The Be.Attitudes of Following Jesus Series - Part 3B: Become Like Jesus | Andy Yeoh

Hello, and welcome to the Generation's Church podcast. We're so

excited to have you here today. It is our prayer

that God's word will inspire and help you grow in

your faith. Now let's get right into it.

So the process of being formed. Next part is into

a person of love. Somebody say love, Amen, a person

of love? What is God forming us to become? What

kind of person? Successful person? Smart person? Ultimately, what's most

important in God's economy? Love? Love is the metric. Love

is the highest metric in the teachings of Jesus. Love

is the lip must test. Remember the passage? So what

in a betaphrase that so if you can sing, well, huh,

so if you can tell the future, so if you

have a big, big, fat heavy Bible. So if you

pray in kitchens version, so what if you can pleat

a job in that version? You know that passage? But

have not love? What's it telling us? It's telling us

everything is nothing if you don't have love. That's why

discipleship is God forming us into becoming a person of love.

Love is the true metric of spiritual maturity. Not how

much you read the Bible, not how much you pray,

how long you pray now don't now take this part,

take a clip and put it online like how people

do and take everything out of contact. Passed you pray

pos the Bible. Pro habits is not the end, but

we know happits. You don't get to the end. It's

understanding where the placements are. Love is the metric of

spiritual maturity. That means you are not spiritually mature because

through your Bible every day you're spiritual spristly mature because

you're a person of love. But at the same time,

you won't become a person of love if you don't

know your Bible. Every day. You see that you get

the two sets of the same coin out. So the

question is this a way to ask yourselves? Are we

become a personal love? Is am I becoming a person

of love to the people who know me best and

interact with most frequently. I go around the world, I

meet people. It's very easy for me to meet an

American pass. I say, pro I love you, and he

says back, I love you too. Man, You're so cool. Yeah,

approach you a gift. He's a T shirt. Oh wait, wow,

represent Generation's T shirt and he wears his GEN shirt

somewhere when he's preaching in passion conference and like, oh, bro,

I represented you, and I love you. I love you.

It's easy to love someone like that. That's not a

real test. The real test is the people who know

you best, your wife, your husband. I told you, I

get very nervous when I preach my own church. Actually,

there's two reason. Number one. The first reason is I

get to see you again next week, so you judge me.

I really I get nervous every time I preach. But

I get more nervous when I preach to you, guys.

Not as nervous. If I stand in front of thirty

thousand people and preach, preach, I don't see them again.

I don't have two But you, guys, I get nervous.

What's the second reason why I get nervous preaching to you?

My wife is here, my father in law is here.

They may or may not say to me, but I

like it or not. In the head, I'm thinking, you

say this, but you live like this. You say this,

you live like this. That's storial tests. Your children, your

GG members, if you interact with them frequently, are you

becoming a personal love to the people who know you best?

And you interacte with the most frequently. Are you really

easy to forgive the guy on the internet who says

something on your Facebook? Easy? Just brush it out to

block them. Forgive your husband, forgive your gig leader, or

know those around you all the time. This is a

Limus says, a true disciple is a loving person, even

with the people who know them best, the people you

cannot lie to, cheat, bluff, pretend. Ah, that's the test.

Even why if kids, coworkers, friends, People that interact with

your reactivity not proactivity, you know what that means. People

who are close enough to see your reactions, not your

pro actions. Not when you go on a date, your

first date, and you bring your best self, smell the

nicest dress, the nicest behavior. Oh, you know, you don't

fight in front of her. You smell good, you don't

say the wrong things. Hey, not that that. People who

can interact with your reactivity when you don't realize it

and you just lost your temper that one. But first,

as you talk about love, please, I'm not talking about

love like they define it in your love songs. Love

is defined by Jesus because love can mean lots of

different things to lots of different people, and a lot

of those definitions are not even close to what Jesus

means when he said, love your neighbor as yourself, love

your enemies. You know this Greek word stuff feeling your

eras when Jesus used the word, he said agape unconditional love. Amen.

