WEBVTT 00:00:05.019 --> 00:00:07.540 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity 00:00:07.540 --> 00:00:10.679 Sermons. This week we are continuing our sermon 00:00:10.679 --> 00:00:13.539 series called This is the Way, where we're looking 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:16.179 at what it means to follow in the way of Jesus 00:00:16.179 --> 00:00:18.420 and what are some of the spiritual practices 00:00:18.420 --> 00:00:20.899 and habits that help us to be able to do that. 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:24.899 And the key word here is practice. We don't just 00:00:24.899 --> 00:00:27.940 become spiritual superstars overnight. We need 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:30.399 to work at it. We need to build habits into our 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:33.100 lives. And today, Rob is going to show us how 00:00:33.100 --> 00:00:36.659 Jesus emulates that for us and invites us into 00:00:36.659 --> 00:00:43.600 a life of practice with him. Today's reading 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:46.859 is from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1, verses 00:00:46.859 --> 00:00:52.039 35 to 39. Very early in the morning, while it 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:55.380 was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:58.479 and went off to a solitary place where he prayed. 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:02.619 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 00:01:02.700 --> 00:01:06.060 and when they found him, they exclaimed, Everyone 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:10.219 is looking for you. Jesus replied, Let us go 00:01:10.219 --> 00:01:13.659 somewhere else, to the nearby villages, so I 00:01:13.659 --> 00:01:17.140 can preach there also. That is why I have come. 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:21.140 So he traveled throughout the Galilee, preaching 00:01:21.140 --> 00:01:24.799 in their synagogues and driving out demons. The 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:28.870 word of the Lord. I was on the grade 10 basketball 00:01:28.870 --> 00:01:32.329 team of my... high school. And I have to tell 00:01:32.329 --> 00:01:35.849 you, every single player on that team was inspired 00:01:35.849 --> 00:01:39.650 and wanted to imitate and emulate Michael Jordan. 00:01:39.750 --> 00:01:44.349 We all wanted to be like Mike. And so we watched, 00:01:44.469 --> 00:01:46.709 you know, his every move. We watched his every 00:01:46.709 --> 00:01:49.049 game. We always tuned into like the highlights. 00:01:49.549 --> 00:01:52.409 And we tried to do all the things that, you know, 00:01:52.409 --> 00:01:54.129 Michael Jordan did that we thought were so cool. 00:01:54.250 --> 00:01:56.150 Like, so for example, you know, one of the things 00:01:56.150 --> 00:01:58.489 Jordan always did was he would always stick his 00:01:58.489 --> 00:02:01.390 tongue out when And he was like driving the ball 00:02:01.390 --> 00:02:05.489 to the net. And so, you know what? We decided 00:02:05.489 --> 00:02:07.629 we were going to stick our tongue out. And I 00:02:07.629 --> 00:02:09.509 must have looked totally ridiculous, but I stuck 00:02:09.509 --> 00:02:11.789 my tongue out as I went in for a layup, which 00:02:11.789 --> 00:02:14.189 I usually missed. But anyways, I had my tongue 00:02:14.189 --> 00:02:17.909 stuck out, just like Mike. And, you know, another 00:02:17.909 --> 00:02:22.389 thing that Michael Jordan used to do is he would 00:02:22.389 --> 00:02:25.460 chew gum. while he was playing basketball. And 00:02:25.460 --> 00:02:27.960 so, you know, because Jordan chewed gum, our 00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:29.680 whole team, you know, we started like chewing 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:32.240 gum too. But the coach had to like put an end 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:34.379 to it because the gum was like ending up all 00:02:34.379 --> 00:02:37.199 over the gym floor. It was sticking to people's 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:38.800 shoes. And it was probably because we had our 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:41.560 mouths open with our tongues sticking out that 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:44.159 the gum was ending up like that. But hey, it 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:46.500 didn't really matter, right? We were trying to 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:49.800 be like Mike. And we did kind of everything that 00:02:49.800 --> 00:02:51.680 we could. You know, we would look at, oh, look 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:53.719 at how we turned. Look at how. we shot that like 00:02:53.719 --> 00:02:56.879 turnaround baseline, you know, jumper, or look 00:02:56.879 --> 00:02:59.060 at how he passes, or look at how he dribbles, 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:03.219 or look at how he plays defense. And we all, 00:03:03.340 --> 00:03:05.759 we would even go and get like the Michael Jordan 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:07.759 jerseys, and we would get the Michael Jordan 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:09.300 sneakers, at least the people who could afford, 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:11.740 you know, Air Jordans and stuff like that. They 00:03:11.740 --> 00:03:18.039 would get all that. And now, the bad news. As 00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:22.710 much as we wanted to be like Mike, It just didn't 00:03:22.710 --> 00:03:27.330 work out. You know, as it turns out, no matter 00:03:27.330 --> 00:03:32.469 how hard we tried, we could never be like Mike. 00:03:33.370 --> 00:03:35.250 And, you know, I would say it's probably true 00:03:35.250 --> 00:03:38.650 for the millions and millions of other kids all 00:03:38.650 --> 00:03:40.750 around the world who saw this commercial and 00:03:40.750 --> 00:03:43.889 watched Michael Jordan play. And all those playgrounds 00:03:43.889 --> 00:03:48.169 and basketball courts, they copied all the moves 00:03:48.169 --> 00:03:52.419 of Michael Jordan. Did any of them? manage to 00:03:52.419 --> 00:03:54.960 be like Mike? And I think you know the answer. 