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

Hey there, you're listening to the Generation's Church podcast. We

pray that the word of God today will challenge, change

and channel you into your God given destiny. Now let's

get started.

Today. Let's move on to the second goal.

The second beattitude of this journey called discipleship and needs

to become like Jesus every single day as we learn

to spend time with him. What are we trying to do?

We are trying to become more and more like this

person we are following. I want to give you a

picture Jesus's invitation of follow me. That invitation can be

described this way. It's like an open door and a

narrow way. Why open door. It's not a closed door.

It's an open door. Why because Jesus said, whoever wants

to follow me.

It doesn't matter your.

Your social status, It doesn't me your accolades, your medals,

anyone whoever wants to come and follow me. This life

of the suppleship is for anyone and everyone and whoever

who wants to It's an wide open door. There's no key,

there's no like knock, knock, knock, Just come in. Is

an open door. Whoever, it's a door, it's open but

because it's a door, there is a need to walk

through it to walk into it. You can't just like

that's nice, thanks, Jesus, nice phrase. Follow you Yahaha, I'll

do it from here. You can't do that. You can't

just like, okay, Jesus, I'll do following you from here.

You gotta walk through this open door. But when you

walk through this open door, you're gonna discover the way

is very narrow.

Open door, narrow way.

Now you know what, Jesus really really needs a marketing person,

a PR person, because he's definitely not selling this very well. Right,

Come follow me. Your life will be hard. Come follow me.

You have no place to lay your head. Come follow me,

what barefoot? Come follow me the wake up early in

the morning and pray three hours. He's like, how do

you market that? He really needed a PR person, But

Jesus did say he did say some very marketable and

very p R phrases. He did say those things. I'll

show them to you. He said, guys, don't worry about tomorrow.

He's saying, you don't worry, be happy. It's okay, that's marketable,

that's very PR nice. He also said, ask and you'll

be given not and you will. It will be open seeking.

You're fine, hey, very good. He also said, come, come,

come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rests. I'll have you chills.

Have you rest come to me. Oh this one is marketable.

He also said, this is a good one.

He's a good one.

He said, I have come that you all may have

life and have it to have it more abundantly.

Oh, you're gonna have so.

Much blessings and goodness. It's great now.

If Jesus would just stop there a he didn't.

He also said things like, whoever wants to be my disciples,

that's a big open door. Have to deny yourself. Here's

the narrow way. Take up your cross, you know the

cross thing that that killed me. Yeah, take that up

every day, not just set the day or Sunday, every day,

and then come follow me. He also said, enter through

the narrow gate. For why it is the gate and

broad is the road that leads to destruction. You will

actually fail, you actually be destroyed, you will actually be

gone if you take this road. He means his words.

He didn't make it lighter, He just went for it.

Then he said but small is the gate and narrow

the road that leads to life. You want to live,

you want your best life. Take this small git, this

small road. And then he says, only if you find it,

he could really use a pr person.

Ah.

Look, so Jesus is saying, the lifelong journey of the

supper Ship is an intentional one. One you have to

choose and make decisions every day to follow. Is not

always an easy one, but there's a promise. It leads

to life. It leads to life, your best life. And

by best life, I don't mean dream car, dream house,

dream vacation. Only it means the life you are meant

to live. So, friends, the past few weeks, we've learned

a lot of words, Greek words, Hebrew words, English words,

scientific words, psychological words. Here's a not a word, spiritual formation.

This journey, this.

Process, this system, whatever you're wanna call it, this way,

it's called spiritual formation. Spirit doesn't mean it just forms

you in the spiritual sense, but not in natural sense.

Doesn't mean that.

It means spirit means inside, means formation that happens from

the inside out. So discipleship is becoming like Jesus, becoming

like Jesus is a process, and the process is called

what spiritual formation. In other words, discipleship equals spiritual formation.

Spiritualformation equals becoming like Jesus equals disciple shape. But spiritual

formation in the way of Jesus. You're being formed his

way into his way. So discipleship is a way of life,

and it is the Jesus way of life. Okay, your

way of life, my way of life, His way of life,

their way of life, not some guru, not some psychological expert.

