We start off tonight, why don't we open our Bibles to Romans 8. We'll get there here shortly, Romans chapter 8. But as I was thinking about the next hymn writer that we will learn about on Sunday nights, for some reason it only dawned on me this last week to look at the main editor of our own hymn books, which is, and you can see this right in the very front, Great Hymn to the Faith compiled and edited by John W. Peterson. John W. Peterson. I did kind of think it was funny, and I told Tim this, I think Wednesday, that in a hymnal titled Great Hymns of the Faith, the editor would include a whole bunch of his own hymns. As if they had been some of the great hymns of the faith over time. In fact, I forgot to do it earlier, and so I did that just a little bit ago. I counted the number of hymns that we have. written by Peterson in this book. And of course, there's probably 500 plus hymns in this great hymn book. He wrote nearly 50 of them. So almost 10% of Great Hymns of the Faith actually were written and the tune composed by John W. Peterson. Well, I didn't know much of anything about the man. But in this month, October, I hope that will change for not only me, but for all of us. There are many hymns that he wrote that we know quite well, because they are in our hymn books, and we've had this hymn book for some time. Some of them might even be considered favorites of ours. And so even if he's not as well as some of the other ones that we've looked at on Sunday nights, like William Cooper and John Newton and Isaac Watts, Fannie Crosby, Charles Wesley, and a few others that we've considered already, he is certainly well known to us, at least through the music that he's written and published in our own hymn book. John W. Peterson was born in 1921. He grew up during the time of the Great Depression. And for several decades, from the 1950s into the 1970s, he was actually quite prominent in the gospel music scene. Most evangelical and Baptist churches would have been familiar not only with the hymns that he wrote, which he wrote close to a thousand different hymns, but also the cantatas that he wrote. And he wrote something like 35 cantatas. I think that's something that Tim mentioned to me on Wednesday. He was more familiar with John W. Peterson being a cantata writer and composer. Well, he died not really too long ago in the recent past, in 2006. He was called by some the Dean of American Gospel Music. I think because the title of Father of English Hymns and Father of American Hymns was probably taken, so they had to find something that might fit. So he was known as the Dean of American Gospel Music during his time and ministry in this world. In a couple of weeks we'll actually learn more about John Peterson's life and ministry, but tonight I want to begin by just looking at one of his hymns. And I think this hymn will show to us something of his talent as well as his testimony for the Lord. The hymn is there on your message guide that it's titled, Oh, I Want to Be Like Jesus. And of course, as Brother Art already mentioned, when you follow in the footprints of Jesus, you're going to be more and more like Jesus. And that truly ought to be the aim, desire, and prayer of God's people. We want to be like Jesus. This particular hymn was written in 1964. That was actually the same year that my parents were married to each other. But it only appeared in two other publications before finding its way into our hymn book in 1968. This hymn book is still something that other churches have continued to use, including ours. I don't think they're publishing them anymore, I don't think. But in 1968 was the first official publication in a hymn book of this particular hymn. And really it is a hymn of aspiration, a hymn of great desire, a hymn that really ought to capture what not only was his desire as a Christian, but really should be the heartthrob and the desire of every Christian who has ever lived. Of course, we are confident that one day we will experience what we desire, and that is to be like Jesus, but there's still that process in which God brings us more and more like Jesus, even in this world. So, with that in mind, I'd like us to first read these three verses before we look at them more closely, and then sing them a little bit later. This is what he writes. Oh, I want to be like Jesus as I walk along this pilgrim way. Oh, I want to live like Jesus showing forth his beauty every day. This my prayer and deepest longing to be pure without within. Oh, I want to be like Jesus, cleansed from dross and free from self and sin. What a beautiful desire. What a beautiful prayer. Verse two, oh, I want to talk like Jesus. Gracious are the words from him we hear. Words of life and hope for sinners, tender, healing words of love and cheer. Oh, the power and the value of a fitly spoken word. Oh, I want to talk like Jesus. Any time or place, my voice is heard. Of course, that leads to the third verse. Oh, I want to serve like Jesus. Willingly he came from heaven above. On the earth he lived for others, spent his life in kindly deeds of love. I would follow where he leads me. And his bidding always do. Oh, I want to serve like Jesus till my traveling days on earth are through. And