00:03:55.060 --> 00:03:59.460 The answer is no, they didn't. With the exception 00:03:59.460 --> 00:04:01.560 of a few people who probably went on to basketball 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:05.500 greatness, but no. In fact, I would say to you 00:04:05.500 --> 00:04:10.659 that it is actually impossible to be like Mike 00:04:10.659 --> 00:04:16.259 just by trying to copy what Mike did in all of 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:20.889 his amazing highlight reels. And why is that? 00:04:21.029 --> 00:04:25.129 It is because underneath Michael Jordan's outstanding 00:04:25.129 --> 00:04:30.769 performance was a hidden life. discipline that 00:04:30.769 --> 00:04:34.709 almost nobody saw. I mean, Michael Jordan was 00:04:34.709 --> 00:04:39.550 so committed to the game of basketball. He lived 00:04:39.550 --> 00:04:43.670 a life of intense practice and intense preparation. 00:04:43.970 --> 00:04:46.889 He was up early, early in the mornings. He was 00:04:46.889 --> 00:04:50.790 up late at night. You know, he had personal trainers 00:04:50.790 --> 00:04:53.870 working him hard. He had workout regimens that 00:04:53.870 --> 00:04:58.310 were like strenuous. He ate a regulated diet. 00:04:59.019 --> 00:05:02.379 And he spent thousands and thousands and thousands 00:05:02.379 --> 00:05:06.740 of hours in the gym, right? Conditioning his 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:10.180 body, practicing his skills, right? Honing his 00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:13.920 talents, training his mind again and again and 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:18.540 again and again. He put his entire lifetime into 00:05:18.540 --> 00:05:23.399 this sport. In fact, back then there was an interview 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:26.959 with Jordan and he said, the game of basketball 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:32.029 has been Everything to me. Everything? Everything 00:05:32.029 --> 00:05:37.170 to me. So when you see those game -winning shots, 00:05:37.529 --> 00:05:40.389 when you see his incredible timing, when you 00:05:40.389 --> 00:05:43.949 see the way that he has this incredible athletic 00:05:43.949 --> 00:05:47.029 ability, we watch all those highlights and we 00:05:47.029 --> 00:05:51.029 love them. But what no one sees was the all -consuming 00:05:51.029 --> 00:05:55.350 way of life that made all of those highlights 00:05:55.350 --> 00:06:00.540 possible. So no. I was never able to be like 00:06:00.540 --> 00:06:05.100 Mike. I copied his looks, but I never copied 00:06:05.100 --> 00:06:09.500 his life. I tried to copy his performance, but 00:06:09.500 --> 00:06:14.319 I never copied his practice. I saw the highlights, 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:18.959 but I never saw the hidden life behind those 00:06:18.959 --> 00:06:23.060 highlights. Well, today, we're continuing this 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:25.100 teaching series we're doing throughout the season 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:27.379 of Lent called This is the Way. And basically 00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:30.259 all that we're asking during this month is what 00:06:30.259 --> 00:06:32.420 does it mean? What does it look like to follow 00:06:32.420 --> 00:06:35.759 the way of Jesus? I mean, Jesus invited us to 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:39.680 follow him. Jesus said, come and follow me. Okay, 00:06:39.740 --> 00:06:42.139 great. But what does that look like? How does 00:06:42.139 --> 00:06:44.879 one even begin to do that? And today I want to 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:47.360 get one important part of that. And that is in 00:06:47.360 --> 00:06:51.339 order to follow the way of Jesus, we have to 00:06:51.339 --> 00:06:54.220 practice. We have to practice. I've given you 00:06:54.220 --> 00:06:56.300 some teaching notes if you want to follow along 00:06:56.300 --> 00:06:58.480 in those. And we always have these teaching notes 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:00.779 available in our church app, Church Center 2. 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:02.740 And you can actually fill them in right there 00:07:02.740 --> 00:07:05.180 if you want. But the first thing I want to talk 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:11.000 about is inspiration. Inspiration. You see, there 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:13.000 is no doubt, yes, a lot of people wanted to be 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:15.139 like Mike. But I would dare say that most of 00:07:15.139 --> 00:07:17.279 us sitting here today, who we really want to 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:21.209 be like, is we want to be like Jesus. We are 00:07:21.209 --> 00:07:27.230 inspired by the life of Jesus, right? We see 00:07:27.230 --> 00:07:30.449 Jesus loving his enemies, and we say, I want 00:07:30.449 --> 00:07:33.870 to love my enemies like that. We see Jesus living 00:07:33.870 --> 00:07:36.810 without anxiety, and we say, I want to do that 00:07:36.810 --> 00:07:39.889 too. Or we see Jesus giving generously, and we 00:07:39.889 --> 00:07:42.410 say, I want to do that. We see Jesus forgiving 00:07:42.410 --> 00:07:46.060 freely. I want to do that too. Or Jesus sacrificing 00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:48.680 everything for others. And we say, you know what? 