Welcome to the 4th talk in our 40 Days of Purpose series, looking at God's purposes for your life. Today we look at the third purpose, which we find it in Romans 8:29 and many other verses. Look at your outline, "For from the very beginning God decided that those who came to Him – and He knew who would – should become like His Son". God's plan has always been, this is the third purpose, to make you like Jesus Christ. God's plan from the very beginning has been to make human beings like Himself. God wants you to become godly. He wants you to develop His character, the way He thinks, the way He acts, the way He feels, His values, His moral character. God wants to make you like Himself, to make you like Jesus.

Look at the next verse, Eph. 4:15, "God wants us to grow up…like Christ in everything". God's will for you is that you grow up & become like Christ. Babies are cute, but if babies stay babies, it's tragic. God wants us to mature and develop. What does spiritual maturity look like? Just take a long look at Jesus Christ. Would you write this down, my third purpose in life is to become like Christ. In Jesus He gave us a model of what He wants us to grow up like. Col. 1:15 in the Message says "We look at the Son and see God's original purpose in everything". This doesn't happen overnight. It's a process called "discipleship". It's going to take the rest of your life for God to build character in you, the character qualities of Jesus Christ.

So how does God make us like Jesus Christ?" Well, a couple of ways spring to mind. He uses the Bible. If you really want to grow up spiritually, you've got to get into this Book. You need to read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it, think about it and apply it in your life, because it takes truth to transform us.

The other thing God uses is people. That's why last week we talked about fellowship, that when we learn from each other we grow and we develop. And the more you get with other Christians, the more spiritually mature you're going to become as you grow through spending time with them.

But, God uses more than just the Bible and fellowship. Today we're going to look at three things that you may have not thought God uses, but He does. Let's look at this next verse, Romans 8:28 "In all things God works for the good for those who love Him, who have been called according to His purposes". That's Romans 8:28. Now what is His purpose? We read it in the first verse on your outline. Romans 8:29 tells us God's purpose is to make us like Jesus. So God works all things for good to make us like Jesus. Does that include bad things, painful things? Does it even include mistakes we make from sinning? Yes, it does. In all things God works for the good of those who love Him. It doesn't say all things are good, but that God uses all things to make me like Christ.

So today we're going to look at three unexpected tools, to see them in the life of Jesus Christ. And if you're going to grow to be like Jesus Christ, God's going to take you through these same experiences. The problem is these things don't automatically help you grow. You have to have your heart ready, because if your heart isn't ready you're going to become bitter by these things rather than better by these things.

So, number one, if you'll write this down, God uses trouble to teach us to trust Him. In the Bible this word "trouble" is often called "trials". "Trials" are situations designed by God to draw us closer to Him. They're not designed to hurt us; they're designed to help us. If things go well in your life, it doesn't take any faith, it doesn't take any character. So God has to bring some things along in our life to stretch us, to cause us to grow, and these are called troubles or trials. God wants to build character in you. How does He do it? Look at the first verse, Romans 5:3-4 "…trouble produces patience, and patience produces character, and character produces hope".

Get this - God is far more interested in your life, in what you are, than in what you do. God is always more interested in who you are, your character, than He is in what you do, your career because you're not taking your career to heaven with you, but you are taking your character. So God says that the goal of life is character, not your career or your own personal comfort. Until you understand this life isn't going to make sense. All kinds of problems will come into your life, troubles, trials, difficulties, and you're going to ask "Why me Lord? Why is this happening to me?" as if life is supposed to be a life of comfort. The goal of life is not comfort. This is the place for character development. The bible says, "Troubles produce patience, patience produces character, and character produces hope". Write this down in your outline… every problem has a purpose. No matter who caused it, you, somebody else, the devil, every problem has a purpose. That purpose is to make us like Jesus Christ, to build character in our life.

