Spiritual Formation ... 4 Part Series

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This is what I write ... sermons. Attached is my lastest. I figured I'd post the 4-week series I'm going over in February and see what your thoughts / reactions are.

A Brand New You! … Total Fitness for the Soul
Sermon #1 A Vision for Spiritual Formation

Theme: To stretch people’s concept of what it means to be a disciple.

Introduction:
On November 18, 2002 the residents of the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago woke up to a shock. Looking at the section of Lake Shore Drive that ran through their “backyards,” they found a giant hole. At 11pm the previous night, a 6-inch cast-iron water main used by the Chicago Park District broke beneath the northbound lanes, causing the road to buckle and forming a large pool of water. The water swept away the foundation to the road, and caused a giant sinkhole. From the pictures I saw, it appeared to be over 15 feet in diameter, and there was a very expensive BMW sticking out of it!

What a shock.

Sinkholes like that happen because underground water sweeps away dirt and rock that is unseen, underground. This leaves a gap under the foundation, leaving the surface without support. Inevitably it caves in, halting traffic, ruining houses and leaving people scratching their heads and wondering, “Where did that hole come from?”

Sinkholes don’t just happen to roads. They can happen to souls.

On the surface we look good, solid, faithful, able to support our family, friends and jobs without worry. Deep beneath the surface, however, the foundation is being swept away. A hole is growing, and collapse seems inevitable.

It happened to me. There was a time when the surface of my life looked immaculate. I was the pastor of a growing church. I was engaged to a beautiful woman. I was on track for a wonderful career as a public speaker. Under the surface, however, there was a hole. I wrestled with an emotional hollowness. The Bible was a great book, but its words felt as dry as dust as I studied them. Prayers felt as if they bounced off the ceiling. I was in a role that required 100% devotion to God, but I was preoccupied with pleasing the people around me. With great intentions and wonderful enthusiasm I allowed Satan to worm his way into the foundation of my life, and soon felt the ground to begin caving in.

As I looked around at my collapsed world I wondered, “Where did the hole come from?” I learned that hard way that I was not immune to the consequences of an ignored inner life.

As bad as my sinkhole was, I thank God that it happened when it did. Just a few days ago I heard about an up-and-coming pastor who appeared on the front page of the local paper after being caught soliciting prostitutes. He had a growing church, the support of a whole denomination, book deals, a wife and 4 kids … and left the whole crowd scratching their heads wondering, “Where did that hole come from?” This pastor had a long running current of lust and sin in the depths of his life, eroding the foundation of his soul. Soon the surface caved in, and no one will ever know the real extent of the damage that was caused.

Seeing this sinkhole syndrome in my life and the lives around me, I learned that life needed a more stable foundation than education, enthusiasm and natural gifts can provide. Life requires a foundation that cannot spoil. Life requires a Plan that will lead purposefully to an unshakable life built on the bedrock of Christ Jesus. Life requires a Prayer that will stretch our souls, a prayer that will challenge our complacent souls and will remind us exactly what it means to follow Christ.

This prayer is found in Ephesians 3:14-4:1
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. As a prisoner of the Lord then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

Looking to this prayer I want to talk to you about building a life immune to this sinkhole syndrome. For the next for weeks I want to talk about “Spiritual Formation.” The short definition of this is that we will be looking at how we can build a foundation that the normal currents of erosion and temptation cannot sweep away.

My goal tonight is simply to give us a vision; a concrete picture of what a life built upon such a foundation can look like.

1. Can I Really???
Have you ever watched a Jackie Chan movie or the like and wondered, “How can he do those things???”

What really shocks me is that he does his own stunts, and most of the things he does are performed without extra protection or support.

I remember when I brought our first Jackie Chan movie home. Shannon gave me that “look” that guys get when they bring home something that they know the wife will hate. She humored me though and as we watched it, we both got engrossed in it. Jackie Chan was running up walls, jumping around on top of a ladder, hitting people with his ponytail. Our jaws dropped and I asked her, “Can a person really do that stuff?”

When I read the biographies of spiritual giants like Hudson Taylor, C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, or John Bunyan I ask myself the same question. “Can a person really do that stuff? Can I or anyone really be that creative, that bold, that committed to Christ?”

Reading the Bible just adds to my question.