Is Jesus' way of life, his way of delivering offenses,

his way of dealing with bribery, his way of dealing

with betrayal, his way of dealing with pain and suffering,

his way of dealing with love and everything else.

Spiritual formation. Amen.

Now we live a day and age where maybe you've

been exposed, maybe you're not. Some of us have, but

it seems to be a buzzword these days. Spiritual formation

actually is not a very new concept. Is a very

old concept way back then in the fourth century and

all that they've been talking about this already spiritual formation.

Now it's gonna sound like some scholars who talk like

that and books who uses words like this, but actually

you know what this word, this concept is in the Bible.

Paul Paul is well known.

He's he often talks about spiritual formation. There are some

interchangeable words like renew world like transformation. Those are the

words that Paul would use to describe spiritual formation. Second

Corinthian Street eighteen for example. And we all with unveiled

face beholding. Remember this word beholding is to look at

Jesus spending time with God, enjoying him.

Discipleshit beholding the glory of the.

Lord are being transformed into the same image from one

degree of glory. Remember, not perfection, persistent, consistency, lifelong journey,

even pulsated. You get changed one degree at a time.

Transformation spiritual formation. For this comes from the Lord, who

is spirit efficient for twenty to twenty four. But that

is not the way you learn Christ, assuming that you

have heard about Him and were taught in Him as

the truth is, Jesus put off your old self, which

belongs to your former manner of life and its corrupt

to civil desires, and to be renewed in the spirit

of your minds. This means spiritual formation, being renewed, being changed,

being more and more glorified, one degree after another. In

the spirit of your mind, we talk a lot about

the mind in the last two part, and it sounded

like some psychological talk.

It's not.

The Bible talks about the spirit of the mind.

Remember when you were told the Holy Spirit is a person.

So when the Bible says spirit of the mind, we're

talking about how your mind forms you into a type

of person and poorly saying that spirit of your mind.

Need to be renewed.

You need to adjust, You need to redirect your consciousness

towards God. Otherwise it's not in our autopilot moving away

from God because of sin Colosure Street ten to eleven.

Put on your new nature and be renewed as you

learn to know your Creator and become like him in

this new life. It doesn't matter if you're a Jew

or gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, safe or free,

open door crimes is all that matters, and He lives

in all of us abiding. Finally, first May four seventy

eight have nothing to do with irrelevant silly myth. Rather

train yourself for all these words. Have you noticed we

just be using different words. We say discipline intentional, Yeah, habitual,

Paul is just using a different word. He says, Train

yourself means wake, come in the morning and think about

God first, go to bed at night, anything about God. Loss,

Train yourself, currate your consciousness, abiding Jesus. Follow this way,

turn yourself for godliness, become like God for while bodily training.

All these other disciplines, intentionality, habits that you have in

your life, they are good, they have some value, Pol says,

But Godliness is of value. In every way you have

Godliness in your life, you are a success, a preference

hit above all in every area of your life.

Amen.

As this as it holds promised for the present life

and the life to come, Paul, and Jesus is not

asking you to do this discaple ship just so that

you can tahan earth and go to heaven and live free.

Is telling you if you live this.

Way here on earth while waiting for Heaven, your life

here will be the best you can live.

Amen.

So, spiritual formation is that process of becoming like someone.

I haven't put over Jesus there yet, I'll explain. But

spiritual formation as it is, is the process of becoming

like someone in other whats I'm suggesting you can be

spiritually formed to become like Leonardo da Vinci or Elon Mask.

So in other words, it's a process, meaning if you

follow a particular way over a long period of time,

you become that someone. Spiritual formation is not a Christian

thing only. It's not even a religious thing, although it

sounds like it.

It's a human thing.

Spiritual formation is another word or label for the development

of the soul. And if you if you study theology nowadays,

there are people who tell you the soul and the

spirit is actually the same thing. So those people will

tell you we only have a body, and so that's it,

not three parts. It's basically saying there is an external

you and it there's an internal you.

