Resolution to (Re)formation

Thank you, Jesus, for this morning.

Thank you, Lord, for coming to meet us in our worship,

whether we're harried, whether we're in a contemplative place,

because you are God.

It doesn't depend on us.

It depends on you, Lord God.

We ask that you would be present with us,

be present in the word that I'm about to speak.

May it be your word, Lord, and not my own.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

I mentioned this morning, earlier,

I have a thorn that's been put in my side to harass me this week.

I actually lost my voice earlier on this week with a cold,

so I have my water up here every now and then.

I'm going to probably have to clear my throat.

I'm going to talk about resolution to reformation this morning.

I want to talk and focus on Colossians 3,

which is a passage that is very much close to my own heart.

I'm a recent person who has moved from the Anglican Church of Canada to Anik.

I did so November the 1st, which was All Saints Day.

It also happened to be my birthday.

And so the bishop thought that was,

and I thought Archdeacon Tim was a great opportunity to make that move.

And when I first made the move to Anik and started talking about the transition,

I actually attended St. Luke's up in Pembroke with Archdeacon Tim Perron,

and there were a few things that really stood out to me as the Lord speaking.

And George and I have spoken about a few of these,

but one of them that's very interestingly that stood out to me was the name of the seminary.

And when Archdeacon Tim said to me,

oh, we have a seminary, Ryle Seminary in Ottawa,

it was like light came down from heaven and surround him.

I thought, Ryle Seminary?

Why am I not already in this denomination?

Bishop J.C. Ryle, I think he's one of my heroes.

J.C. Ryle is a hero to, I think, a lot of Anglican evangelicals.

So he's a shining example of choosing Jesus,

even though the pressures of the church around you,

the pressures of the life around you are really pressuring you to accept anything else

as the center of your spirituality, the center of your religious life, if we can call that.

He was a shining example of that.

In the 1800s, when Bishop Ryle became bishop,

the church in England was a very dry church.

The church in England was very much a stuffy religious institution

and was very much focused on the externals.

It was very much focused on, you know,

were you sitting at the right time during the service?

Were you standing?

Did you cross yourself?

Did you face the right way?

Everything was about the externals in the church at that time.

And you followed that worship life.

And you followed along with what the church was teaching,

if you were a priest, a pastor, or a bishop.

And if you didn't, it was actually very scandalous at that time

to have not followed along.

And into this situation, God provided in the 1800s

a handful of Bible-believing, biblically-minded leaders

who kind of stood against that trend, who stood against that flow.

And Bishop Ryle was really at the forefront of that.

And it was a battle, and he was at the forefront.

He wasn't made a bishop.

You can see him here with his big white beard,

one of the famous pictures of him.

He wasn't made a bishop until his 60s.

He was in his mid-60s.

He was actually made a bishop partly by the prime minister

as a political move.

So he kind of went in there.

It was a bit of a blast at the incoming government at the time.

The prime minister was on his way out.

So he said, well, I know what I'm going to do to you guys.

I'm going to make that Ryle guy bishop.

And so they made Bishop Ryle bishop.

And so he had nothing to lose.

And he really kind of became the gangster bishop of the 1800s.

And it's kind of funny the way we see it.

He quickly became known for his distaste for empty religion.

He quickly became known for his desire to renew the English church

to biblically-minded, dynamic faith.

We have this term called live orthodoxy.

That's what he wanted, affectionate relationship with God

and to move away from the dry spirituality at the time.

One of my favorite stories of Bishop Ryle, during worship,

he was a bishop at Liverpool.

This is the cathedral at Liverpool.

And during worship, like I said, you stood, you sat down,

you crossed yourself at the right time, and you faced the front.

Like during the creed and during other parts of the service,

you would face the front.

And everybody did this.

It was the rules.

You did this.

Except for Bishop Ryle.

Now to us, it seems kind of simple,

but it was scandalous back then.

And now if you were at the back corner,

just in case you couldn't see him because he was hidden away up there,

just in case you couldn't see him,

Packer said he actually was known for leaning forward.