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:52.800 I am inspired. I want to do that too. And we 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:55.620 think, I want to be like Jesus, right? I want 00:07:55.620 --> 00:07:59.439 to do the things that Jesus did, right? You see, 00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:01.879 Jesus, he turned the other cheek. I'm going to 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:04.120 turn the other cheek. right jesus he went the 00:08:04.120 --> 00:08:06.860 second mile i'm gonna go the second mile jesus 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:10.740 loved his enemies i'm gonna love my enemies too 00:08:10.740 --> 00:08:13.800 and so we we get all revved up seeing these amazing 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:16.420 things jesus does and we close our bibles and 00:08:16.420 --> 00:08:18.639 we head out to do it or we hear all about it 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:20.220 on a sunday morning at church and we head out 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:22.180 the doors and we're ready to do it or we wake 00:08:22.180 --> 00:08:25.300 up in the morning and we put on our wwjd bracelet 00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:28.439 and we head out the doors and we are ready to 00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:32.000 be like jesus we're truly inspired by the life 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:38.279 of Jesus. And yet, time and time again, we fail. 00:08:39.559 --> 00:08:43.259 For all our inspiration, it's usually followed 00:08:43.259 --> 00:08:47.799 by frustration, because it turns out we can't 00:08:47.799 --> 00:08:51.980 do what Jesus did, right? I mean, we try to turn 00:08:51.980 --> 00:08:54.080 the other cheek, but we still find ourselves 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:57.120 getting angry all the time. We try to go to the 00:08:57.120 --> 00:08:59.360 second mile, but we always carry this resentment 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:03.259 that people are using us somehow. Or we try to 00:09:03.259 --> 00:09:06.360 love our enemies, but we fail and we fall again 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:09.059 and again and again and again. It's like, you 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:11.799 know, every time we have the chance to take the 00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:14.659 game -winning shot and do the things that Jesus 00:09:14.659 --> 00:09:17.279 did, do the amazing things Jesus did, but more 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:21.230 often than not, it just clangs off the rim. We 00:09:21.230 --> 00:09:25.009 try to do the miraculous, amazing kind of things 00:09:25.009 --> 00:09:27.529 that he does, but again, more often than not, 00:09:27.549 --> 00:09:30.629 we just keep throwing up brick after brick after 00:09:30.629 --> 00:09:35.029 brick. I mean, this is something I call highlight 00:09:35.029 --> 00:09:38.320 reel Christianity. Highlight reel Christianity, 00:09:38.779 --> 00:09:42.340 which is we want to do the amazing things Jesus 00:09:42.340 --> 00:09:45.679 did. And why not? Of course, Jesus said, hey, 00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:48.559 do what I do. Follow me. In fact, Jesus even 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:52.240 said, you will do greater things than the things 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:55.100 I did. That is absolutely amazing. And yet we 00:09:55.100 --> 00:09:59.379 come home time and time again, defeated and defeated 00:09:59.379 --> 00:10:03.240 and defeated. And that is when we usually have 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:07.279 a revelation. We realize at some point in our 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:09.139 life, and maybe for some of us, it might even 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:12.259 be today, that the reason that we can't do what 00:10:12.259 --> 00:10:15.139 Jesus did is because we don't see the hidden 00:10:15.139 --> 00:10:20.090 life underneath. of all of Jesus's incredible 00:10:20.090 --> 00:10:24.529 highlights of loving and healing and forgiving 00:10:24.529 --> 00:10:28.970 and sacrifice. Underneath all of that was a lifetime 00:10:28.970 --> 00:10:34.230 of practice and preparation that was mainly spent 00:10:34.230 --> 00:10:39.450 outside of the public eye. Jesus's entire life 00:10:39.450 --> 00:10:42.889 was a life of discipline, not athletic discipline, 00:10:43.110 --> 00:10:46.690 but spiritual discipline. His entire life was 00:10:46.690 --> 00:10:50.590 a life of practice. Again, not, you know, athletic 00:10:50.590 --> 00:10:54.389 practice, but spiritual practice, spiritual practices. 00:10:54.809 --> 00:10:57.389 And we need look no further than today's reading 00:10:57.389 --> 00:11:00.769 to see kind of what I'm talking about. Very early 00:11:00.769 --> 00:11:03.009 in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus 00:11:03.009 --> 00:11:06.190 got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary 00:11:06.190 --> 00:11:09.519 place, and there he prayed. And you'll probably 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:12.080 say, okay, Rob, what's the big deal? This isn't 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:14.080 that exciting of a passage. Why did you highlight 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:16.539 that one, right? And we don't see Jesus doing 00:11:16.539 --> 00:11:19.279 anything miraculous here. We don't see, you know, 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:22.100 any great sermons being preached here. We don't 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:25.720 see crowds gathering around Jesus. All it says 00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:28.220 is that, you know, Jesus just got up early and 00:11:28.220 --> 00:11:32.379 he went to this quiet place and he prayed. Exactly. 