And Jesus did not define love by a lexicon. He

didn't do like me, put up a slide and show

you some bunch of words. You know how, just defined

love by demonstration. Jesus defined love with his life, with

his death. John fifteen thirteen. Greater love has no one

than this, than someone who buys but their gifts for

their friends. Sometimes greater love no one in this? Then

somewhat celebrate your birthday and post it up online so

everyone can see where you went to eat. Has no

one in this? Then you know why I'm getting it.

Great love is no one and this the one who

lays down his life for his friends. Jesus didn't just

say it, he showed it. This is love. In other words,

love is defined by Jesus is self sacrificial. As I

study is I study all these things? Right? The world?

Guy is jumping at me now, don't know everything now connects.

You know why. You know why Jesus says, take up

your cross daily and all these things he said, you

put it all together. You're like, I get it, Jesus.

It may be hard, but at least I get it.

Love as defined by Jesus is self sacrificial, meaning, if

you really have love, we surrender to the good of another.

That's love. That is my actions, my non actions, my words,

my silence, all of that is for the good of another.

That's self sacrificial love. Love as defied by Jesus is

to will the good of another head of our own.

Not easy to accept and embrace this in the world

that tells us love yourself. But this is love as

defined by Jesus. And it's so easy to sometimes be

in a church. Probably you've probably been hurt before, traumatized before,

manipulated and abused before. I acknowledge those things have happened,

can happen, has happened. Yes, we get it, But it's

so easy for those of us. And I've been through

it too, But it's so easy for those of us

to go through something like that and then now turn

to the church as if you're not part of the church.

That's the whole other thing altogether. But to turn around

and point to the leader of the church, the institution

and say, hey, church is lover God is lover love me,

So don't scold me, don't disciplad me, don't ask for

more from me, because all love, Yes, love is kind,

love is patient, love is all those wonderful things. But

love is also self sacrificial. It's one of those paradogs

that we don't quite know how to explain, but we

know even we experience it. It's like love is free,

love doesn't judge, love doesn't clean us down. But no,

love is also changed. Love is also compelling. You mean

you can tell your wife I love you, so don't

expect me anything from me. I'll come home when I want,

I slip you whoever I want. I'll feed you what

I can. Can you say that, no? And if you

think of that love is pretty constricting, then you mean

I can only love one person? You mean I have

to be fitful. Isn't that quite constricting? Oh? Yes, but

that's love. Love is both free and also not. So

you can't just walk in and out of a relationship,

walk in and out of a commitment, and at your

convenience say he lover, no love is secrificial amen. Of course,

of course it's harder to love the people that you

see frequently and know you best because you can't lie

and she can't pretend. But the process of this apporship

is the process of being formed a partnership with God,

forming in us and us making us available to Him

into what type of person a person of love? Love

as defined by Jesus self sacrificial, both freeing, gracious, but

also restrictive. Love means I don't say certain things that

I don't do certain things. I don't cheat, I don't

betray you know what I'm saying. We have to live

with this tension, like it or not. For fourth part,

the process of being formed into a person of love?

What in Christ? This is one of the most important part.

You know. Without this part it just sounds like some

motivational talk. Really it can this can be a non

Christian meeting, and I can tell you, hey, it's a

process to be formed. You need to be formed, you

need to become a person of love. I don't have

to bring scripture makes sense, right, It's just a motivational,

positive tech talk. But we are Christians and were disciples.

We have to add this part being farmed into a

person of love in Christ. This part differentiates this talk

from every other talk, every other journey. This is not

self actualization. This is not becoming just any person. This

is not becoming your true self.

Be you.

Because everyone else taken. This is not that. This is

not becoming a good person. This is not becoming a

better version of you. Go someone else for that talk.

YouTube means plenty, But this is the world of God.

You are becoming like Christ. It's becoming like Jesus. So

if Jesus is not mean and he's not racist, you

don't get to be if you want to be like

Jesus because you remove this in Christ. But you can

be a person of love. You can be found and

be racist. You needed to move to a society that

accepts you. There once upon a time in a European

country where they wanted a form of society like this.

