Down here in verse 5, Romans
15, 5. Now the God of patience and consolation
grants you to be like-minded one toward another according
to Christ Jesus. And that's my subject this morning,
according to Christ Jesus. And in the margin it says, after
the example of. After the example of. The apostle
prays for these believers at Rome. That's why it says, now
the God of peace grant you consolation. Grant that you be like minded
one toward another. according to Christ Jesus or
after the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he desires,
the apostle does in this prayer, that they follow the example
of our Lord Jesus Christ. That they would imitate the Lord
Jesus Christ one toward another. Now we as Christians, as believers,
we live in this world. We're in this world here, this
world we're in. With all of everything that goes
on with living in this world. And while we live in this world,
we live with professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I live
by professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We say that He is our Savior.
the only Savior, and that without Him there'd be no salvation.
That's what we mean when we say we live by professed faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And we hope to die by the faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we live in this world as
Christians, as believers, with professed hope in the Lord Jesus
Christ. We live with our professed hope
in Christ. But let me say this, and I believe
you'd agree with me, every believer, every Christian has an ideal
life that he wishes he could live. That we wish we could live. An ideal life. Especially when
I was a young believer, it was, oh, I wanted to live this ideal
life as a Christian, as a believer in this world. And I tell you
what, an ideal life that he would love
to realize. That's why Paul meant we're pressing
toward the mark for the prize of the calling, of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus. But this ideal life that we want
is to be more like our master. We sang that song, more, more
about Jesus. And I'll tell you what, it would
be like his master in character. How we would love to be like
our Lord Jesus Christ in character. Be like our Lord Jesus Christ
in spirit, in spirit, in nature. Be like-minded, be like-minded. Now I'll tell
you, beloved, the standard, the plumb line, the measuring stick
for us is not ourselves, is not ourselves. or some super spiritual
dynamic personality in the church. Our measuring stick, our standard,
is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. That's our measuring stick. Wouldn't
you love to realize the fulfillment of God's purpose in you? That God's purpose would be His
will that you could live according to it perfectly. That His word
you could obey perfectly. That His will you could find
it to be all your fulfillment in this world. And this is what
God's doing and this is what God's purpose is to conform us.
One of these days we're going to have that ideal life. We're
going to realize it. when the day comes when we're
conformed fully and completely and entirely to the image of
our Lord Jesus Christ. We'll realize that one of these
days. But the question rises up in our hearts. How can it
be? How in the world can it be? How
can I be more like my master? How can I be more like my master? And look what it says here. I'm
going to read these first seven verses. And go back and make
a few comments on them. Now this is what he's taught.
This is where he concludes. He said, We then that are strong,
ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his
neighbor, for his neighbor's good, to edification, to establishing
him, building him up. And here's what he says, and
he uses Christ as our example. For even Christ pleased not himself,
but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproach thee fell
on me. And he goes to the Scriptures
and he says, that whatsoever things were written aforetime
were written for our learning, that we through patience and
comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now, since we have these things,
the God of patience and consolation grants you to be like-minded
one toward another according to Christ Jesus, that you may
with one mind, one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Wherefore, receive you one another
as also Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now boy,
that's a mouthful, ain't it? That's a mouthful. That's a mouthful. And I tell you what, when it
says according to Christ Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ himself
is our pattern. He's our pattern, not some super
Christian. No, no, it says even as Christ,
please not himself. And we're to receive one another,
he said in verse 7, as Christ received us to God's glory. That
right there would change our lives dramatically if we received
one another. Received one another in our lives,
in our thoughts, in our prayers, in our attitude, in our spirit,
as Christ received us. Wouldn't that be something? How
did Christ receive us? With all our weaknesses, with
all our infirmities, with all our sin, with all our faults,
with all our failings, with all of our ups and all of our downs,
with all of our harshness, and all of our impatience, and all
the thousand things that's wrong with us, Christ received us. He said, I'll tell you what you
all do. He said, you receive one another just as Christ received
you. Now that would be something,
wouldn't it? Oh my, that would be something. And here's the thing about it,
our Lord Jesus Christ did these things in his earthly life as
a man. And over in 1 John, you keep
Romans 15, and look with me over here in 1 John. And look what
John says here. John uses this word, even as,
uses the phrase six times in his little epistle, even as he,
six times, even as he. And so he emphasizes our Lord
Jesus Christ is our pattern. And I'm just going to mention
just two or three of them. Look what he says here in verse
6 of chapter 1. 1 John chapter 1 verse 6. If we say that we have fellowship
with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth.
