The Problem of Formation

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name;

Prayers for the universal Church...

Prayers for the Nation...

Prayers for the local community...

Prayers for the local church...

O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sermon

Returning to a series we started last summer on the Sermon on the Mount - The Jesus Manifesto. A manifesto is a public declaration of belief, policy, and motives. A manifesto outlines what a person or group believes and the kinds of things they will practice. In this respect, the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ manifesto. It provides the definitive guide for what he meant when he said, “Come, follow me.”

Last summer I focused on Matthew chapter 5 and the kinds of ethical behavior disciples should practice. This morning I want to begin looking at the topic of spiritual formation. I think many Christians desperately want to change, to experience victory over besetting sins, to feel like they’re growing in the spiritual lives, but they feel stuck and unable to make progress. If someone struggles with their thought life, it’s not like there is a switch you can flip to say OK, I’m not going to think that anymore. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way, and there is a way to gain victory over sin. This series will focus on chapter six, and specifically how we can be formed for the Christian life in God’s kingdom. I’ll be using “formed” a lot during this series, but what I basically mean by it is the way believers are shaped toward Christlikeness. Synonymous words would be discipleship, sanctification, and maturity.

We need to be formed, but by and large, Christians aren’t doing it. For the most part, followers of Jesus have forsaken the very practices Jesus modeled and commanded for his followers. The practices that have sustained the church for 2,000 years. And so it is no wonder when we observe - and we can all observe it if we’re honest - that most people who call themselves Christians have little that distinguishes them from non-believers. We are as likely to divorce, watch pornographic material, we go to the same movies and sporting events, we’re often as prone toward anger, jealousy, greed, and selfish ambition. And very often we are seen in the eyes of the world as mean-spirited. In fact, I recently heard a report that for most young non-believers, Christians are people who are politically conservative, vote Republican, and are against homosexuality and immigration. Now, we know this is a gross oversimplification, but isn’t it concerning when the primary way those outside the church see Christians is by a political ideology or by what we’re against?

Now, this may sound like bad news. And it would be except for this little thing called the ascension of Jesus and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Now, because Jesus reigns as the world’s true Lord, and because he has poured out his HS on those who are his disciples, we have the capacity to go beyond what is “normal” for human behavior. Actually, a more biblical way to say it is, we have the ability to become truly human - a human like Jesus Christ. But it doesn’t happen automagically. Christlikeness requires intentionality, and it requires pursuing spiritual practices in ways that are forming instead of malforming. There’s good news for those who feel stuck and desire to be more Christlike. But we need to be aware of the problems that come with Christian formation. The big idea I want you to get this morning as we begin this series is that Christian maturity is not fallen into by accident but formed by intentional practice. In our passage this morning Jesus warns of two problems associated with Christian formation.

Beware of ignoring your formation

Beware of ignoring your formation - a warning about neglect.

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1, NRSV)

The first thing we need to see from this verse is that forming our faith is assumed. Notice how Jesus introduces each new section.

Whenever…whenever…whenever

“Whenever” assumes you are going to do something - eventually. So when my wife pulls the cigarette out of her mouth while she’s watching Andy Griffith reruns and yells, “Whenever you go out get me some more whiskey”, she is assuming that I will be going out again.

Jesus assumes his followers will do those things that aid in our spiritual formation. We will talk in subsequent weeks about how these practices form us.

Next, we see that forming our faith is essential.

Challenge the idea that we can become the people we want to be without intentional effort. We know this doesn’t work in real life. If we want to master a sport, a musical instrument, or some kind of knowledge it takes diligent effort. We spent millions a year on fad diets, beauty products, new hairstyles, designer clothes, changing what everyone sees on the outside, but remaining the same person we are on the inside.

Why do we so often ignore developing what is arguably the most important part of us - our soul? When we put it like that, it doesn’t make much sense at all.

Finally, forming our faith is effective.

I think we are so often caught up on doing things for God that we forget about being. Spiritual formation is effective to ensure that in the process of doing we are also becoming. Through the HS, God is more committed to you being formed like his Son than what you can do for him.

Who are spiritual practices for? Not God. They are a gift to us. These are ways God has provided to help us become the kind of people we want to be. Tom Landry, the famous Dallas Cowboy football coach, was once asked to describe his job. His reply: “Why job is to get 65 men to do what they do not want to do so that they can become the men they want to be.” I think this applies to our faith practices as well.