Just so the people at the back could see,

I'm not facing the front.

And, you know, it was scandalous.

Sounds funny to us,

but at that time, you know, church was front page news.

These kind of things were front page news.

The papers actually cared about it.

Very much an example for our time of what Paul is talking about in Colossians 3.

Very much an example for us for choosing a dynamic relationship with Jesus over religion.

So I'm super stoked with the fact that our seminary is named Ryle.

I think it's a great example for our students who are coming through.

And yeah, it was one of those light moments that helped bring me in.

Bringing to death the ways that we have clung to religious approach to our faith.

In changing a dynamic spirituality.

So this epiphany, while we're looking at Colossians,

we want to look for our own epiphany in Jesus,

to see Jesus raised on high.

And so here's the big idea.

One of my teachers,

the people that I turn to with Haddon Robinson,

passed away recently.

He always said,

have a big idea when you preach.

If you don't leave here with anything else,

this is the big idea for the sermon.

The basic truth of what God has done for us.

The basic truth about what God has done for you in Christ

is the point from which everything in the Christian spiritual life flows.

This is really important because there are all kinds of things in the church.

There are all kinds of things in the world

that are competing to be that one thing from which our spirituality will flow.

Paul talks about that.

He says,

no,

your identity in Christ,

since you've been raised with him,

that is the point from which everything else in our spirituality flows.

I want to unpack that a little bit.

So if you want to look at...

I open your...

3, 1 to 11.

I'm fiddling with this thing.

Sorry, brother.

That's my fault.

Should I use...

All right.

Oh, I can't move around.

It'll look odd if I'm walking around with this.

All right.

All right.

We're going to open our Bibles to Colossians 3, 1 to 11.

And Paul says some serious stuff.

You know, verse 8 there,

he says some serious stuff.

If you look there,

but you must put away all anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk.

Don't lie with one another.

Lie to one another,

seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.

You know,

one of the temptations that we have when it comes to the Bible

is, you know,

often when the Bible says something that we don't like

or says something that's something that the people in the church don't like.

One of the things that I often hear,

well, you know, Padre,

I know that says that,

but you really have to look at that in context.

Right?

That's what we hear all the time.

As if looking at the Bible in context

has become kind of the trump card.

Right?

When it's a hard passage.

Well, if we just look at it in context,

we can explain that away.

One of the problems is,

if you start unpacking the context of the Bible,

oftentimes,

most times,

it will say more

rather than less.

And oftentimes,

the Bible is harder

rather than easier

because God is calling us,

in Jesus,

to give over our entire life to him.

So,

just looking at the Bible in context

isn't the get-out-of-jail-free card

that sometimes we often think that it is.

It's so important for us to learn

how to unpack God's word.

And that's why I'm glad that we're here

in this church.

We choose what's called

this big word like marmalade,

expository preaching.

And that's when we unpack

an entire book of the Bible.

Really allows George and the other preachers

to dig down

to what the Bible is saying to us.

Because when we start to look in context,

that's when the Bible becomes alive

and really starts to speak to us.

So, let's look at where we are

this morning.

We're visiting with Colossae.

It's a small town

on the south bank

of the Lycus River

in what's now Turkey.

At one point,

Colossae was a major center,

but it had been bypassed

by a highway.

Anybody that's seen that happens

knows what happens

when a small town

or a city is bypassed

by the highway.

And it actually was about

100 miles from Ephesus.

And the two cities

that were closer to it,

Laodicea being one of them,

were actually more important

than Colossae was.

So, it's kind of like,

the book of Colossians

is kind of like Paul writing

to Carleton Place.

It's an okay place.

Amy and I looked at Carleton Place

at houses when we moved here to Ottawa.

But it's not the major center.

It's kind of set off

a little bit.

And so, it's a small church

that he's writing to.

It's a fledgling church

full of new Christians.

And apparently,

they had lost

a bit of their confidence.

Colossae itself,

this is one of my favorite

contrasts that I like here.

