Two decades ago, when I was on a trip to Kenya,
I had this pot made for me by a local artisan.
It's very special. She made it just for me. And
it has a special place in my office. It sits
there on my shelf. And I, of course, that pot,
as beautiful as it is, it didn't start out looking
that way. It started out more like this, as a
big lump of clay. that she probably yanked out
of a riverbed or something like that. And so
she would have had to go to work on this. She
would have, you know, pounded it. Because usually
what potters do is they start by pounding the
clay to kind of loosen it up and warm it up.
And then she would have pulled it to kind of
start to kind of create some general shape. kind
of probably using both hands, pressed it in to
try to create some contours. And then the pot
really starts to kind of take shape. And then
finally, she would, you know, do the fine work,
pinching in here and there. And actually, if
you look at this pot, this pot actually does
have a lot of fine work. And so it went from
that to this. It's certainly a beautiful thing.
But you have to remember that, after all, it's
just clay. It's just dirt. In fact, clay is like
dust. Clay is the most sedimentous, I think,
soil in all the world. It is so, so fine. When
it dries, it just blows around like dust. And
so Ash Wednesday is actually a very good day
for us to remember something. Not just, you know,
how we began, dust, and how we'll end. But during
this brief life that we live on this earth, we
also are formed and created into something beautiful
by God. In fact, this pot's story is really your
story and my story too. If you read in Genesis
2, verse 7, it says that the Lord God formed
man from the soil of the ground and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life and the
man became a living being. We're all made out
of dirt. We are all like dirt people. We're clay.
creatures, if you will. I want you to imagine
for a moment, there's God, you know, yanking
some soil out of the riverbed, some clay and
pounding Adam into existence and pulling, right?
And then pressing and then pinching in the finer
details till he's created this wonderful creature
that reflects the image of God. And then, of
course, God breathes life into Adam, his own
spirit. It's a wonderful, wonderful story. But
I should let you know, actually, something quite
interesting, that the word Adam, Adam, comes
from the Hebrew word Adama, which means soil
or dirt or, you know, dust or whatever, ground,
earth. And so very... Literally, the first human
being was named after the dirt. He was literally
dirt man. He was literally earthling. He was
clay creature. And the reason I keep coming back
to clay is because there's this other Hebrew
word, a dome. Which, you know, some scholars
say it means red, by the way. It means red. And
they say it sounds linguistically like the other.
And so it kind of hints of the red clay that
was apparently very prevalent in, you know, southern
Mesopotamia around the time that these, you know,
stories were being written. So there you have,
you have Adam. Adam made out of Adama, which
was a dome in color. If you don't like that sequence,
then how about this one? You can have a human
being. And you have the word humus. And obviously,
those two words come from the same root as well.
And humus, of course, is again, dirt. It's soil.
It's earth. You remember how at a funeral, we
always say, earth to earth, right? Ashes to ashes,
dust to dust. That's who we are. We are just
mud men and mud women. We're clay creatures.
If I was to say to you today after the service,
I would say, hey, mud man, you'd probably be
like, whoa, what are you doing? If I was to say,
hey, dirt person, you would think I was being
like really offensive. But it's not offensive
at all. That's who we are. We are God -breathed
dirt. We are, you know, balls of mud. that have
been formed into the image of God. And no, there
is something really wonderful about being a mud
man or a mud woman or a mud person. Three things
actually. First, it means you're not an accident.
If you come across something like this, you would
never say something like this just spontaneously
arose. No, this is no accident. Someone had to
create this. And if you ever have one of those
moments where you're like, I wonder if all this
is just a grand accident. I wonder if I'm just
the result of like millions and billions of like,
you know, spontaneous chemical reactions and
that we're all here just completely by accident.
It's a big cosmic mistake. No, no, no, no, no.
We're formed. We're mud people. So we're not
here by accident. We've been put together. And
that also means we all have a purpose, right?
