Spiritual Formation

Good afternoon.

Praise God for beautiful weather.

It's a joy to be here.

We are in the middle of a series at Church of the Advent,

for those of you who may be here for the first time,

exploring our identity and calling.

You may, if you've been a part of a church before,

you know that from time to time it's important for us to gather

and to reflect on who God is calling us to be.

And we do this because everything that we do in the life of this church is responsive.

It's a response to what we believe God is calling us to be and to do.

And so if you're here and you're not a Christian,

you may think that this may not be relevant to you.

I don't want to stress that everything that we're going to talk about

is simply a reflection of what we believe not just to be true of Church of the Advent,

but for all Christians.

This is really what we believe the faith in general calls Christians to be and to do.

So that's what we're going to be talking about.

For us at this church, we would summarize our calling with this statement.

We've been reflecting on this.

As a church, we seek the flourishing of Washington, D.C.

by building gospel-centered communities that practice generous hospitality,

spiritual formation, and missionary faithfulness in every neighborhood.

And those last three phrases are what we would consider our core values.

And last week we looked at generous hospitality.

This week we come to the second of these core values, spiritual formation.

So that's what we're going to be talking about this afternoon, spiritual formation.

And I want to define that before we even get started

because I think that there's maybe some confusion around what this actually means.

We live in a culture that's very fond of spirituality.

And we like the idea, and many people like the idea of spiritual exploration, spiritual growth.

But what do we mean by that, right?

We could be talking about a good experience hiking.

We could be talking about a great yoga class.

We could be talking about a really great brunch, which can be a transcendent experience.

And all of those things are good things, but none of those things reflect what we mean

when we talk about spiritual formation as Christians.

As Christians we mean something very specific.

We would define spiritual formation this way.

That it's the process through which we are inwardly transformed

such that the personality and the characteristics of Jesus Christ flow naturally out of us

whenever or wherever we are.

So it's the process through which we are inwardly transformed

such that the personality and characteristics of Jesus Christ flow out of us naturally

whenever and wherever we happen to be.

Put simply, spiritual formation is the process of converting faith into fruit.

It's converting faith into fruit.

And there are a couple of passages that tell us a lot more about spiritual formation

and those we're going to be looking at together.

There's a passage from 2 Peter chapter 1

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

and then the gospel reading John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

And you can think of these as complementing one another.

2 Peter is sort of the left brain version

and John 15 is kind of the right brain version.

And together they really illuminate what spiritual formation is and how it happens.

And they both kind of tell us the same thing.

They both show us this, that spiritual formation has two pieces to it or two aspects.

There's a passive or receiving aspect

and then there's an active or doing aspect.

So we're going to look at each of those in order.

There's a passive aspect which is all about the gift that we receive.

And then there's an active aspect, the fruit that we then produce as a result of the gift.

So 2 Peter chapter 1 and John chapter 15.

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention John 15 · chapter mention

Let's pray and ask for the Lord to lead us.

Father, if what we just said is true, then all we do is a response to you.

And we know that all that we do now is a response to your word.

That you spoke and we were created.

And as you continue to speak, we will be recreated.

And we pray that that would happen.

That we would come under the loving care of our maker

and that you would sculpt us and shape us and renew us with your word.

We pray this for our good, but chiefly, Lord, and ultimately for your glory.

In your son's name, amen.

So, active and passive, passive and active.

We're going to begin with the passive side of spiritual formation,

the gift that we've received.

The book of 2 Peter, if you're not familiar with it,

the whole letter is about spiritual formation and growth and maturity.

The whole thing is about that.

And yet, at the very beginning of the letter,

Peter begins, before he even talks about growth or maturity or any of that stuff,

before any of that, he makes one foundational statement.

And you see it in verses 2 and 3.

He says, here's the first thing you need to know.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness

through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.

So, you hear what he's saying.

He's saying, before we can talk about spiritual formation,

before we can talk about maturity or growth,

there's one thing that we need to be absolutely clear on.