I want to take us

to our next slide there, brother.

If you were to visit

Laodicea,

right now,

the ruins of Laodicea,

that's them on the left.

Kind of look like

what you'd expect

from Roman ruins.

You know,

columns everywhere.

You can actually go see

kind of what things are.

If you were to go

to the ruins of Colossae,

that's them on the right.

But,

it's more like

a sheep's field.

I mean,

I can drive an hour

from here to see

a field like that.

I don't need to go

over the ocean.

And the reason that

that is,

is that in about

61-62 AD,

an earthquake

leveled Colossae

and was never rebuilt.

And so,

we know that this letter

was written

previous to that.

A lot of people think

actually quite previous

to that.

So,

it's a very early letter

from the New Testament.

And it gives you

a sense of

biblical scholarship.

So,

if you're new

to the Bible,

and if you're new

to unpacking

the Bible

that we've had

handed out at the front here,

you know,

there's so much more

to biblical scholarship

than that broken telephone.

You know the broken telephone

they talk about

where,

oh,

the Bible's just

a translation

of a translation

of a translation

and you really don't.

That couldn't be further

from what the truth is.

But the truth is

that there's so much

that goes in.

That section of history

is one of the most

researched sections

of history

that we have.

And so,

we know so much

about the Bible.

And so,

that just kind of

gives you a sense

of what we're talking

about when we talk

about digging

into the Bible.

And so,

we have this letter.

We have this letter

that's written

to this small,

it's an early letter

of Paul,

written to this

small community

kind of out of the way.

And we're really

only getting

one side

of the conversation.

I work in cubicle land

as many of you do.

I'm not going to make you

put up your hand,

but Ottawa has a few

cubicle farms

from what I understand.

And it's a new experience

for me.

I'm an army guy.

My feet have been

in the dust,

as we say,

for 10 years now.

And it's a whole new thing

to me to be in this

office setting.

And what I find

really interesting

is to be able to sit there

and hear all the conversations.

You can hear

everybody's conversations

on the phone.

But it's always just

one side of the conversation.

And it's quite entertaining

in the army.

We're not about subtlety

in the army.

Okay, so the conversations

aren't subtle back and forth.

And to hear one half,

you're just dying to know,

okay, what is the other guy

saying if he's saying this?

It's quite entertaining.

It makes the days go by fast

anyways.

But you never completely

know what the conversation

is unless you hear

from the other side

or unless you're really

paying attention.

And we run into that

with all the letters.

And we run into that

with the letter

from the Colossians.

Here we have Paul's writing.

We don't know

what the Colossians

have said to him.

We don't know

what he's heard

or what letters

they've sent back to him.

But there are a few things

we can find out

which means we have to

pay closer attention.

And so for us to pay

to know what's going on

in chapter 3,

we have to go back.

If you go back with me

to chapter 2.

What we know

about what Paul's

dealing with

is there is

some sort of philosophy.

If you look at 2.8 there,

see to it that no one

gets you captive

by a philosophy

and by empty deeds.

It's really key

to understand

that Paul is addressing

some sort of a philosophy

that is creeping in

to the Colossian church here.

And if we look deeper,

we see throughout,

if you look from 16 to 23,

this is very much

a religious philosophy

that's creeping in

and trying to grab hold

of the Colossian church.

Probably is rooted

in kind of the old

religious purity laws.

Okay, so Paul is addressing this

and the key

is that Paul is reiterating

to the Colossians

that they are complete in Christ.

That they don't need

to be performing

any sort of deed before God

to make themselves righteous.

He's trying to get it through

to them again

to say,

you are raised with Christ.

You don't need these things.

And then chapter 3

where we are,

is where he flushes out

what that means spiritually.

So he said what it isn't

and now he's talking

about what spiritual formation,

reformation is.

See, Paul is concerned

throughout the letter

of Colossians

that the moorings

of the church

have shifted

in Colossae.

Now, a mooring,

this is a picture

of the Halifax shipyard.

I was down there

for a conference

just earlier on

in November.