Okay.

So spiritual formation is not a religious thing, Christian thing.

Non Christians go to spiritual formation too. Atheists go through

spiritual format too. Everybody goes to spiritual formation.

White.

Spiritual information being formed from the inside out. Amen, your

soul is being developed, so spiritual information is happening.

Amen.

Everyone have been through, is going through and will go

through spiritual formation. So a saintly person like Mother Thrisa

was a product of spiritual formation but so was Hitler.

They both have been spiritually formed, just very, very differently.

So don't we city and think, oh, spiritual formation is

for the church leaders.

Oh it's for the missionaries. Oh it's them. No.

No, you, while you were sleeping, you, while you were

to your old kid, and have no consciousness of this.

You have been spiritually formed.

There is not one person in this world or in

your life that is not spiritually formed. There has not

been formed from the inside out to become a certain kind.

Of a person.

The kind of person you are today is a result

and the product of all the spiritual information that has

been happening in your life up till this date. You know,

all of us, one day in the future, sooner than

you think. One day, you're going to wake up in

the morning or afternoon. For some of you, you're gonna

wake up and then you're gonna realize that you have

become a certain kind of dead or mom, a friend,

or lover or worker or boss or human being.

You're gonna wake and.

Go, Wow, I am such and such a dad, I'm

such a such a friend, I'm such and such a neighbor.

You wake up and you realize, Hey, I've become a

certain kind of person. And if we if we don't

teach this or learn this, we don't know how it

came about. How it came about is you were spiritually formed, amen,

because that's spiritual formation. Spiritualformation is not some like new age,

new new Christian things. Oh, I'm really getting the spiritual

information now? And what what do they mean? They mean

they're reading books on it, they're studying theology, or like

now they're listening to a podcasts and or now they

wake up in the morning.

And if this routine and all that, all those things

are good.

Hm. But we feel realize we have all been into

spiritual formation since before we came out of the womb.

We've been we have all been becoming a person a

type of person, ever since we were born. When someone

says something about you and your reaction is too blank,

whatever you do, that's the type of person you are, and

that is the result of weeks, months and years of formation.

I think we've said this several different ways already, by

it's the same thing, and so I'm gonna say it again.

It's not whether you're into spiritual formation or not.

I'm not asking to be more spiritual than you already are.

That's not necessarily what I'm saying, because it's already happening.

You're already being formed spiritually, You're already being formed on.

The inside out to become a certain kind of person.

The key is this, as apprentices and disciples of Jesus,

we need to learn to play a role. That means,

instead of just letting it happen without our active involvement,

we play a role, We do something about it, We

get activated, we are involved. We play a role in

the trajectory of our formation. If you on you're gonna

be form one way, and it may not be the

Jesus way. So if you want to be formed the

Jesus way, you have to play a role in making

sure that's the direction you're hating.

Amen.

So, in other words, friends, we can participate with God

in our formation or we can resist and work against God.

So basically, you can work with God or you can

work against God. God wants to form you into more

like Jesus, so you have two choices, work with him

or work against him. If you are not intentional about it,

you are already working against him. But to work with him,

there's a part to play amen, but to play okay.

So when Jesus talks about the narrow way and the

broad way, he seems to be alluding to this participation

from us.

Which way will you choose?

Will you choose the way of working with me, which

is narrow, or you're gonna choose the way of working

against me, which is broad? Where are you going to heat?

I think he's referring to that. So the broad road?

What is this broad road? Jesus gave us some clues.

It's basically the road where you do whatever you want,

do whatever everybody else is doing. And the Bible realises

most people are on that road. The bad news is,

and we don't like bad news, but the bad news

is too bad news. The bad news is, if you're

on that road, it leads to destruction. It's not gonna

end well for you, your true person, who God created

you to be. If you stay on this broad road.

