FORMATION: ”WE NEED PRACTICES” | Exodus 16 (Christian Martinsen)

Hi.

I have a couple uh things before I get

started in the word of God. Exodus 16 is

where we'll be today. Uh I just want to

give a a bit of a

I don't know if it's a shout out or just

encouragement. Two two groups. Um men

and young adults. First of all, men.

We've been praying and processing about

some ways. We have an incredible team

that's just been processing how do we

build a a culture of of men and and

masculinity and health and how do we

kind of leverage our new space to do

that. We are most likely going to have

several options of men's gatherings that

are primarily going to be around Bible

study, disciplehip, formation,

processing life uh around his word. And

so we're going to probably have a couple

options in mornings and then an evening

option. I just want this isn't to

substitute for community groups. It's to

complement them. But I want you to be

praying and processing about how willing

are you to make space in your life for

this all-important invitation. I can

promise you uh it's not a waste of time.

I was really touched by um I've I've

shared this once or twice before, but uh

the the mark often is so low. I I've

been blown away by a men's study that's

been going on for probably 30 years in

Los Cusus, New Mexico, where my my uh my

in-laws live. My father-in-law started

going to the they call it old man's

Bible study.

The this Bible study, which if I'm

honest, the first few times I went, I I

go every between Christmas and New

Year's, they still meet. They don't take

off for holidays. They don't take off

for anything.

I think it's because they have food. And

uh some of these men aren't going to

miss breakfast and they're not going to

miss their coffee. The the reality is is

that um this this Bible study has

endured like just since I've known them

like six different pastors. That church

can't keep a pastor. It's not the it's

not my brother-in-law's church. If you

know the story there, he planted a

church. But my father-in-law is

faithful. He goes to like three

different men's Bible studies. But this

one uh this one has endured. And all

they do is open the word, process, and

pray for each other.

And what I thought was boring, like like

it was like they were using a bad

devotional several times. They always

switch it around, but it's always

word-based. But I go, you know, when you

just let something bigger than yourself

anchor you, it's like the Lord will

never waste it. And over the years, I

have just gotten softer and softer and

soft to the point where I'm just like

sometimes emotional just sitting there

because it's just so simple. It's not

profound. Man, ours is going to be

better than that. But

>> but is it going to be simple? And you

simply need to make time in your

schedule. Young adults,

[sighs]

I just am so charged up about us

building in to you so that you can build

in to your city and to your peers. We

have a generation that's crying out and

they're not listening to their parents

and grandparents religion. They are

seeking it out for themselves. And I

feel that it is our it it is our

absolute honor, joy, and privilege to

raise them up and start releasing them

as leaders. So if you're a young adult,

we are we are we are ser dead serious

about raising you up and releasing you

and making a leader out of you. Lean in.

That's the invitation. Now the rest of

you, um

this is a Sunday that many churches and

I'm I'm going to do a brief blessing.

A new school year. How many of you are

starting a new school year? Uh some of

you, like it's a new school year for

everyone. The fall seems fresh, but how

many of you have um yourself, whether

you're a teacher or you've got someone

you're living with that's starting fresh

or you got a kid that's starting uh

school in any way, shape, or form, it's

like somewhat significant of a new

rhythm school year coming up. Okay,

great. Let's not be awkward. I just want

to bless you and I want I want to

stretch hands. So, if you if you could

just stand, there's a lot of you. If

it's half the room, who cares? just

stand. I'm not gonna make you do

anything weird. I want to I just want to

give you a blessing

and and I want to I want to speak some

most there's no there's not many kids in

the room. Maybe some high school and

college students, but I just want to

speak some things and a blessing over

each of you. Um Jesus told us this.

Salt. You're the salt of the world. You

don't have to be the loudest person in

the room.

Salt is often quiet. Wherever it goes,

it changes the environment. provides

flavor,

identity over every single one of you,

whether a student, teacher, parent,

whoever. You don't have to prove who you

are.

Your kids' grades don't define you. Your

grades don't define you. Your friend

group doesn't define you.

You belong to Jesus. Just a fresh

reminder. Who do you belong to? You

belong to Jesus. Let that shape you,

envision you, and commission you. You

are loved before you're commissioned.

Before you've accomplished anything, you

are loved. You've been paid for. Here's

your mission.

I don't care who you are. Go looking for

the lonely.

Look for them.

Take your take yourself out of who am I

going to find to make myself

comfortable. You look for the lonely.

Look for the loneliest person in the

room.

You don't have to survive. There are

people surviving. You don't have to

survive.

Encourage someone. Tell the truth.