Just look at this passage …
 Can I really … be strengthened with the Power of the Spirit?
 Can I really … experience Christ dwelling in me?
 Can I really … be rooted in life?
 Can I really … be established in love?
 Can I really … have Power?
 Can I really … “know” the immense love of Christ?
 Can I really … live life worth of the calling I have received?
The rest of Scripture adds to the questions
 Can I really … stop being depressed (Phil 4:4)
 Can I really … stop complaining (Phil 2:14)
 Can I really … be pure again (Phil 2:15)
 Can I really … stop worrying (Phil 4:5)
 Can I live life content in either poverty or wealth?
 Can I live life Free? (Gal 5:1)
 Can I Understand the Bible (2 Tim 3:16-17)
 Can I pray and know that God is listening?
 Can I be holy and blameless?
 Can I really … Love others so that people can see Jesus Christ in me? (John 14:21)
 Is it possible to “put off the old man and be clothed with Christ?”
 Can I deny myself, take up the cross and really follow Jesus?
 Is it possible to turn the other cheek,
 to give from the heart,
 To be filled with Love, Joy, Peace and the other fruit of the spirit?
 Can I really …have Christ Jesus formed in me? (Gal 4:19)

This is exactly the sort of life we see described throughout the Bible.
It’s also the sort of life we see that captures our imagination throughout church history.
Ill – the life of … ???????

[TS] I don’t believe that God had the bible written to describe this sort of a life, just to frustrate us. If His word calls us to live a life like this, it must be possible.

2. Yes! But How????

ILL … Tim Hansel reading, putting YBH in the margins meaning “Yes but how?” In other words, he loved the idea being discussed. He wanted the sort of prayer life, inner peace, evangelistic lifestyle or whatever else was being discussed … but the author never gave him help on how to get there. All the books with YBH in the margin had great goals, but little practical help in achieving them.

Is Discipleship like that?

 We know that if you have a goal for a better body, the “how” can be answered by about 2 dozen magazines.
 If you want a better mind, there are sections at the bookstore that will help your IQ, EQ and creative thinking processes.
 If you want better time management, you can go to the Franklin Covey store.
 But if you want a better soul … where do you turn? Where is my two-week plan? Where is my pullout poster to use at home or the office?

God in His providence gave us his Word, and it contains everything we need to know in order to be saved. And that “salvation” does not simply mean keeping our souls out of hell. The salvation described in the Bible is a complete saving of our minds, bodies and souls from the taint of sin and hell.

2 Tim 3:16-17
All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Paul says that Scripture equips us thoroughly…not just partially, not just barely, but completely for every good work.

There are many names for the God-Inspired process by which we start living the sort of life we’ve been talking about. Theologically, it is called Sanctification. In many evangelical circles it is called discipleship. The phrase I like to use to describe it is “Spiritual Formation.”

A. Definition of Spiritual Formation
Dallas Willard in his newly release book “The Renovation of the Heart” gives us a wonderful starting point and definition. He writes that, “Spiritual Formation for the Christian…refers to the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself.” (p. 22)

In other words, Spiritual Formation is to the life of the Christian what boot camp is to the solider, and what potter’s hands are to the lump of clay. We are bringing the raw materials of our lives, our personalities, our hearts, and working with the Creator to turn the “stuff” that makes us up into something that resembles Jesus Christ.

Like the story of Pinocchio (the original, not the Disney Version) that features a wooden puppet that becomes a real boy by overcoming his proclivity for lying and self-indulgence. The story expresses the profound Christian truth that those whose hearts are wooden with sin can become flesh through a process of moral regeneration. Chuck Colson How Now Shall We Live p. 443

We take the poverty of our souls, and exchange them for “glorious riches in our inner beings” (Eph 3:16)
We take our loneliness and allow “Christ to dwell in our hearts” v. 17
We take our impotence and exchange it for the “Power! Of Grasping Christ’s love” v.18
We take our hollowness and are “filled with the fullness of God” v.19

B. Training instead of Trying
A key concept to remember is that this is a process. The practice of Spiritual Formation is a TRAINING program for our inner being.

We have to remember that Results come from Training, not from Trying Hard.

Ill – Going to Bally’s for the first time in seminary. The recruiters at the desk were a man/woman pair. The man made Arnold Schwartzenager look small and the woman could not have had more that 2% bodyfat. As I waddled past their table to register for an extra theology course the guy said, “It looks like you could use some time in the gym!”

If you took the weights I was using 3 years latter and handed them to me at that point, I would have laughed in your face. At that point, I couldn’t have budged those weights. Not on my best day. Not with the best of intentions. Not if I tried really hard and prayed really hard.

I remember looking up at the barbell doing bench-presses, feeling like my arms were going to give out and the weight would crush me, praying, “The Lord is my strength.” That’s true, God is my strength. But my strength also grew significantly by keeping to a dedicated training program, having a few friends to work out with, and rarely skipping a session.