Every step you take on this broad road, you're being destroyed,

bait by bit. Every day you're on this broad road,

being chipped away your true self, who God created you

to be. The longer you're on this broad road, the

more destroyed you become, and the further away you get

from who you are meant to be Amen. So you

may be asking, ah, is that how we interpret the

broad way and the narrow way?

Verse?

One interpretation I think we're all familiar with that is

basically the broad road, which many people are on, is

the road where you don't believe in Jesus.

You will go to health. Destruction means hell. They're all

going to hell. If you believe in Jesus. Is a

narrow road. You're gonna go to heaven this one way.

And most people, basically most people as we speak right now,

as it stands right now, most people are going to

hell based on this interpretation, right because.

Few find then the narrow road. Most people go this way.

Now, I don't think it's wrong to interpret that verse

that way, So you're apting it based on belief and salvation.

Broad is most people don't believe in Jesus, you're going

to hell destruction. Less people believe in Jesus, they're going

to heaven life. Great kind of propose to you that

there may be another interpretation.

So there's a broad road. And this broad road is broad.

Because it's common, it's popular, it's easier, not so much

cramping on my style, not so much. Ah, Rubbing shoulders

is broad road. You can go wherever you want. This

broad road is common, it's popular, it's easy. And because

it's common, popular, easy, sounds good, feels good. A lot

of people choose this way. But friends, it feels good,

smells good, looks kind of good. Common, popular, But hey,

it's leading you to destruction. The more you go on

this road, the more destroy your true self is. By

the time you get to the end of this road,

you realize you're so so, so so so far away

from who go wants you to be. And if you

use this interpretation, this would mean that the.

Narrow way it's not about Hell or Heaven only. The

narrow way just means this.

It's not common, it's not popular, it's not it's not like,

do whatever you want, that's broad, do whatever you want.

The narrow way is a.

Very specific way to live. That's why it's narrow. That

means no, no, no, no, not this way, no, no,

not that way, no no, you cannot do this, no,

you cannot do that.

You must do this. Is that narrow Jesus is saying

every other way of living does not work. Only my way.

I am the way the truth in the life. No

one comes to the farther except through me. It's very narrow.

That's another way to interpret it. And he's saying, come

follow me. What is follow me? Means follow me, stay

with me, make your home in me. But it's narrow.

There is if you choose this way. Nah, you can't

do that. No you can't.

No, you can't live that way. No you can't say that.

No you can't think that way, because you must only

think this way and say these things and do these things.

It's narrow, doesn't make sense.

Jesus is saying, there is a road, there's a path,

there's a hot doss the Greek word hods way to follow.

And it's based on my life, Jesus says, and my words.

And if you follow this very specific way, this narrow way,

when you follow behind me and you apprentice under me,

you learn my art of living, and you abide in

me and I in you.

So I'm in you.

I'm the one that influences you your decisions, your thoughts,

and you spend time with me, it will lead you

to life, the life that you crave, the life that

you were made for. Both Now while you're on earth

and also eternity.

That's Jesus invitation.

It's narrow, it's small, it's specific, but come because it

leads to life.

Amen. So you might be asking, what's this specific way?

How do I do this?

In other words, that question is the question of what

therefore is spiritual formation in.

The Way of Jesus.

If Hitler was spirtually formed, if Stalin was spirtually formed,

then how can I be more like Jesus?

Instead? What is this way?

So I borrowed the definition from the book Practicing the

Way because I think it's great. It's one sentence. What

it's this way is described this way. This spiritual formation

is described as the process of being formed into a

person of love in Christ. There are four parts to

this sentence, four components you see in colors. So there

is the process, there is the being formed. There is

a person of love and in Christ. Spiritual formation in

the Way of Jesus is the process of being formed

into a person of love in Christ. In other words,

if you say, pastor, I want to be a disciple

of Jesus, you're saying I'm committed to the process of

being formed into.

A person of love in Christ.

I'm saying yes to this, and every single word here

is intentional, carefully chosen. Number one, let's talk about process. Remember,

this journey is a process. There's no fast solution. There

is no quick It's not quick. It's not fast, it's

not easy, it's not linear. It can be slow, sometimes long.