And a mooring

is anywhere

where a ship

is anchored to.

It was very interesting

or is tied to.

It's very interesting

to be,

this Halifax shipyard,

that's just been built.

Up over the top there

is where the Halifax base is.

That's where our retreat was

or our conference was.

The shipyard

has just recently been built.

And that's where

the new coastal ships

that the government

has purchased

are being built

within that.

And it's very interesting,

though,

along while those ships

are being built,

the whole,

this whole coastline there,

right up,

you can kind of see

right up at the top,

right up at the top there,

a bit of construction

that's happening

where it's kind of

cordoned off.

That whole pier

is being completely rebuilt

to suit these new ships

that have been built.

And it's taking as long

to redo the moorings,

to redo the shipyard,

as it is to actually

build the ships themselves.

And to great expense.

Because if the moorings shift,

if where you tie your boat to shifts,

we're talking about

billions of dollars

of new procurement

for the government.

They want to make sure

that those moorings

are going to hold.

Because if your moorings

don't hold,

you are in a heap of trouble.

And if we return

to our passage,

Paul is concerned

about a shift

in the moorings

of the church.

This is a church,

again,

that was in a very small town.

It's a small church.

Lots of new believers.

And it was very,

the church at that time

was very outside

the mainstream.

There was a lot of pressure

both outside of the church,

apparently with this new philosophy.

Inside the church,

religious criticism

is just coming

at all sides

of this new baby church

that Paul is writing to.

And this philosophy

is seeking to get them

simply to become

more religious

so that they can be

as proud

as everybody else

around them.

You can be as proud

as your pagan neighbor,

as proud as your

traditional religious neighbor.

You need to get

more religious

like they are.

And that's what

the philosophy

is trying to get them

to take pride

in themselves

and who they are

as religious people

and to earn

their spiritual growth,

to earn their adoption

from God

through effort.

But the Christian life,

we know nothing stalls

the Christian life

and our walk with God

more than pride does.

Nothing stalls

the Christian life

more than pride does.

And so after framing

this issue,

Paul sets off

with his correction,

which we've read

this morning

in chapter 3.

And he starts

with,

I actually have a key

written in my book.

I'm one of those weird people

who actually writes

in his Bible.

I have a key written

beside this verse

because to me

this is a key verse

for Colossians.

Everything else hinges on

if then you've been

raised with Christ.

If then you have been

raised with Christ.

Other translations say

since.

And I would say

that could just be

all being capitalized.

Since you have been

raised with Christ.

It all starts there.

Everything in the

Christian life

starts with that

since or that

if then.

Being raised with Christ.

And everything else

flows from that.

3.2 flows from that.

Then because you've been

raised with Christ,

you set your minds

and your hearts.

You're able to set

your mind and heart

on God and on Christ.

Because you're able

to do that

from 3.6 to 11

we see the process

of stripping off

the old rags

of our old self.

The old rags of sin

and putting on

the new heavenly clothes

because we've been

saved and raised

with Christ.

It all flows

from 3.1.

Christian growth

flows

from looking at Jesus.

Period.

End.

Full stop.

The Christian life

flows

and grows

from looking at Jesus.

Hebrews 12.1-2

Let us also

lay aside

every weight

and sin

which clings

so closely

and let us

run with endurance

the race

that's set before us

looking to Jesus

the founder

and perfecter

of our faith.

We look to Jesus

and that vision

of God's glory

is found in Jesus

that is what

changes us.

That's Christian

spiritual formation.

That's Christian

spiritual reformation.

The basic truth

of what God

has done for us

is the point

from which

everything else

in our spiritual life

flows.

Now this matters

for a couple

of big reasons.

This lesson

that Paul is teaching

to this

in this letter

to kind of a

small little church

about 2,000 years ago

it matters to us

for two reasons.

First

we're very much

similar I think

to the Colossian church.

We fall into

uncertainty.

The church now

is out of the mainstream.

The Christian church

is very much

out of the mainstream.