00:11:33.820 --> 00:11:37.970 That's the point. Jesus rolled out of bed that 00:11:37.970 --> 00:11:40.330 morning. And maybe he splashed his face with 00:11:40.330 --> 00:11:42.830 some water. He put on some clothes. And then 00:11:42.830 --> 00:11:47.730 he went down to his spiritual gym. Right? And 00:11:47.730 --> 00:11:54.230 there he did a spiritual workout. You see, somewhere 00:11:54.230 --> 00:11:57.409 along the way, Jesus had developed this habit. 00:11:57.490 --> 00:12:00.830 Early mornings, quiet places, prayer, scripture, 00:12:01.110 --> 00:12:04.700 meditation. And he did it over and over and over 00:12:04.700 --> 00:12:06.919 again. The highlights, yeah, they were going 00:12:06.919 --> 00:12:11.419 to come later. But the training came first. Or 00:12:11.419 --> 00:12:15.279 just a little earlier, just before this reading, 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:18.460 Jesus spends 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness, 00:12:18.620 --> 00:12:22.799 fasting and praying. He had not preached a single 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:26.360 sermon yet, done one miracle yet. He had not 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:30.080 yet healed one sick person. Those highlights. 00:12:30.700 --> 00:12:36.500 would come later. The training came first. Our 00:12:36.500 --> 00:12:39.559 mistake is to think that we can do the things 00:12:39.559 --> 00:12:42.639 that Jesus did without putting in the work that 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:46.110 Jesus did. Just like Michael Jordan had all these 00:12:46.110 --> 00:12:48.549 routines and all these habits that built skill 00:12:48.549 --> 00:12:53.029 and strength, so too in the spiritual life. You 00:12:53.029 --> 00:12:55.789 read the gospels and you will see Jesus had this 00:12:55.789 --> 00:12:58.669 regimen. He had this pattern of his life. He 00:12:58.669 --> 00:13:01.110 had all these practice sessions. He withdrew 00:13:01.110 --> 00:13:03.909 to quiet places. He prayed. He read the scriptures. 00:13:04.149 --> 00:13:08.009 He kept the Sabbath. He fasted. He did community 00:13:08.009 --> 00:13:10.669 with a group of other people. That was his gym 00:13:10.669 --> 00:13:14.299 routine. These were his practices. And if we 00:13:14.299 --> 00:13:17.179 want to avoid the problem and failures that come 00:13:17.179 --> 00:13:20.519 along with highlight reel Christianity and actually 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:23.799 be like Jesus, we are going to need to adopt 00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:29.100 the practices of Jesus. We can't just step onto 00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:33.200 the court and hope that we can somehow pull off 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:37.379 the game -winning shot. And we can't just go 00:13:37.379 --> 00:13:40.940 step into life and hope that, oh, I'm going to 00:13:40.940 --> 00:13:42.740 be able to forgive that person who hurt me. I'm 00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:44.639 going to be able to bless these people around 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:46.080 me. I'm going to be able to grow spiritually. 00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:49.240 Because in that moment, you are trying to accomplish 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:52.440 a spiritual feat that actually takes a lifetime 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:57.460 of training to develop. We are trying to do in 00:13:57.460 --> 00:14:02.000 a moment what can only be formed in us over years 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:06.860 of practice. It's like the old saying goes, the 00:14:06.860 --> 00:14:11.840 road to hell is paved with what? Good intentions, 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:15.279 right? We all intend well. We all want to do 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:19.100 these things, but we can't because we miss the 00:14:19.100 --> 00:14:23.679 big picture, the life of Jesus. was not just 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:26.480 a series of dramatic moments, one after the other. 00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:29.120 No, no, no. It was all built on a hidden life 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:32.700 of practice. Now, let's talk about what we mean 00:14:32.700 --> 00:14:36.080 when we talk about practice. Spiritual practices 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:41.399 are the training routines of Jesus that build 00:14:41.399 --> 00:14:46.059 spiritual muscle over time. And that's a really... 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:48.039 important definition. Let me go through it bit 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:50.320 by bit. First of all, they are training routines. 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:53.299 These things are not things you just do once 00:14:53.299 --> 00:14:56.779 or do every now and again. They are habits. They 00:14:56.779 --> 00:14:59.840 are rhythms of your life that you do over and 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:03.879 over and over again. Secondly, these practices 00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:06.860 are based on the lifestyle of Jesus. These are... 