That Christ would be formed in you
Notes
Transcript
New Year’s resolutions?
New Year’s resolutions?
We have just entered into the month of March
Just two months of the year are finished
How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions?
Here are a few crazy and absurd New Years resolutions that I read online
Hopefully none of these are your own personal resolutions
Resolution to stop eating dirt
Resolution to use my gym card more often (many can relate to that)
Resolution to order every drink on the starbucks menu (could be expensive)
Resolution to stop drinking your morning coffee after you brush your teeth
Resolution to stop blaming my farts on the dog
Resolution Learn the thriller dance by halloween
Resolution to stop procrastinating, but not today
Most of these resolutions are meaning less and will have no impact on your life
Some positive resolutions that I read that could actually change your well-being
Resolution to build a better budget
Resolution to read more books
Resolution to a healthier sleep routine (that means turning off Netflix and going to bed before 2am)
Resolution to quit smoking
Resolution to learn to love vegetables (that will never be me)
Resolution to take the stairs
While these resolutions may change your physical health or your relationships
I have a resolution that will change your life
And even though we are already two months into the year
It is not too late to make this resolution
Galatians 4:19 “my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!”
Paul had a resolution for Christ to be formed in the Galatians
This is what I long for us this morning
Here is the resolution I’m asking us to make: “We resolve to have Christ formed in us this year.”
What is formed in us is a result of how we have allowed ourselves to be formed.
If we have allowed external pressures or even internal complacency to shape our lives
than we might be distracted and drawn away from the example of Christ
On the contrary when we have accepted forgiveness for our sins
Are fed and filled by his word
And are walking in a constant relationship with Him
Than we are allowing Christ to form us and shape us into who He desires us to be
Looking at the example of pottery
Pottery has dual purposes, it is both an art as well as a craft to provide something useful
In his book worship and witness, Vernon whaley says
“It’s no wonder, then, that the Bible frequently uses pottery to illustrate the spiritual formation of both individuals and communities. After all, we as human beings are raw and filthy in our sin, but we’re also created in the image of God and possess the potential for beauty. In His wisdom God provides many tools and methods for shaping us into His image and making us useful for His purposes.”
We are called to be jars of clay
2 Corinthian 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
In order to be made into these jars of clay though it involves a process
A process of digging, poking, prodding, often involves being uncomfortable
A process of faith
A faith in who God is, what He has done and how He is always faithful
Sermons from John Piper (1980–1989) O, that Christ Would Be Formed in You!
Faith is a happy resting in the all-sufficiency of what Christ did on the cross, what he is doing now in our heart, and what he promises to do for us for ever.
In Galatians 4:12-20 we see how the Galatians who had started so strong in the things of the faith,
Have given in to the pressures from the Judaizers and they so quickly abandon the faith in God they once had.
Let’s read Galatians 4:12-20
Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
The way that the Galatians were living and the rejection that they showed towards Paul
Caused Paul to question the validity of their faith in the first place
As we saw last week in Galatians 4:11 “I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.”
Paul was unsure that he had been successful in converting the Galatians hearts
But the reality was that the Galatians had not allowed their hearts to be formed by Christ
What is formed in us is a result of how we have allowed ourselves to be formed.
So in order to have Christ formed in us
We have to look at three things this morning
1. We must understand HOW Christ can be formed in us.
We can see how Christ is formed in us by looking at the example of Paul and how he lived his life
Galatians 4:12-15 “Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.”
God is our potter and He is forming and shaping the details of our lives
Details that we may not even be aware of
So that we might take on the mind of Christ
We must be sure to be aware of those opportunities and respond in faith
God gave those same opportunities to Paul
Paul had a sickness and visited the Galatians because of this sickness
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
What was this ailment that came across Paul?
Possibly Malaria, Epilepsy, or even a serious eye disorder
Whatever the ailment was it is not made clear here
What is made clear is that Paul believed that it was a part of God’s plan
Paul continues on in Corinthians
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Sometimes God uses our suffering to change our circumstances for His glory.
Other times he uses our suffering to change our character.
So that we might become completely dependent on who He is.