Include somebody. Be salt. Teachers,

staff at schools, I just want to bless

you that your classrooms would be

different because you carry the presence

of God. Remember what you carry.

Parents, remember that you're entrusting

your kids again and again and again to

Jesus, not yourself. take the pressure

off. Some of you have so much worry

about a new school or a situation or a

friend group. It's all valid

one accord. We just give them to you,

Lord Jesus.

And so we just pray one body. You can

just stretch out your hands to those

standing if you would. We just

commission ourselves as one body going

out as salt and light to a desperate,

hungry, and lonely world.

remind us who we serve, who is king, and

that we never walk alone. We are never

the lonely person in the room.

We look where no one else looks. We

bring what no one else has. I don't have

to conjure it up. I carry your presence.

You carry his presence in Jesus name.

Amen.

>> You may be seated. I open the word.

Exodus 16. Here's our question for

today. Why doesn't getting free

automatically make you and I free? We

can talk in Christian circles about our

freedom all the time. We had a great

summer series this this fall. We're this

what we're doing right now is we're

leaning in and leading into Exodus.

We're going to start that in September.

But these three messages last week, this

week, and next week are all about kind

of giving us a teaser of what we're

doing with that book, what we're going

to be doing in the fall. Last week was

was all about why we need community.

Today was is going to be a little bit

different. Next week's why we need God.

Uh today's why we need practices, why we

actually have to practice this. And the

answer to why uh getting free doesn't

automatically make us free is that you

have to step into it.

Your deliverance is done completed by

Jesus. But your formation, who you

become,

the Exodus story is so significant

because Israel got free from 400 years

of slavery.

They got rid of Pharaoh.

Pharaoh was still inside of them.

Slavery was still inside of them. And if

we're not careful, our frustration, our

stagnation, the things that feel like

we're stuck are simply because we have

mindsets, slavery, and things that are

enslaving us. Not because we're he

hadn't set us free, but because the

process of our life is stepping in to

being formed more into his likeness.

That's what people call spirit spiritual

formation. Big big words. You and I

simply need to lean into how do I walk?

He says, "Follow me." Your freedom is in

following him. He's already delivered

you. He's already dead, buried, and

raised. He simply now wants you to

follow him. So here, here we go.

Few weeks ago, we were in Exodus 16.

We're in Exodus 16 again. Not because

we're doing the exact same passage. It's

a long chapter. We focus a little bit

more on mana back then. I'll touch on it

today, but it's really all today about

Sabbath.

So, here's what we're going to do. We're

obsessed with the new. Constantly

obsessed with the new. America, we're

really good with the new that we still

call it, you know, the the new land, New

York, new, whatever. We're obsessed with

the new. I love the fact that like we

create. We're inventors. We don't get

stuck on the past. We honor the past.

And we're always even our our

Declaration of Independence, our laws,

our way of life, our culture isn't

looking back and saying it was better

than it was. We have something that

we're aiming at and we're in process and

we embrace the fact that it's a mess,

but we're constantly reaching for

something better. personally, society,

and that's that is, I think, the essence

of something that we have that's good.

But we're in a culture that wants new

information all the time. We talk about

this all the time. We talk about AI

podcast. We want new books, new sermons,

new churches, new communities, new

breakthroughs. I want a word of the Lord

now for today. I I'm I'm still like

mixed bag. Any of you like open up like

a word for the day? I used to do that

every day. It's kind of like a Christian

fortune cookie.

The problem with that is like somebody

else has just given you like a tidbit

and and like it's you're if I'm being

honest like the temptation is to kind of

treat it like a fortune cookie. Is this

some sort of like thing that someone

else is giving me that's going to give

me a shortcut

and maybe he just wants your fortune

cookie to be like opening the word of

God for yourself.

That's for me. That's what I offended

anybody. I'm I'm just talking to myself.

I just realized as I'm looking at my

little Christian fortune cookie, the

Lord's just like, "How about you just

open that thing that's been good for a

long time that I've given you and and

and just saturate yourself in it." And I

think the the invitation Christianity

has a strange way among all the new.

We're really good at actually like being

edgy and new, too. New songs,

new ways of saying the same thing that

we've been saying for 2,000 years.

new buildings, new paint jobs, whatever.

But the invitation

of our faith is always come back to me.

It's always come back to scripture, come

back to the table, come back to prayer,

come back to practicing what it means to

worship, to Sabbath, to rest, to be with

these people in this space that's bigger

than myself and a story that's bigger

than my own story, and to come back next

Sunday, come back Wednesday, whatever it

is. And maybe one of our problems with

this process of formation is that we

mistake the act of repetition. The stuff

we have to do all the time over and over

and over again. Opening the word,

praying, generosity, all these things

that are kind of like boring, mundane, I

don't care. I kind of care. I do them,

but I'm not excited about them. I want a

fortune cookie. I want a high water

mark. I want to go to a conference. I

want a big moment.

