The message I have for us today is titled ‘Like Jesus.’ This is the theme I will explore today. My scriptural reference is taken from the book of Luke, chapter 6, verse 40. In the passage, it states, “A student is not above his teacher.’However, those who are fully trained can be like their teachers. Let me repeat it, ‘A student is not above his teacher.
It was Jesus who was speaking to his disciples at this time, conveying to them that a student is not superior to his teacher. The dynamic here is that they were his students, and Jesus Christ was their teacher.
He was impacting a fundamental life principle: when a student approaches a teacher, the student looks up to the teacher and learns from Him.
The Need to Be Like Him
Therefore, today, let us talk to ourselves about the need to be like Him; the necessity to emulate Him, to be like Jesus, our master. In the book of Romans, chapter 8, verse 29, we find that, ‘For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
So God already predestined that believers will conform to the image of His Son. His son is Jesus Christ. The two passages say the same thing. A student is not above his teacher; a student should strive to be like his teacher. Therefore, the goal of our faith in the passage read is that we must become like Him.
This is not to imply that you should abandon your ambitions, whether you aspire to be a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer, a pilot, a medical officer, or pursue other desires.
There is nothing wrong with having such aspirations. However, regardless of who you are or what you aim to become, it is God’s wish that each of us conforms to the image of His Son.
It is a Call
Whether we are men or women, young or old, professionals or non-professionals, or whether we serve as pastors, prophets, or evangelists, the same standard is expected from each of us. We are all called to be like Him.
Parents are called to reflect His character. Children are also called to be like Him. Young individuals are called to embody His qualities. The elderly are called to follow His example.
No one is excluded. The call to be like Him extends to all of us. Therefore, in the year 2023, we must seek to be more like Him. Let us examine several aspects of life where we should concentrate our efforts in our desire to be like Him. To begin with, we should aspire to be like Him in our prayer life.
Other scriptures about it
In Mark, chapter 1, verse 35, it is stated that early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, went to a lonely place where He prayed. We must be like Jesus in our prayer life. When you read Mark chapter 1, verse 35, you will discover that.
Jesus had been very busy with so many people who came with various illnesses and diseases. He was casting out demons, praying for them and healing them. This means that to achieve success in 2023, we must dedicate ourselves to prayer.
As I said, God is ready to bless us and make this year a remarkable one. But we cannot experience that greatness unless we are prepared to respond to God, who is already available for us.
Example of Jesus Christ
‘Jesus Christ will get up very early in the morning’ indicates a time when He had to deprive Himself of sleep. You see, very early in the morning, the time when we enjoy sleep the most, Jesus would get up and pray.
Many people intend to pray. They say they will rise and pray. But even when they rise, they do not truly get up. They rise but remain lying down in bed. They continue to nestle into the bed. And then what happens? They begin to open their mouths to pray.
But within a minute, they would be drifting back to sleep. By the time they would finally get up, they would be hurrying to reach their workplace and the market. And at the end of the day, everything would end in confusion. We do not fulfil the achievements we require because we have no time to pray.
The Place of Prayer
Jesus, despite being very busy and tired from sleeping late, would still rise very early in the morning. However, after rising, the Bible says, ‘He went to His included place. That is, He distanced Himself from the comfort of the bed, from where He could easily drift back into sleep.
And why did He choose His included place? He did not want to be in a location where He would be interrupted. Often, what happens is that, despite our good intentions to pray, if we do not seek solitude and some form of seclusion, we fail to pray as we should.
Jesus took all the necessary precautions we needed to emulate before we pray: He woke up early in the morning. He got up and went to a lonely place. While it was still dark, Jesus engaged Himself in prayer. I believe this particular message illustrates the pattern of Jesus’ life we need to emulate in prayer.
A Life of Trust
He lived His life trusting God. Many of us enter a new year with numerous resolutions. We declare that this year, I will do this. This is where I will go.
I will stop doing this or doing that. We have countless resolutions: resolutions about family life (I want to return home early), resolutions about food (I do not want to eat at all times), resolutions about exercise (This is what
I intend to start doing (which I have not done before), and resolutions, even concerning prayer and spirituality, abound. Often, we enter new years with strong resolutions, yet before long, we are back to our old habits.
If we are not careful, it will become worse than it was before the New Year. Why is this? Because we attempt to accomplish many things ourselves. Know that God did not plan for you to live your life alone.
Jesus Is with You
He did not plan for you to live your life solely for yourself or by yourself. He plans to partner with you in the journey of your life. Even in the smallest aspects of your existence, God desires to help you.
Consequently, He expects that you carry all your burdens, concerns, cares and desires in His hands, asking for help.
Let us convey to God that on your own, you can do nothing. The book of Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 5 and 6, instructs us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding.
Acknowledgement of God
In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight. Trust God with all your heart. What does the Bible imply about prayer? If you truly trust God with all your heart in everything, then you must pray. You will commit everything into His care.
Jesus came from the Father, and all authority in heaven and earth was given unto Him. However, Jesus regarded prayer with the Father as a communal experience. It was a time of interaction and a means of expressing the relationship with the Father.
A Life of Dedication
He consistently went out each day, achieving success. And I want us to resolve in our hearts that we shall dedicate ourselves to prayer this year. We must firmly decide to rise early in the morning to pray. This is the area of our lives where we must approach matters with utmost seriousness and do things very differently.
In the realm of God, there exists a slight distinction between prayer and the word of God.
Let us read the Word of God and meditate on it. It is from the word of God that we derive our prayers. In fact, it serves as a foundation to pray.
However, there is a way in which both prayer and the word of God must be intertwined. Sometimes, begin with prayer, then meditate on the word, and pray again. This is quite good because we must pray according to the will of God.
