So, You Want to Be Like Christ?

Eight Essentials to Get You There Teacher: Chuck Swindoll

Message 1. Intimacy: Deepening Our Lives

Overview: Chuck Swindoll introduces the necessity of spiritual discipline for the purpose of godliness. Using the metaphor of a traveler returning to their roots, he challenges believers to return to their “first love.” Intimacy with God is defined not as a fleeting emotion, but as a deep, personal association that must be intentionally cultivated.

• Key Fact: Swindoll defines intimacy as being “emotionally naked and unashamed” before God.
• Primary Scriptures: 1 Timothy 4:7; Revelation 2:1-5; Ephesians 6:24; Philippians 3:10.

Message 2. Simplicity: Uncluttering Our Minds

Overview: In a world of complex distractions, this message focuses on reordering our internal lives. Swindoll explores the “craftiness” of the enemy that seeks to seduce our minds away from a “pure and simple devotion to Christ.” Simplicity is presented as the antidote to the “religious clutter” that often replaces genuine faith.

• Key Fact: The discipline of simplicity requires a “determined purpose” to prioritize Christ above the noise of modern culture.
• Primary Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 11:1-3; Matthew 6:33.

Message 3. Silence: Slowing Our Pace

Overview: Highlighting the frantic pace of modern life, Swindoll argues that God rarely shouts to get our attention. Instead, He speaks in a “still, small voice.” This sermon encourages believers to intentionally seek moments of quiet to hear from the Almighty, following the example of Elijah on the mountain.

• Key Fact: Silence is the discipline of “being still” so that we can accurately perceive God’s direction.
• Primary Scriptures: 1 Kings 19:1-12; Psalm 46:10.

Message 4. Solitude: Cultivating Serenity

Overview: Solitude is the practice of being alone with God to find spiritual rest and clarity. Swindoll uses the “Arabian interval” of the Apostle Paul to show how God uses periods of isolation to transform character and prepare His servants for significant ministry.

• Key Fact: Solitude is different from loneliness; it is a chosen “withdrawal for the purpose of spiritual refreshing.”
• Primary Scriptures: Galatians 1:11-18; Mark 1:35; Mark 6:31.

Message 5. Prayer: Calling Out

Overview: Prayer is presented not as a ritual, but as a desperate “calling out” to a Father who listens. Swindoll examines the early church’s devotion to prayer, emphasizing that it must be a believer’s first priority rather than a last resort in times of crisis.

• Key Fact: True prayer involves an “anatomy of surrender”—offering our hands, hearts, and wills to God’s control.
• Primary Scriptures: Acts 2:42; Acts 6:1-4; Romans 8:26-27.

Message 6. Humility: Bowing Low

Overview: This essential focuses on the transformation of the heart from pride to service. By looking at the life of Peter, Swindoll illustrates the difference between “lording it over” others and “clothing oneself with humility.” He emphasizes that God actively opposes the proud but pours grace upon the humble.

• Key Fact: Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less; it is the “gateway to God’s grace.”
• Primary Scriptures: 1 Peter 5:1-7; Mark 10:45.

Message 7. Self-Control: Holding Back

Overview: Self-control is described as the “final fruit of the Spirit” and the discipline of “holding back” our natural impulses. Swindoll discusses the internal war between the flesh and the Spirit, urging believers to “discipline the body” to avoid being disqualified from spiritual effectiveness.

• Key Fact: Self-control is a “supernatural enablement,” not just human willpower.
• Primary Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Galatians 5:22-23; Romans 7:14-25.

Message 8. Sacrifice: Giving Over

Overview: The final essential is the discipline of releasing our grip on the temporary to lay hold of the eternal. Swindoll teaches that sacrifice is the cure for worry and the key to discovering God’s will. It involves presenting our lives as “living sacrifices” in response to God’s mercies.

• Key Fact: Where your treasure is, there your heart will be; sacrifice is the act of “moving our treasures” to heaven.
• Primary Scriptures: Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 6:19-34.