By knowing Jesus, saving knowledge, believing the gospel,

simply by knowing Jesus,

you have received in faith everything that you need.

It's all yours.

All of the raw material for life, for godliness.

In other words, just by knowing Jesus,

by coming to believe the gospel,

he gives you automatically everything you need to become like him.

It's all yours.

And Jesus, by the way,

this is the 2 Peter version,

Jesus is talking about the same thing in John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

Because what is the metaphor that he uses?

Like I said, this is the right brain version.

He uses this beautiful metaphor of a vineyard and a grapevine.

And what does he say there?

He says in verse 5,

I'm the vine.

You are the branches.

And whoever abides in me and I in him,

he it is that bears much fruit.

For apart from me, you can do nothing.

So he's saying the exact same thing as Peter is saying in 2 Peter chapter 1.

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

He's saying,

I'm the vine.

Right?

And then if you know anything about a grapevine,

there's one vine.

And as it goes up and goes out along the trellis,

there are lots of branches that come off the one vine.

He's saying,

I'm the true vine.

You know,

Israel thought of themselves as the true vine.

That's what they were called in the Old Testament.

But what Jesus is saying is that Israel has failed in that calling.

And now he is the true vine.

He's the one who's meant to bring God's fruit into the world.

But how does it happen?

Through us.

And he's saying,

you're the branches.

Your whole ability to produce fruit depends on your willingness to abide in me.

It all comes from me.

I'm the source.

So they're saying the same thing.

So what does this actually mean?

Why begin here?

If we're talking about spiritual formation,

why do we have to begin with this fact that everything we need comes from Jesus?

We have to receive it.

Well, let me make this a little more practical.

And I want to do that by bringing us back to a movie that some of us have seen.

Michael Hendricks and I were talking about this the other week.

And it reminded me of just the power of the movie Saving Private Ryan.

Have you seen it?

If you haven't, I'm getting ready to spoil the whole thing.

And I'm sorry.

But you've had plenty of time.

So you have absolutely no excuse.

But here's what happens in the movie.

Private Ryan is one of four brothers.

And they're at war.

And the command finds out that three of his brothers have been killed in combat.

And they recognize there's only one surviving brother.

And they say, we have got to get this Ryan boy home to his mom.

And so they call up Miller.

Miller's played by Tom Hanks.

And they tell Miller to take a squad of eight men

and to do whatever they have to do to find Private Ryan,

to get him out of the conflict zone,

and safely home to his family.

They're going to risk the lives of eight people to save this one guy.

And so even Miller is a bit incredulous.

And he says, at one point he says, well, this guy better be worth it.

He says, you know, he better go home and cure some illness

or invent a longer lasting light bulb.

He better be worth it.

And if you know how the movie goes,

every single one of those men dies.

They all die trying to save Private Ryan, which they do.

Miller gets shot.

He's dying.

He's just got a few seconds to live.

And as he is dying, he's there with Ryan.

And Miller grabs Ryan.

And his final words, earn this.

And then he passes away.

So then fast forward 60 years.

It's a grave site in Normandy.

And the aging Private Ryan is standing in front of a headstone.

And on the headstone, it reads Miller.

And tears are streaming down his face.

And his wife comes up to comfort him.

And as his wife comes up,

he says through his tears,

have I been a good man?

Tell me I've lived a good life.

And his wife tries to reassure him that he is a good man,

that he has lived a good life,

but he keeps crying.

And it's clear that he can't really be sure.

He doesn't really know.

Did he earn the sacrifice of those eight men?

Did he live a life worthy of that sacrifice?

And what's shocking about the scene is,

I watched it again this past week,

is that his wife walks up,

and it's clear that she has no idea who Miller is.

Which tells us what?

For all that time,

he had carried that pain secretly inside.

Not even his wife knew.

Did I earn it?

Was I good enough?

And the point is this,

I think that this movie strikes a chord with us,

because I think that we all carry

a kind of deep down secret question.

Do I measure up?

Am I worth something?

Right?

Am I good enough?

Did I do it?