And we put aside the repetition

because if we're honest, we feel stuck.

And repetition makes us feel stuck. We

we mistake the repetitions, the dailies,

the practices with being stuck.

Those things are not why we're stuck.

Formation happens through repeated

faithfulness or time.

I'm just going to be honest with you.

This is not a sexy message. I don't even

like this message. This is just for me.

This is my last 10 years of pain. Join

me.

>> It doesn't happen through anything other

than repeated faithfulness over time.

Life is undefeated.

I hate that.

So, how does God actually form free

people? Here's the story in Exodus. I'm

not going to read the whole thing. Uh,

Israel has just experienced 400 years of

slavery, but they have a defining act of

salvation. The defining act of salvation

in the Old Testament is this. The New

Testament is obviously Jesus. It points

to Jesus. Deliverance was deliverance

from the most powerful empire in the in

in the ancient world was Egypt. 400

years in slavery. Passover. Then the

firstborn son of the Egyptians dies.

They're kept safe. They're let go. And

then the Red Sea. Where do we go?

Impossible. The army of Egypt is coming.

Red Sea splits. Pharaoh dies. All of his

army dies. They drown. They're free

again. They enter then the wilderness.

And then you find out what's really

inside them.

They're hungry. They're miserable.

They're grumbling and complaining. And

they begin remembering Egypt like it was

awesome. Like it was a resort.

At least we had food there, Moses. They

even start talking about their meat pies

and all this garbage. Like Like you

think they were fed like Well, it's like

better than the wilderness. God let them

suffer so they would so they would

reveal the heart of what's really going

on. He'd done all of this to set them

free. They're remembering the food.

They're forgetting the slavery. You

know, we do this in in like subtle ways

and we don't want to admit it. We want

to look at them as idiots and morons. We

want to look at the disciples as idiots

and morons. Jesus calls us all sheep, so

it doesn't matter. We're all stupid

sheep. And so the the thing I'm I'm

reminded, have any of you like gone

somewhere? We went five years ago. I

talked about France. I'm not going to

talk about France anymore. I love France

and I'll talk about it a lot but just

not today. Uh five years ago we uh this

was CO like just after CO. Um I guess it

was still CO for some of you. No, I'm

just kidding. Uh depends where the lines

are. I don't know. Uh we were determined

to spend our 15 year anniversary uh out

of here. And so we went to Italy. You

know, we do as as most Americans do. We

watch a Netflix documentary of a butcher

in Italy and think this is going to set

me free. And uh this is going to be the

best moment of my life. Uh Dario

Chuchini in Panzano, Tuscanyany. That

man has figured out life. And if I go

there, uh I'm going to have an

experience that is going to forever

change me and my wife for the better.

And uh and then of course you go there

and you you by the time you get there,

you're just like a miserable wreck. It's

like why did we come all this way? Like

and then you realize like all and the

Italians I'm I'm kind of in the food.

It's kind of annoying if it come out.

Like my wife gets sometimes she likes it

cuz I cook all the time. I'm really into

it. Uh I watch YouTube videos to numb

and to forget about you guys when I'm

stressed and [laughter]

but but so I find these Netflix videos

and I I I kind of turn them into

something that like these idyllic

heavenly experiences. And then I get

there and I'm kind of like, so all the

dude does is use like big chunks of salt

on this meat that he gets from Spain.

And I just went through hell to get here

for like three days.

And then Daario himself walks out and he

is like fat happy. You know that those

people that are like so happy and fat,

you're like, I wish I was as like out of

shape as you cuz you're way happier than

I am.

[laughter]

He hands me a glass, his little buddy

that's just like hopping around with

wine like it's just like water that is

like pouring your glass. It's 2 p.m. in

the afternoon.

He lives like in that apartment there.

There's like 800 people in the whole

town. Everyone knows him. He's now

Netflix famous. The streets of course

like filled with with English speakers

that have watched his documentary. He's

now turned everyone rich in the whole

town. He's now king of the town. And he

still all he does all day is chop big

steaks, serve people wine from all over

the country, take pictures with them,

and then make a killing and then just

invite you into his town. His si we

stayed at his sister's Airbnb. Time of

my life. If you need a seat, guys,

there's plenty of seats in the front. I

don't know why people are afraid of me

up here. I know it looks it fills up in

the back. We added like 35 more seats

this week. We're going to keep adding

seats, don't worry. But there are a few

seats up here. I know it's packed in the

back. Um, no harm, no foul if you're

awkward getting up. You also don't have

to. If you don't want to sit close to

me, no pressure. So, anyway, Dario, it

reminded me of something that I think we

we need to I need to get off track. I'm

saying way more than I meant to.

