what he does. Isn't it? All other religions.

[18:57] A man trying to. Reach up to God. Climb some ladder of good works. But. Oh. It's just too short. It's not high enough. But Christianity is God reaching down.

[19:07] In Christ. God becoming a man. Dying on the cross. Rising from the dead. Being our ever living saviour. For those who trust him.

[19:18] His hand. His hand reaches down and extends. And we just barely. He does the work really. Doesn't he? It's grace. And that's. It's grace from beginning to end.

[19:31] As much as we might strive. And. And. Intend. And he makes up. For our lack. Our inadequacy. And. You might say. Preacher. I'm inadequate. This is unattainable.

[19:42] This is up here. I'm just down. I'm barely. A centimetre off the ground. You know. How can I attain unto that stature. Of the fullness of Christ. That perfection. That absolute.

[19:52] Stature. That. That maturity. It's. It's. Unattainable. In human terms.

[20:03] But there are different measures. There's different stages. He wants. He wants us to increase. That's a. Definite. He wants us to be like a tree. He wants us to be like a full grown adult.

[20:15] He wants us to attain unto a perfect man. Unto the measure of the stature. Of the fullness of Christ. Start with where you are. Start with where you are.

[20:27] Now sometimes we don't make the start. Because we think it's too high. It's too hard. It's too unattainable. The standard. It's too far reaching. Above what I can even think of.

[20:38] Getting close to. Who Jesus is. Start with where you are at. Today. And determine from that point. That you will.

[20:49] Seek God. Seek after God. Be a seeker after God. Start with where you are. And through those different stages. He will grow you. He will extend you. God gives the increase.

[21:02] It says. And so consider the stature of Christ. What does the word tell us about. The stature of Christ. We see that in Luke 2. 52. I'm sorry I can't project all the scriptures.

[21:13] Because it would have helped. You follow along. And I'm conscious that. It's hard to keep up. When there's lots of scriptures. But Luke 2. 52. We see this reference to the stature.

[21:24] Again. Paul talks about the perfect man. The measure of the stature. Of the fullness of Christ. So what is the stature. Of Christ. Luke 2.

[21:34] 52. We see. Reference to our Lord. As. A child. Luke 2.

[21:46] 52. And Jesus increased in wisdom. And stature. And in favour with God and man. So notice again that word stature. I know it's not a common word.

[21:57] But it talks about that growing. That increasing. In height. In person. The maturity. It says Jesus increased. In wisdom and stature.

[22:10] Our Lord tells us. Learn of me. What do we learn of him? As a child we see. That he was subject. Verse 51. He was subject. To. His mother.

[22:22] And Joseph. He was subject. And that's a good thing. That's simple. For. Young people here. To be subject to your parents.

[22:34] It's a good start. Isn't it? To have that godly. Obedience. Jesus. And. We read further. That he was about. His father's business.

[22:45] At an early age. He was about. His father's business. And likewise. We too. Have an interest. In spiritual things. And this was evident. In.

[22:55] The stature of Jesus. Just as a child. As a youth. He lived with that care of souls. All around him. And he sets for us. The ultimate example. As we read. In 1 Peter 2.

[23:06] 21. It says. For even here unto. Where you call. Because Christ also. Has suffered for us. Leaving. As an example. That you should follow. His steps.

[23:18] We should follow. In his footprints. In his footprints. Back in Luke 2. We see. That he was filled. He increased. He advanced in wisdom. As God's dear children.

[23:30] How can we aspire to that stature? Learn of him. Learn his truth. Learn of his word. Apply yourself.

[23:42] So increase the understanding. Of Bible teachings. And apply yourselves. To this learning. The Lord Jesus grew. And he was spiritually strong. In Luke 2.

[23:53] 40. It says. That the child grew. And he waxed strong in spirit. Filled with wisdom. And the grace of God. Was upon him. He was filled with wisdom.

[24:04] What do we fill our minds with? It's a good question. Isn't it? Especially in today's culture. And the world. What do we fill our minds with? Jesus filled his mind.

[24:16] With wisdom. He was filled with wisdom. We don't get a lot of wisdom. From Facebook. For example. There's elements of it. But it's largely. Dross.

[24:28] Isn't it? And. We can fill our minds with all kinds of stuff. Can't we? But. Rather. Let's. Look to the stature of Jesus. He filled his mind with wisdom.