I happen to think

in some ways

that's a very good thing

but it holds

its challenges.

There's a lot

of pressures

from the outside

to just go along

and to get along.

We're surrounded

by constant criticism.

I mean we are not

unlike the Colossian church

that Paul's writing to.

So it causes

two problems.

That pressure

is the root

of two problems.

First

when we stay infants

in our spiritual life

we can be pulled

to water down

or to fashion

our faith

to the age.

If you haven't

accepted the Lord

or if you find yourself

now watering down

and just accepting

the spirit

of the age.

The question

I have for you

this morning

is are you tired

of just floating

along with this culture?

Are you getting tired

of just floating along?

I'm convinced

that we live

very much

in a fear

based society.

There is a lot

of fear

and a lot of pressure

based on fear

out there

to just go along

and get along.

You know some people

one tweet

one wrong tweet

that's the end

of their career.

We live

very much

in a society

that has a lot

of pressure

for us just

to float along

but also

it's a very

confused society.

And we're

told to talk

a certain way

to dress

a certain way

to eat

a certain way

certain foods

are about to be

outlawed

apparently.

And God

offers

here

a new start

for us

and to be

rooted in Christ

and not just

to be going along

a confidence

to no longer

just go along

with whatever

fear today

is telling me

to do

but instead

the confidence

of following

God

and following

Christ.

So that's

the first

reason it

matters.

The second

I think

is more

for those

of us

who are

within the

church now

as followers

of Jesus

we can get

pulled

into this

same

religious

mindset.

We can get

pulled into

the same

religious

mindset

towards the

faith.

The area

of study

that I

follow

is called

spiritual

formation.

It's on the

side.

I'm doing

some studies

in that.

And there's

actually a

great example

of this

pressure

to go along

with a

religious

mindset

is within

the spiritual

formation

world

there is a

model which

has become

very popular

and it's

called the

traditional

triple way

of classical

mysticism.

And if I

was to chart

it out

it would

chart like

this.

Take us

to the

next.

This is

classical

mysticism.

And I'm

not getting

down on

Catholicism

here.

This is

true if

you were

to look

in Eastern

religions,

if you were

to look

at Sufism,

all kinds

of the

different

mystical

religions

that are

out there.

They pretty

much follow

the same

threefold

path to

illumination,

to union

with the

divine or

the spark

or whatever

you want

to call

God

within those

contexts.

It starts

with cleansing.

You cleanse

your life

by becoming

better.

Just become

a better

person.

From there

it moves

on to

illumination.

Of some

kind,

you gain

some sort

of special

knowledge.

And then

through that

cleansing and

through that

special knowledge,

you achieve

union with

God.

You can be

proud of

yourself.

You are at

the pinnacle.

You are a

spiritual person.

And everybody

will clap for

you.

That is the

triple way of

classical

mysticism.

But the

problem is

that is the

reverse of

what the

Bible says

is spiritual

formation.

The Bible

starts with

union with

God through

faith in

Christ.

Since you

have been

raised,

everything

else,

everything

else flows

from there.

Since you've

been raised,

everything.

The Bible

starts with

the vision

of union

with God

in 3.1,

then moves

on to

illumination

by the

Holy Spirit.

We can see

it there.

Set your

minds on

things.

Holy Spirit

will illumine

us.

Ephesians

4.23,

renewed in

the spirit

of your

mind.

Then it

moves on

to

illumination

and then

it finally

lands on

spiritual

growth or

sanctification,

which is the

big theological

term we use

for that.

I don't like

the term

cleansing.

I'd rather

use

sanctification.

Biblically,

there's no

hard process

for spiritual

growth.

There's more

of a

framework.

There's a

theology of

change that

we keep our

minds on and

we keep in

mind while

we follow

Jesus.

The problem

is the

tendency we

have and

how very

easy it is

to try to

cut the

corners and

slip back

down into

the classical

model.

It happens

all the time.

I see it

all the time

where I'm

trying to

earn God's

favor.

We start

relating then

in the bottom

part here

as wage

earners

from God

rather than

people who

have received

a great

gift.