But whatever it is, it happens over a period of time.

We just can't shortcut this process. So if you have

ever in your life, ever ever taken discipleship seriously, you

may experience this weird mix. This that caught to me,

this tension of just being very grateful and thankful that

God is doing so much in your life. But it's

also this tension of life. But God, why don't you

do it quicker?

Why don't you make it easier?

Right?

Because it's a process.

God is doing something in you, with both the good

and the bad experiences. I grew up a very insecure

person because I was small. I was shot from standard

one two from five. That's eleven years and I don't

know I to toe this story before when my father's

not here today. But when I was very young and

I wanted to talk to my father about something I couldn't,

he was not in a good mood. He wanted to

shut me up and said, please, don't talk now. I

kept wanting to tell him about my day. To shut

me up, he took the slipper and slapped me across

the face, and the man on my face was there

for two whole days. Imagine going to school and say

I fellow my sleeper. But that did something to me.

I didn't realize this until I was an adult, and

I realized that, Oh now I know why growing up

I didn't. I never dared speak to the point of

if people ask me where you want to have lunch,

I don't even dare give my opinion, because the message

sent to me as a very young boy is no

one wants to hear you speak. You're nothing good to say.

Just shut up doing this, speaking in front of people,

sometimes in front of thousands of people, is the grace

of God, I tell you, grace of God.

I still get nervous till today I.

Get more never speaking to all of you than thousands

of people in other country. Trust me, really, I have

to face you again next week. So these insecurities in

me is in my system and I deal with it better.

I've known Jesus, I walk with him. I do with

it better now. I don't take things so personally now,

but there are days. There are days where I accidentally

take things personally get rowled up. I'm trying to be

a better father. I'm trying not to shout on my

son so much. And I think I'm bringing better in

that I'm more calm, But there are days. This is

what it looks like if all these things in you

that you're trying to you. I've been spiritually formed to

be an insecure child slash adult.

That's what I've been formed to become.

And I don't know if I'll ever get rid of

all of it. Even Paul says, I have a thorn

in the flesh that God won't remove. I'm getting better,

but there are days I fall, the days I fail.

Persistence consistency is a journey. Remember this next libease, remember

this meme. It's where I am. I'm a thousand kilometers

away from where I need to be. It looks very

far away. It looks impossible. It's so hard God, but

look when God. Wow. But I've come a long way,

so I cannot go backwards. I must keep going forward.

Amen.

So Philippines two twelve to thirteen says this, therefore, my beloved,

as you have always obeyed, So now, not only as

in my presence, but much more in my absence, work

out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Now, salvation

is not something you can do to get. It's not

by works. It's given to you you. But now that

you have it, you work it out. It's like if

you have no muscles at all. So you say, let's

just say, some terrible accident happened. You lost your right arm.

You lost your right arm. You have no right arm.

You can't go to the gym, go through machine and

grow a right arm. You can't work out your right

arm because you have no right arm. You can even

go to the gym and work out your right arm

if you have it. So salvation can only be worked

out if you already have it. So get safe first.

But once you're safe, you have a responsibility. You have

a role to play.

Amen.

Most of the best things in our life is all

slow dripped over a lifetime. That's why you want to

get patience. It takes time. Pray for patience and go

or send you the most irritating annoying friend, takes time.

Get used to the fact that it takes time, and

then give each other grace to be spiritually formed the

Jesus way because it takes time.

Let's move on formation, transformation.

All these words are used by Paul and it's the

word meta mophar oh for oh. It means to change

into another form. You know what the English word is metamorphosis.

It's the same word used in the process of when

the caterpillar turns into a papa, and a papa turns

into a caterpillar.

Hey, sorry, a butterfly. Ah your awake?

Okay, good, Let's look at this process. Okay, there's many pictures.

The lib I chose this on because it tells you

how many days it stays in the egg form, how

many days it stays the caterpillar stage. So it's like

eggs for the ten days, caterpillar eight to twenty one days,

crystally six to twelve days, butterfly fourteen to twenty one days.