Nostalgia does something. We come back

from the trip. I would have been all I'm

giving you all kind of my negative

thoughts. But as soon as you just sit

there and experience the Italian meal,

you exchange life with him. take a

picture, you meet a sister, you meet

some friends across the table from

another part of the world that also saw

the Netflix documentary, and then you

put the meat in your mouth with that

salt, and you're just like,

[laughter]

I've never been slain in the spirit, but

I have been slain.

[laughter]

Dario's meat was uh

Okay, that's going to get me in trouble.

Here's what nostalgia does. [snorts] It

remembers the meal. Nostalgia remembers

the meal and it always edits out all the

misery.

And I kind of like that. I I feel like

that's your that's your job as a parent.

Edit out the misery.

Remember the good times.

Mom's better than dad. I can promise you

that. But here, here we go. Israel's

doing the same thing, except there's a

completely different level. Remember the

meat pots? They're saying, "Remember the

bread in Egypt?" And and God's like,

"Yeah, remember Pharaoh?

Remember making bricks with no straw?

Morons.

Remember being slaves?" They're

remembering the food and forgetting what

it costs them.

We do the same thing. stupid little

example of our modern day. Point is,

we're still human beings and nostalgia

will ruin you when you get out

of slavery into the freedom and then and

face the wilderness.

>> So, it's how quickly old slavery can

start looking really attractive when

freedom gets uncomfortable.

And so, what I want to just remind you

that God always responds with grace,

always. And he gives bread from heaven.

This is what they're going to get. He's

going to give them in the response to

their grumbling, not punishment. He

gives them mana from heaven. He gives

them a very particular set of

instructions though of how to receive

it. And that's what we want to pay

attention to. Verse four in chapter 16

says, "The Lord said to Moses, I will

rain down bread from heaven for you."

After he reminded them like eight times

about their grumbling, the people are to

go out each day only gather enough for

the day.

Now you planners are like, "Well,

wouldn't it be responsible to make sure

there's a little bit of leftover in case

I couldn't get out or I sprained my

ankle or, you know, the kids were being

fussy in the morning and I wanted a

little bit only enough for the day." In

this way, I will test them. It's a test

and a gift, but I will test them and see

whether they will follow my

instructions. Following his instructions

isn't because he's like a warlord. It's

because he's like, "Do they actually

trust me? I've done all of this and

they're still enslaved.

So every day, stop."

Now, why does he not give them a month

supply? It's a good question. Why is

this such a strange system? Good

question.

It's it's not even about feeding them.

That's why God's not worried about

feeding them. It has nothing to do with

feeding them even though they need it.

And he knows that their limitations of

their bodies require them to be fed.

It's training them. And here's point

one. Freedom has to get inside us.

Inside us, not just around us. We have

plenty of freedom all around us. But is

it inside you? Here's the issue. You can

be delivered without being formed.

>> That's my spiritual life. I'm delivered,

but am I formed? Their situation changed

overnight. They just didn't change.

Many of us are looking for a promised

land, and he's given us the rhythm of

the wilderness.

Think what Egypt taught them. Egypt is

still in them. And Egypt taught them

everything that they knew and what they

had. Scarcity, there may not be enough.

Competition, protect yourself. Hoarding,

get whatever you can. Production, your

values, what you produce. And then of

course there's anxiety. What's going to

happen tomorrow? They have this

constantly going on. And then of course

there's the issue of no rest. Make more

bricks. Always, always, always. And we

think we don't have any of that except

we have an entire identity complex about

what you and I produce.

We're still enslaved.

We still have the issue of freedom. And

is it just outside of us or is it inside

of us? And one night, God rescues him.

But crossing the Red Sea doesn't erase

generations of being formed by slavery.

God can get Israel out of them in a

night, but it takes a lot longer to get

Egypt out of Israel. Here's what you and

I need to get. What has life taught us?

They're free. They don't know how to

live free. But what has it taught us?

Life has taught you and I a lot of

things. It's discipled us in many, many

ways. Maybe it's taught you not to trust

people or certain people. Some of that

is good. I'm teaching my boys all the

time. Why did you take that from that

person? You do not know them.

[snorts]

My 5-year-old, why did you cross that

street? You are tiny.

You do not have an adult. You do not

know north and south. You don't even

know our address. Okay, so trust is a

you can't trust everything.