But if we walk in the light, listen to this, as He's in the
light. Oh, walk in the light as He's in the light. And I tell
you what, beloved, Shirley and I was talking about it on the
way to the meeting this morning. The lower you get, the more trouble
you get into, the more depressed you are, the more despair you
have, The more trouble you have in your flesh, that's when you
need to come hear the gospel. You cannot let it go, because
that's where we get the light, when we're in this darkness.
That's where we get the help, when we have no ability. That's
where everything comes from. And so we walk in the light,
as He says He walks in the light. And over in chapter 2, in verse
6, look what He says. We walk even as He walked. He
that saith he abideth in him, himself also so to walk as he
walked. How did our Lord Jesus Christ
walk in this world? Well, he walked according to
the word of God. We know that. We know that he
walked according to the will of God. He said, I came down
from heaven not to do my will, but the will of him that sent
me. He came to here, he done the will of God, he walked according
to the word of God, and he walked in humility. And everything he
did brought glory to God. Now I tell you what, that's what
it means to walk as he walked. We walk according to the will
of God, as it's made known to us in the scriptures, according
to the word of God. And then look over here in chapter
3 and verse 3. This will be my last one here.
I want you to see this. Oh my. So according to Christ
Jesus, Christ is our pattern. And John used him so many times. He said, even as he, even as
he. Look what he says in verse 3 of John 3. And every man that
has this hope in him purifies himself, what? Even as he is
pure. Now what is he talking about
here? This is a personal purifying. It's something that a man has
to figure out for himself. And here's a personal hope. But
let me give you some things that I would love to be purified from.
And I believe you would too. Purified from the love of self.
Oh, to be purified from loving self. Christ, please, not himself. To be purified from the love
of self. To be purified from pride. Oh
my, you say, I ain't got no. Yes, you have. Listen, if you're
a human being, you've got pride. And I tell you, to be purified
from pride, to be purified from cubbishness, to be purified from
vainglory. Vainglory, anytime you glory
in something you've said, something you've done, something you've
accomplished, it's vainglory. And all purifying us from hope
of salvation any other way than the Lord Jesus Christ, by anyone
else than the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I thank God for temporal
blessings, and I know you do, but we don't want our temporal
blessings at the expense of our relationship with our Lord Jesus
Christ. And our hope purifies us from
that, that we want nothing, nothing in this world that we possess,
that we can touch, we can taste, or we can handle that hinders
our relationship with our Savior. And every man that has this hope
in Him purifies himself. And oh beloved, down here I tell
you our example, our pattern, as our example back over in Romans
15, as our example, as our pattern. Now listen to what I'm going
to tell you. Where do we get the ability to follow Him? To have Him as our example, as
our pattern. He's the one who gives us the
grace, who gives us the power, who gives us the desire, who
gives us the motive to follow Him and follow in His steps. If He didn't give it to us, we
wouldn't do it. If He didn't give it to us, I
wouldn't be talking this way this morning. He is alone our
Redeemer. He shed His blood to save us
from our sins. He alone is our Savior. They
had a debate this morning over bigotry. If you're a Christian
and you're a believer and you say that there's no other way
to God other than Jesus Christ, that no man can come unto the
Father but by Jesus Christ. Our Lord Himself said that. No
man comes unto the Father but by Me. So if you're that way,
you're a bigot and you're a racist. Because you say that there's
some way that nobody can get there but the way you say it.
I didn't say it, that's what Christ said. God himself said,
look unto me. In Isaiah 45, 21, look unto me,
all ye ends of the earth. For I'm God and there's none
other. I'm a just God and I'm a Savior. And if there's another way, why
in the world am I doing up here preaching? If there's another
way that God can save a sinner, why in the world did Jesus Christ
come into this world? Why did Christ suffer on a cross? Why was the blood shed? Why did
a sinless man, virgin born, come into this world? If that's some
other way. And that's what we say. Because
He alone is our Savior. He alone is our Redeemer. And
He's the one who gives us the grace to follow Him. We say according to Christ Jesus
our example. We couldn't take one step even
towards Christ if He didn't give us the grace. So even though
I said he's our pattern, he's the one that gives us the grace
for us to follow him. Keep Romans. Again, look in 1
Peter 2. Look what he says over here.
