The Path Forward
Notes
Transcript
Growing up I would love to go camping with my family. Almost every summer we would go and we would take two weeks and camp in the Adirondack National park In up state New York.
Two weeks of time out away from the world. It was always a good time. From riding our bikes around, to swimming in the lake, to going canoeing, or fishing there was always something to do.
It wasn’t uncommon while on vacation that My brother and I would take off and go find a trail or place we thought might be new at the campground that we often went to and explore.
Looking back I can’t tell you how many times we might have trespassed on someones property. We would see what looked like a path and follow it for awhile. Somehow we never got lost.
We loved to follow the Path in front of us because we never knew where it might lead us and to what adventures we might find at the end of the path.
At the end of the day all the adventurers and journey’s we took they formed me in small and subtle ways.
It was this idea of how we are being formed that has been nagging at me in my mind and has led me to want to share with you the importance of this topic.
What or Who is forming you?
Being Formed
Being Formed
No matter if we want to admit it or not we are all being formed by something.
I think that has become especially apparent lately as there have been lots of outside forces that have been positioning themselves to influence the path that we are on.
Our culture is split in some many different factions and sects that we don’t even begin to realize that we have been formed by so many different things. They can all impact us in different ways and without us even realizing it at times.
The question then becomes what are some of the different things that could be forming us. Let’s look at some of them.
Politics
Politics
Let’s start by getting this one out of the way right away.
We aren’t going to be talking about which is the right or wrong party or way to think. This instead to to point us to one of the most substantial divides and guides to much of our society today.
Our political points of view are something that we allow to form and mold us and shape us and today more than ever you are seen not as someone who may be a Republican or a Democrat but because you might ascribe to that point of view I can know everything there is to know about you.
You see this all the time.
Or you voted for this person you must be this kind of person.
Oh you think that is a good policy well clearly we can’t have anything in common and everything about you is bad.
Oh you are a redneck you must be a...
Oh you have Blue hair you must be a...
Do i really need to keep going on.
Are we being shaped and formed by political points of views and leaders?
Relationships
Relationships
Family, friends, and so many others are people who may have an impact on who we are as individuals. In fact the Bible speaks to this very idea within our families. We are called to impact each other in major ways.
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
This is known as the Shema. It is to be understood as the most fundamental understanding of Jewish faith. In fact, it leads and is still a fundamental and foundational part of the Christian faith as well.
5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
We recognize this right. This is a foundational tenant of our faith to this day. This is what we are supposed to do.
Now you might be saying Pastor Andy you said this was about Relationships.
You are right. This is about relationships. Often people read this passage and they gloss right over the next couple verses. The impact family is supposed to have on each other.
7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
That first word is an important one. Impress.
Impress them on your children.
Relationships
Relationships
Impress them. That reminds me of those paths we would follow as kids.
Have you ever thought about how a path develops in the woods or anywhere really.
It starts as a group of people or animals who may walk the same path on a regular basis to get somewhere.
Over time that path as it gets walked on over and over and over the dirt gets packed down. The grass and foliage dies because the ground becomes so hard. There is a literal impression of the passage of time and the movement of people present in that path.
When we would follow a path or a hiking trail we are following the footsteps of so many others who have walked before us. The have quite literally paved the way for us.
Families are called to do that for each other. To teach and to impress upon the new generation the right way to live.
Friends do something similar. They may not lead us always in the right direction but they may also lead us in new directions and in ways that we did not expect.
These are just to mention a few ways that those we have relationships can impact who we are and the path that we follow.
One final area that I think we should mention is...
Culture
Culture
One of the dangerous things about culture is that it can be a very subtle influence on our lives. If we aren’t aware it can change us in many ways in very discretely.
This can happen through advancements in technology and comfort to general attitudes about life. Think about shifts in culture that have had over the years. We can all think of different ways that our world has changed since we were children. Each of us having our own unique experiences and how they played out.
What is forming you?
What is forming you?
Have you you really thought about it?
What path are you on?
Now some of you might be saying. I am not formed by these things. I am formed by my own thoughts and guidance.
Are you though? The thing is something is forming you in some way. We have to face that reality.
A Skilled con artist knows the key to deceiving your mark is to get them to believe your scheme was their idea. Translation: They key to getting people to follow you is to convince them they aren’t following anyone at all.
-John Mark Comer
The basic idea here is that we can’t be deceived we are formed by something or someone?
Wait Pastor Andy this is where you say I should be formed by Church right?
Or i should be formed by you and your opinions.
Or by the Wesleyan Church.
Absolutely Not!
I do think that the church and our church can help you toward who I want you to be formed by our formation doesn’t start with me, or our church, or any denomination it begins with Jesus.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ
How would our lives change if we committed ourselves to the idea of allowing Jesus to be our primary place of formation.
That we let Jesus be exactly what he tells us he is.
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
When we read a passage like this we don’t realize that Jesus is talking about more than just our path to heaven. He is talking about what it means to be his follower. He is the one we are to follow.
Jesus is the way.
The Way
The Way
In Acts 19 Paul refers to people have fallen away from the Way. This isn’t just a passive message it is a direct reference to who we are as Christians.
It is a call out to the fact that as Christians we are supposed to be more than just Christians in name only but we are supposed to fundamentally change who we are and how we live life.
We are to shift and transform everything about who we are and we now are Followers of Jesus.
A couple weeks ago I preached about a moment in the ministry of Jesus that was incredibly profound when it comes to what Jesus is asking us to do.
I preached that he sees in each of us what he wants us to be and that he is calling you to something and in mnay ways I was wanting you to look for something specific in your life that you would pursue.
I may need to take a step back and represent this because I think we need to talk about this idea some more.
We need to go back even further and discuss what this really means.
Maybe some of us need to even just begin by looking a this passage in its most raw and basic understanding.
Let’s look at the Matthew version this morning though.
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
Follow Me
Follow Me
This is more than just drawing us to a specific task this is the basic and most fundamental understanding of what our faith is supposed to be.
We are to follow after Him.
Notice Jesus doesn’t say come believe in me.
He doesn’t say sign up for my five step program.
He doesn’t say when you have time you might want to follow.
He says Come Follow ME!
Earlier I said that if we aren’t careful we may not realize that we are being formed by something. Let me tell you what could be better than being formed by Jesus.
Who better to form us and to guide us than Jesus.
Yet, Do we really give ourselves to that idea. Do we really open ourselves up to being a follower of Christ.
Over the next couple of weeks we are going to be looking at that and working to understand what that means.
I encourage you to go home this week and take some time to look at your life and ask yourself.
What or who is forming me?
Write it down, pray over it, think on it.
If it isn’t Jesus maybe we need to start with giving those things over to him and seeking him.
Peter and Andrew didn’t hesitate they dropped their nets and followed him. Are we willing to do the same.
Let’s Pray.
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