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:10.639 the exact things that we see jesus himself doing 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:13.600 in the scriptures over and over and over again 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:15.159 so we're not pulling them out of the blue these 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:19.440 are things jesus did and thirdly they're spiritual 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:22.179 in nature and this is really important because 00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:25.139 doing these practices isn't a way of us summoning 00:15:25.139 --> 00:15:27.940 up strength of our own to become better at living 00:15:27.940 --> 00:15:31.399 our lives no no no They're a way of accessing 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:34.399 the Spirit's power in our life. And these practices 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:38.759 invite the Holy Spirit into us to do amazing 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:42.919 work in us so that actually we begin to be able 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:46.220 to change over time, right? They're spiritual. 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:50.080 And then fourthly, these practices work over 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:53.259 time, not overnight, right? If you go to the 00:15:53.259 --> 00:15:56.039 gym once, you're probably not going to have a 00:15:56.039 --> 00:15:58.419 lot to show for it except for soreness the next 00:15:58.419 --> 00:16:01.879 morning. But if you go every day, you will have 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:05.720 something to show for it. If you decide this 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:09.120 week you're going to practice Sabbath once, you 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:11.980 may not feel that it did anything for you. But 00:16:11.980 --> 00:16:15.360 if Sabbath becomes a regular part of your weekly 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:18.860 routine, it will begin to transform you from 00:16:18.860 --> 00:16:23.460 the inside out. Now, there are various practices 00:16:23.460 --> 00:16:26.350 out there. Dozens and dozens of them, right? 00:16:26.429 --> 00:16:29.389 If you read Richard Foster, he has a list of 00:16:29.389 --> 00:16:33.490 12. If you read Kenneth Boah, he has a list of 00:16:33.490 --> 00:16:35.809 20. Some say there's eight. Some say there's 00:16:35.809 --> 00:16:39.490 10. Some say there's 11. There really is no one 00:16:39.490 --> 00:16:43.129 definitive list of the spiritual practices. But 00:16:43.129 --> 00:16:46.210 here at Trinity, we have adopted a list of nine. 00:16:46.509 --> 00:16:49.909 And the reason we've adopted these nine is because 00:16:49.909 --> 00:16:53.289 they are the very same nine that are used in 00:16:53.289 --> 00:16:54.779 this great video. video curriculum we've been 00:16:54.779 --> 00:16:56.559 using, including the curriculum we're using right 00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:58.600 now for the prayer course, this curriculum put 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:02.000 out by Practicing the Way. And we like these 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:04.960 nine. And here they are. Prayer, scripture, and 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:10.259 solitude. Sabbath, fasting, and community. Service, 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:14.289 generosity, and witness. You know when you walk 00:17:14.289 --> 00:17:15.769 into the gym and you see all these different 00:17:15.769 --> 00:17:17.410 machines? Oh, there's a treadmill over there. 00:17:17.450 --> 00:17:18.970 There's the elliptical over there. There's the 00:17:18.970 --> 00:17:21.349 assault bike over there. There's the rower. There's 00:17:21.349 --> 00:17:22.750 the freeway. It's over there. All these different 00:17:22.750 --> 00:17:24.950 machines you can go and use. I want you to think 00:17:24.950 --> 00:17:27.650 of this as walking into a spiritual gym, and 00:17:27.650 --> 00:17:29.490 these are all the different spiritual machines 00:17:29.490 --> 00:17:33.630 you can work out on. And you'll actually, as 00:17:33.630 --> 00:17:36.690 you work out on them, you become more like Jesus. 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:39.079 right and you'll recognize them because they're 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:42.059 the same nine that are found in the little pocket 00:17:42.059 --> 00:17:44.480 guide that we're using all through lent right 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:47.079 as we try to figure out together how we can develop 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:49.680 a workout regimen in these spiritual practices 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:53.039 and if we don't train in this way if we don't 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:55.339 we are always going to be just like kids on a 00:17:55.339 --> 00:17:57.660 playground we're kind of fooling around and we're 00:17:57.660 --> 00:17:59.759 you know we're doing all these trick shots and 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:02.019 circus shots and and maybe oh baby sometimes 00:18:02.019 --> 00:18:05.319 they go in yay for us right but i'll tell you 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:07.720 a lifetime of learning how to turn the other 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:09.700 cheek or how to go the second mile or how to 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:13.740 love our enemies. You cannot just do that on 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:16.740 the spot. You can't, you can't, right? And the 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:19.839 kind of person who can do that on the spot is 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:23.279 a person who has been working at this and spent 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:27.259 countless hours in the spiritual gym practicing 00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:31.289 this. Now, there is a danger in how I've been 00:18:31.289 --> 00:18:33.450 presenting this so far to you this morning. And 00:18:33.450 --> 00:18:35.690 the danger is, because I'm talking about Michael 00:18:35.690 --> 00:18:38.910 Jordan, who is a superstar and perhaps the greatest 00:18:38.910 --> 00:18:41.390 basketball player who ever lived, you're going 00:18:41.390 --> 00:18:43.849 to think, oh, this stuff is only for experts. 