Blond hair, blue eye for asking this is the perfect race. Yeah,

you could live in a society and be fine. But

if you want to be in Christ, you don't get

to be because Jesus is not like this. Amen. It's

becoming like Jesus is becoming that person who is like

Jesus in God, in Christ. You can separate this. Ultimately,

the whole process of formation, the process of apprenticeship to Jesus.

Our role, how we set ourselves before God, is ultimately

to come deeper and deeper. I mean having deeper and

deeper layers of ourself, be in union with God and

surrender to God. You cannot bluff this, You cannot pretending this,

Raise hand, sing song, give tithe. All that is still external.

I can't see through that. God can see through that.

But a Christian disciples allows God to go deep, deep, deep, deep,

deep down to the motive, down to the very core

of you. Amen. You know, the ancient Christians long time

ago use this word called theosis. These days, if you

use this word, it can be very scary because we've

seen too many bad examples, so we don't want to

use this word anymore. But theosis, in other words, is

sort of like deification. Become a deity. Now you can

see why no want to Okay, okay, this is hero

it's divinization, becoming divine or this is not a real word,

but godification theo God says, process becoming like God. Theosis

is a transform transformative process whose aim is likeness to

or union with God. Becoming like God in God is

actually not a bad thing to become like God. Just

remember you are not God. But in English it's kind

of this word called godly. Be godly is the word.

Theosis is the transformative process of becoming like Jesus in Jesus.

And it's not a it's a concert that Jesus talks about.

For example, I and the Father are one. But if

I do tim even though you don't believe me, believe

the works that you may know and understand that the

Father is in me and I in the Father. This

is all theosis, becoming like God in God. For you

die to this life and your real life is hidden.

With Christ in God, you no longer live. You are

not you anymore. You want to be a Christian, you died,

Your life is now he done. So it's not about

your ambition, your dream, your vision. We get this. Our

lives are hidden. It's not about you. So to be

godly is to be God like everybody, okay, and to

be godlike. So a godly person is a god like person.

So a Jesus lee person is to be a Jesus

like person. That's what we're trying to be. And friends,

this does not come just through self discipline. You cannot

self discipline your way to becoming godly. Again, don't take

that our context. I'm not saying therefore self discipline is

not needed. Self discipline is a means to an end.

You need it to get to the end. But the

end is to become like Christ. The end goal is

to become a person of love in Christ. Remember that.

So therefore, the measure of spiritual maturity is not how

discipline you are. It's not how much you have read

the scripture. It's not how often you go to church.

It's not how much you know of the Bible. That's

not the measure. Although those things are a means an end.

I feel like I'm repeating myself a million times. But

all those disciplines are important, while gret necessary since missing

the end. The end goal is to become a person

of love in Christ. This happens through a deepening union

with God and surrender to God. Someone smart say this

discipleship as a lifelong process of deepening surrender to Jesus.

The more you surrender, the that means. I presimply the

less life is about you, what you want, what's important

to you. And I'm not even scolding. I'm saying like

I'm speaking to myself because even pastes sometimes I have

our dreams, write a book, club, ministry, start a website

like endo dot com. The more you surrender, the more

it becomes not about yourself, the more god like you

will be. So discipleship is a lifelong process. It takes

your whole life to do this of deepening surrender following

Jesus over a lifetime requires layers after layers of surrender.

Emen every day, every week, every month, we surrender more

and more. So the process of being formed into a

person of love in Christ. In summary, there's two parts.

Involves two things our responsibility and God's responsibility. What's our heart?

But this victory practices that we engage active formation. You

can right prayer, worship, serving, loving your neighbor, and then

God's sovereignty, submission and surrender to his work. Potter and

the Clay. Passiveformation is God working in us, and he

does it through circumstances, sometimes suffering pain relationships. He uses

your commitments to form you. Your fidelity. Your commitments are oh,

I marry one wife and he tests that, He uses

that to form you into a person. Commitments can be marriage, work, ministry, friendship.

