WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.640 Two decades ago, when I was on a trip to Kenya, 00:00:03.799 --> 00:00:08.820 I had this pot made for me by a local artisan. 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:11.859 It's very special. She made it just for me. And 00:00:11.859 --> 00:00:14.339 it has a special place in my office. It sits 00:00:14.339 --> 00:00:18.899 there on my shelf. And I, of course, that pot, 00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:21.160 as beautiful as it is, it didn't start out looking 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:23.640 that way. It started out more like this, as a 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:28.199 big lump of clay. that she probably yanked out 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:30.120 of a riverbed or something like that. And so 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:32.719 she would have had to go to work on this. She 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:34.740 would have, you know, pounded it. Because usually 00:00:34.740 --> 00:00:37.859 what potters do is they start by pounding the 00:00:37.859 --> 00:00:39.640 clay to kind of loosen it up and warm it up. 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:43.780 And then she would have pulled it to kind of 00:00:43.780 --> 00:00:47.609 start to kind of create some general shape. kind 00:00:47.609 --> 00:00:50.630 of probably using both hands, pressed it in to 00:00:50.630 --> 00:00:54.329 try to create some contours. And then the pot 00:00:54.329 --> 00:00:56.049 really starts to kind of take shape. And then 00:00:56.049 --> 00:00:58.789 finally, she would, you know, do the fine work, 00:00:58.890 --> 00:01:01.590 pinching in here and there. And actually, if 00:01:01.590 --> 00:01:03.270 you look at this pot, this pot actually does 00:01:03.270 --> 00:01:06.650 have a lot of fine work. And so it went from 00:01:06.650 --> 00:01:09.849 that to this. It's certainly a beautiful thing. 00:01:10.209 --> 00:01:12.849 But you have to remember that, after all, it's 00:01:12.849 --> 00:01:19.609 just clay. It's just dirt. In fact, clay is like 00:01:19.609 --> 00:01:25.090 dust. Clay is the most sedimentous, I think, 00:01:25.090 --> 00:01:28.409 soil in all the world. It is so, so fine. When 00:01:28.409 --> 00:01:32.569 it dries, it just blows around like dust. And 00:01:32.569 --> 00:01:36.750 so Ash Wednesday is actually a very good day 00:01:36.750 --> 00:01:39.950 for us to remember something. Not just, you know, 00:01:40.010 --> 00:01:46.140 how we began, dust, and how we'll end. But during 00:01:46.140 --> 00:01:49.260 this brief life that we live on this earth, we 00:01:49.260 --> 00:01:54.340 also are formed and created into something beautiful 00:01:54.340 --> 00:02:00.159 by God. In fact, this pot's story is really your 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:04.420 story and my story too. If you read in Genesis 00:02:04.420 --> 00:02:07.980 2, verse 7, it says that the Lord God formed 00:02:07.980 --> 00:02:11.400 man from the soil of the ground and breathed 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:14.300 into his nostrils the breath of life and the 00:02:14.300 --> 00:02:18.900 man became a living being. We're all made out 00:02:18.900 --> 00:02:24.419 of dirt. We are all like dirt people. We're clay. 00:02:25.210 --> 00:02:27.270 creatures, if you will. I want you to imagine 00:02:27.270 --> 00:02:29.909 for a moment, there's God, you know, yanking 00:02:29.909 --> 00:02:32.389 some soil out of the riverbed, some clay and 00:02:32.389 --> 00:02:35.990 pounding Adam into existence and pulling, right? 00:02:36.090 --> 00:02:38.969 And then pressing and then pinching in the finer 00:02:38.969 --> 00:02:41.990 details till he's created this wonderful creature 00:02:41.990 --> 00:02:47.849 that reflects the image of God. And then, of 00:02:47.849 --> 00:02:52.669 course, God breathes life into Adam, his own 00:02:52.669 --> 00:02:55.189 spirit. It's a wonderful, wonderful story. But 00:02:55.189 --> 00:02:57.189 I should let you know, actually, something quite 00:02:57.189 --> 00:03:01.550 interesting, that the word Adam, Adam, comes 00:03:01.550 --> 00:03:05.629 from the Hebrew word Adama, which means soil 00:03:05.629 --> 00:03:10.090 or dirt or, you know, dust or whatever, ground, 00:03:10.169 --> 00:03:14.050 earth. And so very... Literally, the first human 00:03:14.050 --> 00:03:17.009 being was named after the dirt. He was literally 00:03:17.009 --> 00:03:20.789 dirt man. He was literally earthling. He was 00:03:20.789 --> 00:03:23.750 clay creature. And the reason I keep coming back 00:03:23.750 --> 00:03:25.509 to clay is because there's this other Hebrew 00:03:25.509 --> 00:03:28.259 word, a dome. Which, you know, some scholars 00:03:28.259 --> 00:03:31.719 say it means red, by the way. It means red. And 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:34.240 they say it sounds linguistically like the other. 