00:18:44.069 --> 00:18:46.670 This is only for religious professionals like 00:18:46.670 --> 00:18:50.490 monks or nuns or seminarians or clergy or something 00:18:50.490 --> 00:18:54.910 like that. But that is not true whatsoever. Richard 00:18:54.910 --> 00:18:57.730 Foster, who wrote a book called Celebration of 00:18:57.730 --> 00:19:00.950 Discipline, he writes this, God intends spiritual 00:19:00.950 --> 00:19:05.490 practices to be for ordinary human beings, people 00:19:05.490 --> 00:19:08.029 who have jobs, people who care for children, 00:19:08.190 --> 00:19:12.849 who wash dishes and mow lawns. In other words, 00:19:12.869 --> 00:19:15.470 you do not have to be a spiritual Michael Jordan 00:19:15.470 --> 00:19:17.970 to embrace these practices. They're for ordinary 00:19:17.970 --> 00:19:21.410 people. They're for ordinary lives like yours 00:19:21.410 --> 00:19:26.680 and mine. Now, I'm anticipating there's a question 00:19:26.680 --> 00:19:29.759 that's kind of buried in your minds right now. 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:32.039 And the question is, Rob, I don't get it. Okay, 00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:35.160 tell me, Rob, please, how does this formation 00:19:35.160 --> 00:19:39.460 actually work, right? Because how does me learning 00:19:39.460 --> 00:19:43.920 how to pray help me, say, forgive someone who's 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:46.880 hurt me? What's the connection? Or how does Sabbath 00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:50.359 help me overcome my problem with anxiety? Or 00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:53.740 how does reading the Bible, you know, help me 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:56.180 to conquer some of these big fears I have in 00:19:56.180 --> 00:19:58.799 my life? What is the connection? How does practicing 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:03.059 those little things enable me to conquer these 00:20:03.059 --> 00:20:07.039 bigger things in my life? That is the secret 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:10.519 of spiritual practices, right? The little things 00:20:10.519 --> 00:20:16.519 we can do train us for the big things we can't. 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:20.380 Do you guys remember the Karate Kid? movie. Remember 00:20:20.380 --> 00:20:24.920 Karate Kid, the original? Mr. Miyagi. Mr. Miyagi 00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:27.920 is training Daniel in how to do karate. And Daniel's 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:29.980 really frustrated because so far the training 00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:32.000 looks like this. Mr. Miyagi says, hey, Daniel, 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:36.319 wax my car. Wax on, wax off. Wax on, wax off. 00:20:36.359 --> 00:20:38.940 All day long. Wax on, wax off. Or paint the fence, 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:41.299 Daniel. Paint the fence. Paint the fence. Paint 00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:44.160 the fence. Paint the fence. Or, you know, sand 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:47.000 the floor, Daniel. Sand the floor. And Daniel 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:50.349 gets... so frustrated with this approach. He 00:20:50.349 --> 00:20:53.529 says, you know, how is this going to enable me 00:20:53.529 --> 00:20:57.849 to learn karate? But later, he realizes that 00:20:57.849 --> 00:21:02.910 those small, repetitive movements have been training 00:21:02.910 --> 00:21:07.150 his muscles all along, and he didn't realize 00:21:07.150 --> 00:21:09.970 it. The practice did not look like the fight, 00:21:10.089 --> 00:21:14.390 okay? But the practice prepared him for the fight. 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:17.240 You see, and the same is true of Michael Jordan, 00:21:17.339 --> 00:21:19.880 right? Michael Jordan didn't spend all his time 00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:23.180 in the gym practicing his turnaround fadeaway 00:21:23.180 --> 00:21:25.660 three -pointers or his, you know, behind the 00:21:25.660 --> 00:21:28.839 back loop -de -loop reverse dunks. No, no, no. 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:33.279 He did drills. He did strength training. He looked 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:35.440 at the X's and O's of the game. He trained his 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:39.940 mind. He developed a muscle memory. right? And 00:21:39.940 --> 00:21:42.579 though those drills didn't look like they had 00:21:42.579 --> 00:21:45.200 anything to do with the big moments that we celebrate, 00:21:45.500 --> 00:21:48.319 those are the very things that made those big 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:52.200 moments possible. Spiritual formation works in 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:55.359 the same way. When we practice prayer or scripture 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:58.640 or Sabbath or generosity or community or whatever, 00:21:58.900 --> 00:22:02.700 it doesn't seem like, how is this going to help 00:22:02.700 --> 00:22:05.359 me solve, say, my anger problems? Or how is this 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:07.079 going to help me deal with these addictions I'm 00:22:07.079 --> 00:22:09.720 wrestling with that I just can't seem to shake? 