Because if you look at this, you immediately
know it has a purpose. It's been made to do something,
right? Maybe this was made to hold water or maybe
it was made to carry grain. We used to use it
to hold dried flowers and stuff like that. Right
now, I keep a bunch of little knickknacks in
here. So you have a purpose as a mud person.
But here's perhaps the most hopeful thing about
being a clay creature. And that is you can change,
right? Because clay is malleable. It's formable.
And you may, you know, sometimes in your life,
you may say, oh gosh, I'm stuck, right? I can't
change. I'm all deformed. I'm all out of shape.
A whole bunch of things have happened to me.
And now I just feel completely out of sorts.
But guess what? Good news. You are a dama. You
can be formed. You can be reformed. You can be
transformed by God. It's just wonderful, wonderful
being made. of mud. But there's also a downside.
It's a dangerous side, even. And it's true, under
the right hands, this mud can be molded into
a thing of beauty. But in the wrong hands, it
can also be molded into something very warped
and misshapen and deformed, turned into things.
People can actually be turned into things that
people were never meant to be. And so while it's
great to be transformed and reformed and renewed
and all that, we can also be deformed. It all
depends really on two questions. Who is doing
the forming? And what are you being formed into?
Now, those two questions are really, really important
questions. They're really important questions
for us to ask today. They were also... Really
important questions that people were asking 2
,000 years ago. Now, we're kicking off today,
although it's Ash Wednesday, a new teaching series
which we're calling This is the Way. We're talking
about what does it mean to follow and live in
the way of Jesus. What I want to suggest to you
tonight is when Jesus called people to come and
follow him and be his disciples, what he was
really saying was this. Come and let me be the
one who forms you. Come and follow me and let
me be the one who transforms you and shapes you
into my image. Come, follow me, and let me make
something beautiful out of your life. Now, when
Jesus extended that invitation, come and let
me form you, I'm sure some people laughed it
off and some people surely ignored it, but other
people said, yes, that's what I've been looking
for. Yes, Jesus, I am clay in your hands. Shape
me, mold me, make me. Into your own likeness.
And that's actually what Jesus wants to form
us into. Jesus himself even said the student
is not above the teacher. Which means the student
doesn't tell the teacher what to do. Just like
the clay pot doesn't tell the potter what to
do. It works the other way around. The potter
does the work. The teacher does the work. And
what is the teacher doing? The teacher is training
up the student. So they will be like. the teacher.
So to be formed by Jesus is ultimately, get this,
to become more and more like Jesus. And sometimes
we get this mixed up in our heads and we think,
oh, if I want to be like Jesus, all I got to
do is imitate Jesus. I'll go around, do all the
things that Jesus did. Good luck with that. It's
actually, you know, admirable, but there is a
very big difference between imitation and formation.
Imitating Jesus is good, but what we're after
really in life is deeper, spiritual transformation
in our lives. You know, Dallas Willard put it
this way. He said, spiritual formation. is a
process of increasingly being possessed and permeated
by the character traits of Jesus. Spiritual formation
occurs when we allow Jesus to put his hands on
our life and do the work of shaping us. That's
the only way we become new people, really. But
here, again, is the thing. And whether you know
it or not, whether you like it or not, you're
always being formed. You're always being shaped.
By someone or something. You know, that's the
problem with being dirt people. That's the problem
with being mud women, mud people, mud men, whatever.
You know, maybe Jesus is the one who's shaping
you right now. And you feel like you're growing
more and more like Jesus. Or maybe it's someone
else. Or maybe it's something else that is shaping
you. It's not turning out so good. The point
is, we are all kind of clay under some potter's
hand. The question is not, am I a disciple? Of
course you're a disciple. The question is, whose
disciple are you? The question is not, am I being
formed? Yes, you are being formed, right? The
real question is, who is forming you? And what
are you being formed into? Okay? Now you might
say, Rob, come on. What are you talking about?
Nobody tells me how to live my life. I'm my own
person. I'm a self -made man, and I'm not being
formed or changed by anyone. Well, that sounds
great, but the truth is that's not how it works.