Our Spiritual life is not that much different.

Don’t take my word for it, listen to the Apostle Paul. 2 Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

Training means having a solid plan to enable my body/mind/soul to do something that I cannot do today by direct effort.”

Like that bar looming above me years ago that threatened to crush me … if you gave me the challenges I am facing now 7 years ago, I would have been lost.

We read the biographies of Jonathon Edwards, Jim Elliot, Dwight Moody or Billy Graham and wonder, “How do they do those things? How do they make the right decisions at the right time?”

The answer … these men spent years in rigorous training to conform their inner beings to the image of Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 4:8, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
v.10 … we have put our hope in the living God
v.12 … be an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity
Yes! But How?
v.13 “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching”
v. 14 “Do not neglect your gift”
v.16 “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

We’re going to talk more about the nuts and bolts of this spiritual training program over the next three weeks. Tonight I simply want to be clear on the fact that you can never try hard enough … if you do not follow the training course outlined in the Word of God, your efforts will continue to fall flat.
C. Is it Worth It?
That’s a fair question. A life of Spiritual Formation will change you. It will challenge your habits and practices. It may call into question the way you do business or the way you treat your spouse, friends or yourself. Upon embarking for such a trip, it is honest and fair to ask if it is worthwhile.

1) True discipleship is “beneficial to mental health, physical health, family strength and social order” Colson, p. 315
Proverbs 9:10-11 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.”

C.F. Colson p 311ff
Spiritual Formation will have an impact on:
 Alcoholism … 89% of alcoholics reject religion. A higher percentage reject a relationship of active conformity to the image of Christ.
 Drugs
 Crime
 Depression & Stress
 Suicide
 Family Stability
 Martial Satisfaction
 Physical Health

2) Remember the list from before? All the “Can I really’s”. THIS is how we can!
- Can I really be free from guilt? Yes, but it takes some practice and spiritual training.
- Can I really stop being depressed? Yes, but you won’t see a change in your emotions until your training process so fills you with Love, Joy and Peace that Depression and Fear are crowded out.
- Can I really stop complaining? Yes, but it takes some self-control, which is developed through conformity of your will to Christ’s.
- Can I live life content in either poverty or wealth? Yes, but only after you’ve convinced yourself that Christ is all you need, and that also takes some training.

3) Oh yeah, for what its worth, we’re commanded to enter a life of Spiritual Formation. Eccl 12:13b, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Matthew 28:19, “Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and reaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

4) Living this sort of life brings glory to God!
Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

3. Misconceptions
There is a key difference between training towards the goal of Christ-likeness and training to run a marathon.

A. Spiritual Formation is a Gift of Grace
All our training is useless without the “interactive presence of the Holy Spirit.”
1 John 5:3, “This is love for God; to obey his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome”
 this life of obedience is not a pain or a chore.
 We are filled with the Spirit, giving us the power to move forward when all our inner strength and resolve is gone

Simply trying to “Act as if” will lead to despair
This is BAD ADVICE --- fake it ‘till you make it
This path makes us angry, guilt ridden and hopeless

B. Spiritual Formation is Based in the Work of Christ
Eph 2:1 – Dead in Sin & Transgressions
? How many reps can a dead guy do???

Eph 2:4ff, “But because of his love for us, God who is rich in mercy made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgression—its is by race you have been saved. And god raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show in incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved—and this not from yourselves, it is a gift from God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
 Grace Breaks Through our deadness
 New Life
 Salvation
 Raised with Christ
 Not by Works!
v.10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
 God’s workmanship

C. Jesus Promises to Help by the Holy Spirit
John 14:15-21
The Spirit of Truth living in us

v. 26-27
Not Stressful, but Peace as we learn

John 16:12-15
Spirit reminds us & Teaches
Giving us riches

D. If We Want this for Ourselves … How Much More Does God Desire us to be FORMED?

Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." - C.S. Lewis

Conclusion
VIM = Vision, Intention, Means

Hopefully tonight you got the Vision
Means for the next 3 weeks
Intention … lets pray about that!

 

I liked the sermon - very much. It really outlines well the concept of discipleship, and it is pretty close to my own understanding of discipleship and spiritual training (although I have a heavier dose of "God helps those who help themselves" - which is interesting combined with the "Emphatic NO!" theology of Barthes (right theologian?) that I tend to hold to as well).

Anyways, good sermon - keep them up, I look forward to seeing the next one!

 

More sermons like that might have actually kept me in church! Keep 'em coming, and I'm sure your new congregation will grow quickly.