Look what he says over here. I'm going to be a bigot all the
days of my life, as far as I know. I've been a bigot for years. Oh my. Look what he says now. About Christ leaving us an example. 1 Peter 2.21. For even here unto
where ye called, ye has called to this calling, because Christ
also has suffered for us. Leaving us an example that you
should follow in his steps that as he suffered you go suffer
And you know he said except a man take up his cross and follow
me he cannot be my disciple And this is what he went on to say
here who did no sin neither was cow found in his mouth When he
was reviled, he reviled not again. When he suffered, he didn't threaten
anybody, but committed himself to him that judges rightly. Now listen to what he says now.
Christ left an example that we should follow. He points to Christ
as our sin bearer, who his own self bears sins in his own body
in the tree. And I tell you what, that we
being dead to sins, we died to sins in him. and all beloved,
and Christ himself is our life. And that's what he says here.
And then look what he says here. For you were a sheep going astray. Then he talks about him being
the shepherd and the bishop of our souls. So we are going to
follow in his steps and then he turns around and tells us
why we have done it and how we have done it and how we are going
to follow him. He has suffered for us, he bore our sins, he
is the bishop and we are dead to sins and so we look to him
and if we follow him he is the one that gives us the grace to
do it. Gives us the grace to do it. And let me say, let me
say without a shadow of a doubt Listen to this now. If Christ
were only our example, only our example, without being our sin
bearer, without being our redeemer, without the one who gives us
the grace to perform, without the one to give us the will to
do, it would only lead to despair. If all I had to do, if my whole
point and your point was to follow His example, without Him giving
us grace, without Him giving us the will to do and working
in us the will to do, it would leave us in absolute
despair. that all Christ pleased not himself
but it says there in Romans 15 that he bore the reproach of
them that men had toward God all the reproaches that we reproach
God with in our lives Christ bore all them reproaches oh my and I tell you look what
he says down here in verse 9 of Romans 15 and this is what we
do that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. Oh my, that
mercy that God gave us in Christ. So He's our pattern. Then He
gives us the ability to walk, to walk. And then look back over
here in Romans 15. So we have Christ as our pattern.
And then we have the power of the scriptures. The power of
the scriptures. Look what he says in verse 4.
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning. And that's why he talked about
the reproaches of them that reproached him. Were written for our learning
that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might
have hope. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word of God. Now
beloved, there will be no power, there will be no purpose of heart,
there will be no desire, no honor in God, no glorifying Christ
apart from the scriptures. It's impossible to do. It's impossible
to do. You know, we can't follow his
example if you don't hear of him continually. hear of him
continually. And that scripture says here
we're written for our learning. Teach us something. To learn
us. To teach us, to instruct us.
And that's why when we go through the Old Testament we find Christ,
Christ, and more Christ. And I tell you what, it's written
for our learning and it will accomplish its purpose. This
idea that God's trying to teach somebody something. No, no. God
will. If He's got a lesson to teach
you and He's going to teach you from the Old Testament, He's
going to teach you. You're going to get that lesson.
You're going to learn it. I'm telling you we're going to
learn. But here's our problem. We've got to learn over and over
and over and over again. That's why we come and hear the
Scriptures. I remember one time my sister
I'm just a little, little bitty fella. And she was having, she
was just doing her homework one day. And she was having an awful
hard time figuring something out. I don't remember who done
it. Maybe my mother done it. I don't
know who done it. But anyway, they took the pencil and broke
it over her head. She said, you gotta get this. Boom, broke that pencil over
her head. I don't want God to break no
pencil over my head, but I do know this. He's going to get
it. We're going to get it. And that's
why we come to get it all the time. Because we have to learn
over and over. And I've told you this illustration
before. We were in a place called Palenque. One time on our way
down to Milton Howard's from Walter Grueber's. Went through
these mountains and we come down to this jungle place. And they
had little houses in this jungle place. A little restaurant. It
was an open restaurant. But every day there was fellas out there
with machetes cutting the jungle back. I mean the jungle would
cover them little old huts up and they was out there every
day. Even around that restaurant cutting that jungle back. Well
that's what the Word of God does for us. It keeps the jungle cut
off of us. It keeps the jungle cut back
from us. Or it would just overwhelm us. And I tell you what, we threw
patience. And that's what he says. We threw
patience. These things are written for
our learning. And it will accomplish this person. And that's what
he says, that we threw patience. And this word patience means
an active endurance. Not just sitting down twiddling
your thumb. Patience means an active endurance. Not passive
submission. Be still and know that I am God.