[24:41] Wisdom. And it says. The grace of God was upon him. What do we fill our minds with? Is it wisdom? Our Lord was teachable.

[24:53] And it says that he. The grace of God was upon him. We know in John 1.14. It says the word. We know the word was. God.

[25:05] The word was with God. The word was made flesh. And dwelt amongst us. And we. Beheld his glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father. Full of grace and truth.

[25:16] He was full of grace and truth. To be like Jesus. Is to have that heart. Isn't it? To be full of grace and truth.

[25:28] Grace and truth. In Luke 2. It says he sought after spiritual things. In Luke 2.46. It says. And it came to pass. That after three days. You know. The Lord Jesus.

[25:39] His parents. You know. Mary. And Joseph. His mother. And Joseph. Had lost. Jesus.

[25:50] Jesus has gone missing. And they put out. A missing persons report here. Where is he? In Luke 2.46. It says. It came to pass.

[26:01] Three days later. They found him in the temple. Sitting. In the midst of the doctors. Both hearing them. And asking them questions. He. He. He. He got. Where.

[26:12] He could get to the word. He got to where he could. Get the word. Of God. He. He. He went to the. Temple. And we see later.

[26:23] In Luke 4.16. It tells. How. He came to Nazareth. Where he had been brought up. And. As his custom was. He went into the synagogue. On the Sabbath day.

[26:33] And stood up for to read. It was his custom. It was his habit. Just. Even as a child. He gathered. In the midst of the doctors. Hearing them. And asking them questions.

[26:45] And. As his custom was. Later in life. He went. To the assembly. It was his custom. It was his habit.

[26:55] So if we're going to be like Jesus. Let's. Adopt. That habit. Let's adopt that custom. Of getting together. When we can.

[27:06] Get together with God's people. Assemble. Make it a habit. Do we develop such godly habits. That's. That's a good thing to do. To develop that stature. Get together.

[27:16] Where you can encourage one another. Where you can stir one another up. Where you can ask questions. And hear. The word of God. And encourage. Each other. The Lord Jesus showed us.

[27:27] What to focus on. In Luke 2. We read from verse 48. When they saw him. They were amazed. Here he is. In the middle of the temple. Hearing the doctors. Asking them questions.

[27:39] They were amazed. This was surprising. And his mother said unto him. Son. Why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them.

[27:50] How is it that you sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my father's business? You know. Don't have to worry. I'm here.

[28:01] I'm doing my father's business. He was. He had that priority. That purpose. And do we have that purpose? If Christ is in us.

[28:12] We should have that same purpose. That we are about the father's business. We've got a full time occupation. Of the father's business. And what is the father's business?

[28:24] What is the purpose of God? 1 John 3 verse 8. We read. He that committed sinners of the devil. For the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the son of God was manifest.

[28:38] That he might destroy the works of the devil. We have a business to destroy the works of the devil. And the Lord Jesus says in Luke 19.10.

[28:52] For the son of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. To seek and to save that which was lost. That should be our business too. Shouldn't it? If we're going to attain unto the stature.

[29:04] If Christ is in you. Then his mission is our mission. His work is our work. His business is our business. Sometimes you get that kind of reaction from people don't you?

[29:17] When you're witnessing to people. And you say. You know. If you were to die tonight. Would you know that you're going to heaven? And they would say.

[29:27] That's none of your business. Well it is. Isn't it? We're about this business. To seek and to save that which was lost. This is our business.

[29:38] To challenge the lost. To urge people to trust Christ. To point people to the Saviour. Not in some holier than thou way. But because.

[29:50] But for the grace of God. Such was I. Once I was lost. Now I am found. Once I was blind. Now I can see. This is too precious a good news for me to keep it to myself.

[30:02] This is my business. The soul winning business. We read how he grew in favour with men. The Lord Jesus. He associated with all kinds of people.

[30:13] Publicans. Sinners. Samaritans. Because he loved them. He loved them. He cared for souls. The friend of sinners. If Christ is in you. Then we ought to be like that.

[30:25] Shouldn't we? We ought to be like that. To care for souls. Because it's so critical. It's so fundamental. This message is too important. For us to keep it to ourselves.

[30:37] And he grew in favour with God. He was a God pleaser. Sometimes we can make the mistake. I can make that mistake. Of being a man pleaser.