Right?

Do I pass muster?

We want somebody whose opinion matters

to come and to put their hand reassuringly

on our shoulder and say,

yes, you are good enough.

You did enough.

You measure up.

You don't have to keep trying.

You've done enough.

It's good.

Right?

The quota has been met.

Right?

The standard has been surpassed.

That's what we want.

I think that's why we crave the approval

that we crave from other people,

from our parents.

You know,

I never got the approval from my parents that I wanted.

I don't think that it began with your parents.

I think that it's an even deeper longing.

Your parents are a substitute.

And it's possible that men and women

experience this differently.

Right?

One woman was telling me,

we were talking about this,

she said, you know,

I don't necessarily worry about measuring up.

It's more a desire to be desired above all things.

I want to know that I am worthy of someone's top choice.

That I am the object of desire.

That I am the one.

That I'm the apple of someone's eye.

That I'm somebody's highest joy.

Right?

Now, I don't know how you experience this,

but however you experience it,

I think deep down,

we all carry the same question that Private Ryan carries.

And so we have to think about that

and think about that inner question.

And then we have to recognize

that all religions actually would acknowledge this.

Most religions out there acknowledge

there's some longing in us for that.

And actually,

most religions have a way of addressing this longing.

They say, yes, you feel that longing,

you have that need,

here's what you do about it.

So Buddhism says,

here's the eightfold path to enlightenment.

Right?

Hinduism says,

well, here's karma,

and as long as your good deeds overwhelm your bad,

then you'll be reincarnated in a future life

at a higher level of existence.

Islam says,

at the end of your life,

when all of your deeds are tallied up,

if you have more good deeds on Allah's scale

than the bad deeds,

and you have the good deeds outweigh the bad,

then you'll go to paradise.

So they all address it,

but do you see the common limitation that they all share?

You can't really know until you die.

Right?

You can't really ever know.

You hope,

and you do the best you can,

and you do the most good that you can,

and you hope,

and you try,

but you never really know.

You have to wait until you die

for somebody to finally tell you

whether or not you were good enough,

whether or not you passed muster,

whether or not you met the standard.

So they offer no assurance now.

So for somebody like Private Ryan

standing in a graveyard,

tears flooding down a space,

wondering,

did I do it?

Did I pass muster?

Am I good enough?

You know,

these religions would say,

well,

the jury's still out.

The jury's still out.

Keep trying.

A good faith effort,

but no assurance.

So here is the thing

that makes the good news of Christianity

so utterly unique

and so glorious.

Because what does Christianity say?

Well,

what's the verse that we just read together?

2 Peter 1,

2 Peter 1:3

verse 3.

Jesus,

in his divine power,

has given us all things

that pertain to life and godliness.

Has given.

Past tense.

It's done.

It's over.

It's already been given to you.

This is saying,

the jury has come to a decision

and they're unanimous.

It's done.

There's nothing more that you can do.

There's nothing that you can do to add to it.

It's already done.

And it's saying,

you know,

when it comes to God,

God's standard is up here.

And we're all way down here.

But here's what has already happened.

Jesus has come

and he's filled in that gap.

He's filled in whatever we lacked.

And then he went above and beyond.

So it's not just about meeting a minimum standard

or filling our quota

or crossing the line

so that God says,

okay,

that's good enough.

Jesus pours all of his goodness,

all of his righteousness,

pours that into our lives.

So that God looks at us and says,

I choose you.

You're the one I delight in.

You're the one.

You're the one I want.

So therefore,

if we think about this in this difference,

when we think about what Peter is saying,

we think about what Jesus is saying.

You know,

this is why Jesus says,

I'm the vine.

I'm the source of goodness and righteousness.

And this is why Peter says,

before we can talk about spiritual formation

or growth or good works,

let me make one thing clear.

If you know Jesus Christ

and you have received everything

that pertains to life and godliness,

that means that no matter what you do,

no matter how much you grow,

no matter how much fruit you produce,

no matter how many good works fill your life,

from this point on,

you will not add one ounce

to the righteousness that is yours in Christ.