It's by

a realization

that we've

received a

great gift

that we

learn humility

in the

spiritual life.

We start

with the

free gift

of God

in Christ,

moves on

to

illumination,

and then

we're

sanctified.

Living out

of our

created

purpose,

both now

and to

eternity.

That's what

God's

looking for

and that's

what Paul's

talking about.

It's more

than what

we're talking

about here

than a

spiritual

renovation.

Paul is

definitely not

talking about

just, you

know,

renovating

your life

by yourself.

It's not

like home

improvements

for your

life.

Amy and

I, we

moved to

Pembroke.

Take us to

the next

slide there,

brother.

In the

military, when

you move,

you get what's

called a

house hunting

trip.

They give

you two

weeks to

go to your

new destination

and find

a house

and buy

that house.

We had a

pretty good

house hunting

trip here

to Ottawa.

Amy and

I found

a house

in Richmond,

lost that

house but

found a

better house

in Stittsville.

Very happy

with that.

Our trip

to Pembroke,

to Petawawa,

what,

nine years

ago,

was not

so good.

And what

had happened

was people

came back

from Afghanistan

and when

you go to

Afghanistan,

when we

went to

Afghanistan,

the government

actually gave

us a nice

bag of money

to go to

Afghanistan.

There's a pot

of money that's

called hardship,

a pot of

money that's

called danger

pay.

You maxed out

on that and

you didn't pay

taxes.

So these guys

that were coming

back from

Afghanistan came

back with a

big bag of

money, or

guys and

girls, and

gals, and when

they came back

they went on the

economy and they

bought themselves

houses.

They didn't want

to live in the

military shacks

anymore.

We literally

call them the

shacks.

They wanted to

buy their own

house.

So they went and

bought up on the

economy.

Amy and I

received our

posting message

late in the

year.

So we were

there after

pretty much

everybody else

who was getting

posted in.

They picked over

everything that

was left.

So when Amy and

I went for our

house hunting trip

in Petawawa, we

went on a one

week tour across

the bottom of the

barrel of what was

left over on the

housing market and

we saw some

doozies.

There are some

interesting homes

an hour and a

half for sale, an

hour and a half

north of here if

you're interested.

We saw most of

them.

One of the ones

that we found, Amy

talks about it all

the time, and this

was just kind of

an image of our

whole time.

Amy went into

this one room, and

she couldn't tell

what was wrong with

this house, but

something was wrong

until I came in and

stepped on, I came

in on the other

side of the room,

came through the

door, and when I

stepped into the

room, the floor

tilted and she

raised up in the

air, and I went

down.

Now, we were

looking for a

fixer-upper, but we

weren't exactly

looking for that.

I can put some

veneer down, maybe

some window dressings,

paint, but that

needed, I mean, that

was a knock it

down and start

all over again.

It's not even

worth it because

something's going on

there that you

can't fix.

And so Paul is

talking about so

much more than

just adding the

veneer of Christian

values to us this

morning.

He's talking about

more than just,

when he says, you

know, put on the

new clothes, he's

talking about so

much more than

just putting on

new spiritual

clothes over the

old one.

He's talking about

being raised again

by God, starting

anew and then

moving on from

there.

It's a complete

rebuilding project.

It's not just

adding some window

dressings to the

spirituality of our

lives, to the

religion of our

lives.

When it comes to

spiritual growth as

Christians, this

realization is the

mooring for us.

This was the

mooring that he

wanted the Colossians

to hold on to.

Helps anchor our

spiritual life in

humility, and that

real humility is a

response to what

God has done for

us.

Spiritual

reformation is

rooted in our

identity as the

risen children of

God.

You're risen and

adopted.

That's the starting

point.

The basic truth of

what God has done

for us is the

point from everything

else in our

spiritual life

flows.

And so this

leaves us with

something to do.

Talk about what

the Bible says,

why it matters.

Now I think we

have something to

do just like the

Colossians had

something to do.