 

And to think, that was just part one . Awesome job Mat. You were rocking the Ephesians in that sermon. I love Ephesians. The C.S. Lewis qoute at the end is very thought provoking too. We are too easily pleased. Forget this mud. God's love is too great.

 

Whoa! very impressive Mat! It is quite odd to read a sermon like this, but that has mostly to do with the fact that I'm more used to explanatory sermons. I getting really interested in this works of you Mat, as well in the book by Piper. Unfortunately it is very hard to get in the netherlands I'm looking forward to your next sermon!!

 

That was simply wonderfull! If I ever leave this sinkhole of a country and find myself in the US, then I know where to go to hear a good sermon. And if I can't find your church, then I search on SP for this and the upcoming sermons.

I agree with Aegron that sometimes it's hard to follow this as a Dutchie (you'll probably understand, being related to our country yourself heh? ). Good for me I had some Bibles and dictionaries withinin my reach.

Greatly looking forward to the next. I have a vision.

Some questions though: What do 'Ill' and 'YBH' mean?

 

Nice sermon, reminds of the ones in my church, but only more interesting...

 

ILL = Illustration. That's a note to me as a speaker that a story is coming up.

YBH is Yes But How ... that is the title of the illustration that opens one of the points.

The next sermon is written out long hand. I'll be typing it tonight and tomorrow to deliver on Sunday evening. I'll post it probably after the weekend so it will be in near-final form.

Thanks for the feedback. Its been a long road to get out of my sinkhole and back preaching ... and I'm very glad that God can still use me!

 

I liked this sermon very much. Thanks for posting it. I'm looking forward to the next part.

 

Here is Part 2. When I was preaching it last night, the computer crashed, so I couldn't download my notes. I had to do the whole thing from memory....but it went great. I hope you all get something out of it!
-------------------------------------

ABC Spirituality

Introduction
Having a 2-year-old teaches you many things…

1) You can Whine Any Word “Moooom, Baagle, Yooooguuuurt”
2) They will pick up on the least expected things … like He-Man “I have the power!”
3) Even the crabbiest baby likes a good poodle
4) Coloring is the best activity in life, and should not be limited to paper
5) Learning things just comes naturally.

Take the alphabet for example.
Think about it … the letters of the English alphabet dominate a pretty big part of her life. She has blocks with the letters on them, pajamas with the letters on them, blankets with the letters on them, books full of letters, little dictionaries featuring the letter W with a “Wet walrus waving to a wallaby” (What two-year old knows what a wallaby is???)

Slowly but surely, Tahlia is learning her letters. She pulled herself up on Shannon’s lap, pointed to the letters printed on her shirt and said, “A, I, O, Seven”

Okay, she’s not perfect yet, but she’s learning.

Soon she’ll be able to read like the rest of us … it will come naturally, instinctively. I rarely see individual letters and have to sound them out and form them into words. The words just jump off out at me. I see the word “Exit,” and know that I should head that way to get out of a building. I see the word Stop (okay, maybe when that word is on a sign, I still get a little confused and think its says “pause”).

I see words around me all the time … they help my life make sense, they help me find food at a restaurant, the restroom when I need one, or information that I require. Without my ability to read, my ability to function would be severely limited.

[Transition]
The focus of this month is Spiritual Formation. If you remember, the definition of Spiritual Formation is taking the stuff inside of us … our hearts, wills, passions, thoughts, etc, and having them molded/formed into the image of Christ.

I’m learning that our spiritual formation is very much like the way Tahlia is learning her letters.

Right now I see God, but only partially and very limited and confuse. I think I feel his presence. I think I see what he is doing in my life. So I pull myself up onto his lap and point, “A, E. O, Seven”

I’m sure God smiles and says, “That’s very good Timmy” He’s patient, he’s teaching me, and he knows that I want more than anything to see him more.

One of the passages we looked at last week, very briefly, talks about this process.
Rom 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Key Idea: TEST & APPROVE WHAT GOD’S WILL IS.
Is this possible????

YES! Unbelievable, it is possible!

VIM … Vision, Intent, Means. Tonight is mostly about the means.

What practical steps can we take to help us see God intuitively? What practices and habits can we initiate to make sure that God’s will starts to jump off the page at us, and helps life make sense?

The Means towards Spiritual Formation
Remember the definition of Spriritual Formation?
“Spiritual Formation for the Christian…refers to the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself.” (Dallas Willard)

Means #1 … Surround Yourself with Scripture
The way that we’ve surrounded Tahlia’s world with letters, words and other chances to learn … we need to surround our own lives with the Bible.
I wouldn’t go so far as to wall-paper the NIV to my bedroom wall, but there are some other ways that we can do this.