You will not add one ounce

to the amount that God loves you.

And conversely,

if you never do anything,

if your life never produces anything,

right,

God will not love you one ounce less.

You will not detract one ounce

from the righteousness that is yours in Christ

because it all comes from Jesus.

And so you see the difference

when we begin talking about spiritual formation.

If you have a religion that says,

well, keep trying

and hopefully it'll all pan out in the end,

what's the motivation there?

Well, the motivation is fear.

I've got to keep trying and trying and trying

and hoping and hoping and hoping.

But with Christianity,

because we know it's all already ours,

it's all been given to us,

the motivation is not fear,

the motivation is freedom.

Our motivation for growing spiritually is not fear,

it's that we have been set free.

We no longer have that anxiety.

We no longer have that need for assurance.

We have it.

And so we simply know that we're set free

to be what God created us to be.

Branches on the vine that produce fruit.

So that brings us to the next piece,

the active side of spiritual formation.

If that is true,

if we have all of that in Jesus Christ,

then what does that mean about our lives?

What are we called to as a result?

Now, as we turn our attention to the active side,

I want to address a potential objection right up front.

And that is that some people may be thinking,

well, if that's true,

if what we just said is true

and Jesus gives us everything we need,

then why does there even need to be an active side?

Right?

I mean, why do anything?

What's the motive?

And I would say that's a really great question.

And the answer, quite frankly,

is that we're all exactly like Louis C.K.,

the comedian.

We're all exactly like him.

I'll tell you what I mean.

There's a comedy special,

and Louis C.K. is talking,

and at one point, he's talking about beliefs.

And he's talking about something that he thinks is important

that we should all believe in.

He says, you know, I believe in it too.

And then he says, but I don't actually do it.

And then he says, you know, I have a lot of beliefs,

and I live by none of them.

That's just the way I am.

They're my beliefs.

I just like believing them.

He says, I like that part.

They're my little believeys.

My little believeys.

They make me feel good about who I am.

Right?

But if they get in the way of a thing I want to do,

I still do it.

And I think that he's nailing something about human nature.

We love having beliefs.

It's so great to believe what we just said about Jesus

and to believe that God chooses us and God loves us.

That makes me feel good.

That helps me when I'm depressed.

It gets me out of bed.

Right?

Helps me cheer up when I've had a hard day at work.

Those are good, fun beliefs.

Right?

Unless they actually get in the way of something we want to do.

Right?

And so it's for this very reason

that both Jesus and Peter emphasize

that our faith needs to be converted into fruit.

That this is the purpose of salvation.

Not to earn God's love.

We have it.

But because this is what we were made for.

This is who we were created to be.

And so they say we need to convert that faith into fruit.

And so that's why in verse 5 Peter says

make every effort therefore to supplement your faith.

You know, to build on or to add to

or another translation says to furnish your faith.

And I like that because the image is

you have the house.

The house is there but it's an empty house.

And to make it something that you can live in

it needs furniture.

So he's saying furnish your house of faith.

Live inside it.

Right?

And so to use another image

as Peter is listing these out

he's essentially listing

what amount of virtues.

And what is a virtue?

A virtue is just a habit.

It's a habit that you're not necessarily born with

but over time as you do it more and more and more

it becomes more natural.

It's wired into your character.

This is what a virtue is.

And so think about musicians or athletes.

Some of you are great athletes.

You know?

Or maybe you used to be.

But at some point

you've probably been around great athletes.

Some of you are great musicians.

Right?

We had some very gifted musicians up here.

And these people are not born with these abilities.

They're born with the potential

but that has to be turned into

ability

and something that can be expressed through practice.

And to put a finer point on it

through the developing of muscle memory.

Right?

Somebody doesn't just learn to play the piano overnight.

You have to practice and practice and practice

and practice and practice

until it comes naturally to your hands.

Until the piano becomes an extension of yourself.

And in the same way

an athlete has to practice again

and again

and again

and again

and again

until it comes naturally.