These things are and this is enter into our lives

and it may sometimes discomfort us, but what they're doing

is God is using them to form in us and

form us into a person that Jesus wants us to be. Amen,

and different people need different emphasis. Some of you are

just chilling and wondering why you're not going spiritually. You

need to be reminded you have a part to play,

and then there are dose of us here. Pray pray, pray, fast,

fast fast, nothing's happening. You have to be reminded it's

not about you. God is doing something. So the primary

question we have to ask ourselves is how do I

make deeper and deeper parts of myself and more and

more of myself open and available to God and his grace.

Can God touch your money? Can God touch your time?

Can God touch your love life? You can feel in

the blanks. You've heard messages before. I don't have to

do this, but what I'm trying to tell you is

how can you make deeper, deeper parts of yourself? How

can you make more and more of yourself available to God.

Because if there's some areas God cannot touch, we are

not being formed into a person of love in Christ.

Amen our participation. Let's talk about our part. Our part

is spiritual for how how do we do this? So next, remember,

formation is going to happen to you regardless, but formation

into the image of Jesus requires intentionality. Let's talk about

the theory of change. We have to give thought to

this thing called theory of change. What is it? Theory

of change is essentially a comprehensive description and illustration of

how and why a desire change is effected to happen

in a particular context. Okay, blah blah blah blah blah. Basically,

you want to change, How do you change that? Theory

of change? You want to grow slim? I want to

change from big to slim. What is your theory of change?

How do you get from big to slim? How do

you think you do that? How do you think you

do that? Is it dire thing? Is it exercise? How

many times I did you all that? That's theory of change.

Everyone has a theory of change. Everyone does because everyone

is changing. You have a theory of change. Where do

you realize you you do? The issue is, The issue

is a lot of our theories of change are unconscious,

not conscious. You don't know your theory change. You're not

aware that you believe this is how change happened. But

you're doing it anyway, are you in? You changing every day? Yes,

you have a theory of change. You are changing, You're

just not conscious how it happens. Okay, everyone has some

kind of mental map, some kind of theory about how

we change to become a different kind of person, whether

that's applied to athletics, your fitness, your health, your career,

your marriage, or to disciple ship. You have a theory

of change. So most of us, most people are who

are Christians, we have some working model roughly right you

roughly like, Okay, I just became a Christian. Now I

read Bible more. Now last time, I'm not very regularly.

Just so now I come to every Oh that's what

I see it at the back, Now I see it

in front. All those are theory of change. You think

that's how you change to become whatever. You won't think

you're trying to become. The thing is a lot of

it is unconscious. It's not intentional. You just it's just

winging it, just letting it happen. So I'm inviting us,

encouraging us. Don't let it be unconscious. Be conscious, Know

what your theory of change is, know how you change

and how you're being formed, and be intentional about it.

Otherwise you just become whatever we want to become. Like Jesus, Amen,

a lot of us never really thought about our theory

of change that deeply, just kind of have these assumptions

that we live by. We never seriously question it. And

some of it's deeply flawed. It actually does not work,

or it's actually turning us to a worse person. A

lot of it is haphazard, not intentional. At hoc, someone

says something to do, Hey, you know what, you know

how you can lose weight? Take gully. The suddenly you you,

oh no, the garlly, Hey garlic you can garlic, cannot

must take sugar, fight fire away fire, Oh yes, sir.

Then you suddenly oh not the sugar. This is our

lives are same thing Christianity. Someone gonna tell you, hey,

no need to pray in tangue tongues are is optional.

Then you become a non tongs person. Then suddenly you

go to some big conference tongues are will change your life.

Then you come back tung tangkas all the way. Hey,

why are we like that? Hap hazard this next part?

Please listen with a pure open heart. Okay, it's shocking,

sometimes surprising even how much how much intention, discipline, time,

planning some people put into their careers, their fitness, their health,

raising their kids, hobbies. Please listen. I'm not knocking it.

I am doing it too. I wake up in the morning,

I run five km every morning. I do it. I'm

just noticing that as human beings, we do put intentions, discipline, time,

planning details into things. Amen. I won't mention name, but

someone told me when his wife got pregnant. You know

what he did. He committed to sleep only four hours

a day and wake up every two hours to get

used to the rhythm the moment. If I am I

worst pregnant, he said, you know what, I'm gonna do this,

and he did it. Hey, all of you are capable able.