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:13.019 What's the connection? But remember, over time, 00:22:13.369 --> 00:22:17.549 These practices are shaping us. They're accessing 00:22:17.549 --> 00:22:21.829 the Holy Spirit's power in our life. So much 00:22:21.829 --> 00:22:25.450 so that almost without us even noticing it, we 00:22:25.450 --> 00:22:29.609 do become the kind of people who can actually 00:22:29.609 --> 00:22:34.559 forgive after all. I can do this. Or people who 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:37.680 can resist temptations and do away with their 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:41.160 addictions. I can do that. I can do this now 00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:44.059 with the Spirit working in me, right? The little 00:22:44.059 --> 00:22:50.099 things we can do train us for the big things 00:22:50.099 --> 00:22:56.660 we can't. Now, just in case, I just want to make 00:22:56.660 --> 00:23:00.019 a few clarifications. And the first is this. 00:23:00.450 --> 00:23:03.269 The praxis are not about the mechanics, right? 00:23:03.509 --> 00:23:06.230 It's not about just going through the motions. 00:23:06.309 --> 00:23:07.730 And if you somehow just go through the motions, 00:23:07.789 --> 00:23:09.210 everything's going to work out for you. Last 00:23:09.210 --> 00:23:11.670 week, Kristen told us, she said, lots of people 00:23:11.670 --> 00:23:13.430 are very faithful in their church attendance 00:23:13.430 --> 00:23:15.750 and they read their Bibles regularly. And then 00:23:15.750 --> 00:23:17.890 they go into the world and they do. all manner 00:23:17.890 --> 00:23:20.670 of horrible things and so in the spiritual life 00:23:20.670 --> 00:23:24.890 your inner attitude matters far more than your 00:23:24.890 --> 00:23:27.309 outer actions right the goal is not simply for 00:23:27.309 --> 00:23:29.569 you to do the practices there i did it check 00:23:29.569 --> 00:23:32.190 no the goal is for you to become more like jesus 00:23:32.190 --> 00:23:34.730 and that's not happening you're doing something 00:23:34.730 --> 00:23:37.369 wrong right you let's say you're you're fasting 00:23:37.369 --> 00:23:39.910 and so you practiced your fast down to the t 00:23:39.910 --> 00:23:41.829 you've got it exactly the way the book you're 00:23:41.829 --> 00:23:44.349 reading tells you you ought to do it but guess 00:23:44.349 --> 00:23:47.140 what It's not making you a more loving person. 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:50.400 It's not making you more Christ -like. Well, 00:23:50.440 --> 00:23:53.170 then something... has gone wrong right it's not 00:23:53.170 --> 00:23:54.990 about the mechanics it's about what's going on 00:23:54.990 --> 00:23:57.690 inside and secondly it's also not about bragging 00:23:57.690 --> 00:24:01.049 if if you're doing your spiritual practices and 00:24:01.049 --> 00:24:03.029 your spiritual workout it's like you know you 00:24:03.029 --> 00:24:04.970 don't go up to somebody and like do a pose down 00:24:04.970 --> 00:24:07.430 right in front of them to show off all your muscles 00:24:07.430 --> 00:24:10.289 right to brag about how fit you are no no no 00:24:10.289 --> 00:24:13.390 and you don't start looking down on other christians 00:24:13.390 --> 00:24:16.690 and say oh i i i fast and i read my bible every 00:24:16.690 --> 00:24:19.009 day and i've never missed a sunday at church 00:24:19.009 --> 00:24:21.819 and i i'm not like these wannabe since I'm the 00:24:21.819 --> 00:24:26.220 real deal. I mean, if you ever start finding 00:24:26.220 --> 00:24:29.240 that you're looking down on others because, oh, 00:24:29.339 --> 00:24:32.039 you've got such a disciplined life now, then 00:24:32.039 --> 00:24:35.039 my goodness, you have completely missed the point. 00:24:35.099 --> 00:24:38.599 That is not what this is about at all. And finally, 00:24:38.740 --> 00:24:42.700 it is also not about earning. And I've actually 00:24:42.700 --> 00:24:46.039 heard a few of you... expressed to me already 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:48.700 over the last few weeks that you're a little 00:24:48.700 --> 00:24:50.339 worried with some of the language that you're 00:24:50.339 --> 00:24:51.960 hearing in this series you're hearing me say 00:24:51.960 --> 00:24:55.599 things like practice and and discipline and training 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:58.400 and what it sounds like to you is that i'm saying 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:00.660 something like hey if you try real hard if you 00:25:00.660 --> 00:25:03.400 work real hard that god will accept you and god 00:25:03.400 --> 00:25:06.299 will love you and you you say but rob i thought 00:25:06.299 --> 00:25:08.579 we were saved by grace i thought it was christ's 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:10.500 sacrifice on the cross that actually saved us 00:25:10.500 --> 00:25:13.319 not all of our hard work rob what is going on 00:25:13.319 --> 00:25:16.589 here and i want to say, yes, of course. Please 00:25:16.589 --> 00:25:19.230 don't call the bishop. Just don't call the bishop 00:25:19.230 --> 00:25:23.150 on me, right? Let me assure you, the practices 00:25:23.150 --> 00:25:26.690 do not earn your salvation. Our salvation, our 00:25:26.690 --> 00:25:31.970 hope, it rests solely in God's amazing grace 00:25:31.970 --> 00:25:35.150 showed to us through the life, death, and resurrection 00:25:35.150 --> 00:25:42.130 of Jesus, right? Nothing else saves us. But, 00:25:43.400 --> 00:25:47.339 As Dallas Willard famously said, God's grace 00:25:47.339 --> 00:25:50.980 isn't opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning, 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:52.920 but it's not opposed to effort, which is another 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:55.240 way of saying, yes, of course, we don't earn 00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:57.359 our way into God's family. That's all grace. 