That's what that means. Be still. Go and live. But oh
my, be still. When Moses said, stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord. About that time the Red
Sea opened and they stood there. And when they stood there waiting
on God, actively patient, the Red Sea opened. And that's what
we do. We patiently wait and we seek
the salvation of the Lord. Now, let me look over here in
Isaiah 55. Let me show you what I'm talking
about. God's will will be done. God's going to teach us. And
the Scriptures are written for that. In Isaiah 55. Oh, we might have patience. Patience. You just wait. You wait on the
Lord and act Him dear. It's not a passive. And then
comfort that we might have comfort. Might have comfort. Might have
hope. But look what God said here in
verse 10. Isaiah 55. For as the rain cometh down,
and the snow from heaven, and it don't go back, don't go back
up, but it waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and
bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater.
Listen to it. So shall my word be that goeth
forth out of my mouth. It ain't gonna return, it shall
not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which
I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I said it. That's why we have to have the
scriptures. We want the scriptures. And the
Scriptures, the things which are written aforetime are written
for our learning. That we through patience and
comforts might have hope of the Scriptures. The Scriptures are
God's revelation. God's truth. It's the only thing
in the world where we can find out where forgiveness is at.
The only place in the world where we can find out where righteousness
is at. The only book in the world that tells how the world was
created and who did it. And I tell you, the assurance
of God's forgiveness is our consolation. God's presence, God's presence
with us no matter what happens. He said, I'll never leave you. No, never, no, never, no, never,
no, never leave thee nor forsake thee. Nothing ever happened that
caused me to forsake you. And I tell you what, in God's
power, as we understand the scriptures, is our confidence in this world.
He'll hold us up, He'll keep us, and He'll keep His promise.
And you know what our rule of life is as far as we're concerned
in this world? Is this blessed book, The Will
of God. what he makes known in this scripture. We don't have
to go to some doctor somewhere. We don't have to go to some organization
that's got a headquarter somewhere and find out what we're to believe
and how we're supposed to believe it. We don't have a constitution.
We don't have bylaws. That's the first thing people
want to know about when they're going to establish a congregation. Establish a church. Well, what's
your constitution? What's your bylaws? Why do we
need a constitution? Why do we need bylaws? What are
we going to do with them? Those things are made to
keep a bunch of rebels in control. So we can point to a law and
point to a constitution saying, now if you're going to be a member
of this church, this is what you've got to do. I tell you, if you
want to be a member of God's church, you believe the gospel.
I don't care what else happens in every constitution under the
sun. It ain't going to change a man's nature. And bylaws not
going to change a man's nature. Only God can change a man's nature. Only God can give a man a new
heart. Only God can do that. That's
my message for tonight. Let me put that over here. I
know I can. Oh, but only God can do that.
And I tell you, what if you do have a good constitution and
good bylaws? What are you going to do with
them? I heard old partner say one time he used to have business
meetings and he'd take a deputy sheriff, had to have a deputy
sheriff to come out. And this blessing book is the
revelation and record of God's dealings with His people. You
know how God dealt with His people? You go to the Bible and find
out. How did God deal with Abraham? How did God deal with Noah? How
did God deal with Adam? How did God deal with Abel? How
did God deal with Jacob? How did God deal with men in
the Old Testament? The problem, they've got to find
out how did God, if God dealt with men that way in Noah, if
He dealt with Abraham that way, that's the way He's going to
deal with us. If He dealt in grace with Noah, He's going to
deal in grace with us. If He punished Adam for his sin,
then if a man doesn't come to Christ, he's going to feel the
judgment and justice of God on his head throughout eternity
as Adam did. Oh my, and I tell you what, and
it's promises, oh the promises of God. And one promise, I'm going to
give you a promise that I absolutely, that this is it for me. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. And this promise I love. And
he that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast him out. That's
the part I love about that. I've come to Christ. I keep coming. I just keep coming and keep coming. If you all know what I was like,
if you all had any idea how sinful, how sinful, how wretched, What
goes on inside of me? If you had any idea about that. God ain't never cast me out.