Jesus went through many troubles and trials in His life, but His greatest was the night before He was crucified. He was going to die a horrible death by crucifixion, and the real question would be "Would He trust God to know what's best for His life, even if it meant an extremely painful death?" That's what He had to struggle with. So, "They came to a garden called Gethsemane and Jesus said to His disciples, 'sit here while I pray'" (Mark 14:32). Notice, even Jesus needed friends when He went through troubles. That's why you need a small group. That's why you need fellowship. Nobody is supposed to go through the troubles of life alone. The stress and anguish came over Him, and He said, "The worry in My heart is so great that it almost crushes Me" (Mark 14:34). This is major trouble He's going through. Probably you know that feeling that you can't make it another day. See how Jesus responded to trouble in the next verse "'Father' He said, 'everything is possible for You. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet, I want Your will, not Mine!'" (Mark 14:36).

If you're going to become like Jesus, this is the first lesson you're going to have to learn. When you go through trouble, it's OK to say to God, "God I don't like this", "God I want you to take it away". Jesus said, "I know everything is possible with You. Yet, if this is what's best for me. Your will be done in my life". He surrendered to God's plan. He says, "Whatever fulfills Your purpose in my life".

If you're going to become like Jesus Christ, you've got to learn to trust God completely, even when things look terrible, things are falling apart. You're going to have to learn to trust God completely just the way Jesus did. God uses trouble to teach us to trust Him. It's easy to trust God when everything is going great in your life. The real test of your faith is "How do you hang out with God when you don't feel good, when everything is going wrong?" God often takes away our feelings in order to teach us to have faith. So, the next time you face troubles, remember that God is giving you the opportunity to trust Him.

Let me share you a couple of helpful things that can help you along when you go through troubles. Number one - keep a spiritual journal. Rick Warren recommends this highly. God told Moses to do this when the Israelites spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness. In Numbers 33:2 it says, "At the Lord's direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress". Not a diary which records events in your life, but a journal which records the lessons and insights learned in your life. "What did I learn today?" What you learn today is something worth looking back on and passing on. A journal helps you see your progress. Most of us don't realize how much we've changed, and we forget what we used to be like. If you have a journal, you can go back and review, and say "Look, I am making progress. I am more like Jesus than I used to be". That's an encouragement when you get discouraged. And more than that, you could pass it on as a spiritual heritage to the next generation. You can pass on the lessons that you've learned and others can learn from your experiences. Keep a journal when you're going through troubles.

Number two - remember the reward. In eternity God is going to reward your character development. The Bible says this "Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2Cor. 4:17). Paul says, "You know what, what we're going through isn't going to last, and even if it lasted a lifetime, that's nothing compared to the number of years you're going to spend in eternity." He says, "What we're going through now is light and temporary, but we're going to be rewarded for our character in heaven". The Message paraphrase translates this, "These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times and the lavish celebration prepared for us."

There is a second surprising way that God works in our lives to make us more like Jesus. God uses our temptations to teach us to obey Him. Temptations are situations designed by Satan, intended to harm us. God never tempts us to do evil - the Bible is very clear about that. But God is able to use Satan's temptations for good in our lives because temptation always provides a choice. And choices are needed to develop character in our lives.

Jesus never sinned, but He faced temptations. Right after He was baptized at the very beginning of his public ministry at the age of 30, He went through an intense 40-day period of temptation out in the desert. Look at what the Bible has to say in Mat. 4:1, "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil". Now, if Jesus faced temptations, guess what? You and I are going to face temptations, too. The fact that He faced temptations reminds us of some truths about temptation that help us to get through it, some things to remember.

Number one, remember that it is not a sin to be tempted. Martin Luther used to say, "You can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair", if you have enough hair for them to build a nest in, that is. It's not a sin to be tempted.