You don't just get to decide in your head what
you're going to be with your life, and poof,
oh, I want to be a pot. Poof, you're a pot. Oh,
I want to be a vase. Poof, you're a vase. People,
I mean, used to think that way. Self -actualization.
I think, therefore, I am. I can become whatever
I want to be, but the only problem is now we
know better. You cannot think your way. into
your own transformation. If you could think your
way into your own transformation, all you would
have to do is read a book on healthy eating and
you would never eat sugar again. But of course,
we love sugar. And that's because there's other
forces at work on our life. So the pot, no, the
pot doesn't create itself. Something is creating
it. There are forces that are shaping us, pounding
us, pulling us, pressing us, and pinching us.
But what are these forces? Well, listen, I've
given you some notes. I just thought I would
share with you, I think, four of the big forces
that are shaping your life today. And the first
one I say is that we are formed by the stories
we hear and the stories that we believe. In our
culture, we are constantly being told stories
about what life is all about, what money is all
about, what relationships are all about, what
sex is all about, what friends are all about,
what success looks like. These are stories. You
hear them all the time. What worth looks like,
what happiness looks like. These stories are
just Pounded and pounded and pounded into us
all the time. Maybe it's on TV. Maybe it's on
social media. Maybe it's on like advertisements.
They're pounding these stories into you all the
time. Someone once said that we're narrative
animals, human beings. We love stories. And so
there's some stories you believe and there's
some stories that you don't believe. Anyways,
they both shape you. There's stories that maybe
you hear at work. There's stories from school.
There's stories at home. They're pounding you,
right? And it's happening and it's happening
day by day right here. Here's a story about what's
important. Here's a story about what life's all
about. Here's a story about how you should live.
It just pounded, pounding, pounding into us again
and again. That's the first thing that's forming
us. But the second thing I want to mention is
we are formed by our habits. Right? It's true.
Researchers have proven that of all the things
that pull us in different directions, our habits
are among the most powerful forces in our lives.
Our daily habits pull us this way. Our daily
routines pull us that way. Our daily rituals
pull us this way. They are forming us. This scholar,
William James, says actually all our life, all
our life, so far as it has a definite formed,
is just a whole mass. of habits. Our habits just
pull us and pull us and pull us. So basically,
what we are is nothing more than the cumulative
effect of our daily and weekly habits. So you've
got habits that you have around how you spend
your time. They're pulling on you. You've got
habits about how you spend your money. Habits
around food. Habits around shopping. Habits around
free time, right? What's the first thing you
do every morning when you get out of bed? That's
a habit. That shapes you. What is the last thing
you do before you go to bed at night? That is
a habit. That shapes you. These things are always
pulling on you. Pulling on. And some of them
are good habits. Great. Some of them are bad
habits, right? But they're all working on us.
And it's funny. The thing we often think about
habits. is because they're outside us, they're
things we do outside of us, we think they don't
affect us in here. But habits have this way of
working in to the very core of who we are, shaping
our loves, shaping our longings, shaping us,
okay? But there's more. There's a couple other
things that definitely are shaping you each and
every day, and one is your relationships, right?
We are pressed, constantly pressed by certain
people. In relationships. We actually become
like the people. I think that we hang out with
the most. Have you ever noticed that? The people
you hang out with. Soon you're dressing like
them. You're listening to the same music. You
like the same food. You read the same books.
You vote for the same candidates. Whatever. Why
is that? It's because. Relationships are pressing
on you and forming you into something. Hey, it
could be good if they're good people. Good relationships
could be bad if they're bad relationships. The
people that you hang around with are determining
who you are becoming, right? The way that your
friends talk are pressing in on you. The way
that they behave is pressing in on you. Their
values are pressing in. Their priorities are
pressing in on you. Their attitudes press in
on you. Their decisions are pressing in on you.
And then finally, here's the last thing I want
to say that, you know, shaping us, you know.