We've seen it. I've seen how some holidays are planned.

By the way, if you're going to Taiwan, Osaka Ato,

Hong Kong, ask me for my itinery I can give

you free. The itery is so detailed. You will tell

you what time the train will arrive at what station,

and how much and how long you will take to

get to the next Marcan place, and at that place,

how much doo doodles will cost you, so you can

budget before I take all the credit. I reprepare it

someone in my family did, mm hmm, but yes, yes,

So people can be very intentional. See, I'm not saying, hey,

why are you Christiana? Don't spend more time on your

running now, don't spend more time on your computer. I'm

not saying that because if I say that, I have

to stop too. I run, I play games, I watch football.

The point is we can and imagine you put the

same discipline, intentionality, planning detail into your spiritual life. You

plan what time to get out of your house to

get to work on a particular time. What if you

plan what time you woke up so that you can

get one chapter in? If that's what you're aiming for,

Because most of us do this, you know what, Tomorrow morning,

I'm gonna be spech. I'm gonna be one chapter. But

you give yourself only three minutes between waking up and

getting out of the house. How to read one chapter

not practical. It's not gonna work. So if you want

to read one chapter, I'm not saying you must, But

if you want to, then you can time yourself law

and say, oh, therefore I have to wake up at

this time, and then I have to appropt my tea.

I'm gonna do that. I can get what chapter in

the same thing you do with your runs and your

gym and your sports and your meals and your diet

and your holiday and your how you plan to get

the girl. I talk to lots of young people, bro.

They plan the conversation, after the conversation, after the conversation,

I'm gonna say that. But before I say that, but

say this first name. We had a conversation aiden, didn't

we about where to go on first dates? Didn't we

say go mama or the second date? Not the first

date because first day won't impress her. Take me to Hamma,

but you take her to second day so that you

bring her back down to earth. Right, That's what happened

YouTube about friends Mama, second date, first date, can can, don't,

don't be too impressive, impressive up a second day bring

her back down to earth. Hey, this real life. Ah,

we do this, we plan, we organize. Hey, use the

same intention, discipline, fervency into your spiritual life, and guess

what you'll become a man. Because too many of us

Christians are just winging it. I just wake up and

see what happens. I just pray in tongues a few

seconds and see that. Maybe called removema, maybe go removela.

Today I opened by and see what's going to jump?

And me like jump in me? Hey, I know love.

We hear stories before. What the day I opened the

pipeline and whah the first book to me? Man, sure

very good, I know it can happen. What happened to

me before? Too? How many times? Huh? How many times

in your thirty years? Christians? A journey jump? You know?

Most of the time it's just read and then ten

years later you realize you read something that will help you.

Now it's a deposit. You know, if you don't put

money in your bank, how to withdraw money later? You

have to put in. You have to deposit first so

that when you need it you can withdraw, not when

you need to withdraw. You realize I am because I

never read my Bible, I never prayed, I never had

a relationship with God. Right deposit then withdraw. So I'm

not asking us to habit stack. It's not about habits

is a means to an end. So there is a

measure of intentionality that we need to bring into apprentice

apprenticeship with Jesus. Amen. Next, don't kip this wine. You

know why you spend so much time on your wedding,

on your vacation, on your career, on your fitness. You

know why? Because the matter it matters to you. A

few weeks ago at hyper pressure. That's why. No, I'm

running like better better it prop supplements every morning, twelve bills.

Why why my health matters? It matters. So nothing wrong

with that, do it, go ahead. But discipleship matters to

your spiritual life also matters. Next, life matters, discipleship matters,

level of intentionality, detailed discipline matters, eat matters, your listenally

we got matters. So make sure your theory of change,

how you change. So if I'm gonna lose weight, I'm

gonna do this, do this, do this. If I'm gonna

become a person of love in Christ, I'm gonna do this,

do this, Do this, some simple things I've started. Just

when I wake up in the morning, the first thing

I look at is verse Scripture. I don't know if

there's some magic in it, psychosomatic or whatever, but I

experienced change in myself, even physical change. I told you

last week. I now wake up with no headaches. I

used to wake up with headaches. I don't I can't

explain this. The only thing that I've changed now is

I wake up earlier and I look at scripture first. Now,

if you do the same thing, suddenly, suddenly your head

will grow and you go, no, heir, I don't know.