1) Daily time reading the Bible (clique I know … but it works!)
2) Listen actively during sermons and other teaching times. Take notes
3) Take 1 verse or paragraph and “meditate” on it all day.
4) Some creative wall decorations (for example, my cubicle)

Ill – Spurgeon said of Bunyan “Prick him and he bleeds the Bible”

Means #2 … Pray for deeper Understating – IMPACT
My story … reading the Bible on the Bus
How to? = Filling of the Holy Spirit
John 16:5-14, especially v.12-14
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

Ill – Jim Elliot’s journal
“Sometimes that Hebrew poet evades understanding, but today the 83rd Psalm took on new life for me.”

Means #3 … Apply it
Hear God’s Word & Apply it = a life built on the rock
Matthew 7:24-27
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat agaisnt that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain camd down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat agasint that house, and it fell with a great crash.
*Conversations
*Movies & TV
- The Two Towers
- Any other shows this week have a Biblical idea in them?
B.B. Warfield said, “All of life illustrates biblical Doctrine”
We just need to look for ways it “FITS”

[Transition] Lets say we’re willing to do all this … to Surround Ourselves, to Pray for Impact and to Apply it. How do we make sure that this does not become yet another broken promise to ourselves, or a neglected New Year’s Resolution?
Intention
How do I engage my will to these means?
Force yourself? Wait util you want to? Guilt? Community Support??
Honestly, I’ve tried them all, and they’ve failed me.

Our intention must be rooted in our new identity.
The old self died
The new self is raised with Christ.
Romans 6
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. … Now in the same way, count yourself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

The Whole Person is now reborn (Cf Willard … aspects of humanity)
 Thought (images, concepts, judgements, inferences)
 Feeling (sensation, emotion)
 Choice (will, decision, character)
 Body (action, interaction with the physical world)
 Social Context (Personal and structural relations to others)
 Soul (the factor that integrates all of the above to form one life)

ILL – Newborn’s first action is to breathe. First instinct is to seek nourishment.

Other instincts children have. To run. To dance. To spin. To play. TO create. To express themselves in art. To destroy. To explore.

We were all born with these basic instants and drives, and over the years we probably have lost some of them.

But … we can get them back.

Humanly speaking … have you ever found yourself in the midst of an adventure and thought, “THIS IS REALLY LIVING?”

I think that’s why rock climbing and extreme sports are catching on. We are build with instincts to feel the wind in our hair, to be outside, to risk, to exert ourselves physically. For some people, hanging off a rock wall 100+ feet off the ground uncovers that instinct and helps them feel alive.

Sometimes you don’t know you were created to do something until you’re neck deep into doing it.

Spiritual Formation is like that. It can feel dry at times. It can begin like a chore. But when the Spirit bins to rekindle those old passions and desires … magic happens.

You have to feed these instincts & see how you respond.

Conclusion
I can’t help but to read. It’s my hobby. It’s a big part of my job. Without my ability to read, I cannot imagine life.

Wouldn’t it be greet to be able to say the same thing about our daily walk with Christ? I can’ imagine not having Jesus as a part of my daily life. I don’t know how I could get through the day without being able to see his hand and know his will. He just jumps off the page, out of every situation at me, filling my head with ideas, ways hat I can enter situations and make a difference for him.

Learning to read was hard, but it was well worth it.

Spiritual Formation will take even more work … but some day…we will test and approve what God’s will is, God’s holy, perfect and pleasing will.

 

WoW! That was really good. Thanks a lot for letting us know the means of becoming more Christ-like and getting to know God better. I will try to remember all you said and apply it.

 

Are we already halfway through? C'mooon! Make some more of these!
What I really apreciate in your sermons, is that you use very simple, nowadays-illustrations like the sinkhole/fundament and words all around you.
Great job Math!

 

Here is the lastest! This one is a little less polished than the previous two. It had been a stressful week, so instead of doing a manuscript, I preached from an extended outline.

As mentioned above ILL means ILLUSTRATION, and could be replaced with the words "for example".

Feel free to PM or e-mail me any questions, comments or corrections! Or just post below!


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Spiritual Formation Part 3 ... Peace

Romans 5:1-11

Introduction:

When I say the word "PEACE" what image comes to mind?

Superman flying high above the clouds, carrying the power to stop any evil and to surpass any difficulty?
The American flag being raised by a group of Marines after a long and bloody battle, as the tide turns, this sure sign of victory dominates the sky.
A family, sitting together before an open fire, baby sitting on the father's lap as they talk, read and spend the evening together?