[30:49] Telling people what I think they want to hear. Tickling ears. Making you feel good. So you'll come back again. Because you had a bit of a buzz. And the preacher kind of scratched you where you itched.

[31:01] And it's not about that. Is it? I'm not here to please you. But to please God. For all of us to please God. For me to please God. For we to please God. To be a God pleaser.

[31:12] And this should be our driving purpose for all of us. Not to be a man pleaser. But to please God. To please God. That's the fundamental. Not to please ourselves.

[31:24] But to please God. And he was such that he grew in favour with God. And men. How do we grow? How do we mature? It's perfecting this maturing process.

[31:36] Paul chided the Corinthians. He said that they were stuck. And I brethren could not speak unto you as unto spiritual. But as unto carnal.

[31:47] Even as unto babes in Christ. He said you're just babies still. Babes in Christ. Now it's good to be born again. To have the new birth. To be a baby in Christ.

[31:57] But don't stay there. God doesn't want us to stay in babyhood. But to aspire. To attain unto the stature. To grow. To maturity.

[32:09] As Christians we're meant to grow up. I've heard it said. We should take off the bibs.

[32:20] You know what babies wear. And put on the apron. We're meant to be the adults here. In our faith as it were. And stop being as babies. As children.

[32:32] You know. We know what children are like. You know. What. What. Someone might like to make an impression. You know. Yeah. You know. The baby.

[32:43] Just demanding. And fussing. And wanting to be fed. Or changed. And such. And just. All about them. But we as.

[32:55] Mature Christians. We're part of the. Of the family of God. We're to nurture those baby ones. And we're to set an example. To. Grow in.

[33:06] In. In our faith. To grow up into him. In all things. Which is the head. Even Christ. Ephesians 4. 15. To be henceforth. No more children. Tossed to and fro. Carried about.

[33:17] With every wind of doctrine. By the slight of men. And cunning craftiness. Whereby they lie in wait to the scene. But rather to aspire to be unto. A perfect man. Unto the measure of the stature.

[33:28] Of the fullness of Christ. Think of it. Christ in you. Christ in you. If we could just. Just try to. Capture this somehow. If I could.

[33:40] Communicate this somehow. As. Clearly and as simply. As I can to you today. That this is what God wants for us. Christ in you. So. If Christ is in you.

[33:52] What will that look like? What will. What will we be like? We'll be mature. In our dealings with men. To be as he was. Tender hearted.

[34:03] Forgiving. One another. That we would. We would be like Jesus. That we would be. Kind. And lowly.

[34:13] And loving. And. And. Blessing. And giving. And gracious. God wants for us to be like Christ. In our human relationships.

[34:26] And. That's really where it's the hardest. Isn't it? When you've actually got to deal with another fellow human being. You know. I can tell you. That my new boss is a challenge. At work.

[34:37] She is a beauty. I don't know if she's watching this. You know. God bless her. She's hard work. I've never had. Quite a challenge like this before.

[34:51] A boss who's a bit hard to get on with. A bit too. You know. Hard. You've got to learn to.

[35:01] I've got to be. Christ to her. That's a challenge. Pray for me. You know. Christ in you. It's when you get those real people.

[35:11] Isn't it? That makes it hard. When you actually got to. Make this. Translate this into action. Make this. A reality. When. You're real. In your real life.

[35:22] That's when it can be a challenge. God wants for us to be. Like Christ. Like a tree. Productive. Operational.

[35:33] Functioning. It's where the rubber hits the road. Isn't it? When your Christianity is actually put into action. It's not just. You know. The church. Day.

[35:44] It's every day. Isn't it? Every day. We must move beyond what is carnal. The fleshly way of thinking. And acting. Which is. Let's face it. Well for me.

[35:54] It's about self-serving. What's in it for me? What makes me feel good? That self-serving. Fleshly. Carnal kind of thinking. Go beyond that.

[36:06] The human tendency to strife. Or pride. Or. Having your own way. To being a peacemaker. To being spiritually mature.

[36:18] Christ in you. What does this mean? What does this look like? You know. I was. I was just reflecting on this. I was just having a bit of a rest time this morning.

[36:29] And I got the most thoughts about this. As I just kind of close my eyes and try to picture this. And it's almost like a sermon on the back of an envelope. I had this little envelope. And I just wrote down these thoughts.

[36:41] And. What does it really mean? That Christ is in me. That Christ be formed in me. What does it look like? And I thought. It's about developing those qualities that Jesus had.