Until you develop that muscle memory.

And so

spiritual formation means

supplementing our faith

by developing a kind of

spiritual muscle memory.

That's what it is.

That's what a virtue is.

It's like spiritual muscle memory.

So here are the virtues

that we're called to cultivate.

The first one is just virtue

which means goodness.

Right?

A good moral character.

So cultivate a solid moral character

that reflects

the character of Christ.

And then he says

and then add to that knowledge.

And by that

he doesn't mean

saving knowledge.

Here he means

doctrinal knowledge.

So learn scripture.

Learn what God is like.

Learn the story of salvation.

Learn the kinds of things

that God cares about.

Learn what God's people

are called to be.

Doctrinal knowledge.

And then he says

add to that

self-control.

What is self-control?

Well it's just the ability

to enjoy good things

without allowing them

to become ultimate things.

Right?

So go out

and

enjoy

enjoy good food

and drink

but don't

live for

food and drink.

Right?

Enjoy the pride

of a job well done

but don't

live for

pride and approval

and praise.

Right?

Enjoy

the company

of your friends

and enjoy the

way that

you guys can

celebrate together

but don't

live for

the approval

of your friends.

Right?

Love your job

and pour yourself

into your job

but don't

live for your

job

and stake your life

on success.

Right?

So self-control

in all of these ways.

Steadfastness

he says

is something

that we should

add to that.

Now what is

steadfastness?

Well that's just

the ability

to hang in there

to trust God

to remain devoted

to God

even when

life is hard

or when it feels

like God is silent.

He's saying

all of these things

are not things

that just happen

naturally

they're habits

of the heart

they come just

by doing them

by practicing them.

Godliness is next

and what is godliness?

Well here

godliness simply means

having an integrated

faith.

So decompartmentalizing

your faith is not

just something

that happens

on Sunday

and Wednesday

your faith

is fully integrated

into the way

you understand

your vocation

and the unique

specific ways

that God

has wired you

to serve

and to love

and to live

in his world.

Right?

Integrating your faith

into all of your

relationships

integrating your faith

into how you think

about your money

and how you think

about your body

and how you think

about your time

and how you prioritize

that your faith

is fully integrated

that's godliness

in this context.

And then brotherly

affection means

Philadelphia

right?

Love for other

Christians

your Christian brothers

and sisters

love for the church

that's a habit

of the heart

right?

If you don't feel

very lovingly

toward your brothers

and sisters in Christ

it's because it's a habit

that needs to be cultivated

in other words

you act lovingly

and the feelings

emerge over time

we were just in the

foundations class earlier

and we were talking

about how often

in our culture

we think that we

should be led

by our emotions

but that in reality

if you know anything

about your heart

that's like letting

my six year old

drive the car

right?

It's just not

I mean he needs

to be in the car

he deserves a place

in the car

but he should not

be behind the wheel

now he wants

to be behind the wheel

but he shouldn't

be behind the wheel

it means disaster

for everybody

right?

So we need to learn

how to drive our hearts

they're meant to be driven

they're meant to be led

they're meant to be shaped

and that's what

virtues do

they shape

and cultivate

our desires

that's how it works

and so ultimately

what is all this

leading toward?