Any other images come to mind?

So what is "Peace"?
? Is "peace" having the power and wisdom to overcome any obstacle, presenting a bulletproof personality to a troubled world?
? Is "peace" the outcome of a long and difficult conflict, won by courage, training and bloodshed?
? Is "peace" the sheltered, safe, comfortable moments found within a group of people who love each other intensely?

Opening the Bible, we find that peace is a little bit of all of the above. I venture to say that Peace is the life changing result that springs from a life rooted TRUSTING Christ Jesus.

Tonight, we're continuing our series in Spiritual Formation.

Definition of Spiritual Formation: Taking the "stuff" inside of us and conforming it to the image of Christ. This is done through a disciplined life of love and training.

Last week, we discussed the Key Role that Scripture plays in this process.

Tonight, I want to talk about one of the results, and how we can achieve it, namely peace.

Disclaimer, as a stressed out sales executive I'm going to be preaching to myself as much as to any of you. If I get passionate, if I set the bar high,
that's because I NEED IT!

1. Peace is Rooted in Faith & Hope (AKA TRUST)

I know that this sounds elementary, but you can't find peace until you find a real relationship with God through Christ. This is proclaimed very simply by the bumper sticker, "Know Jesus, Know Peace, No Jesus, No Peace."

A. Old Testament Promises
Scripture is very clear in the promise that the Coming of the Messiah would mean the ability to have a new sort of peace in life.

Isaiah 9:6 A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, "Wonderful t Counselor," "Mighty God," "Eternal Father," "Prince of Peace.

B. Realization in the Ministry of Jesus
John 14:27 Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.

Jesus gives peace his own way;
1) Won by the victory on the cross
2) Sealed and affirmed by this Resurrection from the dead
3) Extended by the Great Commission
4) Applied by the Sovereign Grace of the Holy Spirit

C. Mature Faith & Hope = TRUST
John 14:1, "Trust in God and trust in me!"
1 John 4:16 "We ourselves have known and put our trust in God's love toward ourselves"

Henry Nowen's most recent book, The Inner Voice of Love (published on the day of his death) uses the word TRUST 65 times, but only uses the word Faith once.

Earlier books focused on the idea of faith. For some reason, in this last book he focused instead on "trust."

What happened? Maturing faith combined with hope turns into a simple, ruthless trust.
A firm confidence that God is with us, we are no longer plagued by insecurity, guilt or fear.

Then we can say with Job "Even though he slay me, yet will I trust him" (Job 13:15)

2. Peace walks Hand in Hand with Love and Joy
Gal 5:22 Fruit of Spirit are love, joy, peace ...
Dallas Willard's insight. Given the presence of "TRUST", Love, Joy & Peace will be necessary byproducts.

Acts 10:36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, proclaiming the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

Does Peace really walk hand in hand with our Faith?
I've taken a long hard look inside and have to answer, "NO".

In a recent job interview, the CEO of a company was asking me what comments various people would make about me. Sales managers, colleagues, customers, etc. Words like "professional," "hard worker" "consistent overachiever" came up ... But concepts like peace were far from my resume.

Would it be terrible to be know around the workplace as the guy who keeps a level head in the midst of the storms?

Would it hurt your reputation to be the go-to-guy during times of stress because you aren't a victim to the tyranny of the urgent?

Phillipians 4:7 7 And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.

3. Peace gives us the Ability to Transcend Circumstances
G.K. Chesterton "On Enjoying Floods and Other Natural Disasters"

The flood in London could be looked at as a romantic opportunity.

Is it foolish to be so optimistic about natural catastrophes, when the realist sees them as a burden and inconvenience? Not really! It is beyond the power of either the optimist or the pessimist to change the circumstances. The only power we have is the attitude in which we approach these catastrophes.

For example - A stuck drawer. Either a daily nuisance because you assume it *should* open easily and then getting frustrated when it doesn't ... Assume that it is possessed by a powerful, otherworldly force that does not want the drawer to open. Every time you open it, you engage in a life or death battle with the beyond.

For Example - Chasing your hat on a windy day. Not a hassle, its like a wild safari.
A hat can leap like a hare, turn like a fox, attack like a lion. As a benefit, no animals are harmed keeping the Environmental Lobby happy.

More personally - Worldcom going bankrupt didn't just steal tons of money and drain my life savings. It gave me and Shannon an opportunity to engage in a cosmic scavenger hunt, seeing how little money can come in and still pay all the
bills.

"Disasters are adventures looked at wrongly!"

Rom 8:6 To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace.