He should have. I've done a thousand things to
cause Him to do it. But He hasn't. He hasn't. And that's my blessed hope that
He'll never ever cast me out. And then you go to the Psalms
and you see all these experiences. And you read your experience
in the Psalms. And these experiences reveal,
sustain us in our trials. And it's God's Word. It's the
Bible. And the more we become acquainted
with it, the more we hear it, it will affect. It will have
a great effect upon our character, And you know what it does? It'll
transform our lives. Transform our lives. And here
in Romans 15, Paul quoted four Old Testament scriptures. When
he says these things are written in four times, he quoted four
Old Testament scriptures concerning the promises of God and how Christ
come to save Gentiles like ourselves. And now, here's my third point. Christ's our pattern according
to Christ Jesus. The scriptures are the power. We have the scriptures as God's
power. God's blessedness. And then prayer. Paul turns from the scriptures
to the source of scriptures. Look what he says in verse 5. And what a blessed provision
God's given us. There's three prayers that this
apostle turns to. Three prayers that he gives us
in these scriptures. And what a blessed provision.
Look what he says in verse 5. Now the God of patience. And this is the prayer he prays
for. The God of patience and consolation. The God who consoles
you, the God of patience, and He waits on you and consoles
you. And listen, and He said, this
is what I want this God of patience and consolation to do for you.
Grant you to be like-minded, one toward another. Like our
Lord Jesus Christ did. Huh? What our Lord Jesus Christ
did. And what a blessed, blessed provision
God's given us. He speaks to us in His Word.
Then He allows us and encourages us to come to Him with our words,
with our feelings, and our fear, and our hopes. Look what another
one is here in verse 33. Excuse me, verse 13. Excuse me, verse 13. So the God of patience, and he
mentions God three different ways. Now the God of hope. There's
the God of patience and consolation. Now the God of hope. This is
a prayer he prays for. Fill you, fill you up with all
joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope. And how
you gonna do that? Through the power of the Holy
Ghost. And then in verse 33, here's
the third prayer. Now the God of peace be with
you all. Amen. Three prayers he does. And let
me show you something in closing in Matthew chapter 7. Matthew
chapter 7. You know, according to Christ
Jesus. According to Christ Jesus. He's
our pattern. We have the scriptures in His
power. And in the prayer. Look what He says here in verse
8. For every one that asketh, receiveth. Talking about prayer. According
to Christ Jesus. And he that seeketh, findeth.
And to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. For what man is there of you?
Now he shows us some things here. Now what man is there of you?
If your son comes and asks you, I want some bread. Will he instead
of giving him bread, will he take and give him a stone? Would
a man give his son a stone instead of bread? Or if his son comes
and asks for a fish? I want some fish. Would he give
him a serpent? Something to hurt him? Something
to harm him? Now listen to what our Lord says
here now. If you then, being evil, You then, being evil, know how
to give good gifts unto your children. When he asks bread,
you give him bread. When he wants fish, you give
him fish. If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how to take care of them and meet the needs of
your children, listen to this now, how much more shall your
father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask
him." Oh my, oh how we do for our kids
and our grandkids, oh my goodness. I'd be a wealthy man if it hadn't
been for my kids. Oh, but I don't regret any of
it. Don't regret any of it. And if we are going to give our
kids good things, imagine what God gives us for what Christ did. Our Father, in the blessed
name of Christ our Lord, thank you for your abundant mercy given
us today in Christ. Thank you for our Lord Jesus
Christ. Thank you Lord Jesus for giving
us the grace, giving us the grace to follow you, to desire you,
to want you, to submit to you, take you at your word, believe
your word, look to you for everything in this world. spiritual and
temporal. We want nothing that you would
not have us to have. And our Lord, we thank you for
these saints of God. And I pray that you'd bless them,
strengthen them, encourage them, and our Father, meet the needs
of every home and every heart. And oh Father, for Christ's sake,
save you people in this place. Enable sinners to confess their
faith in Christ. We ask in His blessed holy name.
Amen. Amen. Let's turn in our hymn
books to number 326. We won't sing the whole thing,
but we'll sing, well, we might sing the whole thing. 326. 326. I think that's right,
isn't it? More about Jesus. Yep. Let's
stand together. This is what I said More about Jesus
man Lord, my teacher Jesus in His Word Holding Calvary
with Thy Lord Hearing His voices More, more about Jesus More,
more about Jesus More of His saving fullness see His coming Prince of Peace. More, more about Jesus. More, more about Jesus. Amen. I'll see you tonight, God
willing. Lord bless you.