Maybe it will, maybe it won't. I don't know. Try

What I know is it will have an effect. It

will have an effect. Amen, So make sure your theorial

change is conscious, not unconscious, intentional, has it, because otherwise

we will be ineffective rather than transformational. Amen. If we're

going to think deeply, carefully, slowly about how we are formed,

can I introduce to you there are four forces of formation,

four things that formed us the form us. Okay. This

is compiled over hundreds and thousands of studies, both in

the spiritual world and the psychological world, and most were

they will all agree hundred percent, but most will agree

around these four things. These four forces form us as

human beings. Number one, the stories we believe narrative. If

you want to be a Christian, you can talk about

what is your belief, your faith, those things are, but

basically the stories you believe, your narrative, or another word

is mental maps. How does the your brain works? What

you believe about life and things. What we think matters,

meaning what we believe to be good and beautiful and

true matters. Okay, for example, let's use an example money.

The stories you believe about money will form you. So,

for example, if you believe something like the narrative narrative

is more money, more happy. That's a narrative. That's a

story about money. And if you believe that, guess what

you will be. You will be chasing for more money

because you believe that to have more money, I will

be more happy. So then you become that kind of person.

You shap your life, detail your life, plan your life,

schedule life so that you can get more money so

you can be more happy. Right, that's a story we believe. Now,

Jesus's view of money is very different than that He

didn't say more money, more happy. So if you adop

Jesus's story of about money, then you become the kind

of person money is to be a blessing, and so

you live your life that way. You get what I'm saying.

What you believe to be good, to be true, to

be beautiful, that matters. You can replace money with anything else. Time.

What do you believe about time? Success? What is success

to you? What you believe will form you? Love self?

Number one of the stories we believe. Number two, our habits.

These are four forces that form us. Yeah, stories, we

believe our habits. Your habits will form you. So what

we think matters this one. What we do matters. The

things we do on a regular basis do something to us,

Your habits will form you. This is both scientific and

also spiritual. It's how God created us to be. We

respond to our habits the power of habit. Amen. That's

why I was spiritual. Disciplines are just a means when

and it has an effect on us. It's still habits.

It's still disciplines. But we're not just talking about the

habits that you do, like read your Bible walk. Remember

a few weeks ago with talk about the habit of

your mind, where your mind goes when for example, when

you're bored, where there's a mind goal, that's a habit.

Some people when they're borught they go to pawn. That's

a habit. So when they're angry to go to like

how to plan your demise, that's a habit. And we

need to renew our mind. You know. Our habits also

reveal the stories we believe, meaning we can look at

each other's habits and kind of tell what stories we

believe in our head. So if I see your habits

towards money, I can tell the story you believe out money.

So your habits show what your most value and what

your most love. Do you need to pretend how you

wake up in the morning, how you go to bed,

how your response, the situations, all of that show for

your most value or your most love. In fact, you

will inform you too. You realize, oh, I didn't know

I love this as much. Stories we believe our habits.

Number three our relationships. We are formed by our relationship.

Relationship matters. You become like the people you're with. You'll

dress like them, think like them, vote like them, act

like them, talk like them. It just happens. We are

all deeply relational beings and this is not a bad thing.

It is a good thing. We are made for relationships.

But because it's a good thing, it is very easily

manipulated by evil. Evil will use the power of relationships

to mess you up. There are a lot of good friends,

but they are bad ones too, and you will become

like them. This is why we believe that discipleship has

to be relational, not programmed, not class. It has to

be relational, but relationships have to be healthy, otherwise easily manipulated.

You mix with a bunch of friends who don't pray

when have problems, you will not pray when hes problems,

because then you will adopt the story they believe in

and start to have the rooting they have. So oh,

whenever you get your friends ok, proma, heye see the

bamona o proma, talk to your bossona. That's the habit.

You become like them. That's what distress realiities that put you.