Phil 4:9 Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you.

4. Peace, or Lack thereof, Is Obvious!

Oscar Wilde once wrote, "For the first 30 years of your life, you're stuck with the face God gave you. After that, your face is your own fault."

Psalm 85:8 I am listening to what the LORD God is saying; he promises peace to us, his own people, if we do not go back to our foolish ways.

Colossians 3:15 The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful.

Conclusion
Like I said in the beginning, I need this as much, if not more, than anyone else here today.

I look at my own life, and know that I carry too much stress and live in too little peace.

A key idea, however, is that I am not satisfied or content with my current situation. I know that "This is not the way it was meant to be," so I seek to grow and to change and to be formed into the image of Christ.

Then the knots in my back will loosen. Then the stress induced heartburn will stop churning my stomach. Then I might be able to sleep through the night without waking at 2 am with thoughts of everything left undone and unraveling in my life.

Then I will rest in the simple statement of Divine Fact that Paul offers in tonight's passage ...

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings.

Amen

 

You have a way with words Math, you are one dangerous preacher man.
Leading the people willing into despair. But damn you do it with style!

 

Excellent sermons Math!
I'm not a Christian but I can gleam many things from your words and allegories.
I especially agree with the last installment concept: disasters are adventures.
My own inner peace has much to do with how I look at the 'disasters' in my life. Are they there for me to learn? And so, are they not truly gifts?
If you never find a church of your own, you can at least know you are developing one here in cyber space!

 

This is the last one in this series. I'm sure more will follow soon, but after a brief break to move, et al.

Thanks for all the positive feedback!

-------------------------------------

Matthew 9:35-38
Spiritual Formation Towards REVIVAL

Introduction
The church as we know it is dying.
It is now the 21st Century, and America is changing. People born between 1910-1930 were the most church going generation in American History.

In 1988 church growth expert Win Arn wrote, "Between 80% & 85% of all churches in America are either plateaued or are declining."
He follows with the following statistics:
America: 240 Million Population
96 Million (40%) Have no Religious Affiliation
73 Million (31%) are Christians in "Name Only"
=169 Million (71%) of total US Population

In the next few years, 100,000 of the 350,000 churches in America will close their doors.

Why would I open up with such doom & gloom?
1) I was too funny last week and needed to counter-act all the laughter
2) I'm a cynic and get a little thrill talking about the dark-side of life
3) The Kingdom of God is a reality ... As is the Kingdom of darkness. We are engaged in a real struggle and people I know and love currently don't know Christ. They are 1 heart-beat away from eternity of weeping and gnashing of
teeth ... And I refuse to take that fact lying down.

Which brings us to the text I want to look at tonight: (Matthew 9:35-38)
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

1. The Harvest Is More than We Think It Is!

A. More than Filling Chairs.

One of the most popular yardsticks churches use today is measurement of attendance. They think that if people show up, then the church must be doing something right.

B. More than Presenting the basic Gospel Message.

One of the biggest mistakes of the church in America is that we see it as our Primary Goal to get as many people ready to die and go to heaven as possible.
> Get People to be "right" about a few basic Spiritual Laws
> Prepare them to die & avoid the pit of Hell

C. More than getting a group of like-minded people together.

Churches then become a place where like minded people gather.
Who Agree On Basic Points of Doctrine
Who Appreciate Similar Ways of Doing things
Who Enjoy the Same Brand of Coffee

Great Quote from Dallas Willard, "now, the project thus understood and practiced is self defeating. It implodes upon itself because it creates groups of people who may be ready to die, but clearly are not ready to live. They rarely can get along with one another, much less those "outside." Often their most intimate relations are tangles of reciprocal harm, coldness, and resentment. They have found ways of being "Christian" without being Christ like."

They find out that while they may enjoy Christian Activities, and Christian Friends, they actually have fallen short of the goal of getting themselves and their families into heaven.

D. More than Great Programs
Dallas Willard ...
"What characterizes most of our local congregations, whether big or little in size, is simple distraction. The oft-noted "failures" of many kinds that show up within them and around them are not the fundamental problem of church life today. They are much more a result than a cause."

Most churches have mistaken the VESSEL for the TREASURE.

When we focus on the wrong things here, majoring on the minors and neglecting the essentials, we do not produce churches full of people formed in the image of Christ.

That only happens if we make it out #1 goal.

Instead, we produce, what Dallas Willard calls, "Righteously Mean Christians"
... Mean and Angry People ... People who may not be actually saved.

Instead of falling into this trap, we have to help people follow 1 Tim 6:19, "lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming
age, sot that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."

