August 6, 2023 - Discovering Your Purpose in Life and How to Get There - Pastor Paul Vallee

Luke 6:37-48 In Luke’s retelling of the greatest sermon ever preached, known as the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew’s gospel, Luke’s rendition, known as the Sermon on the Plain, gives us an insight into the value of the message. Luke slips in a simple statement not found in Matthew’s gospel but gives us something of the nature of the end product of a disciple of Jesus. A student is not above his teacher, but everyone fully trained will be like his teacher. (Luke 6:40) What is Luke telling us? He is giving us a picture of what discipleship is about. A disciple is someone who is becoming like Christ. In other words, to be a true follower of Jesus, we must be in the process of becoming like Him. The idea is that if the student or learner is fully trained or completed his training, they will be like their teacher. That is what this life is all about. We are being trained in the school of Christ. God, the Father, uses our life experiences to fashion us into Christlikeness. The apostle Paul describes the process this way in Romans 8:28-29: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. The obvious question then is, what is Jesus Christ like? What about Jesus is God fashioning us into? Our Father in Heaven is fashioning the character of Christ within us. But what about Christ’s character is the Father working in us? In Luke 6:37-48, we get three quick snapshots of the heart of Christ. If we imitate or pursue these elements of Jesus’ heart, we will be well on our way toward becoming fully trained disciples.