00:03:34.340 --> 00:03:38.159 And so it kind of hints of the red clay that 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:40.360 was apparently very prevalent in, you know, southern 00:03:40.360 --> 00:03:43.219 Mesopotamia around the time that these, you know, 00:03:43.219 --> 00:03:45.460 stories were being written. So there you have, 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:49.259 you have Adam. Adam made out of Adama, which 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:52.919 was a dome in color. If you don't like that sequence, 00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:55.419 then how about this one? You can have a human 00:03:55.419 --> 00:03:57.719 being. And you have the word humus. And obviously, 00:03:57.819 --> 00:04:00.319 those two words come from the same root as well. 00:04:00.419 --> 00:04:03.840 And humus, of course, is again, dirt. It's soil. 00:04:04.139 --> 00:04:07.520 It's earth. You remember how at a funeral, we 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:11.500 always say, earth to earth, right? Ashes to ashes, 00:04:11.659 --> 00:04:15.800 dust to dust. That's who we are. We are just 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:20.990 mud men and mud women. We're clay creatures. 00:04:21.350 --> 00:04:23.589 If I was to say to you today after the service, 00:04:23.670 --> 00:04:25.970 I would say, hey, mud man, you'd probably be 00:04:25.970 --> 00:04:27.629 like, whoa, what are you doing? If I was to say, 00:04:27.689 --> 00:04:30.629 hey, dirt person, you would think I was being 00:04:30.629 --> 00:04:33.550 like really offensive. But it's not offensive 00:04:33.550 --> 00:04:38.050 at all. That's who we are. We are God -breathed 00:04:38.050 --> 00:04:42.790 dirt. We are, you know, balls of mud. that have 00:04:42.790 --> 00:04:46.350 been formed into the image of God. And no, there 00:04:46.350 --> 00:04:50.209 is something really wonderful about being a mud 00:04:50.209 --> 00:04:54.360 man or a mud woman or a mud person. Three things 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:56.519 actually. First, it means you're not an accident. 00:04:56.660 --> 00:04:59.040 If you come across something like this, you would 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:01.680 never say something like this just spontaneously 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:04.279 arose. No, this is no accident. Someone had to 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:06.860 create this. And if you ever have one of those 00:05:06.860 --> 00:05:08.560 moments where you're like, I wonder if all this 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:11.019 is just a grand accident. I wonder if I'm just 00:05:11.019 --> 00:05:14.120 the result of like millions and billions of like, 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:16.759 you know, spontaneous chemical reactions and 00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:18.680 that we're all here just completely by accident. 00:05:18.779 --> 00:05:21.480 It's a big cosmic mistake. No, no, no, no, no. 00:05:21.860 --> 00:05:26.279 We're formed. We're mud people. So we're not 00:05:26.279 --> 00:05:29.459 here by accident. We've been put together. And 00:05:29.459 --> 00:05:32.639 that also means we all have a purpose, right? 00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:34.439 Because if you look at this, you immediately 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:37.639 know it has a purpose. It's been made to do something, 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:41.459 right? Maybe this was made to hold water or maybe 00:05:41.459 --> 00:05:43.459 it was made to carry grain. We used to use it 00:05:43.459 --> 00:05:46.040 to hold dried flowers and stuff like that. Right 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:48.000 now, I keep a bunch of little knickknacks in 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:52.579 here. So you have a purpose as a mud person. 00:05:52.779 --> 00:05:55.199 But here's perhaps the most hopeful thing about 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:58.339 being a clay creature. And that is you can change, 00:05:58.459 --> 00:06:02.420 right? Because clay is malleable. It's formable. 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:04.800 And you may, you know, sometimes in your life, 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:07.800 you may say, oh gosh, I'm stuck, right? I can't 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:10.800 change. I'm all deformed. I'm all out of shape. 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:12.360 A whole bunch of things have happened to me. 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:14.319 And now I just feel completely out of sorts. 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:19.740 But guess what? Good news. You are a dama. You 00:06:19.740 --> 00:06:24.920 can be formed. You can be reformed. You can be 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:28.279 transformed by God. It's just wonderful, wonderful 00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:31.519 being made. of mud. But there's also a downside. 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:35.540 It's a dangerous side, even. And it's true, under 00:06:35.540 --> 00:06:38.540 the right hands, this mud can be molded into 00:06:38.540 --> 00:06:41.139 a thing of beauty. But in the wrong hands, it 00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:43.439 can also be molded into something very warped 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:46.220 and misshapen and deformed, turned into things. 