Understand the Will of God
The will of God is encapsulated in the Word of God. If we know the Word of God and pray, our prayers will be aligned correctly because we are praying according to the will of God, revealed in the Word of God. God’s will is found within the Word of God.
For our prayer to be enriched, we must understand how to pray and study the Word of God. The Word of God is effective and holds great significance.
At times, we may face discouragement, making it feel as though we cannot go on with life. In such moments, we need the word of God for strength and encouragement. A particular scripture that has greatly blessed my life is Romans 8-26.
The passage says, ‘And the Spirit helps us in our weakness.’Indeed, the spirit helps us in our moments of weakness. I experience a sense of weakness, a weakness to accomplish all that I have before me to do, but the Spirit helps me.
The Word of God
When I reflect on the Word of God, my faith is renewed and strengthened. The book of Philippians, chapter 4, verse 13 says, ‘I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.’
There are times when weakness overtakes me, yet I remember the word of God. So I confess it, I sing it, I pronounce it, I pray it. This is what the Bible has said, and I find myself moving forward. In the moments I feel weaknesses, I receive immense strength from God.
As Paul would say, ‘When I am weak, then I am strong because we can be encouraged by the word of God.’ Therefore, I want us to understand that God has called us to be like Him, to be like our Master, even in our prayer life and in our study of the Word of God.
Recall in Matthew chapter 4, after Jesus’ baptism, He went into the wilderness, and faced temptations from the devil.
The first temptation by the devil was to persuade Him to turn stone into bread and eat. But Jesus answered the devil in Matthew chapter 4, saying ‘It is written, a man is not to live by bread alone.
The Temptation Made Clear
Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy while conversing with the devil, who was addressing Jesus. Next, the devil suggested that Jesus should throw Himself down from the temple’s pinnacle, claiming that God had instructed His angels to protect Him, ensuring that He would not dash His feet against a stone.
In response, Jesus said, ‘It is written, one must not tempt the Lord your God. The devil then took Him to a high mountain and showed Him all of Jerusalem. The devil said, ‘I will give you all this if you bow down before me. Jesus said that Satan should depart from Him.
‘Satan, away from me. Because it is written, that you shall worship the Lord, that God alone and Him alone shall dance out.’ So Jesus knew the scriptures. Jesus lived by the scriptures. Jesus operated by the scriptures.
Lessons
There are so many areas in which we are called to be like a master. In the book of Mark, chapter 10, verse 45, Jesus said that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give himself as a ransom for many.
And here again, Jesus was reminding His disciples that He was there to serve. We can observe the act of service in the book of John, chapter 13, verses 1 to 17, where Jesus knelt to wash the feet of His disciples.
His humility surprised them. Brethren, service and humility are intertwined. Without a humble heart, you will not be able to serve others. Serving others is an act of humility.
Applications
As believers, we should enter this year with a heart of humility. In Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 to 11, it says, ’Have this mind in you which you have in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not claim equality with God.’
But what did Jesus do? He humbled himself and gave up his heavenly power, some positions, and became obedient, even to the point of death on the cross.
Following Jesus’ actions, what was God’s response? Therefore, God exalted Him and gave Him a name that is above all names. That at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord.
Jesus was exalted and elevated due to a life characterised by humility and service. Therefore, we are once again called to be like Him in prayer, to reflect His essence in the Word of God, to be stripped in the Word of God, meditating on it, day and night.
We are also called to serve and embody humility. As we embark on the journey of 2023, let us be positive in heart to serve.
Applications
As a father in the home, prepare yourself to serve your family. As a mother, you should serve like a servant in the home and as a child, act like a servant in the home. If you find yourself in the office, even if you hold the top position, remember that we are called to serve.
See yourself as a servant of the people and as a servant of God. In this state of humility, you will lose nothing. You will not lose anything at all. You will discover that God Himself will exalt you. We are also being taught how to receive God’s elevation, God’s lifting, and God’s exaltation.
God will exalt us and lift us if we are ready to live humble lives and are willing to serve. In the passage from Luke chapter 10, verse 45, Jesus said that the son of Matthew came not to be served, but to serve.
Many people approach life with a mindset focused on what they can obtain. This should not be; our focus should be on God. What am I going to give? Let us seek guidance on how to give of my time, energy, opportunities, and talents.
We should also be willing to share our financial resources, such as money. The Bible says, ‘Give, and it shall be given to you. Full measure, place down, second together and running to give over.’ A life dedicated to giving will undoubtedly lead to receiving. When you give, you will definitely receive. As we enter this New
Year, let us remember the importance of being like Him, striving for nothing less than to be like Him. If we emulate Him in our prayers, in our study of the Scriptures, in our service, humility, giving, selflessness, and self-sacrifice, then God will surely multiply His blessings in our lives.
Don’t think about yourself alone. Think about how your life can affect and please others. Ultimately, you will discover that God is working for you in ways that are far beyond what you can envision or imagine. God has abundant blessings in store for us in 2023.
Let us embrace this opportunity, respond to God, and live like Christ. If we live like Christ, we will experience all the blessings that He has brought to humanity to give, elevate and enrich our lives. Read the similar post on this page.
Prayer points
1. Almighty God, we thank You so much for the year 2023. Our eyes are on You, and Your words for those who seek You become legends, and their faces are never covered with shame.
2. We pray that we will not experience shame this year. Now that we have received your word, help us not only to be speakers or listeners, but also doers of your word. This way, your name will be glorified, and we will experience the manifestation of your glory in 2023 in Jesus’ name.
3. Through elevation, provision, defence, and guidance, all these blessings are present. Help us to be like our teacher, our Master Jesus Christ. Thank you to God for healing in Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