Well ultimately

not just brotherly love

brotherly affection

but agape love

which doesn't just mean

love for other Christians

and people who are like you

it means love for everybody

regardless of what they believe

regardless of where they come from

regardless of what they look like

love for everybody

and so this is a great thing

to notice here

in one sense

the order doesn't matter

a lot of times

people make a lot

out of the order

that you have to do one

before you do the next

before you do the next

I really don't think

there's any evidence for that

there are lots of lists

like this even in the Bible

and sometimes they appear

in different orders

but one thing

that you always see

it always begins in faith

begins in faith

and it always culminates

in agape love

and that tells us

very simply

that the purpose

the aim

of all virtues

is love

they all come together

and culminate

in love

the other thing

I should point out

is that as we look

at this list

of characteristics

or virtues

what we're really seeing

is a description

of the character

of Jesus Christ

so when we say

that spiritual formation

is inward transformation

such that the personality

and characteristics

of Jesus

flow naturally

out of us

these are the characteristics

we're talking about

so as we look at this

and just to kind of

draw all of this together

I want to show you

how these work together

how does the passive part

and the active part

work

the gift that we receive

and the fruit we produce

how do they work

well here's how it works

it's a cycle

and it's a cycle

that we live out

again and again

and again

and again

and again

thousands upon thousands

of times

throughout our lives

we begin by

receiving grace

we receive it

as a gift

he gives us

everything pertaining

to life and godliness

it's all ours

and then we recognize

the freedom that we have

that we're empowered

for good works

and so we go

and we begin to do that

I want to be self-controlled

I want to worship the Lord

I want to love my brothers

and sisters

I want to love everybody

and we go and we begin

to do that

and then we fail

and sometimes we fail big

if you haven't failed yet

you have failed

and you just don't know it

you will fail

and then what happens

well you either plunge

into guilt

and self-recrimination

and or apathy

and say forget this

this is too hard

or you come back

in the cycle

to the gospel

oh it doesn't depend on me

it doesn't hinge on me

god doesn't love me

any less

I'm no less worthy

because I failed

in this way

everything that I need

I already have

I can't add to it at all

and you recognize

and remember

the love that you have

through Jesus Christ

and hopefully

you have brothers and sisters

reminding you of that

and then you get back up

and you try again

and then you fail

and then you plunge

into grace

and then you come

and you try again

and so on and so forth

and what happens there

well two things

are happening simultaneously

the more you do that cycle

the more on the one hand

you will be cultivating

virtue and character

you try

and you try

and you try

and over time

it will shape you

and shape your mind

and shape your heart

it's just the way

human beings are wired

it's the beauty

of neuroplasticity

we are shaped

by our habits

right

it will have

an impact on you

but on the other hand

what's also happening

every single failure

is driving you

deeper and deeper

and deeper

and deeper

into the unlimited

depths

of Jesus' grace

and so spiritual formation

for Christians

involves both kinds

of growth

on the one hand

I'm developing

a more godly character

and on the other hand

I'm developing

a much deeper awareness

of my sin

and my need for grace

and both happen

simultaneously

so this is why Paul

over the course

of his ministry

on the one hand

you see him

in chronological order

if you look at his letters

in chronological order

on the one hand

he's becoming more

and more and more

shaped by Jesus Christ

he's growing in his character

but on the other hand

simultaneously

his self-estimation

isn't increasing

he's not saying

man I'm such a better person

now than I was

ten years ago

it's going in the

reverse direction

right

actually the more godly

his character becomes

the more he becomes aware

of his own identity

as a sinner

so he goes from

just referring to himself

as an apostle

to referring to himself

near the end of his life

as the chief of sinners

right

so this is the unique way

that Christian spiritual

formation happens

and so this is the kind

of community

that we want to have

at Church of the Advent

at every level

we want this happening

in every sphere

whether it's on a Sunday

like this

or just a group of friends

hanging out

on a random night

of the week

we want this culture

to exist

right

because we recognize

that if you have a church

Tom and Allison

you guys are here

oh my gosh

good to see you

if you have a church

if you have a church

that only focuses

on the passive

it's only what Jesus

has done for us

and never talks about

what we're called to

as Christians

then you're going to have

a church that understands

grace

and understands the cross

but only so far

because it takes

actively failing

to then really

remind me

of the real meaning

of grace

I have to fail

to feel the need

so I will plunge

into that pool

right

and because I'm never

called to anything

I won't change

I won't grow