Pete Scazzaro, who

we were actually

talking about this

morning, George and

I, is a great author

when it comes to

spiritual formation.

And he points out

that when Jesus

describes becoming a

Christian, he talks

about new birth.

If you look at

John 3, chapter 3,

3 to 5, he's

talking about new

birth when Jesus

talks about becoming

a Christian.

Amy and I have an

apple tree in our

backyard.

Now apparently this

was a selling point

for Amy when we

bought the house.

I had no idea it

was an apple tree.

I just thought it

was a nice big tree

in the backyard,

going to give it

some shade.

It comes out with

flowers that look

like that.

I don't know if

those are the right

flowers.

It kind of look like

it.

Is that the right

kind of flower?

I don't even know.

Who knows?

I'm not a tree

person.

But let's say

however that the

apple tree wasn't a

selling point for us

and we decided

instead that we

wanted to have

peaches on our

tree.

There's no way to

get that apple tree

to grow peaches.

You can't trim it

back and wire on

peaches.

You can't even

graft a good old

fashioned peach tree

to an apple tree.

I actually had to

Google that to make

sure I wasn't telling

you a lie.

You can't.

You can't actually

graft an old

fashioned peach tree

to an apple tree.

No matter what you

do, only apples are

going to grow on

that tree.

If you want peach

tree, you've got to

take it up, roots and

all, and plant a

peach tree.

If we want new

fruit, we have to

dig up the roots.

New roots equals

new fruit.

If all we do is

modify, and all we

do is we kind of

modify in the same

way when all we're

doing is making up

resolutions.

You know, I'm

going to pray more.

I'm going to go to

church more.

I'm going to stop

being bad and be

more Christian, and

God's going to see

how good I am.

I feel for some of

the soldiers who

come into my office,

and they're like, I

can't go to church, I'm

not good enough.

If you only knew.

First of all, about me

and the people who

are there, no

offense, but we're all

just sinners in need

of grace here.

Amen?

Amen?

Amen.

And so, Christ

announced that it's

only by the direct

intervention of God

can you or I be

changed.

And that's the

starting point.

Colossians 2 told us

how not to approach

spiritual formation,

much like that old

classical model.

Colossians 3 shows us

how to approach

spirituality.

Setting our eyes on

the things above, the

passage says.

Set your minds on

things that are above,

not on things that

are on earth.

We're raised with

Christ, then we set

our minds.

That means to be

taken up with.

When you look at the

passage and translate

the passage, it could

be taken up with the

things of God.

It could be devoted to

the things that are

above.

Allowing God, through a

vision of his glory, to

strip off the old and

put on the new.

I love Isaiah 6, 3,

where it talks about

the garment of praise.

We put on the

garment of praise.

I think that applies

here.

When God strips off

the old clothes and

he reclothes us, we

in a sense do that as

well along with him.

We put on the

garment of praise, all

the means of grace.

We have this term

called biblical means

of grace, which

includes reading our

Bibles, it includes

the Lord's Supper, the

wonderful worship we

had this morning.

These are the ways that

God allows us to

interact with him, to

set our minds.

But these things have

no power in

themselves unless

they're infused by

the Holy Spirit.

And through the

Holy Spirit, we get,

they become ways to

look to Jesus.

And it's through

looking to Jesus that

we become saved.

I have to stop there

with that point because

I could preach a whole

other sermon just on

that.

If Paul still uses

active terms and

those images are

active on our mark,

you take off then,

put on then, he's

always talking about

active, but we have

to keep that mooring

in sight.

We have been raised

already.

It's not about earning

God's favor.

It's about looking to

God and allowing him

to change us.

These are ways that we

relate to God as his

children.

They are not ways that

we earn his favor or

build our own

spiritual growth.

Spiritual

reformation is rooted

in our identity as

risen and adopted

children of God.

The basic truth about

what Christ has done

for us, that's the

point from which

everything else in

the spiritual life

flows.