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:48.180 People can actually be turned into things that 00:06:48.180 --> 00:06:50.939 people were never meant to be. And so while it's 00:06:50.939 --> 00:06:54.079 great to be transformed and reformed and renewed 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:57.439 and all that, we can also be deformed. It all 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:00.040 depends really on two questions. Who is doing 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:05.040 the forming? And what are you being formed into? 00:07:05.300 --> 00:07:07.660 Now, those two questions are really, really important 00:07:07.660 --> 00:07:09.339 questions. They're really important questions 00:07:09.339 --> 00:07:12.689 for us to ask today. They were also... Really 00:07:12.689 --> 00:07:15.550 important questions that people were asking 2 00:07:15.550 --> 00:07:18.569 ,000 years ago. Now, we're kicking off today, 00:07:18.670 --> 00:07:20.470 although it's Ash Wednesday, a new teaching series 00:07:20.470 --> 00:07:22.670 which we're calling This is the Way. We're talking 00:07:22.670 --> 00:07:24.790 about what does it mean to follow and live in 00:07:24.790 --> 00:07:26.889 the way of Jesus. What I want to suggest to you 00:07:26.889 --> 00:07:29.389 tonight is when Jesus called people to come and 00:07:29.389 --> 00:07:32.189 follow him and be his disciples, what he was 00:07:32.189 --> 00:07:36.290 really saying was this. Come and let me be the 00:07:36.290 --> 00:07:39.980 one who forms you. Come and follow me and let 00:07:39.980 --> 00:07:43.439 me be the one who transforms you and shapes you 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:48.079 into my image. Come, follow me, and let me make 00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:52.120 something beautiful out of your life. Now, when 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:54.339 Jesus extended that invitation, come and let 00:07:54.339 --> 00:07:56.000 me form you, I'm sure some people laughed it 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:57.839 off and some people surely ignored it, but other 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:00.899 people said, yes, that's what I've been looking 00:08:00.899 --> 00:08:04.060 for. Yes, Jesus, I am clay in your hands. Shape 00:08:04.060 --> 00:08:07.879 me, mold me, make me. Into your own likeness. 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:11.600 And that's actually what Jesus wants to form 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:14.360 us into. Jesus himself even said the student 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:17.720 is not above the teacher. Which means the student 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:19.819 doesn't tell the teacher what to do. Just like 00:08:19.819 --> 00:08:23.060 the clay pot doesn't tell the potter what to 00:08:23.060 --> 00:08:24.860 do. It works the other way around. The potter 00:08:24.860 --> 00:08:27.699 does the work. The teacher does the work. And 00:08:27.699 --> 00:08:30.939 what is the teacher doing? The teacher is training 00:08:30.939 --> 00:08:35.129 up the student. So they will be like. the teacher. 00:08:35.269 --> 00:08:39.450 So to be formed by Jesus is ultimately, get this, 00:08:39.669 --> 00:08:44.690 to become more and more like Jesus. And sometimes 00:08:44.690 --> 00:08:46.929 we get this mixed up in our heads and we think, 00:08:46.950 --> 00:08:48.429 oh, if I want to be like Jesus, all I got to 00:08:48.429 --> 00:08:50.629 do is imitate Jesus. I'll go around, do all the 00:08:50.629 --> 00:08:53.289 things that Jesus did. Good luck with that. It's 00:08:53.289 --> 00:08:55.690 actually, you know, admirable, but there is a 00:08:55.690 --> 00:08:58.610 very big difference between imitation and formation. 00:08:59.049 --> 00:09:01.070 Imitating Jesus is good, but what we're after 00:09:01.070 --> 00:09:06.389 really in life is deeper, spiritual transformation 00:09:06.389 --> 00:09:11.529 in our lives. You know, Dallas Willard put it 00:09:11.529 --> 00:09:14.139 this way. He said, spiritual formation. is a 00:09:14.139 --> 00:09:18.059 process of increasingly being possessed and permeated 00:09:18.059 --> 00:09:22.720 by the character traits of Jesus. Spiritual formation 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:26.679 occurs when we allow Jesus to put his hands on 00:09:26.679 --> 00:09:30.620 our life and do the work of shaping us. That's 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:35.120 the only way we become new people, really. But 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:37.279 here, again, is the thing. And whether you know 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:39.620 it or not, whether you like it or not, you're 00:09:39.620 --> 00:09:42.320 always being formed. You're always being shaped. 00:09:43.050 --> 00:09:47.190 By someone or something. You know, that's the 00:09:47.190 --> 00:09:48.850 problem with being dirt people. That's the problem 00:09:48.850 --> 00:09:50.929 with being mud women, mud people, mud men, whatever. 