Oh yeah, by the way, you might want to memorize
this proverb if you're thinking about your relationships.
Those who are wise walk with the wise, but a
companion of fools suffers harm, right? The people
you hang around with are affecting who you are
becoming. But the last piece that impacts your
formation, is what you might just call your environment.
As soon as you walk out of this church, you're
walking into a world that is full of... little
pinches. The world is constantly pinching you,
touching you, poking you, prodding you, trying
to change your ideas, trying to change your priorities,
right? You know, our environment around us, you
know, pinches us and say, you know, live this
way. It says, believe this way. It pinches you
here. Spend your money this way. Dress this way.
Behave this way. Talk this way. Whatever. You
know, the city of Mississauga is like a school.
And every time you walk out the door, the teacher
is teaching you. you. It's instructing you and
telling you how to live your life. I think actually
social media is probably its own environment.
How could it not be? Every minute of screen time
is pinching you. Every share, every like, every
snap, every follow, every sub. Hours and hours
a day. That's our environment. And you can bet
it's forming you into something. So, there you
got it. What are they? There are stories, habits,
relationships, and environment. They're all sculpting
us, forming us into a certain type of human being.
And over time, it's going to happen. You don't
even have to try. You just walk out the door.
It'll happen. Go about your day tomorrow, and
all these forces will be working on you, whether
you know it or not. And who's it turning you
into? And now you might freak out at this point
and say, oh my gosh, I can't let this happen.
I have to plug my ears so I don't hear the stories
of culture. I don't want that to happen to me.
And I have to tie my hands behind my back because
I don't want to get into bad habits. And I want
to turn away and shun all culture. And I'll turn
my back on my friends and all those relationships.
Maybe that's the way I can resist. Maybe that's
the way I can grow more like Jesus. But we already
talked about that. That doesn't work. The pot
can't form itself. It's not something you can
do. But here is something you can do. To all
the mud people, to all the clay creatures out
there, there is good news and here is the good
news. Even though you cannot defeat the powers
that form you, you can choose the person who
forms you. That is within your power. You can
make a decision today. To place yourself under
the hands of a different potter, of a different
sculptor, and let him go to work on you. And
that person, of course, I would say to you, needs
to be Jesus. Because here's the thing. Jesus
is not just a loving Savior. He is also... A
brilliant sculptor. And because Jesus knows that
things like stories and habits and culture and
all that stuff form us, guess what Jesus does?
First he says, hey, hey, hey, I know that stories,
I know that you guys love stories. Well, here,
he says, instead of being shaped by the stories
that culture teaches you, Jesus says, instead,
be shaped by my stories. Be shaped by my teaching.
Enough of the world stories. We've heard enough
of that junk. We're tired of having them pounded
into us. And Jesus says, let me pound into you
some new stories. And you guys know this, that
Jesus went around and he was always telling stories.
And in fact, it's shocking that in Matthew's
gospel, it says Jesus always used stories and
illustrations when he was speaking to the crowd.
It goes so far as to say he never spoke to them
without using these little parables and stories.
It's like Jesus says, I'm going to shape you
and I'm going to shape you by telling you stories.
You know, our world, for example, tells you a
story. The bigger is better. Jesus says, let
me tell you another story. It's a story about
the smallest seed, the smallest seed in the whole
wide world, but it grows into a great big bush
and all the birds of the land come and sit in
it. Now that is a different story. Or the world
would tell us that the more wealth you have,
the better you are. Jesus says, let me tell you
a different story. Let me show you something.