[36:55] The Lord Jesus had. Those qualities of humility. And to have the attitude of John the Baptist. He must increase. But. I must. Decrease.

[37:06] To come under the control of his spirit. That he has his way. That we develop that greater sensitivity to him. His desires. His will. What are they? We put aside our own cares.

[37:19] And our own selfish ways. And we aspire unto a perfect man. Unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. There's a sense of fullness there. Of fulfilment.

[37:30] The fullness of Christ. To be baptised into his spirit. As it were. To be immersed. To be saturated. To be enveloped. To be enclosed. To be dunked.

[37:41] And for it to. As it were. Permeate. And soak. Through the very core. The very fibre of our being. That Christ is in you.

[37:52] In such a fashion. That Christ is in you. And he will overflow. And when someone squeezes you. Like a sponge. Jesus comes out.

[38:03] He will be seen in you. He will come out of you. And even when it's hard. Even when it's tough. He will be evident. He will be the result.

[38:13] People will see Jesus in you. Even when they're giving you a hard time. And his mind will be in you. That we will think like Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 2.16.

[38:24] It says. But we have the mind of Christ. His mind will be in us. To have the mind of Christ. That's a theological concept.

[38:35] Beyond our comprehension. Isn't it? How do you define that? That we have the mind of Christ. It tells us in the word. That we've received the spirit of Christ. We've entered into the service of Christ.

[38:49] His yoke. His burden. Take it up. We know his heart. We extend his forgiveness. His generosity. His grace.

[39:02] We bury the hatchet. We get rid of the chip on the shoulder. We get right with people. We get right with God. In the dealings with human souls. We exercise his sensitivity.

[39:14] You know. You know, as a preacher, you oftentimes get the opportunity to stand at the casket or at the graveside and you remember someone and how life is so short.

[39:39] Life is so short. And I think of people in my life, how can I make things right?

[39:51] Whatever it be. That sensitivity to souls because life is gone in a moment. And make things right. Have the sensitivity.

[40:02] The sensitivity of his spirit, his leading, his calling, his prompting, Christ in you. Helps you to know his word, his will, his way, his works, Christ in you.

[40:13] Helps you to know his peace, his purpose, his plan. Come under his training, his word. Make decisions based on the word. His mind is in you. This is how we know the mind of Christ.

[40:26] He's told us. We don't have to read his mind. We read his word to get his mind. Take up his word, his yoke. To be laborers together with God. Develop Christ's likeness.

[40:38] So that when someone has a go at you, Jesus comes out. That's a challenge, I know. Because there's a whole lot of me still inside of me.

[40:50] But ask Jesus to make you more like him. And more of his personality. I think, what was the personality of Christ like?

[41:01] And I like the word winsome. I know I've said this before, but a winsome personality. It was a person that you wanted to be around. It was a person that people went to.

[41:14] And we should be winsome because we want to win some for Christ, don't we? We want to win people. Win some. We should be winsome. And we should have that personality that we want to attract people to Jesus.

[41:27] Of course, we know when the Lord Jesus gave some hard truths, they all forsook him and fled. But nevertheless, we should grow up into him. Grow up into being like Jesus. To act like Jesus.

[41:39] You know, there's that quaint little slogan, what would Jesus do? Let's make it more than just some quaint slogan. What would Jesus do? It's what I should do is what Jesus would do.

[41:50] I know there's some folk asking me last time, what should I do when someone asks me for some practical help? And there's lots of questions about whether we let a stranger into our house and accommodate them.

[42:03] Well, that's a big question. There's all sorts of threads to that. It's not probably a simple answer to that. But what would Jesus do? What did the good Samaritan do?

[42:15] What would Jesus do? We walk in his love, don't we? We find, what would Jesus do? And a spiritually mature person is sensitive to the needs of people, the hurting.

[42:26] How do I treat people? How do I control myself? My attitude? My talk? Do I exercise tongue control? You know, zip the lip is a good strategy, isn't it?

[42:39] Avoid gossip, for one thing. You know, his mission, it's souls, isn't it? His heartbeat, souls, souls, souls, souls. He beheld the city and he wept over it. His tears.

[42:52] His mission should be our mission, our focus too. We are apostello, sent out. Because we're not apostles in the founding apostle sense of the word.

[43:05] But we are all apostello, sent out. He says, go ye. Go out. Go. I'm sending you out. We know his sending.