00:09:51.110 --> 00:09:54.529 You know, maybe Jesus is the one who's shaping 00:09:54.529 --> 00:09:56.590 you right now. And you feel like you're growing 00:09:56.590 --> 00:09:58.370 more and more like Jesus. Or maybe it's someone 00:09:58.370 --> 00:10:02.330 else. Or maybe it's something else that is shaping 00:10:02.330 --> 00:10:06.279 you. It's not turning out so good. The point 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:09.080 is, we are all kind of clay under some potter's 00:10:09.080 --> 00:10:11.759 hand. The question is not, am I a disciple? Of 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:13.480 course you're a disciple. The question is, whose 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:16.460 disciple are you? The question is not, am I being 00:10:16.460 --> 00:10:20.000 formed? Yes, you are being formed, right? The 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:23.159 real question is, who is forming you? And what 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:27.539 are you being formed into? Okay? Now you might 00:10:27.539 --> 00:10:29.720 say, Rob, come on. What are you talking about? 00:10:29.860 --> 00:10:33.759 Nobody tells me how to live my life. I'm my own 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:35.899 person. I'm a self -made man, and I'm not being 00:10:35.899 --> 00:10:39.740 formed or changed by anyone. Well, that sounds 00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:44.080 great, but the truth is that's not how it works. 00:10:44.139 --> 00:10:45.799 You don't just get to decide in your head what 00:10:45.799 --> 00:10:47.200 you're going to be with your life, and poof, 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:49.059 oh, I want to be a pot. Poof, you're a pot. Oh, 00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:51.360 I want to be a vase. Poof, you're a vase. People, 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:54.139 I mean, used to think that way. Self -actualization. 00:10:54.259 --> 00:10:56.779 I think, therefore, I am. I can become whatever 00:10:56.779 --> 00:10:58.860 I want to be, but the only problem is now we 00:10:58.860 --> 00:11:02.450 know better. You cannot think your way. into 00:11:02.450 --> 00:11:06.149 your own transformation. If you could think your 00:11:06.149 --> 00:11:07.889 way into your own transformation, all you would 00:11:07.889 --> 00:11:09.710 have to do is read a book on healthy eating and 00:11:09.710 --> 00:11:13.830 you would never eat sugar again. But of course, 00:11:13.830 --> 00:11:15.970 we love sugar. And that's because there's other 00:11:15.970 --> 00:11:18.850 forces at work on our life. So the pot, no, the 00:11:18.850 --> 00:11:21.490 pot doesn't create itself. Something is creating 00:11:21.490 --> 00:11:24.549 it. There are forces that are shaping us, pounding 00:11:24.549 --> 00:11:28.769 us, pulling us, pressing us, and pinching us. 00:11:29.470 --> 00:11:32.500 But what are these forces? Well, listen, I've 00:11:32.500 --> 00:11:34.480 given you some notes. I just thought I would 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:36.559 share with you, I think, four of the big forces 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:39.820 that are shaping your life today. And the first 00:11:39.820 --> 00:11:42.840 one I say is that we are formed by the stories 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:45.919 we hear and the stories that we believe. In our 00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:48.360 culture, we are constantly being told stories 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:51.220 about what life is all about, what money is all 00:11:51.220 --> 00:11:52.860 about, what relationships are all about, what 00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:54.779 sex is all about, what friends are all about, 00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:56.559 what success looks like. These are stories. You 00:11:56.559 --> 00:11:58.639 hear them all the time. What worth looks like, 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:00.799 what happiness looks like. These stories are 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:04.169 just Pounded and pounded and pounded into us 00:12:04.169 --> 00:12:06.929 all the time. Maybe it's on TV. Maybe it's on 00:12:06.929 --> 00:12:08.850 social media. Maybe it's on like advertisements. 00:12:09.149 --> 00:12:11.129 They're pounding these stories into you all the 00:12:11.129 --> 00:12:13.730 time. Someone once said that we're narrative 00:12:13.730 --> 00:12:16.590 animals, human beings. We love stories. And so 00:12:16.590 --> 00:12:18.929 there's some stories you believe and there's 00:12:18.929 --> 00:12:20.730 some stories that you don't believe. Anyways, 00:12:20.830 --> 00:12:22.889 they both shape you. There's stories that maybe 00:12:22.889 --> 00:12:25.049 you hear at work. There's stories from school. 00:12:25.169 --> 00:12:27.090 There's stories at home. They're pounding you, 00:12:27.129 --> 00:12:29.190 right? And it's happening and it's happening 00:12:29.190 --> 00:12:31.860 day by day right here. Here's a story about what's 00:12:31.860 --> 00:12:34.139 important. Here's a story about what life's all 00:12:34.139 --> 00:12:36.399 about. Here's a story about how you should live. 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:39.840 It just pounded, pounding, pounding into us again 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:42.480 and again. That's the first thing that's forming 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:44.379 us. But the second thing I want to mention is 00:12:44.379 --> 00:12:48.750 we are formed by our habits. Right? It's true. 00:12:49.110 --> 00:12:51.549 Researchers have proven that of all the things 00:12:51.549 --> 00:12:54.210 that pull us in different directions, our habits 00:12:54.210 --> 00:12:56.629 are among the most powerful forces in our lives. 