As one commentary puts it
“Time and again God has used the adversities of life—sickness, persecution, poverty, even natural disasters and inexplicable tragedies—as occasions to display his mercy and grace and as a means to advance the gospel.”
Being formed in Christ takes faith in the understanding that when we are weak, we can only be found strong through Him
We must never be complacent where we are at in our relationship with Christ.
Complacency never allows growth
And Paul is telling us that we must continue to grow to be formed in Christ
We must remember that
What is formed in us is a result of how we have allowed ourselves to be formed.
There are many things that are going to try to pull our attention away from Christ
I try every morning to make time to be with the Lord
To continue to form healthy habits of spending time with Him
So often Satan will try to use things that seem like good things draw or distract me away from forming myself in Christ
There are mornings when I am sitting doing my devotions before going into work
All is quiet in the house
When suddenly Marshall will poke his head around the corner of the wall
Smiling of course
Which makes it so much harder to be stern
While I will of course take care of my son it is something that can pull me away from my focus on being with the Lord
Paul was able to plead with the Galatians to become like him because Paul had allowed himself to be formed by Christ.
Allowing Christ to be formed in us gives Him all the glory
Giving God all the glory often involves tearing down our own pride
John Piper calls pride the fundamental stumbling block to Christian faith
Jesus says in John 5:44 “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
We cannot boast in our own strength or our own doing
We can only boast in the saving power of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross
Faith is a resting in the peace of the gospel
Faith is an assurance as we just sang about of what God can do through our lives
Far greater things than we can do on our own
The fact that we don’t have to fight the battles on our own but we can trust
In the sovereign work of Christ
Should provide that assurance in our hearts.
Sermons from John Piper (1980–1989) (O, that Christ Would Be Formed in You!)
Therefore, in one sense saving faith is the easiest thing in the world—as easy as being clay in the potter’s hands. But in another sense it is the hardest thing in the world, because human clay hates being shaped and formed by Christ so that he gets all the glory for what we become.
In order for us as human clay to be shaped by Christ we must give Him all of the glory
We must trust Him completely
How is Christ formed in our life?
By our faith
In order to be formed by Christ
We must remember
What is formed in us is a result of how we have allowed ourselves to be formed.
To have Christ to be formed in us we must begin with an understanding of HOW Christ can be formed in us
But we must also understand there is more
We must reach the point of a confession
In the 12 step program which many of you are familiar with
Step 1 is
We must admit we are powerless over our problems
2. We must be submissive to Christ to be formed by Christ
Submitting to Christ demonstrates that we know that we have no control over our own problems
We cannot perform this transformation on our own and ultimately we need the saving power of the gospel in our lives
Many of us have already admitted that we are powerless and that we need Christ
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Titus 3:4-7 “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Pastor Greg just talked about last week the inheritance that we have through Christ
If you have not yet admitted to the Lord that you have no control and that you need the change in your life that only He can bring
I encourage you to turn to Jesus for help and will give you that opportunity later in the service
However, for those who have already found Jesus
Paul tells us that JUST finding Him as our savior is not enough
We must be completely formed by Christ
The Galatians had found Christ through the witness of Paul
But now Paul was encouraging them to be submissive and allow Christ to be formed in them
Galatians 4:14-18 “and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you,”
Paul was amazed that the Galatians had received him as “an angel of God, as Christ Jesus”
The Galatians did not question what he said or even how he looked.
They believed that he was God’s messenger.
Why?
Because they saw the truth of the gospel as through Pauls passion for the gospel
It convinced them.
It began to form them.
It satisfied them.
The Galatians responded so strongly in favor of the gospel that they were willing to pluck out their own eyes to help their brother
The Galatians were so passionate for the word of God as taught by the Apostle Paul that they were willing to make a sacrifice so great
So what happened to this passion?
The Galatians had not completely submitted to God
The Galatian believers had fallen temptation to the heresy of the law as presented by the Judaizers
They called themselves by God’s name,
but they refused to obey His will or come to Him in faith to have their sins forgiven.