See this woman who just put two coins into the
treasury? It was all that she had. She gave away
everything she had, and yet she's the richest
person of them all. You get that story into you,
that is going to change the kind of person you
are becoming. Or Jesus might say, hey, the world
tells you it's really important that you've got
to hang out with the cool crowd. Jesus says,
let me tell you a parable. Let me tell you a
story about a guy who throws a party. invites
all the misfits, and he invites all the losers,
and it's the greatest party in the kingdom of
God, right? Let these stories pound into you,
right? And they are going to shape you into a
very different kind of person. Instead of being
deformed by the world's stories, you can be reformed
by Jesus' teachings. That means we have to, of
course, read the Bible. read the Bible to our
children, just really dive deep into the stories
of Jesus. Jesus is brilliant. He knows that's
how we learn, so that's how he teaches. But secondly,
he's so smart that he also knows We're so formed
by habits that he says, hey, let me teach you
a different kind of set of habits. We call these
habits spiritual practices. Okay, so spiritual
practices or spiritual disciplines are like different
kinds of habits. So for example, some of you
may have developed a really bad habit. You work
way too much. You're constantly working. So Jesus
says, let me teach you a habit. It's called Sabbath.
You take one day off every week and you just
delight in God and you rest. Try that habit on
for. starters. Or some of you have a really bad
habit and you wake up in the morning, the first
thing you do is you reach for your phone and
Jesus says, let me teach you a different habit.
It's called morning prayer, right? You see, he's
pulling us. He's pulling us. It's called morning
prayer. And you spend the first part of your
day actually praying to God and reading the Bible.
And that's a very different habit. That'll shape
the person you're becoming. Or some of us, you
know, for example, we're so concerned what other
people think of us. And so Jesus says, hey, listen,
get off social media. Let me teach you another
habit. It's called solitude. I want you to go
off by yourself every once in a while with no
one around you and leave your phone at home and
just listen and pray and remember who you really
are. Let me tell you who you really are. These
are the habits that take a lifetime to learn,
but they pull on us and they are going to shape
us day after day after day. All those bad habits
that deform us, these habits are going to transform
us. It's these spiritual disciplines. And by
the way, this Lent. As a whole church, what we're
going to be doing is building a rhythm of these
spiritual practices together. It's called a rule
of life. We'll talk more about that later. But
by working through this little pocket guide that
we're going to give all of you today as you make
your way out of church, it's... The idea is that
by the time we get to Easter, you will have created
your own little guide to how to live out these
spiritual habits and practices in a way that's
going to work for you and your schedule and your
life. Okay? The third thing, Jesus is so smart.
Jesus knows that we are formed by relationships.
So Jesus says, hey, let me give you a brand new
set of relationships. It's called Christian community.
Put yourself into this thing called the church.
Press yourself into Bible studies. Press yourself
into life groups. Not because these people are
perfect people. We're not perfect people. But
because it is actually impossible to be transformed
on your own. Jesus did not have a disciple. He
had disciples. Because it's in community, as
you press up against each other, that yes, your
imperfections get exposed. But your rough edges
get smoothed out. And it's together that you
learn to follow the way of Jesus. And lastly,
and lastly, Jesus knows that when you head out
into that environment out there, our city, our
neighbors, social media, they're all poking,
they're all prodding, they're all pinching us
into something. So Jesus says, let me give you
something that's going to change every single
environment you ever walk into. Let my Holy Spirit
go with you. Let my spirit fill you and it will
transform the entire world around you. Paul says,
walk habitually in the Holy Spirit. Seek him
and be responsive to his guidance. Let the Holy
Spirit be the thing that pinches you and prods
you and pokes you wherever you go. Walk in the
Spirit. Keep in step with the Spirit. And that
means no matter where you go in this city or
in this world, the Holy Spirit is going to go
with you. So, to all the Adama in the room, To
all the clay creatures, Jesus says, come under
my hands. Let me pound you. Let me pull you.
Let me press you. And let me pinch you into something
beautiful. And bit by bit, you are going to be
formed into the likeness of Jesus himself. Because
remember, the student, when it's fully trained,
will become like the teacher. This plot here
took like probably a week. For that sculptor
to make. But what we're talking about. That's
going to take a lifetime. But under his hands.
And day by day. Week by week. Year by year. Decade
by decade. Balls of clay. Become beautiful vases.
And dirt people. Mud women. Mud men. Clay creatures.
Become children of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.