Number two; remember that everyone is tempted in the same ways. The Bible says we're all tempted in the same common ways and God is able to help us through these temptations. One of the ways that Satan tricks us is he makes us feel like our temptation is greater than anyone else's. If you're feeling like "I'm really a bad person", you're a bit like the toddler who thinks he's the first one to come up with the idea of sticking a green bean up their nose.
It's important to remember that you'll never outgrow temptation. You never get to a point in your life where you become so spiritual or so old, that you're not tempted anymore. But it's also important to remember that Jesus teaches us in His experience that every temptation is an opportunity to do good, to make the right choice. It's a stepping stone toward being more like Jesus Christ. Notice what Jesus did when he was tempted, Mat. 4:10, "'Get out of here, Satan' Jesus told him. 'The scriptures say, worship only the Lord God. Obey only Him'". He confronted the temptation.

Here's the point. Temptation always tests whether you love God more than the temptation. That's what's happening when you're tempted. It's always a test of what do I love the most in my life. When I'm tempted by money, it's a temptation…. do I love God most or do I love money most in my life? When I'm tempted by a wrong relationship, it's a temptation…do I love that person or do I love God more in my life? When I'm tempted by comfort, I just like to be comfortable in my life, it's a temptation. Who do I love more? My reputation? Obedience, choosing to say, "yes" to God, is a matter of love. It's not a matter of duty. The Bible tells us that Jesus said, "If you love Me, obey My command".

Two practical helps with temptation. Number one, if you want to make it through the temptations of life we all face, keep focused on good thoughts. The Bible talks about this in Phil. 4:8 when it says, "Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right". Temptation always starts with getting your attention, and when it gets your attention, it gets you. If you focus on the temptation, inevitably you'll give into it. If you turn your thoughts and focus on something positive, obeying God, good, right, true things that God wants us to think about, you'll push out the temptation.
Let me give you just a tip about temptation. When you're tempted, don't resist it. Because as you're resisting it, you're just thinking about the temptation! You're getting into a spiritual tug-of-war with Satan, and he always wins! Don't resist it, just walk a different direction, and think about something different. The bible says, "Think about whatever's good, whatever's right, whatever's true". When you're tempted turn your thoughts from what's wrong to what's right. If you'll take a verse like this and let it turn your mind from what's wrong to what's right, you'll find that the temptation starts to drop away. Keep focused on good thoughts.

The second tip is to get a spiritual partner. None of us like to talk about our temptations, but one of the ways to defeat them is to be open about them, to bring them out into the light. Get a spiritual partner, someone who can help you. The Bible tells us in Eccl. 4:9-10, "You're better off to have a friend than to be all alone…If you fall, your friend can help you up". A temptation might be new or lifelong, but if you tell someone else about it they shouldn't be too shocked, because guess what? They've faced the same kind of temptation as you. This step of recognizing "I need someone to help me through this" is a step that can begin to set that temptation aside in your life. The best place to look for this spiritual partner is in your small group, somebody that you trust. The Bible tells us that the Apostle Paul, who God used in great ways because he resisted a lot of temptations in his life, had a lot of spiritual partners. In fact, it tells us the names of those people, guys named Barnabbas and Mark, Apollos and Timothy, Epaphrus and Titus. He brought these people into his life, and one of the reasons he was able to live such a great life of faith is that he wasn't afraid to have partners who he walked through life with.

Here's the question. What temptation are you facing right now and how could God use that temptation as you choose to obey Him as an opportunity for you to grow in character?

So God uses trouble to teach us trust, and temptation to teach us to obey.

Number three - God uses trespasses to teach us to forgive. Trespasses are situations designed by other people to hurt us. There are lots of people in life who hurt us intentionally or unintentionally - that's why in the Lord's Prayer we're to pray, "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us". The most difficult tool of all that God uses in our lives to make us like Christ is this one. Bearing the hurt of other people without retaliation is, without a doubt, the most important and the most difficult step in becoming like Jesus Christ because it often involves being misunderstood, being criticized, being judged, being hurt physically or emotionally or verbally, it may involve abuse.