2. The Harvest = Changing Lives by the Power of Christ

Look at the context
Matthew 5-7 = The Sermon on the Mount
* Teaching
* Training People's Minds
* The church today does this real well!

Matthew 8 ... Things get Very Different from our Experience
Heal a man w/ Leprosy (8:1-4)
Centurion with Great Faith (8:5-13)
Drive out Demons, Heal the Sick
Turning away disciples not willing to be 100% committed (8:18-22)
Taking control of the weather
Calling Disciples from the "scum of the earth" -- Tax Collector (9:9-13)

This leads right up a parable in Matthew 9:14-17 (GDNT)

Then the followers of John the Baptist came to Jesus, asking, "Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don't fast at all?"
Jesus answered, "Do you expect the guests at a wedding party to be sad as long as the bridegroom is with them? Of course not! But the day will come
when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
"No one patches up an old coat with a piece of new cloth, for the new patch will shrink and make an even bigger hole in the coat. Nor does anyone pour new wine into used wineskins, for the skins will burst, the wine will pour out, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins, and both will keep in good condition."

After this, there are more miracles ... And then we get to our passage ...
(Matthew 9:35-38)

In Ch. 10, the 12 Disciples are sent out
"Instead, you are to go to the lost sheep of the people of Israel. Go and preach, 'The Kingdom of heaven is near!' Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, heal those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases, and drive out demons. You have received without paying, so give without being paid." (Matthew 10:6-8, GDNT)

So we have this pattern

A Teaching (Sermon on the Mount)
B Miracles (Performed by Jesus)
A' Teaching (Patches & Wineskins)
B' Miracles
A'' Teaching (Workers are Few)
B'' Miracles (Performed by the Disciples)

If this is the pattern of events that our passage falls into, I think it helps us understand what Jesus is talking about.

A. The Harvest is Miraculous

B. The Harvest leads to Transformed Lives

C. The Harvest Leads to Christ-Likeness

Ephesians 5:25b-27 Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her; that He might sanctify her, having cleans her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church radiant, having no stain or wrinkle or any other blemish; but that she should be holy and blameless.

3. Our Prayer: That We Can Become the Sorts of Workers Able to Bring in a Real Harvest!

The question we're faced with is, "how can we become the sort of harvest workers Jesus instructs us to pray for?"

A. We Have to Start with a Desire to be Christ like
1 John 3:1-3 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."

Spiritual Formation/Discipleship/Christ-likeness is NOT OPTIONAL!

If we have Hope in Christ, we purify ourselves and start becoming like Jesus TODAY.

Peter says, "Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." (2 Peter 1:4)

The goal isn't to get people into heaven when the die.
The goal is to get heaven into people today!

B. We Make Progress by Being Willing to be Foolish for Christ
Adam West, "You'll never be successful until you loose your fear of looking like an idiot"

"For the message about Christ's death on the cross is nonsense to those who are being lost; but for us who are being saved it is God's power." (1 Corinthians 1:18, GDNT)

"Jews want miracles for proof, and Greeks look for wisdom. As for us, we proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles; but for those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, this message is Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For what seems to be God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and what seems to be God's weakness is stronger than human strength." (1 Corinthians 1:22-25, GDNT)

C. Recognition that Jesus is Lord!
Story from Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster
Dr. Graham Scroggie, from Keswick Convention in England.
After a sermon, he saw a young college student seated alone. He went to her, asking if he could help. "Oh, Dr. Scroggie," she blurted out. "Your message was so compelling, but I am afraid to truly make Christ Lord, afraid of what He will ask of me!"

Wisely Graham turned his worn Bible to the story of Peter at Joppa where God had taught him about racial and cultural discrimination. Three times God brought down a sheet laden with unclean animals saying "Take, Kill & Eat", and three times Peter responded, "No, Lord."

Dr. Scroogie said, "You know it is possible to say 'no' and it is possible to say, "Lord" but it is not really possible to say, "No, Lord". I'm going to give you my Bible and a pen, then go to another room to pray for you. I want you to cross out either the word "No" or the word "Lord". He did do, and when in prayer he felt the matter had been settle, he slipped quietly back into the auditorium. The young woman was weeping quietly, and peering over her shoulder he saw the word "NO" crossed out. Softly she was saying, "He is Lord. He is Lord. He is Lord".

 

Nice sermons again, Math. I will show them to many of my friends. Especially the one about peace: One of my friends is in a band called CCCP. It's not about about some sort of sovjet union. CCCP is an abr. for Comes Christ, Comes Peace

 

Powerful ending Mat, powerful ending. Good work.