The Galatians refused to submit to the will of God and allow Christ to be formed in them
John MacArthur puts it this way “Just as there is great rejoicing in heaven when even one sinner turns to the Lord (Luke 15:7), there is also great heartbreak in heaven when even one believer sinfully turns away from Him.
The implication is that on a second trip to Galatia by Paul
some of the church members there had already come under the influence of the Judaizers
and had begun to doubt the truth of salvation by faith alone,
which they had learned and accepted from him
The Galatians were unwilling to submit
Have we submitted completely to Christ?
In examining our own spiritual condition, have we been formed by Christ by becoming submissive to his working
For some of us we may be so passionate about the word of God that we are ready to submit completely to Christ.
For others it may have been a long time since we felt that fire and excitement for what God has done.
If we think back on our own transformation and formational story
Has our passion for the gospel changed?
Was there a time when we felt ready to completely surrender everything back to Him?
Were we willing to allow Him to take control of our lives and shape every detail for His glory?
God does not want us to be complacent in our faith towards Him
He extends his grace and his blessings towards us.
In order to receive his forgiveness we must not only confess our sins but be willing to be formed by the potters hands
Sermons from John Piper (1980–1989) O, that Christ Would Be Formed in You!
the Spirit of the living Christ can be poured into us afresh today. Paul would not have written this letter if there were no hope for the Galatians. Therefore, I urge you, take your amateur hands off the clay of your life and yield yourselves into the sovereign hands of God.
The Psalmist reminds us that we are powerless over our own problems
that we must become submissive to His working
And that we must surrender our pride for His glory
Psalm 115:1 “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”
We must become submissive to the working of Christ in order to allow Christ to be formed in us
You can be formed by Christ when we remember
What is formed in us is a result of how we have allowed ourselves to be formed.
So therefore admit that you are powerless and submit to the working of the gospel of truth to take control of your heart
We looked at How Christ can mold us through his word, His spirit and through godly examples
In order for this to happen we need to be submissive to Him so that he might be formed us
Now we shift to a more personal application
While this still applies to all of us as a whole
I want us to take this last point and apply it to our own personal lives
Allow Christ to challenge your heart to see how you personally have been living out this last point
Often when we think “we” sometimes we say well that’s a great point but that applies to my brother or sister
My neighbor sitting next to me
Christ wants to speak to you directly
Just as he has been speaking to me directly through these passages all week
What is formed in you is a result of how you have allowed yourself to be formed.
In order to have Christ formed in you
Finally our last point
3. You must allow the change within to be reflected on the outside.
Paul says in Galatians 4:18-20 “It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.”
Paul had also sought after the Galatians the same as the Judaizer’s
But it was in a manner out of love for Christ and a deep longing for their formation through Him
Paul came to Galatia to represent our Lord and the Galatians received him with joy and heard him gladly
Paul had a passion on his heart to preach the gospel to these people for them to be formed in Christ
Has God placed that same burden on your heart?
How are you responding to that burden?
Are you responding out of faith or out of fear?
You must keep your eyes fixed on Christ and live by example to those around you of your steadfast love for the Lord
John Stott: “In seeking to win other people for Christ, our end is to make them like us, but the means to that end is to make ourselves like them. If they are to become one with us in Christian conviction and experience, we must first become one with them in Christian compassion.”
Pauls actions were not for his own personal gain but for the glory of Christ
Paul had a desire that the Galatians allowed this formation to change their lives
Paul spoke to the Galatians as if he was their mother
He had a great deal of passion for the salvation of the Galatians and that they might allow Christ to form their lives to be like Him
Paul shared this passion with them by referring to them in an endearing term
He called them his children which is from the Greek word Teknion
Little children -
Which is a sign of affection
Term of endearment
Paul refers to the
Anguish of childbirth -
It reminds me of the birth of my own children
Waiting 9 months, waiting in the hospital room,
longing for this child, suffering through the pain of the child birth
Mothers are willing to endure that anguish
because they have a burden for their child to be born
Paul said he is willing to suffer that anguish twice for these people he so deeply loved
The formation of Christ that had occurred in Paul,
he desired that same formation for the Galatians
Paul was very intentional in his wording using the pronoun “you”
Paul understood that these principles applied to his own life,
But he was already demonstrating this formation in his own life actions and now was calling the Galatians to be accountable to their actions
Paul desires that Christ is formed in “you”.