00:12:56.730 --> 00:12:59.590 Our daily habits pull us this way. Our daily 00:12:59.590 --> 00:13:02.169 routines pull us that way. Our daily rituals 00:13:02.169 --> 00:13:06.789 pull us this way. They are forming us. This scholar, 00:13:07.029 --> 00:13:10.529 William James, says actually all our life, all 00:13:10.529 --> 00:13:13.750 our life, so far as it has a definite formed, 00:13:13.950 --> 00:13:18.870 is just a whole mass. of habits. Our habits just 00:13:18.870 --> 00:13:21.009 pull us and pull us and pull us. So basically, 00:13:21.049 --> 00:13:23.750 what we are is nothing more than the cumulative 00:13:23.750 --> 00:13:28.460 effect of our daily and weekly habits. So you've 00:13:28.460 --> 00:13:30.820 got habits that you have around how you spend 00:13:30.820 --> 00:13:32.419 your time. They're pulling on you. You've got 00:13:32.419 --> 00:13:34.679 habits about how you spend your money. Habits 00:13:34.679 --> 00:13:36.879 around food. Habits around shopping. Habits around 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:39.299 free time, right? What's the first thing you 00:13:39.299 --> 00:13:40.899 do every morning when you get out of bed? That's 00:13:40.899 --> 00:13:43.019 a habit. That shapes you. What is the last thing 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:44.679 you do before you go to bed at night? That is 00:13:44.679 --> 00:13:46.940 a habit. That shapes you. These things are always 00:13:46.940 --> 00:13:48.899 pulling on you. Pulling on. And some of them 00:13:48.899 --> 00:13:51.059 are good habits. Great. Some of them are bad 00:13:51.059 --> 00:13:54.820 habits, right? But they're all working on us. 00:13:54.919 --> 00:13:57.120 And it's funny. The thing we often think about 00:13:57.120 --> 00:13:59.820 habits. is because they're outside us, they're 00:13:59.820 --> 00:14:02.220 things we do outside of us, we think they don't 00:14:02.220 --> 00:14:04.399 affect us in here. But habits have this way of 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:07.740 working in to the very core of who we are, shaping 00:14:07.740 --> 00:14:11.220 our loves, shaping our longings, shaping us, 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:14.600 okay? But there's more. There's a couple other 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:16.879 things that definitely are shaping you each and 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:20.779 every day, and one is your relationships, right? 00:14:20.899 --> 00:14:24.200 We are pressed, constantly pressed by certain 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:27.720 people. In relationships. We actually become 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:30.120 like the people. I think that we hang out with 00:14:30.120 --> 00:14:31.659 the most. Have you ever noticed that? The people 00:14:31.659 --> 00:14:33.320 you hang out with. Soon you're dressing like 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:35.279 them. You're listening to the same music. You 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:38.360 like the same food. You read the same books. 00:14:38.460 --> 00:14:40.759 You vote for the same candidates. Whatever. Why 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:44.639 is that? It's because. Relationships are pressing 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:47.740 on you and forming you into something. Hey, it 00:14:47.740 --> 00:14:50.059 could be good if they're good people. Good relationships 00:14:50.059 --> 00:14:53.139 could be bad if they're bad relationships. The 00:14:53.139 --> 00:14:55.419 people that you hang around with are determining 00:14:55.419 --> 00:14:57.500 who you are becoming, right? The way that your 00:14:57.500 --> 00:15:00.320 friends talk are pressing in on you. The way 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:02.960 that they behave is pressing in on you. Their 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:05.419 values are pressing in. Their priorities are 00:15:05.419 --> 00:15:07.659 pressing in on you. Their attitudes press in 00:15:07.659 --> 00:15:12.240 on you. Their decisions are pressing in on you. 00:15:13.450 --> 00:15:15.490 And then finally, here's the last thing I want 00:15:15.490 --> 00:15:17.350 to say that, you know, shaping us, you know. 00:15:17.809 --> 00:15:20.330 Oh yeah, by the way, you might want to memorize 00:15:20.330 --> 00:15:22.850 this proverb if you're thinking about your relationships. 00:15:23.210 --> 00:15:27.470 Those who are wise walk with the wise, but a 00:15:27.470 --> 00:15:31.909 companion of fools suffers harm, right? The people 00:15:31.909 --> 00:15:34.850 you hang around with are affecting who you are 00:15:34.850 --> 00:15:39.279 becoming. But the last piece that impacts your 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:42.980 formation, is what you might just call your environment. 