Although one particular but the fly or the monarch can

live up to two hundred days. Two hundred days, not

even a year. What I want you to notice is

this the lifespan of being a butterfly is generally fourteen

to twenty one days. The rest of it, you put

it together, egg, caterpillar, crystalis all of that. It's either

just as long as the butterfly period or longer.

That's the type of shit.

That that that the piod of being a caterpillar, which

you're just crawling around like a baby Christian, like, oh,

why can I pray?

Like like why can I pray like Josh yet? Oh?

Why can I do Bible study? Like Athon yet?

Are yo?

I'm crawling over here like a caterpillar. I can't wait

to get there.

And and then you get put into a papa. You are

like in the dark. You don't know what's going on.

What is God doing to me?

Is he even here? I don't hear him. I don't

see him.

WHOA, those are very long. It looks like nothing's happening.

But you are being formed. Can you please right now?

Right off the back, get used to the fact that

you're going to be longer in the echt to purproperio,

then you're gonna be a butterfly.

Amen.

So beauty is formed through and over time and process.

That's what's happening while you're in the dark. That's what's

happening when you're not sure what God is doing. That's

what's happening. When you're inching your way into God, closer

to God. That's what's happening when sometimes you fall and

get up again.

Beauty is being farmed. Amen.

We can see God's beauty and creativity through nature and creation.

Roman t.

One and twenty is for since the creation of the world,

God's invisible qualities, his eternal power, and divine nature have

been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made

his creation, so that people are were excuse. You can

also use this verse for apologetic John fifteen sixteen fruit

biding me, eyeing you, and you will bare fruit that

will last. We're not talking about fleeting beauty. We're not

just talking talking about the snowflag, snow flake and if

you could see through the microscope the beauty of.

It, not like come down and then it melts and

it's gone. I'm talking about the kind of like.

Like just once in a while, fire from the law,

once in a while, kind of like we're talking about

fruit that will last. That's the result of abiding in

Christ persistently, consistently, you will produce fruit that will last,

that will be durable. So what God is forming you

through the establishing process is beauty that is durable. God

wants you to be beautiful but also durable. You were

last the long haul, so God wants you to be

durably beautiful and durably fruitful. What took time to build

can also stand the test of time, like the Grand Canyon.

I don't know, we've not been there, most of us,

but there's a thing of beauty. It's a it's a

it's a nature like an almost freak of nature like.

It took probably years and years and years and years

to form, but it's not easily destroyed.

It's beautiful.

So that's a process process now being formed, the process

of being formed.

It's very intentional language.

You are, you are being formed, So it's being formed

versus forming yourself. This TYPUSHI is not you trying to

make yourself something. You're already being formed. Another New Testament

synonym for transformation is actually salvation. So just like salvation,

salvation is not something we do. Salvation is something that

is done to us by God self.

Here is something that can.

Only be done to us by God. So is discipleship.

Transformation spiritual information. You are being formed. But because you

are being formed, not forming yourself, you still have a

role to play, just like your consciousness. Your consciousness already

in something somewhere, but you can direct it. That's your

role to play. Same thing here. The Bible says work

out your salvation. It clearly tells you you have a

role to play. Saint Augustine said this in the fourth century.

Without God, I can't without him. I can't without us.

He won't without him. We can't do this, but without us,

he won't move. I like it in the Bahasa version too.

It sounds good tampatuhan akut it ra mampu tapampaku to

hunt it at mouth love. It sounds so poetic, But

it's just not just poetic for you. How you understand

that you have a role to play. In other words,

if you make yourself wake up in the morning and

rich scripture, you are playing your part and working with God.

If you refuse to wake up and reach scripture, you

are still being From anyway, Jesus caused the foundation.

Of a spiritual journey.

Poverty of spirit blessed a poor in spirit for theatre

see God Poverty of spirit. This is when he says,

I'm the vine, you are the branches. Without me, you

can do nothing. He didn't say you can do something,

cannot do something. He didn't say no. He literally said,

you can do nothing. Nothing of eternal value, nothing of value.

