How to Be More Like Christ | Clip from The Jaw-Dropping Beauty of Jesus

The Transforming Power of Beholding Christ

So when if somebody looked at Hebrews 1 and said, okay, there's 34 descriptions of Jesus wonderful. What does that do to my life? I would just say you haven't looked long enough. Yeah, because if you look upon glory He doesn't change.

You do. And as I think there's an incontrovertible rule of God He's just applied it to the whole universe. You will become like what you behold.

Yeah, we talked about this not long ago in a series of podcasts on the servant songs. You know in chapter 40 behold your God. Yeah, it's not the Father. We're about to see it's God come in the flesh. Yes, the Son.

But before you're that's chapter 40 42. Look at the Son but right before in between is it strange command look at idols and idol makers and idol worshipers. You know look at the emptiness of them before you look at my son.

But the description of the idol and the description of the idol making and worshiping man are almost identical you become what you love. Yeah, Tozer said we are formative creatures. Yeah, it's the shutter of the soul is open.

Yeah, and the longer it's open the more the transformation takes root. Yeah, which is really for us. Noticing who it is. Really for the Christian given who we are to focus upon. Can we think of a more delightful way to be transformed?

What if God would have said Jordan and John? Based on the scripture you have 325 rules. You need to explain to people. I Mean, well, okay. God you deserve that. But how delightful to say I want you to give the rest of your life's focus to the one thing that can deeply Satisfy you and the most beautiful thing.

Yeah, and while doing that, yeah, and you're not even noticing it you are being transformed.

The Happiest Privilege in the Universe

Yeah, well, you said how delightful that's actually the next description. I want to pull out. Yeah. It is actually delightful. So when God woos us to look upon his son He's actually inviting us into the happiest privilege in the universe.

So for example, it's right here in the passage. It's verse 9. It's a citation from Isaiah 61 and The father's speaking of the son this way. You are anointed by me. I'm anointing you. I want to come back to that in just a moment with the oil of gladness above your companions.

Well anointing in the Old Testament was for a particular function priesthood. So the flask would be broken. It's really a messy picture if you look if you look at it. You know. These guys had long hair and long beards and they're fully clothed and they have on all this.

So, you know drapery and tassels and everything and they're just getting drenched. They're getting saturated so much. So that we're told in some passage Passages that the oil drips off the hem and the garments, you know, they're just totally soaked.

I mean, how would you like that? If I just came and you know dust you it's pretty hard to clean up. Can't just get wet and make it go away, but Here the father says of the sign. He did not anoint him with oil but the oil of joy.

The oil of gladness. It's as if the father reaches his unlimited arms. To all the resources he can find that would make somebody glad. He gathers them all up. He puts them in one container and he pours all of that on the head of his son.

I have anointed you With the oil of joy. How much? More than everybody else combined. So you said how delightful. I can just ask a really practical question. Would you like to spend time with the happiest person in the universe?

Yes. That would not discourage you. Some people say well, you know, I I don't like to be around them because they're always so happy. You know, it makes me sad that they're so happy, but but that's not what's going on here his anointing is of such a fragrance.

It's just like if you spent time around somebody with you know, too much perfume or cologne you leave and smell like them. Yeah, you know, my wife can tell where I had breakfast with somebody. Smell when I come home and and that's that's God's point.

I have doused you With all joy. You are my son. I'm annoyed it drips off of you. So to be around him. Necessarily contaminates us with the gift of delightedness and joy.

Fullness in Christ and the Duty of Delight

Yeah, that reminds me of Paul's words from a prison to the Colossians. Yeah chapter 2. Yeah, all the fullness of the deity is in him. Yeah, and you are made and it's the same Greek word full from that fullness all the completeness in him.

So if we take that one thing that that that infinite delight, like you said, it's as if being united to him. It just continues to just flow over us. And of course, I mean our joy is limited. We're little containers, you know, and we get clogged with other things.

Yeah, but that Does make the duty of delighting in Christ in a way that transforms us. The sweetest task that he could ever have given us. Thanks for watching the clip. We hope it was spiritually beneficial for you.

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