Transformative Journey: Becoming Like Jesus in God's Kingdom

1) "And Jesus came to announce that kingdom, and he came to invite us to be its citizens, and he came to teach us, and he came to model for us what it is to live in the kingdom of God. And that model is necessary, and that teaching is necessary because his kingdom is so beautiful, but it is so different than the world that we're used to. And for most, not all of us, if we're going to live in that new kingdom, in that perfect place, if we're going to thrive there, if we're going to flourish in God's kingdom, it's so weird. It's so upside down, it's so counterintuitive and opposite of what we're using. That if we're going to thrive there, we need to change and we need to become more like Jesus. And that is a bit of a process. And that process is sometimes called spiritual formation." [01:16] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2) "It really is like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. And Paul calls this miracle metamorphosis, God's good work in us. So this is Philippians one six. Paul writes, I'm certain that God, who began the good work in you, will continue his work until it's finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. It's a miracle. It's a miracle transformation. It's a miracle metamorphosis. And I think one of the best things about this miracle, one of the best things about this metamorphosis is that God does it in partnership with us. He literally lets us participate in our own miracle." [03:46] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3) "And your part in this thing is you have to have faith. But don't tell me you have faith, right? You need to have so much faith that you act on that faith. You need to have so much faith in my ability to heal and transform you, that you actually do something in that faith. So roll up your bed, stand up and start walking. And as the guy does those things, Jesus does this amazing miracle of healing him. And I think it's so cool that Jesus did the miracle, but I just think it is super cool that he let that guy participate in his own miracle, that he let him feel like a partner in this miracle." [07:12] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4) "So whether you're walking on a dirt road 2000 years ago behind Jesus, or if you're following him in a small town in Texas in 2024 to really follow Jesus, to apprentice under Jesus, that is a beautiful word, is a process that you participate in. It's a miracle that God does, but you participate, and it starts with you organizing your life around these three goals of being with Jesus and becoming like Jesus and doing what Jesus did." [14:58] (30 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5) "The heart of an apprentice, right? The heart of an apprentice is to be transformed until we absolutely feel and talk and live and love and eat and move and breathe like Jesus. When I was in the restaurant business, this mentor that I had, you know, I wanted to become successful like him, right? And I'm just a kid, and he's older than me, and he's so successful, and he's so smart and everything." [23:48] (27 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6) "The goal is for him to be able to plumb. And the goal of a Jesus apprentice isn't to know more about Jesus. It's to do what he does. It's to join him and continue his work of touching people and teaching people and healing people and loving people and serving people and freeing people and helping people grow and announcing God's kingdom and being part of bringing it here, is that impossible for us on our own? Yes, it is." [26:40] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7) "If you look at your phone a thousand times a day, if you look at your phone a thousand times a day, that practice has formed you into someone who is, I don't know, more informed, are more in touch, and probably a lot more stressed and anxious and angry. Those practices become habits. Those habits become rules. And those rules form us. Here's the thing. What if we chose the practices that are going to become our habits and our rules and form us? And what if we chose the practices of Jesus? And what if his practices were what were forming us?" [32:14] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8) "So here's what we're gonna do. It's not that weird. It's kind of weird. It's weird. We're going to practice some of these practices that Jesus did, and we're just going to try them on, and we're going to see what fits. And so this week, we're going to try one of the most important practices in the life of Jesus, and that is a daily rhythm of prayer. A daily rhythm of prayer. So Luke 516 tells us that as often as he could, whenever it was feasible. Jesus would pull away from everybody and he would pray." [32:52] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)