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:47.279 As soon as you walk out of this church, you're 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:51.059 walking into a world that is full of... little 00:15:51.059 --> 00:15:54.720 pinches. The world is constantly pinching you, 00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:58.100 touching you, poking you, prodding you, trying 00:15:58.100 --> 00:16:00.399 to change your ideas, trying to change your priorities, 00:16:00.580 --> 00:16:03.379 right? You know, our environment around us, you 00:16:03.379 --> 00:16:05.179 know, pinches us and say, you know, live this 00:16:05.179 --> 00:16:07.519 way. It says, believe this way. It pinches you 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:10.399 here. Spend your money this way. Dress this way. 00:16:10.419 --> 00:16:12.840 Behave this way. Talk this way. Whatever. You 00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:16.919 know, the city of Mississauga is like a school. 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:19.440 And every time you walk out the door, the teacher 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:21.659 is teaching you. you. It's instructing you and 00:16:21.659 --> 00:16:25.500 telling you how to live your life. I think actually 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:27.720 social media is probably its own environment. 00:16:27.820 --> 00:16:29.940 How could it not be? Every minute of screen time 00:16:29.940 --> 00:16:32.299 is pinching you. Every share, every like, every 00:16:32.299 --> 00:16:36.860 snap, every follow, every sub. Hours and hours 00:16:36.860 --> 00:16:41.879 a day. That's our environment. And you can bet 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:46.360 it's forming you into something. So, there you 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:49.059 got it. What are they? There are stories, habits, 00:16:49.259 --> 00:16:51.500 relationships, and environment. They're all sculpting 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:53.259 us, forming us into a certain type of human being. 00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:55.299 And over time, it's going to happen. You don't 00:16:55.299 --> 00:16:57.580 even have to try. You just walk out the door. 00:16:57.600 --> 00:16:59.639 It'll happen. Go about your day tomorrow, and 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:02.539 all these forces will be working on you, whether 00:17:02.539 --> 00:17:06.380 you know it or not. And who's it turning you 00:17:06.380 --> 00:17:09.369 into? And now you might freak out at this point 00:17:09.369 --> 00:17:11.190 and say, oh my gosh, I can't let this happen. 00:17:11.369 --> 00:17:14.250 I have to plug my ears so I don't hear the stories 00:17:14.250 --> 00:17:15.769 of culture. I don't want that to happen to me. 00:17:15.809 --> 00:17:17.509 And I have to tie my hands behind my back because 00:17:17.509 --> 00:17:19.789 I don't want to get into bad habits. And I want 00:17:19.789 --> 00:17:23.029 to turn away and shun all culture. And I'll turn 00:17:23.029 --> 00:17:25.269 my back on my friends and all those relationships. 00:17:25.430 --> 00:17:27.210 Maybe that's the way I can resist. Maybe that's 00:17:27.210 --> 00:17:29.569 the way I can grow more like Jesus. But we already 00:17:29.569 --> 00:17:32.190 talked about that. That doesn't work. The pot 00:17:32.190 --> 00:17:35.490 can't form itself. It's not something you can 00:17:35.490 --> 00:17:39.480 do. But here is something you can do. To all 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:42.759 the mud people, to all the clay creatures out 00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:44.519 there, there is good news and here is the good 00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:48.259 news. Even though you cannot defeat the powers 00:17:48.259 --> 00:17:51.640 that form you, you can choose the person who 00:17:51.640 --> 00:17:56.220 forms you. That is within your power. You can 00:17:56.220 --> 00:18:00.259 make a decision today. To place yourself under 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:01.880 the hands of a different potter, of a different 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:05.000 sculptor, and let him go to work on you. And 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:07.140 that person, of course, I would say to you, needs 00:18:07.140 --> 00:18:11.380 to be Jesus. Because here's the thing. Jesus 00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:14.809 is not just a loving Savior. He is also... A 00:18:14.809 --> 00:18:17.490 brilliant sculptor. And because Jesus knows that 00:18:17.490 --> 00:18:19.509 things like stories and habits and culture and 00:18:19.509 --> 00:18:21.890 all that stuff form us, guess what Jesus does? 00:18:22.049 --> 00:18:24.589 First he says, hey, hey, hey, I know that stories, 00:18:24.910 --> 00:18:27.029 I know that you guys love stories. Well, here, 00:18:27.109 --> 00:18:29.049 he says, instead of being shaped by the stories 00:18:29.049 --> 00:18:31.390 that culture teaches you, Jesus says, instead, 00:18:31.529 --> 00:18:35.950 be shaped by my stories. Be shaped by my teaching. 00:18:36.029 --> 00:18:37.490 Enough of the world stories. We've heard enough 00:18:37.490 --> 00:18:39.269 of that junk. We're tired of having them pounded 00:18:39.269 --> 00:18:41.450 into us. And Jesus says, let me pound into you 00:18:41.450 --> 00:18:46.089 some new stories. And you guys know this, that 00:18:46.089 --> 00:18:48.670 Jesus went around and he was always telling stories. 00:18:48.809 --> 00:18:50.750 And in fact, it's shocking that in Matthew's 00:18:50.750 --> 00:18:54.549 gospel, it says Jesus always used stories and 00:18:54.549 --> 00:18:56.450 illustrations when he was speaking to the crowd. 