You can do nothing. You are poor, You're in poverty

of spirit. That's what he's saying.

But he's saying it in a good way.

He's saying you can do nothing. So body mean so

that it through me you can do everything. He's sitting

in a good light, in a good way. So we

all start from I truly have nothing. That's our spiritual journey,

and it's in the poverty of spirit. Is in the

positive sense of the word. It's an understanding, acceptance, awareness

that I am nothing. I have nothing apart from Christ.

It's a good place to start. Salvation is God's work.

Salvation and transformation is God's work. Our role is to

make ourselves available to God to work. When you wake

up in the morning and spend time with God, that's

that's not you being super spiritual. And we also clept

for you and go wow, that's just going, Oh, you

made space for God to move. You were available. Now

God can speak us. When God speaks while you're sleeping,

you cannot hear. Now that you're awake, maybe you can

hear some things. But the first thing to do is

wake up. So servation is God's work. Transformation is God's work.

But our work our work. Our work is to be available.

When you open the Bible, is not oh you so holy,

you open the holy Bible.

No, when you open the.

Bible is okay, I'm available now God, maybe you say something,

maybe something maybe, because if you don't open nothing, what

about at you? The essential function of all our spiritual disciplines,

wake them in the morning, going to better than readers,

verse spring, speaking in tongues, worship, singing songs, all these

good habits is to help you help us in our body,

our mind to open deeper and deeper layers of ourselves

to God for him to transform us. Heal us, free us,

liberate us, save us, which is the real work. You.

You can't save yourself.

You can free yourself, you can liberate yourself, you can

transform yourself.

You do all those hard work.

Pray, la, wakem in the morning, lad job lah, memorized chripture,

line worship songs, la fast lave, all that just so

that God can do the work. So the practices of Jesus,

this way of life, this practicing, this way is not

actually the Christian version of habit stacking.

You hebit stacking. You start with a good habit.

And then you stack out of good habits on t

and then after a while you become a healthy person,

a fit line. You know, you wakem the morning, you

drink Vita mix la, you run lah habit.

You know we're not promoting a Christian version.

Oh pray lad, Then speaking tonguelund and spiritual formation is

not the Christianized version of project self. It is not

trying to make you a better version of you. The

world can do that, but the Bible is not interested

in that. Not making you to be a more patient

person so the more people are like you, because if

you do that, it's still about you. Hey, not saying

that habits are a bad thing. I am trying to

change my habits. There is power in habits. Even non

Christians who do non Christian habits can become a better

version of themselves. Listen, I know we've been talking about

habits the past two weeks and two days two but

habits are just a means to an end.

Okay, ready for more shockers.

Yeah, good practices, even good Christian habits like reading scripture,

going to church, thank you for coming today, worship serving,

all of that are good. You should do it. But

those are not the end goal, which also suggests if

you don't do it, you won't get your end goal

at all.

So do it.

Your habits, however good they are, habits are not the

end goal. You are not the end goal. The end

of yourself is the goal. We have to come to

the end of ourself. You get to a point where

I'm not doing this for me. I'm not stacking chairs

for me. I'm not taking this position for me. I'm

not praying three hours in tongues so that I can

be super more spiritual than benihen no, no, no, no no.

Habits are not the end goal.

You are not the end goal. The end of yourself

is the goal. Pastard words is probably crazy? Are the

Bible said it? Whoever finds his life will lose it,

and whoever loses his life will find it.

Now, reading this after all he said, doesn't make more sense.

Now what Jesus meant?

If you live for you, you will end up not

having you, you'll lose yourself.

But if you don't live for you, you find out

who you really are.

Strange but true, because the end of yourself is the

beginning of grace. Jesus is the end goal. Jesus is

the end goal. Amen Philippines three. Paul is singer. Whatever

again I had, and Paul before verse seven listed down

all his medals and trophies and all his three tome three.

Everything he listed. Then they said all.

Of that in fact actually actually translated to dot poop.