Sometimes we need someone to call us out on things
To challenge our actions and ensure that they line up with our beliefs
By changing from “we” who all need to understand HOW we are formed in Christ and that “we” must ALL submit to the working of the Lord
To now the personal challenge of “You” challenges out our own personal actions and provides accountability in how you represent the formation of Christ within you to those around you
Paul implored for the Galatians to become Christians, to commit themselves to Christ - 1st child bearing
Now that they have he is relentless, he is longing for them to have spiritual growth in Christ - 2nd child bearing
As one commentary put it, “Paul’s language in this passage stretches our imagination to the limit, but his meaning is not in doubt. He was deeply anguished over the Galatians. He did not want them to suffer a spiritual miscarriage but desired instead that they make their calling and election sure. This can only happen through the birth of Christ in their hearts.”
Paul says in Galatians 4:19 “my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!”
This idea of being formed comes from the Greek work Morphoo
It is referring to Christlike character
This should be the goal for each one of us
That our character on the inside is so like that of Christs that we reflect that image on the outside
You must have a passion for others to be formed in Christ and live as an example to others
Christ will begin to fill your life when we begin to let go of other forms of life that have taken shape
God’s word is full of these reminders that you must not be conformed to the things of this world
But that you allow Christ to form you in His likeness
1 Peter 1:14-15 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,”
Romans 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
Philippians 3:10 “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,”
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
God sent his son to this earth not only to die for you sins so that we might have salvation
But also for you to have an example of how you are to live your lives as a reflection of His love
So to recap
Paul gives us an example, a plea, and a game plan of how we should allow Christ to be formed in us
By first having the faith to trust God with the process of forming us
By second becoming submissive to the working of Christ in us
And finally by allowing that formation to reflect how we live our lives
We must remove our hands from the potters wheel and allow the gentle hands of Christ
To poke, to prode, to remove those blemishes, to instill a passion within us for the gospel
And to form us into a vessel that can shine the light of Christ to those around us
You can experience this formation in Christ when you remember
What is formed in you is a result of how you have allowed yourself to be formed.
Wherever you are at in this formation process I encourage you to allow Christ to form
A faith to trust in his process in your life
A willingness to submit in your heart to him
And a light to reflect to those around us
This morning if you have never experienced that transformation in your life I want to give you that opportunity
To commit your life to Him
This is a safe place where we can have someone walk alongside you in that process
Is there anyone?
For those who have already experienced that transformation
But want Christ to be formed in them and rekindle their passion for the Lord
We are about to move into a time of remembrance through communion
I am going to invite Ruth to play for us instrumentally
As she does that I encourage to you examine your hearts
To confess to God that you have allowed your passions to be misplaced
And you desire to set your focus on Him this morning
Ask him to give you the faith needed to trust His ways
Ask him to give you a humble heart that is willing to submit to His ways
Ask him to form you with his hands into his likeness
As Paul says “until Christ is formed in you!”
Communion
You should have received the cup when you came in
If you didn’t ushers can bring that forward
if you raise your hand
Ruth will play music as we partake of the bread first together
And then together again we will partake of the cup
If you are a believer in Christ you are welcome to partake with us this morning
That is not to say that we must be perfect to be able to take part in communion
But that we believe in the saving power of the blood on the cross poured out for us
We are forgiven and we believe in His son and the grace he offers us.
Jesus said,
“I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
The Lord Jesus, on the night of his arrest, took bread, and after giving thanks to God,
he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take, eat. This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Let’s partake of the bread together
In the same way he took the cup, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me.”
Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the saving death of the risen Lord until he comes.
We thank you, O God,
for gifts of bread and cup,
for sustaining us in hope,
every day of our lives.
We pray for your strength
that you help us have the faith we need to trust your ways
we willingly submit ourselves to your working in our lives
And we pray that we might have a burden in our hearts
to be a light to the dark world around us.
Telling of your love to all.
Worshipping you with our whole lives.
Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