And that's important

for us to remember

because there's a lot

of things out there

that want us basically

to say, no, you

know, our money or

our pride in ourselves,

that's going to be the

point from which my

spirituality is going to

flow.

No, it's what God has

done for us in Christ.

And so our to-do, if we

don't know Jesus and

you're tired of just

floating along in this

fear-based society, is to

accept Jesus' promise of

a new and risen life.

His forgiveness of your

sins and rising us from

the death that we live

now.

And to begin our

journey.

Or, if we're in the

church and we think

we're just humming

along, the beginning of

this year is a perfect

time to examine ourselves

and ask ourselves, in

what way have we

bought into that old

model of spiritual

formation?

The religious model

that apparently this

philosophy was trying to

get the Colossians.

In what ways at the

beginning of this year

am I buying into that

mindset?

And start again to

offer our old rags of

sin to him, commit to

his means of grace, and

to allow him to make us

into who he wants us to

be.

Not the other way

around.

All right, it's time for

the big finish.

This is my favorite

part of the sermon.

I think it's everybody's

favorite part.

One of the great parts

about joining the

military is when you

first get your uniform.

It's been a while for me,

but, you know, you get

this wonderful new

uniform that you've been

itching to put on.

And, you know, in

Petawawa, we always got

the new chaplains to

train.

I have a feeling now

that that's because they

could never convince any

of the experienced

chaplains to come there.

So we always got the new

chaplains to train.

And clothing stores where

in the military you

actually get your uniform

had this thing that they

seemed to like to do

with chaplains, and that

is give them a uniform,

smile, and send them on

their way.

Everybody else gets shown

how to wear the uniform.

For some reason, maybe

it's because we're

officers or chaplains,

they think, you know,

the Lord's going to show

us how to put this thing

on.

I don't know.

But they, so I remember

one fellow, great guy,

fantastic chaplain, but

when he showed up, they

gave him his uniform.

He went on his way, and

God bless him, he went

home and he put on his

uniform himself.

And then, well, he put

on his uniform himself.

And then he showed up

at our chaplain offices,

and the office was

locked, and Padre

Lara, who I worked

with for a number of

years, she came around

the door, and there

were a couple of

people there, and all

they remember is Lara

coming around and

looking out the front

door and going, oh

my goodness, and seeing

him there standing in

his uniform all proud of

himself.

And she went, she

opened the door, and

she just like dragged

him in, and her

question was like, how

many people saw you?

He had a pizza box, his

beret looked like a

pizza box on his head,

his legs were on

blouse.

Like, to a civilian, he

might look military, but

if you're in the army, I

mean, he was just

embarrassing himself.

And credibility is

everything with the

army guys.

You don't want to, or

army folks, you know,

you don't want to

embarrass yourself like

that.

And really kind of

embarrassing the

chaplains as well.

And he's so terribly

put together.

You know, even though

the membership and the

rank were his, he

needed to grow into

the uniform.

You learn to grow into

the uniform, how to

talk, how to be within

the military.

And he had that

confidence now while

growing.

We actually just

deployed him recently.

We had the community

that came around him to

help, the chaplains,

kind of showing him how

to put on his beret,

you know, what right

boots to wear.

I'm surprised he had

his boots on the right

feet.

This life after being

raised is about

growing in to our

new identity.

It's about letting

God put on our new

uniform for us, rooted

in who we've been made

to be, empowered by the

Holy Spirit to take

off the old and to

put on the new.

And so my challenge

this morning is for us

to make a resolution,

not just to change,

but a resolution to

spend my year looking

to Jesus.

Let him grow you

into the new

spiritual being that

he raised you to be.

Let's pray.

Loving God, what a

wonderful gift.

An unbelievable gift

you've given to us

in Christ.

We give you thanks,

Lord God, for our

salvation.

We give you thanks,

Lord God, for the new

way you close us in the

close of heaven now as a

taste of what's to come.

We pray for our

community that we would

be a place that would

help each other along

to grow into our new

uniform.

We pray, Lord God,

that this would be a

year where we look to

you and let you change

us through that vision

of your glory.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.