The first warning Jesus offers is that of ignoring our spiritual formation. We do so to our own detriment.

Beware of forming yourself deficiently

Beware of forming yourself deficiently - a warning about motivation.

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1, NRSV)

The second part of this warning has to do with the motivation for spiritual formation.

Have you ever been tempted to let drop how long you spent praying, or how much you gave to a cause? Or maybe tempted to elaborate on your prayer life beyond what it truthful because you feel inadequate when you hear others talk about their spiritual life? This was a real problem for ppl in Jesus day bc this is how one gained social respectability.

Probably most of us aren’t tempted along these line. But there is a bigger issue at stake. What all these malformed spiritual practices have in common is the temptation to seek the praise of man over the praise of God. To be man-pleasers instead of God-pleasers.

Notice how Jesus says these people are forming themselves deficiently:

They give - To be praised by others.

They pray - To be seen by others.

They fast - To show level of devotion to others.

In every case the focus of the practice is not God but man. When seeking the praise of people becomes our priority, we are in reality being formed toward hypocrisy - the false self. Hypocrite originally referred to masked Greek actors - actors pretending to be someone else. Jesus now uses it for someone who has been formed falsely toward themselves. They no longer show a true image of who they are, only the image they want others to see. It is a form of self-deception while you try to deceive others about who you really are. This is the path toward a malformed soul, because it makes us, and not God, the center of the story.

Jesus isn’t saying we should never give, pray, or fast in public - that would be impossible. Rather, he’s drawing attention to why we do those things. Who are you doing them for? Would you do them if no one was watching or no one would ever find out you did them?

Our engagement in spiritual practices is motivated, not by engagement with people, but by engagement with our heavenly Father. Through them we seek his face - for the pleasure of his face alone. When this is our motivation the spiritual practices becomes their own reward. Why do we give - because we experience God’s delight. Why do we pray - because this is where we experience relationship with our Father.

How can we tell when our spiritual formation is deficient?

Grumbling when our actions aren’t noticed or appreciated.

Envy and jealousy when others get credit and we don’t.

Anger when we don’t get our way - in spite of all we’ve done for the church.

Jesus says be on your guard about forming yourself with false motivations.

How is your soul?

The big idea I want you to get this morning is that Christian maturity is not fallen into by accident but formed by intentional practice. God has graciously given us, empowered by his Spirit, the means by which we can shape our soul in a way that increasingly looks cruciform. That is, we start to look like Jesus on the Cross. This is the fullest, truest, most beautiful expression of who God is, and we are called to imitate that posture toward the world. As crazy as it sounds, the more cruciform our lives, the more joy, peace, and happiness will abound in them. The more we continue to put ourselves at the center of the story, imitating the pattern of this world, the more we will find our souls increasingly barren. Formation is the path toward genuine life.

The first time I heard Phil Strout speak, our retiring National Director, was at a national conference 10 years ago. He related a story that has stuck in my mind. When he was in Bible school, studying with the intention of becoming a missionary to Latin America - which he went on to do for 22 years - he had a professor who took him under his wing. During four years of school, once a week Phil would show up at the professors office at 6am for discipleship. And every week for 4 years, the first question the professor would ask Phil was the same. It wasn’t how many chapters of your Bible have you read? It wasn’t how many hours have you prayed. It wasn’t how many students have you witnessed to? The very first thing the professor would say is, “Phil, how is your soul?”

This is the question Phil Strout has been training the Vineyard to ask of itself for the last 10 years of his tenure as National Director. I think it is one of the most important questions we can ask of ourselves. So let me close by asking you this morning, “How is your soul?”

If your answer is, “It could be better”, then let me encourage you to make spiritual formation a priority in your life. It is not a get-rich-quick-scheme. It won’t make a great difference done occasionally or sporadically. But when you make these basic activities a habitual practice, you will begin to experience the reward of a well-formed soul. I’ll close with the words of Jesus:

“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26, NKJV)

Communion

Every week we are formed, whether we realize it or not, as we come to the table of the Lord. Here we re-present the saving act of God through his Son Jesus Christ as we remember his atoning death and victorious resurrection. Here we eat a meal of fellowship with him and with one another. Here we renew our commitment to him as we eat the spiritual food of his body and blood. In a moment I’ll invite you to come and be formed again around this practice.

Let’s being by praying as Jesus taught us.

The Lords Prayer

Words of Institution