Has to be a relational, but relationship have to be healthy.

You need to learn to recognize if the community with

is healthy for you or not. We want healthy relationships,

healthy community. We need to be very intentional about who

we are in relationship and in community with We need

to watch what type of person we are becoming by

looking at our community. Can I ask you some questions

to check yourself? Are you becoming more hateful, hurtful, more complaining,

more murmuring, more gossiping, more bread biting, envious, bitter, angry, mistrusting, insecure, stingy,

selfish or sinful? First place, you look at your friends.

If you mix a bunch of friends and complaining about

the government all the tim how long can you last

that without complaining, You're really gonna sit there for the

next five years, you become. It's just what happens. Don't

fight it, It's what happens. Change groups. That's what you

can do. Oh hey, friend, Are you becoming more loving forgiving,

more joyful, more helpful, more selfless, more sinless, more humble,

more gracious, more hungry for God, more holy, more flul

of the spirit? Watch yourself? Number four our experiences. We

are formed by the stories we believe. We are formed

by our habits, We are formed by our relationships, and

we are formed by our experiences. That means what you

experience in life. Now this one in particular, especially our

experiences with pain and suffering. That's why God allows it

because nothing form you more than the pain and suffering

you go through. Pain and suffering can be either God's

open door to healing and transformation. You can see that

way the story you believe about pain and suffering. When

you experience pain and suffering, what do you believe about

these are? There is God juchment these are or you

believe wow, God must be doing something in me. It

can either become an open door to God's healing and

transformation or an open door to lies the seat, bitterness, wounding, trauma,

et cetera. So think about these four forces in your life. Stories,

you believe, your habits, your relationships, we experiences. Listen, Yeah,

none of you are blank slates. You don't come into

this world blank sheet. All spiritual formation in the way

of Jesus is actually counter formation. Because you're born to

this world with sin, you're already deformed. We all start deformed,

so we need to be formed counter form. Even if

you got safe today, you're already deformed by sin, so

we need to counter form. You need to change the

stories you used to believe. You need to change your habits.

You need to change your relationships even for some of you.

And you need to look you have a new way

of looking at your experiences. So I end with this.

We need to learn to push back. We need to

push back in at least three of the four forces

intentionally push back. So Number one story stories we believe.

We need to push back against the stories we believe

with the Truth of Jesus. Whatever you believe that it's

not true, now you get to push it back with

the world of God. Someone tells you money is everything.

You say, none is not everything. You can have got amendment. See,

now you know what The Word of God is so important.

We need to push back the stories the world tells

us with the truth of Jesus. Number two, we push

back on our habits with practices of Jesus or spiritual disciplines.

Your habit is to complain, but then you learn a

new habit to bless and be encouraging. You get I'm

saying your deformed hapbit is to be lazy. But you

push back and say, you know what, I'm gonna wake

up at a certain time. I'm gonna do this. We

need to push back because this is our part. Number three,

we push back against unhealthy relationships with godly community. Nobody

needs to be perfect, but your friends need to be godly.

We all need to be on this journey. Amen. Are

your friends also trying to be more patient? Are your

friends also trying to be more prayerful about things? So

we push back? Number four, it's not push You can't

push back on your experiences, but you become you open

to them to God. I say, okay, I'm suffering pain

right now. I've experienced betrayal, I've experienced herd and trauma.

I'm going to open this up to God so that

God can take this and turn it around and change

my life. Amen. So this is the framework of how

we become like Jesus. You can everybody here you can

become a person who is like Jesus. It is not impossible.

In fact, I hope from hearing what you've heard over

the last few weeks, it's actually very doable. It is

a narrow way that requires intention, but it will lead

to life. So friends, let's be intentional about the stories

we believe, our habits, our relationships. This one is tough.

We don't want to lose our friends or neighbors, but

If you want to become like Jesus, some of you

may have to make some tough choices. And Fourthly, experiences

happen to you. You can't choose them. But what you

do your experiences, how you opening up to God, how

you become available to God. This is the type of ship.

It's becoming more like Jesus. Amen.

Thank you for joining us on the Generations Church podcast.

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