there won't be

any transformation

right

it's the cross

without the resurrection

but on the other hand

if you have a church

that only focuses

on the character

and the virtue

and what I'm called to

and obedience

but forgets about grace

it may actually be worse

because you have a culture

where people look

like they've changed

right

there's conformity

happening

but underneath the surface

everybody's concealing

right

Christianity just becomes

avoid the obvious sins

and hide all the rest

right

and so it becomes

a legalistic culture

of conformity

but again

no actual change

in order to have a culture

where you actually

are transformed

and grow

you need both

right

and this is what

we want Advent to be

so on the one hand

we want to take

holiness seriously

God calls us to holiness

God calls us to holiness

in all that we do

right

that virtues

matter

that we should have

a culture

where we are calling

the best out of each other

where we want to become

more than we are

where we want to grow

and character matters

but on the other hand

we want to have a church

that when we confront sin

when we challenge one another

when we have those

hard conversations

that it always leads

back to grace

that we recognize

that we are all

fellow strugglers

fellow sinners

drawing from that well

right

and so this is the kind

of culture

where real transformation

happens

and so this is why

we talk about

the three C's

at Church of the Advent

it's just a mnemonic

for remembering

the kind of pathway

of discipleship

that the first C

we just want everybody

every week

to be here at communion

this all of what

we're talking about

we're reminded of this

every week

that we come together

so you should be here

every week

even Super Bowl Sunday

and if that isn't the case

if you're not here

if you're out of town

if you're traveling

then we encourage you

to make every effort

to try to find a church

where you are

and worship

find a good local church

and go worship there

you know

if you don't

if you're just visiting

and you don't live here

or you're part of another

church in the city

that's awesome

but you should really

be a part of that church

on a weekly basis

that's the first thing

communion

second thing

community

having people

in your life

who know you

outside of Sunday

that happens in our church

through core groups

but having people

who know you well enough

so that they can do

both of these things

in your life

they can call you

to virtue

and call you to character

and call you to holiness

and godliness

and they can also speak

grace and love

into your life

and they know you well enough

to know when you need

each of these

and then the third thing

is commitment

it's just encouraging people

that if you're going

to be a part of a church

whether it's Advent

or another church

that you should be

fully committed

that you should

really strongly consider

membership

that you should be

actively giving

actively serving

finding ways to contribute

actively giving

of your time

giving of your money

giving of your energy

and your gifts

now why would we talk

about that in spiritual formation

well as we talk about

the cultivation of virtue

that's the place

where you're most going

to be called out

in terms of

you're going to be asked

to step up

right

you have to have

a certain amount

of character

you have to have

a certain amount

of virtue

to be willing

to follow through

on your commitments

to say you're going

to do something

and then do it

right

to order your time

and order your spending

and order your energy

such that you're able

to give regularly

and sacrificially

to the body

that is one of the

greatest places

for growth

and in my own life

it's been one of the places

where I've most experienced

growth

is when a church

really asked me

we need you

to be fully in

we need you

we need your time

money energy

we need you to be a part

of contributing

to the vitality

of this community

so these are the things

that we talk about

but we need to remember

that all of this

is rooted in the grace

of Jesus Christ

that the way we produce

fruit

is by first

receiving

the gift

so going back

to Private Ryan

just as we try to

draw all this together

think about Ryan

think about him

standing in that

graveyard

think about the tears

his wife can't

assure him

am I good enough

did I earn it

his wife can't

assure him

no matter what she says

his kids can't

assure him

his friends

can't assure him

his counselor

can't assure him

his pastor

can't assure him

what does he

really want

he wants

Miller

to come back

from the grave

and to say

you did it

you earned it

that's what he wants

but that's impossible

right

and beyond that

even if Miller

were to come back

I suspect

that even that

wouldn't fully

give him the assurance

he's looking for

why

because I suspect

that he had that

in him

long before he even

met Miller

because he's a human

being

but here's the good

news of the gospel

someone has come

back from the grave

Jesus Christ

and if Jesus Christ

were to meet Ryan

in that graveyard

and Ryan were to

ask Jesus

did I earn it

you know what

Jesus would say

no

no

you didn't

but here's the good

news

I did

and here's the best

part

all of it

all of it

I did for you

and that's the gospel

let's pray

that's the gospel

good

I bijna

yes

you

and

bye

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