again, this is just one example of the gifts and the talents that God gave to John Peterson in writing poetry, and then, of course, bringing in a tune, an appropriate tune that would go with the very words. And one of the things that he learned when he was just a teenager was that whatever he wrote had to say something. Whatever he wrote had to say something. He said that whatever tune you might have, that might be very creative, that might be very cool and something that seems like it's going to go somewhere. If you can't have something said in the lyrics, then really the tune doesn't really matter. You need to say something. And I think he said something in these verses. He said what his desire was, and he said what really should be our desire to be like Jesus. Oh, I want to be like Jesus. Of course, the main theme of this hymn is that it's Christ likeness. It's wanting to be like Jesus Christ now even though Christ likeness is a word that we never find in the Bible It is a common enough idea It's a common enough theme and one of the places where we find it is here in Romans chapter 8 because there in Romans 8 verses 29 through 30 so toward the end of the of the end of the chapter here, we find what has been called the golden chain of salvation. The golden chain of salvation. Because in these verses, these two verses, there are five great salvation truths, and they all flow from one to the other, and they're linked together like a chain. And the other amazing thing about this is this golden chain of salvation has nothing to do with our activity in salvation, but God's activity in salvation. And one of those links deals with Christlikeness. So what is Paul right here? Picking up there in verse 29. For whom he did foreknow. he also did predestinate. Sorry, it's Romans 9. Or Romans 8. There we go. Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and them he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also So, five gospel truths, five gospel links in this beautiful golden chain of salvation. What are those links? God's foreknowledge, God's predestination, God's calling, God's justification, and finally, God's glorification. And once you have one, the first one, you will always end up with the last one. The one that he foreknows is the same one that he will ultimately glorify. But it's that second link. It's that second link that we find there in verse 29 of God's predestination, where we find this theme of Christlikeness. Why does God predestine us? It's so that Christians might be like Christ. Paul puts it this way. It's so that Christians might be conformed to the image of His Son. The image. That is, the very picture. I remember when I was in grade school, in elementary school, I had a great art teacher, Mrs. Detweiler. Actually, a few years ago, I was able to find out where she lived, and I forget exactly where she's at now, but I was so thrilled to know where she was, and I was able to contact her, and wanted to share with her some of the things that I learned from her, and how I appreciated her life and testimony for the Lord, and I actually was able to ask her to draw a little pencil sketch of my wife and I. We still have it in our bedroom. But the thing about art is, you know, there are some people that have just this great talent to be able to think about something and then draw it. You know, maybe Elise is one of these kind of artists. But then there are those other artists that need to have the image that they can then copy, whether it's in pencil or charcoal or painting or whatever. And then, of course, there's the people that have the image, and they have the painting, and it doesn't look anything like it, right? So those are the ones that really are challenged when it comes to art. But when we think about that object, when we think about that image, that's the image of Christ. It is a beautiful painting of what God is like and who God really is. And so here, this is part of the purpose of salvation and part of the reason why God has predestined us as believers, and so that we might look more like the image of Christ, that we might be more conformed to the image of Christ. Again, not in some two-dimensional painting, but in a real 3D life, in a real 3D discipleship as we follow after him. Now, even though God's predestination of believers is closely related to his foreknowledge, and again, we've looked at this when we went through the book of Romans, there is a shade of difference. foreknowledge. God's foreknowledge looks back to his infinite wisdom in choosing those who he will ultimately glorify, but predestination looks forward to the actual accomplishment of God's perfect will, where you and I, when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior, can be assured that we will be conformed to the image of Christ someday. So all of the struggles and all of the challenges and all of the sins that so easily beset you and so easily beset me, guess what's going to happen? We will one day be conformed to the image of Christ because that is what God himself has predestined for you and for me as his children. That gives us confidence. That gives us assurance. That gives us encouragement. Even as we try and strive, which is