00:18:56.569 --> 00:18:59.730 It goes so far as to say he never spoke to them 00:18:59.730 --> 00:19:02.750 without using these little parables and stories. 00:19:02.990 --> 00:19:04.789 It's like Jesus says, I'm going to shape you 00:19:04.789 --> 00:19:07.970 and I'm going to shape you by telling you stories. 00:19:08.130 --> 00:19:10.490 You know, our world, for example, tells you a 00:19:10.490 --> 00:19:12.509 story. The bigger is better. Jesus says, let 00:19:12.509 --> 00:19:14.589 me tell you another story. It's a story about 00:19:14.589 --> 00:19:17.809 the smallest seed, the smallest seed in the whole 00:19:17.809 --> 00:19:19.549 wide world, but it grows into a great big bush 00:19:19.549 --> 00:19:21.730 and all the birds of the land come and sit in 00:19:21.730 --> 00:19:24.460 it. Now that is a different story. Or the world 00:19:24.460 --> 00:19:26.480 would tell us that the more wealth you have, 00:19:26.619 --> 00:19:28.660 the better you are. Jesus says, let me tell you 00:19:28.660 --> 00:19:31.160 a different story. Let me show you something. 00:19:31.259 --> 00:19:33.759 See this woman who just put two coins into the 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:35.680 treasury? It was all that she had. She gave away 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:37.299 everything she had, and yet she's the richest 00:19:37.299 --> 00:19:40.319 person of them all. You get that story into you, 00:19:40.339 --> 00:19:42.579 that is going to change the kind of person you 00:19:42.579 --> 00:19:45.220 are becoming. Or Jesus might say, hey, the world 00:19:45.220 --> 00:19:47.119 tells you it's really important that you've got 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:49.019 to hang out with the cool crowd. Jesus says, 00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:50.700 let me tell you a parable. Let me tell you a 00:19:50.700 --> 00:19:52.720 story about a guy who throws a party. invites 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:55.339 all the misfits, and he invites all the losers, 00:19:55.440 --> 00:19:58.859 and it's the greatest party in the kingdom of 00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:03.339 God, right? Let these stories pound into you, 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:05.420 right? And they are going to shape you into a 00:20:05.420 --> 00:20:08.400 very different kind of person. Instead of being 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:11.079 deformed by the world's stories, you can be reformed 00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:13.500 by Jesus' teachings. That means we have to, of 00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:17.740 course, read the Bible. read the Bible to our 00:20:17.740 --> 00:20:21.619 children, just really dive deep into the stories 00:20:21.619 --> 00:20:25.500 of Jesus. Jesus is brilliant. He knows that's 00:20:25.500 --> 00:20:27.579 how we learn, so that's how he teaches. But secondly, 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:31.640 he's so smart that he also knows We're so formed 00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:34.460 by habits that he says, hey, let me teach you 00:20:34.460 --> 00:20:37.680 a different kind of set of habits. We call these 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:41.480 habits spiritual practices. Okay, so spiritual 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:44.200 practices or spiritual disciplines are like different 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:47.200 kinds of habits. So for example, some of you 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:48.940 may have developed a really bad habit. You work 00:20:48.940 --> 00:20:50.799 way too much. You're constantly working. So Jesus 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:53.339 says, let me teach you a habit. It's called Sabbath. 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:55.980 You take one day off every week and you just 00:20:55.980 --> 00:20:59.299 delight in God and you rest. Try that habit on 00:20:59.299 --> 00:21:02.519 for. starters. Or some of you have a really bad 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:04.079 habit and you wake up in the morning, the first 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:05.480 thing you do is you reach for your phone and 00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:07.220 Jesus says, let me teach you a different habit. 00:21:07.819 --> 00:21:10.339 It's called morning prayer, right? You see, he's 00:21:10.339 --> 00:21:13.119 pulling us. He's pulling us. It's called morning 00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:14.700 prayer. And you spend the first part of your 00:21:14.700 --> 00:21:17.420 day actually praying to God and reading the Bible. 