[43:18] We know his heart. I talked lately, his bowels. How more graphic can it be? The very innards of our God. Should be such that Christ is in us.

[43:30] His yearning, his compassion, his heart, his sensitivity, his emotions, his feelings, his love, his mind, his hands, his feet, his compassion, his pressing, his constraining, his love constrains us.

[43:46] And we take on his zeal, his actions. To grow up into him needs to be like Jesus. To act like Jesus. To be like a tree. Green and fruitful.

[43:58] Now an immature plant or tree does not produce fruit. But the Lord Jesus wants us to be like a tree that is flourishing and bearing fruit. And it says, blessed is such a one.

[44:11] He says, make disciples. That's a big task, isn't it? Not just make decisions. Make disciples. And we can be fruitful. We can be fruitful believers.

[44:22] We can bear fruit. And you might say, look, I know I'm just not going to make it. Join the club of our own strength and effort. We cannot make it.

[44:33] But he makes up the difference. He'll help you walk the Christian walk. He'll help you live the Christian life. He'll help you bear the Christian fruit. The fruit of the Spirit. Think of that.

[44:45] Just to wrap up here. Think of the fruit of the Spirit. Be patient. Be kind. Be long-suffering. Be steadfast. All of the fruit. Galatians 5.

[44:56] What would Jesus do? He would be full of grace and truth. It doesn't mean you're not truthful. You speak the truth in love. You speak it.

[45:07] But you're full of grace and truth. When Jesus is in you, which he is, you'll pray like Jesus. Why did he pray?

[45:20] Because it's important to pray. Because he set an example for us to pray. I mean, in some ways he probably didn't need to pray. I'd imagine.

[45:30] Maybe that's, I'm not sure theologically about that. But, you know, I'm just wondering whether he really needed to pray. Because he was in constant communication with the Father. But I think he did that as a deliberate example for us.

[45:46] To tell us that it's important to pray. To be like Jesus when pressure and trouble comes. And to develop godly habits.

[45:59] So God's will for us is to grow. That's what it is to be like a tree. Flourishing. Fruitful. How we grow? Christ in you.

[46:10] That beautiful truth of Christ in you. That quality of Christlikeness. And I've heard it put. When we grow to be Christlike, we see it in how we act, react, and interact.

[46:26] It's a good way of thinking, isn't it? How we act? We should be a consistent Christian. It's not about switching it on and off. Putting it on, putting it off. It's how we act.

[46:36] We're Christlike 24-7 by 365. It's how we react in those tough things of human relationships. And when we have a time of trouble, it's how we react.

[46:50] And it's how we interact. As God's people, we're brothers and sisters knit together in love. Christlike. Think like Jesus. The mind of Christ. Be careful for nothing.

[47:02] Now don't be full of care. But in everything. By prayer and supplication. With thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

[47:20] Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.

[47:37] The mind of Christ. Wow. It's mind-blowing, isn't it? It's Christ in you. That's the secret. And it shouldn't be a secret. It should be the reality.

[47:49] We don't stay where we are. We commit to grow. We don't stay as babes in Christ. We want to attain unto the stature, the fullness of Christ.

[48:00] And we know it's by his grace, every step of the way from start to glory. It's by grace to be like Jesus. Christ in you. Christ in you.

[48:12] This morning, I'm speaking to believers. I'm speaking to those who know that they are saved by the blood of Jesus. They are born again. They've received the new birth.

[48:22] If you've yet to trust him, it's trusting his work. It's trusting Jesus' blood that can wash your stain of sin away.

[48:33] It's trusting his full salvation, his finished work, his done, completed act at the cross for your sin, where he paid for the full penalty of it there.

[48:46] And trusting in, receiving him, calling upon him, receiving his forgiveness, his grace, his saving power. And then it's the start of that growing in Christ.

[49:04] Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that your word helps us to grow. We pray for everyone here this morning. Help us, Lord, that we consider what would you do in the circumstances of life.

[49:17] That we would consider, Lord, how we think and act, how we act, react and interact, how we live, how we work with others and go about our day by day when the rubber hits the road, Lord, when it's Monday morning and we've got challenges to face and people to deal with that are hard.

[49:40] Lord, difficulties, afflictions and hurts. Help us, Lord, to know your grace every step of the way and to, like you, be full of grace and truth.

[49:53]  In Jesus' name, Amen.