All of that is like thing compare to Christ. So

he's doing this for the sake of Christ, surpassing world,

knowing Christ. So everything compared to knowing Christ, Pursuing Christ.

Jesus is the end goal. All of this I'm doing

that I may gain Christ, not a CV, not a

good resume, gain Christ, be found in Him that I

may know Him, become like. So I proceeds. I press

on the goal for the price of the upper call

of God in Christ, Jesus. That's the goal. Not be

a better version of myself, but be more like Jesus.

If you really understand this, it will change your life.

You'll be a different kind of dad, different kind of mom, husband, wife, son, daughter, employer, employee, lawyer, engineer,

but friends. It's a long, slow process of being formed.

And this is like the ancient sages and saints have

taught us this. There's something called active spirituality and passive spirituality.

Both are good. I'm not saying passive is bad, so

so don't listen from that view active spiriturity versus passive spirituality.

At this, spirituality is all the things that we do

to be disciples of Jesus, like spiritually disciplines, pray, worship,

give serf. Active if you are actively involved. Passive spirituality

is all the things that God does in us. So

active is what you do, passive is what God does.

Both are happening. Amen, I have an illustration. I I

mean it's not the best one because at some point

the analogy falls apart, but it's good to start. It's

like going to the bibber. Okay, let's just assume none

of you can cut your own hair like most of us. Right,

you have to go through the bubble and trust the

hands of the other person working on your head making

you look nice. You cannot sit at home and wish

and then your hair just becomes nice.

You can't. You can't.

Just like I want better hair, you have to wake up,

get up, guarantee your car, drive through the Bible, walk

through the door, pay your price, sit there, let him

work on you. You get in your car going to

the bibble. That's active spirituality. You sitting down and just

let the barber do his magic, that's passive spirituality.

Amen. I don't have a I know, I know, I know,

I know.

I told you it's not the perfect analogy, but I

think you get the point right.

It's like going to the barber.

You want a more spiritual scripture example, Potter and the Clay,

Potter and the Clay. Basically, God is saying, Hey, I'm

the Potter, you're the Clara. Hey, why so be saying?

Can the clear down the porter?

What to do?

Which is what we are to trying to do God,

this is this is how much I'll give to you.

This is how much.

Hey, you are the clearer. And if God says this

is beautiful, this is beautiful. If God says you have

to go to the capaign to be beautiful, that's that's

what it's supposed to be. Am I eighteen six Romans

nine twenty to twenty one Isaiah forty five, verse nine.

All that goes such it up or just google put

in the clay Philippines too. Work out your servation active, spirituality, passive.

It's very important to know that you have a part

to play, but God is actively doing his part.

Is not all you. You just have to make yourself available. Okay.

What the easiest examparkt uses wake come in the morning

and just be there. Like David, every day he brings

cheese to the brother. Such a minute task. The brothers

all the re election fighting, they wow like all boys

want to be heroes, warriors, champions.

David take care, shep lines time, brings che to your brother.

Imagine, David said, like some of us every week, watch

cheir covers every week, put up bunting every week, make

coffee every week, play drum every ana.

That if that day they will say.

They can take their own cheese, he will not meet

go Liarth And I don't know why. When you get

to heaven you can ask God. I don't know why

God doesn't do it on the second day. I don't

know why the burning was won't happen on year one, No,

has to be year forty. Why maybe something to do

with process and beauty that takes time to build doesn't

get easily taken away.

I don't know, something to.

Do with age and papa, and I don't know why

God doesn't do it on the seventh Day.

But weeks and months, I don't know.

How long of taking bread and cheese, doing the same thing,

being faithful, faithful, mundane. Then God shows up suddenly and

he meets go Li Earth, He kills Go Li Earth.

Rest is history. Joseph David Samson. Everybody, have you not learned?

Amen? Thank you Jesus, who's very important. It's very important

that we become.

Disciples of Jesus because this is his invitation, this is

his awful, this is him saying, if you live this way,

it will lead to life.

Amen.

Thank you for listening to the Generation's Church podcast. We

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