Let me be real clear… these are evil things, and God does not cause evil. God hates sin, but He didn't protect even His own Son from these things. Jesus was misunderstood and hurt and judged and abused, and he warns us to expect the same. On the cross Jesus Christ endured enormous abuse from people. Mat. 27:39-44 says, "The people passing by (looking at Jesus on the cross) shook their heads and hurled insults at Jesus…and the elders made fun of Him…Even the bandits who had been crucified with Him insulted him in the same way". What was His response? Look at the next verse, "Jesus said, 'Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing'". In 1 Pet. 2:23 it says this, "They called Him every name in the book and He said nothing back. He suffered in silence, intent to let God set things right". What was Jesus' response to trespasses? He yielded His right to get even. He absorbed the hurt. He put up with the pain. He responded to evil with good. That's Jesus' character.

If you're going to grow up spiritually and become like Jesus Christ, you're going to have to learn the same thing. The truth is in life you're going to be hurt. This is a fallen world. Everybody sins. You hurt other people. Other people hurt you. We hurt each other intentionally and unintentionally. You're going to be hurt often in life. And if you're going to become like Christ, you have to learn to forgive. You can't learn to forgive unless somebody's hurt you. Yet forgiveness is one of the primary qualities of God and God wants you to learn to become like Him. So there are hurts that are allowed in your life in order to make you like Jesus.

This is tough, so let me give you two tips. Number one, remember that God has forgiven me. The Bible says "Forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ" (Eph. 4:32). God will never ask you to forgive anybody more than you've already been forgiven by Him.

Number two, remember God is in control. When you're being hurt by somebody else, yes, they may mean it for bad, but God will use it for good in your life. In the Bible the story of Joseph illustrates this. His brothers sold him into slavery. He was taken to Egypt and went through all kinds of things - falsely accused of rape, thrown into prison…the first 40 years of Joseph's life went downhill. He had no idea why things were going wrong in his life. Yet he trusted God the whole time. He maintained a forgiving spirit. And God knew exactly where he was and had him exactly where He wanted him to be and over time raised him up to be second in command only under Pharaoh. And it was his plan that saved two nations, Egypt and Israel, from starvation when the famines came. Read that story. Later his brothers come to this man, not realizing it was Joseph, to ask for food to take back to their home. And when Joseph reveals who he is, they are afraid he is going to kill them. And yet he says this, there on your outline, "You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good to save the lives of many people, which is being done" (Gen. 50:20).

God uses trespasses to teach us to forgive, because we can't become like Jesus without learning to trust and obey and forgive. Your greatest testimony as a believer is how you handle hurt. How do you respond when other people hurt you? Do you respond like Jesus did? Second, you are most like Christ when you suffer in order to save others. Who do you need to forgive?

God's third purpose for your life is to make you like Jesus Christ. And if that's true, then He's going to take you through everything Jesus went through. Why would He exempt you? That means He's going to take you through trouble, where you learn to trust His love. He's going to take you through temptation, where you learn to obey Him and do the right thing. And He's going to take you to the cross, a time of trespass, where you learn to forgive. But there is a promise. Look at these last verses on your outline. "We go through exactly what Christ goes through". Here's the good news, "But if we go through the hard times with Him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with Him" (Rom. 8:17).

Now, I don't know exactly what you're going through these days, but I do know how God wants you to respond to it, regardless of what you're going through. I am confident of how God wants you to respond. It's the last verse on your outline. This is this week's memory verse. Read it with me. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 2:5).

Let's pray. Dear Father, life makes so much more sense when we realize that it's not about our career, it's not about our comfort, it's all about character and becoming like Jesus. Help us to use life for the reason You gave it to us.

Dear God, I want to grow in character. I want to become who You made me to be. Thank you for the model of Jesus. I want to become more like Jesus in the way I think and the way I feel and the way I act. And if that means taking me through troubled times, then I say "I want Your will for my life". And if that means going through a wilderness of temptation, please give me the strength to make the right choices. And if that means I must endure the hurts of other people, then teach me to forgive as much as You have forgiven me.