really what ought to be our heartthrob, to be more and more like Christ, yet when we stumble, yet when we fall, yet when we get into those valleys sometimes, we know that the mountaintop is still there for us. The promise will be fulfilled. And so when God predestines something, it means that it will certainly come to pass. And it will happen because God makes it happen. It's not something that will happen by accident. It's something that He will do. So what does God predestinate about us who believe in Christ? We will be conformed, that we will be changed into the very image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This means that you'll look like Christ. This means that you'll be like Christ in all of the ways that we just read there in Peterson's hymn and so much more. In fact, the hymn that we sang before the message has more to what Christlikeness means than even the song that we'll sing after the message in Peterson's song. And so there is a lot more to being Christlike than what we're going to look at even tonight. But if this is the promise of Christlikeness, then what is the process of Christlikeness? How are we made more and more into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, we know that there is God working in us to be more like Christ, and we know that the Holy Spirit is actively involved in that, but I think the Apostle Paul describes it well. in Romans 13, 14, where he tells us to put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, a few weeks from now, you're going to probably look out into your community and into your neighborhood, and there's going to be a lot of children, maybe even some adults, that are dressed up as someone they're not. It might be some movie character or it might be some other kind of cartoon character. I don't know what the big rage is today. I guess girls like to dress up as Barbie and all of those things because of the movie that was out there. But they're trying to look like someone that they're not in a very real sense. Christlikeness is putting on the very character of Jesus, so that when people see us, when people hear us, when people look at us, they don't see us! They see and hear and experience Jesus Himself. Obviously, when they dress up for Halloween or any other kind of costume party, it's for fun. But this kind of costume, where we're putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, it doesn't have to be just a costume. It's not just something that is upon us. It's something that comes up within us. It's the very character of Christ. It is Christ-likeness. And this means that as a Christian, there needs to be this desire and pursuit to look more and more like Him, more and more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. And in John Peterson's hymn, I think he captures that pursuit very well, and in three main ways. Of course, the first way we can describe as to shine like Jesus, to shine like Jesus in the very purity and power of His life. And that is the main theme and the main focus of this first verse. This is the kind of desire for Christlikeness that we can have as Christians and that we should have as Christians. We want to shine like Christ. And this is even while we're on this pilgrimage of Christians, this pilgrimage. I like how he puts it at the very beginning there. Oh, I want to be like Jesus as I walk along this pilgrim way. How many times have we looked in the scriptures to see that this is how we ought to see our Christian life, right? We don't have a continual home here. This is not our home. We're just a passing through, as the other song goes. This is a pilgrimage. That is, we're passing from one place to another. This is not our final destination. This is not our final home. Peter tells it this way in 1 Peter 2 11. Dearly beloved, I beseech you, I beg you as strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. Now, next month, we're going to be thinking about Thanksgiving. And of course, with Thanksgiving, a lot of the a lot of Christians and especially Christians in America think about the pilgrims that came over from England to settle in the Northeast there in Massachusetts. They came in the 1600s. Now, those pilgrims did not have a lot. They did not have a lot. I mean, they started out with very little, and then by the time they got to America, they had even less, and half of their population died because of disease and sickness even through that winter. They may not have had a lot, but there was one thing that they wanted more than anything, and that was the opportunity to worship and serve the Lord according to God's word and according to their spirit-changed consciences. Well, as Christian pilgrims, we ought to have the same kind of desire that they had, and even the same kind of desire that Peterson describes here at the very beginning, again, of his hymn. Oh, I want to be like Jesus as I walk this pilgrim way. Oh, I want to live like Jesus, showing forth his beauty every day. That is, shining forth the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, I am the light of the world, but then also don't we remember that Jesus said that you're the light of the world, and I am the light of the world? And we are to let our