00:25:57.480 --> 00:26:01.220 But we do have to work at it and figure out how 00:26:01.220 --> 00:26:05.819 to live in God's family. That takes some effort. 00:26:05.900 --> 00:26:08.180 We don't practice these things in order to be 00:26:08.180 --> 00:26:10.799 accepted. We practice them in order to become 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:16.380 more like the one who has accepted us. So there 00:26:16.380 --> 00:26:19.460 you go. And that brings me to the last thing 00:26:19.460 --> 00:26:22.740 I want to say to you this morning. And that is 00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:28.559 an invitation. This Lent, Jesus is inviting you. 00:26:28.619 --> 00:26:30.940 And Jesus is inviting me to step into the gym 00:26:30.940 --> 00:26:35.009 of the spiritual life. And to begin again and 00:26:35.009 --> 00:26:39.250 to work up a spiritual sweat to stop living as 00:26:39.250 --> 00:26:42.950 highlight real Christians and to actually start 00:26:42.950 --> 00:26:45.349 practicing the disciplines that Jesus himself 00:26:45.349 --> 00:26:47.789 practiced, that Christians down through the ages 00:26:47.789 --> 00:26:50.529 of practice, and that all of us must practice 00:26:50.529 --> 00:26:52.730 if we're ever going to have a chance of actually 00:26:52.730 --> 00:26:56.329 living like Jesus and following him as his disciples. 00:26:56.650 --> 00:26:58.890 And again, I just want to stress, this is an 00:26:58.890 --> 00:27:03.319 invitation for... everyone in in jesus spiritual 00:27:03.319 --> 00:27:06.220 gym there are no expensive membership fees you 00:27:06.220 --> 00:27:09.819 know nobody is excluded anyone can join and it's 00:27:09.819 --> 00:27:12.480 not just for the the spiritual superstars out 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:15.480 there anyone can join anyone right and i know 00:27:15.480 --> 00:27:18.259 what it's like when you walk into a gym and you 00:27:18.259 --> 00:27:19.880 look around you see all these people who look 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:22.519 so much more fit than you and you say to yourself 00:27:22.519 --> 00:27:25.359 oh i don't belong here i i'm not as strong as 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:27.160 these other people and maybe you're tempted to 00:27:27.160 --> 00:27:30.500 go walk right back out the door but don't think 00:27:30.500 --> 00:27:32.819 that for a second, not in the spiritual life, 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:35.720 no way, right? Thomas Merton, this spiritual 00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:37.960 master, once said, when it comes to spiritual 00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:42.519 practices, we will never be anything but beginners 00:27:42.519 --> 00:27:49.529 our whole lives. And yeah, as you try to... develop 00:27:49.529 --> 00:27:51.109 a life of practice, you're going to screw up. 00:27:51.170 --> 00:27:52.769 You're going to make mistakes, and someday it'll 00:27:52.769 --> 00:27:54.750 feel like you're not getting anywhere. And other 00:27:54.750 --> 00:27:56.730 days, it'll feel like, yeah, you know what? I 00:27:56.730 --> 00:27:59.289 feel like God is doing something in me. It takes 00:27:59.289 --> 00:28:01.509 some ups and downs. You know, Michael Jordan 00:28:01.509 --> 00:28:04.190 himself said, I've never been afraid to fail. 00:28:04.809 --> 00:28:07.390 He said, I've missed more than 9 ,000 shots in 00:28:07.390 --> 00:28:12.420 my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times 00:28:12.420 --> 00:28:15.079 they put the ball in my hands, trusting me to 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:18.000 take the game -winning shot, and I missed. I 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:21.339 failed over and over and over again in my life, 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:29.819 and that is why I succeed. Failure is part of 00:28:29.819 --> 00:28:33.759 the training. So yeah, nobody becomes like Mike 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:39.460 by watching him on TV. And nobody becomes like 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:43.380 Jesus. just by admiring his amazing highlights 00:28:43.380 --> 00:28:46.880 either. No, we have to actually go back to the 00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:51.539 gym, back to the way of practicing like Jesus 00:28:51.539 --> 00:28:53.880 practiced. And again, it's not about trying harder. 00:28:53.980 --> 00:28:56.880 It's not about earning anything. It's just about 00:28:56.880 --> 00:29:00.960 developing a hidden life of discipline in your 00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:03.920 routine, because that is where the transformation 00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:06.900 happens. And it happens slowly, and it happens 00:29:06.900 --> 00:29:10.980 quietly, and it happens over time. But little 00:29:10.980 --> 00:29:18.299 by little, we will become people who can do, 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:22.279 believe it or not, the things that Jesus did. 00:29:22.420 --> 00:29:27.980 And as Jesus said, even greater things than that. 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:35.829 So thanks be to God. Amen. Thanks for tuning 00:29:35.829 --> 00:29:38.309 in to this week's episode of Trinity Sermons. 00:29:38.309 --> 00:29:41.730 This sermon was recorded at Trinity Church Streetsville 00:29:41.730 --> 00:29:45.990 in Mississauga, Ontario on March 8th, 2026.