00:21:17.500 --> 00:21:19.539 And that's a very different habit. That'll shape 00:21:19.539 --> 00:21:22.240 the person you're becoming. Or some of us, you 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:23.900 know, for example, we're so concerned what other 00:21:23.900 --> 00:21:26.720 people think of us. And so Jesus says, hey, listen, 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:28.380 get off social media. Let me teach you another 00:21:28.380 --> 00:21:31.789 habit. It's called solitude. I want you to go 00:21:31.789 --> 00:21:34.170 off by yourself every once in a while with no 00:21:34.170 --> 00:21:35.890 one around you and leave your phone at home and 00:21:35.890 --> 00:21:40.369 just listen and pray and remember who you really 00:21:40.369 --> 00:21:43.369 are. Let me tell you who you really are. These 00:21:43.369 --> 00:21:46.609 are the habits that take a lifetime to learn, 00:21:46.670 --> 00:21:49.589 but they pull on us and they are going to shape 00:21:49.589 --> 00:21:53.130 us day after day after day. All those bad habits 00:21:53.130 --> 00:21:55.329 that deform us, these habits are going to transform 00:21:55.329 --> 00:21:58.250 us. It's these spiritual disciplines. And by 00:21:58.250 --> 00:22:01.460 the way, this Lent. As a whole church, what we're 00:22:01.460 --> 00:22:03.880 going to be doing is building a rhythm of these 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:07.180 spiritual practices together. It's called a rule 00:22:07.180 --> 00:22:09.920 of life. We'll talk more about that later. But 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:12.579 by working through this little pocket guide that 00:22:12.579 --> 00:22:14.200 we're going to give all of you today as you make 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:18.119 your way out of church, it's... The idea is that 00:22:18.119 --> 00:22:21.559 by the time we get to Easter, you will have created 00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:24.920 your own little guide to how to live out these 00:22:24.920 --> 00:22:26.900 spiritual habits and practices in a way that's 00:22:26.900 --> 00:22:29.140 going to work for you and your schedule and your 00:22:29.140 --> 00:22:32.759 life. Okay? The third thing, Jesus is so smart. 00:22:32.839 --> 00:22:35.079 Jesus knows that we are formed by relationships. 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:38.539 So Jesus says, hey, let me give you a brand new 00:22:38.539 --> 00:22:41.680 set of relationships. It's called Christian community. 00:22:42.460 --> 00:22:45.140 Put yourself into this thing called the church. 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:47.839 Press yourself into Bible studies. Press yourself 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:50.819 into life groups. Not because these people are 00:22:50.819 --> 00:22:52.599 perfect people. We're not perfect people. But 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:55.799 because it is actually impossible to be transformed 00:22:55.799 --> 00:22:59.400 on your own. Jesus did not have a disciple. He 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:02.799 had disciples. Because it's in community, as 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:05.400 you press up against each other, that yes, your 00:23:05.400 --> 00:23:08.950 imperfections get exposed. But your rough edges 00:23:08.950 --> 00:23:12.029 get smoothed out. And it's together that you 00:23:12.029 --> 00:23:15.630 learn to follow the way of Jesus. And lastly, 00:23:15.809 --> 00:23:18.710 and lastly, Jesus knows that when you head out 00:23:18.710 --> 00:23:20.750 into that environment out there, our city, our 00:23:20.750 --> 00:23:22.269 neighbors, social media, they're all poking, 00:23:22.450 --> 00:23:24.250 they're all prodding, they're all pinching us 00:23:24.250 --> 00:23:26.849 into something. So Jesus says, let me give you 00:23:26.849 --> 00:23:29.069 something that's going to change every single 00:23:29.069 --> 00:23:33.390 environment you ever walk into. Let my Holy Spirit 00:23:33.390 --> 00:23:38.450 go with you. Let my spirit fill you and it will 00:23:38.450 --> 00:23:43.529 transform the entire world around you. Paul says, 00:23:43.670 --> 00:23:47.950 walk habitually in the Holy Spirit. Seek him 00:23:47.950 --> 00:23:51.250 and be responsive to his guidance. Let the Holy 00:23:51.250 --> 00:23:54.269 Spirit be the thing that pinches you and prods 00:23:54.269 --> 00:23:57.450 you and pokes you wherever you go. Walk in the 00:23:57.450 --> 00:24:00.529 Spirit. Keep in step with the Spirit. And that 00:24:00.529 --> 00:24:03.170 means no matter where you go in this city or 00:24:03.170 --> 00:24:06.589 in this world, the Holy Spirit is going to go 00:24:06.589 --> 00:24:16.930 with you. So, to all the Adama in the room, To 00:24:16.930 --> 00:24:20.150 all the clay creatures, Jesus says, come under 00:24:20.150 --> 00:24:24.450 my hands. Let me pound you. Let me pull you. 00:24:25.009 --> 00:24:27.789 Let me press you. And let me pinch you into something 00:24:27.789 --> 00:24:29.569 beautiful. And bit by bit, you are going to be 00:24:29.569 --> 00:24:32.710 formed into the likeness of Jesus himself. Because 00:24:32.710 --> 00:24:35.529 remember, the student, when it's fully trained, 00:24:35.650 --> 00:24:39.869 will become like the teacher. This plot here 00:24:39.869 --> 00:24:43.200 took like probably a week. For that sculptor 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:45.579 to make. But what we're talking about. That's 00:24:45.579 --> 00:24:48.880 going to take a lifetime. But under his hands. 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:53.980 And day by day. Week by week. Year by year. Decade 00:24:53.980 --> 00:24:59.619 by decade. Balls of clay. Become beautiful vases. 00:25:01.180 --> 00:25:07.200 And dirt people. Mud women. Mud men. Clay creatures. 00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:14.730 Become children of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.