light so shine before the world? We ought to shine Christ to this world. But what does Christ's likeness even look like? Even in this pilgrimage in this world? Well, as Peterson describes it in his hymn, it's all about the purity of Christ. The purity of Christ in our pilgrimage as Christians. Purity of Christ. Peterson puts it this way also there in that first stanza. This is my prayer and deepest longing to be pure without within. Is that your prayer? Is that my prayer? Is that your deepest longing? Is that my deepest longing to be pure Pure. This is who Jesus is. Jesus is completely pure. He is deeply pure. He is so holy. He is so righteous. He is so pure. John says in 1 John 3, 3, He is pure. This ought to be the heartbeat of a true Christian, to be pure without within. And this is what John further describes in 1 John 3. If you want to turn there next, 1 John 3, I want to look at verses... 2 and 3, because not only at the very end of verse 3 does John say that he is pure, but listen to what he says about Christlikeness. 1 John 3, 2 and 3, Beloved, Beloved, now are we the sons of God. Of course, he's talking to true believers, those who have repented from their sin and turned to and trusted in Jesus alone for salvation from their sin. That's where it starts. If you don't have the desire to be pure without and within, you've got to go back and see whether you really are Christ, whether you really have put your faith and trust in Him, whether you really are a Christian. But once you are, then you are included in John's Beloved. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when He, Jesus, shall appear, we shall be like Him. For we shall see him as he is. And what does that do? What does that promise do to our pursuit of Christ likeness? Every man that hath this hope in himself purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Oh, I want to be like Jesus. Pure within and without. even though one day we will be as pure as Christ. I mean, we saw that in Romans chapter 8. We see that here in 1 John 3. We still ought to desire that, don't we? We still ought to grow in this purity so that we will shine as lights in this world. Paul puts it this way in Philippians 2.15, so that you might be blameless and harmless, the sons or the children of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom ye shine. as lights in the world. So one of the main ways to pursue Christ likeness is to desire and to pray to shine more and more like Christ in all of his beauty, in all of his purity. It is God who is making a portrait of his son in you. and in your hearts and in your life, in your character, in your purity, he's making it. And someday that masterpiece will be completed in heaven. But in the meantime, it continues to be painted and developed. And the colors are there and the shape is there and the sizes are there and the character is there and it grows. And the more you grow, the more you desire that purity. So one of the main ways to pursue that is desire and pray. So make Peterson's desire your desire as he finishes that first stanza. Oh, I want to be like Jesus. That's the theme of his song. Oh, I want to be like Jesus. And I think in some of the things I've read about John Peterson already, I think that was the theme of his life. He really has a clear testimony of not only faith in the Lord, but longing to be more and more like the Lord. And that ought to be our prayer. Oh, I want to be like Jesus, cleansed from dross and free from self and sin. And even though that final phrase may be the hardest phrase to get out in this song, yet it is still a beautiful phrase, cleansed from dross and free from self and sin. And again, I think the picture is there from 1 John. Every man that hath this hope to be like him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. But there is a second way to pursue after Christlikeness, and really it flows from this first way, and that is, second, to speak like Jesus. So first, to shine like Jesus, and as you shine like Jesus, it will come out in how you speak like Jesus. And this is what Peterson describes in the second verse of this hymn, in which we find another desire for Christians, but we also find a detailed description of what it's like to speak like Christ, what it's like to sound like Christ. Did anyone ever speak like Jesus? No, absolutely not. In fact, in John 7, 46, there were some officers of the Jews that said this about him. Never man spake like this man. No one ever spoke like Jesus. No man. Yes, he spoke with authority, but he also spoke with love and grace. He spoke the gospel, and that's what we see here in this hymn as well. How does Jesus speak? Jesus spoke first gracious words. He spoke gracious words. Peterson describes it there in the first few lines of the second verse. Oh, I want to talk like Jesus. Gracious are the words from him we hear. Words of life and hope for sinners, tender, healing words of love and cheer. You know, there are some that might say, oh, I do want to be like Jesus, but I'm not really sure I want to talk like Jesus. You know, there are things that I want to be able to say, that may not quite be what Jesus said, or how Jesus said, or even why Jesus said them, and they hold that back. But true pursuit of Christlikeness is not just to shine forth the purity, but that purity comes out in your words, not just in how you live and how you say things. Gracious words are words of kindness. Gracious words are words of love. And how many times did Jesus offer words of tender healing for those who needed them most? It is true that Jesus always spoke the truth. After all, he could do nothing less. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He never watered down the truth, but he always spoke the truth in love. And to those who are already broken and already weary and already humbled because of their sin, he spoke words that might touch them and heal them and give them hope. So to be like Jesus, Paul tells us in Colossians 4, 6, let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. Now that is Christlike speaking. Is that how you speak? If not, is that your desire to speak that way? If you can sing, O to be like thee, then you ought to be able to say with a desire in your heart, O God, help me to speak like the Lord Jesus Christ, with words of grace. But also, Jesus spoke gospel words, gracious words and gospel words, that is, words of good news. Again, Peterson puts it this way, words of life and hope for sinners. Words of life and hope for sinners. In the gospel of John that we've been looking at on Sunday mornings, how many times does Jesus does Jesus just call on us? To believe him. To just believe him. Why? Because he is the very word of life. And that is why Peter recognized that he has the words of eternal life. Jesus spoke gospel words. Now, many, many people ignored them. Many people rejected them. And yet, there were still many that received them and followed after him. So to be like Jesus, we also need to share the gospel through our words. Peter tells us this in 1 Peter 3.15, sanctify, set apart the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. That means that you are ready to give gospel words to people who need them. to give good news to those who really are facing the bitterness of the bad news that we find in the Bible, that God is just and that there will be a judgment of them and their sin. So when we pursue Christ-like purity in our heart and in our life, it will come out in the words you speak. If you desire to shine like Jesus, then you ought to desire to speak like Jesus. But why is this so important? Well, Peter describes it next there in his second verse, Oh, the power and the value of a fitly spoken word. Now, obviously, the last phrase there is a direct reference to a proverb. Proverb 25, verse 11, which says, A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. And the idea of that is someone that has painstakingly, in an artistic way, rendered an apple with beautiful gold, maybe gold leaf, and fashioned it in such a way, and then framed it with a silver frame for decoration in their home or decoration in the castle. It was something that was very valuable, something very, very beautiful. That's what a word fitly spoken is like. There is great value to it. There's great beauty in it. But not only that, there's great power in it. So not only is Christ-like speech that is full of grace and full of the gospel beautiful and valuable, it's powerful to give life and hope and healing and love and cheer just like Jesus' words did. And that's why according to Ephesians 4.29, as Christians, as Christians, we must let no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouths. but that which is good to the use of edifying, building up that it may minister grace unto the hearers. No corrupt communication. Do we really want to be like Jesus? Do we really want to shine like Jesus? Do we really want to speak like Jesus? This ought to be the true heartthrob of every believer, so make Peterson's desire your desire. Oh, I want to talk like Jesus, he says at the end there, any time or place my voice is heard. You know, my mom used to say, probably your mom used to say it too, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. And I think Peterson might be putting a little twist on this. If I can't speak like Christ, then I don't want to speak anything at all. That really ought to be our desire. I want to talk like Jesus anytime, even every time or place my voice is heard. When you speak, let your words be good words, gracious words, gospel words. But then there is a third way to pursue after Christlikeness, and that is there in the third verse of this hymn, and that is to serve like Jesus, right? To shine, to speak, and to serve like Jesus. Of course, we all know that we're supposed to serve, both within the church and without the church. But what kind of service is Christlike service? What kind of service is Christ-like service? I think Peterson captures it well when he describes it in this third stanza as willing service, loving service, and even constant service. Willing, loving, and constant. Christ-like service is willing service because it is true that willingly He, Jesus, came from heaven above. I mean, we know that, right? We celebrate that at Christmas time. That is the very basis and foundation of our salvation, right? It's also what we find in Philippians. Go with me now to Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. Familiar verses to us, but in Philippians 2, 5 through 8, again, Paul is admonishing us as believers. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. That is, not something to hang on to, right? But made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of men, and being found in the fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. All we find there is that Jesus came from heaven willingly, voluntarily, and submissively to the will of His Father. He didn't have to. He wanted to. Christ-like service will follow in kind. Also, Christ-like service is loving service. Again, Peterson writes there in that third stanza, on the earth he lived, or sorry, he loved for others, spent his life in kindly deeds of love. He lived for others, spent his life in kindly deeds of love. He lived for others, spent his life in kindly deeds of love. Jesus showed his love to so many during his life and his ministry. And he especially showed his love to his disciples. In John 13 1, John makes this remark. When Jesus knew that his hour was come, this is just before the last supper starts there in the upper room. When Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the father, having loved his own, which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. That is, he loved them to the unth degree. He loved them to the uttermost. That's how much love Jesus had in serving, especially his disciples. Jesus always served in love, and he always served for the best of the ones he loved. And that's why Paul tells us in Galatians 5.13, by love serve one another. You will never become more and more Christ-like if you don't shine like Christ and speak like Christ and even serve like Christ. This is what Christ-likeness is like. But then also, Christ-like service is constant. It's a constant service. It's always looking out for ways to serve and help others. Always looking out for ways to serve and help others. Jesus never gave up his service. Do you realize that? He served in this world, but he still serves in heaven above. Romans 8.24, we learn that Jesus is at the right hand of God right now, and he's making intercession for us. He still serves us. Jesus still serves us. Hebrews 7.25, we find that he ever lives to make intercession for us. So Jesus continues to serve us today, and so real service, Christ-like service, is a desire for constant service, always looking for opportunities. to help and to heal. And so when you pursue Christ's likeness in your life, it will be expressed, not only in what you say, but even in how you serve. And that's why we ought to make, again, Peterson's desire in his hymn, Our Own Desire, there at the end of the third stanza, I would, that is, I want to, I desire, this is my goal, this is my aim, I would follow where he leads me, and his bidding always do. Oh, I want to serve like Jesus till my traveling days on earth are through. And of course, the traveling days on earth remind us of that pilgrimage that he talks about in the very first stanza. And so it ties it all together. This is what our pilgrimage should look like in this world. A desire, a prayer to shine like Jesus and to speak like Jesus and to serve like Jesus. What a beautiful hymn. about what should be the constant heartbeat of every Christian. Oh, I want to be like Jesus. Is this your desire? Is this your prayer? Is this your song? Make it so, even as we sing it once again tonight. Let's pray. Father, we pray that you will help this to be our deepest longing, to be more like Jesus. Lord, there are other hymns that talk about Christ's likeness, and there are other verses that we could look at that talk about Christ's likeness. But Lord, that needs to be the heartbeat of our lives as Christians. And so, Father, I pray that as we sing this hymn, that the desires of Peterson and the prayers of Peterson and the song of Peterson might become our desire, our prayer, our song, and that we might take it with us so that we might shine forth like Christ and speak like Christ and even serve like Christ, even this week, wherever you've put us. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Why don't we stand again and sing that hymn. If you want to do it from your hymn books, you can. It's 320, or you could just read it off your paper. But let's stand together and sing, Oh, I Want to be Like Jesus. 320, a beautiful hymn by John W. Peterson. Oh, I want to be like Jesus as I walk along this pilgrim way. Oh, I want to live like Jesus, showing forth His beauty every day. This, my prayer and deepest longing, be pure without within. Oh I want to be like Jesus, cleansed from dross and free from self and sin. Oh I want to talk like Jesus, gracious are the words from him we hear. Words of life and hope for sinners, tender healing words of love and cheer. Oh, the power and the value of a fitly spoken word. Oh, I want to talk like Jesus any time or place my voice is heard. Oh, I want to serve like Jesus. Willingly he came from heaven above. On the earth he lived for others, spent his life in kindly deeds of love. I would follow where he leads me, and his bidding always too. Oh, I want to serve like Jesus till my traveling days on earth are through.