But how are you living because someone

let you down? How are you unable to

trust the people that you should or

trust the God that you should because

someone else has violated trust?

Taking care of yourself, nobody else is

going to.

I I feel that's like the hidden one that

many of us wake up with.

If I don't provide, if I don't get this

done, whether it's for yourself, for a

family, or whatever it is, no one else

is going to do it for me. And there's

some truth to that in some way, shape,

or form. what we've erected, what we've

what we've built around us. If I don't

keep producing, I don't get this

anymore.

You are what you accomplish. So, you

never know how to stop.

You can't show weakness because weakness

gets, you know,

it's always fighting against you. You

have to keep everyone happy because

somewhere along the way, you learned

that that's how you were going to be

loved. Or you stay busy because if you

slow down, you have to deal with what's

really going on.

inside. Hate that one.

Or are you feeling behind? Somebody else

is further along, more successful, more

gifted, more connected. And some of the

things that have helped you survive your

Egypt aren't going to teach you how to

live free. So, I'm realizing so much is

like I've got my own Egypt and I'm

delivered, but I haven't been formed.

>> So, it's not only what has formed me.

There's another question. Deliverance is

never the end of the story.

It's the climax, but it's not the end of

the story. What's forming me right now?

Right now, we have things like our city,

LA, is forming all of us. What success

looks like, what matters, where I should

be, what I should live, where I should

send my kids to school, who I should

hang out with, who I have to mooch off

of to build up my career ladder, who I

have to connect to. All of these things.

Your phone is forming you. Blah blah

blah. I know we all know it, except that

we all still have our stupid phones,

and that's not going to change. We're

going to have to keep going after it.

Every single one of us has to say, is

this thing forming me or am I discipled

and disciplined enough to put it in its

proper place? Am I using it or is it

using me?

And of course with the phone is the

algorithms that are now unbelievable,

good and bad. I love the fact that I'm

only marketed to things I care about,

but that's extra distracting. Like all

the ads I like now.

Isn't that like wonderful and annoying?

Right. I said, "I didn't even know they

made that."

They went another hour

because they now know everything that I

love because I've told them with how I

spend my time.

Where do you spend your time?

Your time is forming you. Your calendar

is forming you. Your career is forming

you. Locate your value. What do you

think you need to be happy? What do you

actually value? And what does that say

about what you really value? Yes, our

families form us. Our disappointments

form us. And we can't help that. Our

habits though are the things that we can

lean into. Our relationships we can lean

into. The question is not if we're being

formed. It's what's forming us. We say

that a million times. We're going to say

it again. It's not if, it's what. What's

forming you? And this is what he's doing

in Exodus 16. Father God is looking at

this and he's saying they need to know

what they need to do each day. He's

going to give them something to do.

repetition over and over and over and

over and over again. And in the midst of

our modern freedom, we don't think we

need repetition. You and I need

repetition more than ever.

Do you want to be formed?

Why? Because God isn't in He's not He's

not trying to just merely care about

what they believe. They believe he's

God. And then they still act like

morons. I do the exact same thing.

I have to be formed. They've learned the

way of Pharaoh. Now they have to learn

Yahweh's way. Great. What does that look

like? Wilderness, disciplehip,

formation, but it's it's it's not it's

not just do the things. This is where we

get into law real fast. And it's like,

okay, say if I just if I just do these

practices, if I if I open my Bible every

single day, if I pray, and then we see

Jesus and you have a whole extra

thousands of laws, the Pharisees added,

and they did everything and then some,

and they were the furthest away from God

than anyone.

because all he really cares about is

your heart and who you become along the

way.

So here's the second point. How does how

does God begin undoing generations of

formation under Pharaoh and in you and

I? The generational things that we've

been living under slavery. Maybe it's a

family line. Maybe it's just a human

thing. And here's the fascinating part.

He there's no there's not an extra

sermon that they get. there's not more

information. He gives them something

simply to do tomorrow morning and the

morning after that and the morning after

that

which takes us to the second point which

is you have to practice freedom.

God forms his people through practices.

So he sends the mana every morning they

wake up it's there. They gather what

they need. Everyone has enough. Then

tomorrow they do it again. The next

morning gather, receive again. Repeat,

repeat, repeat. Verse 17. The Israelites

did as they were told. Some gathered

much, some a little. When they measured

it by the om, the one who gathered much

did did not have too much, and the one

who gathered little did not have too

little. Everyone had gathered just as

much as they needed. And it sounds like,

oh, Little House on the Prairie or

whatever that new show is that every my

girls are watching.

It's amazing how TV shows are just

becoming so like wholesome again. Like

we're just craving something.

Little House in the Prairie. And then I

start like watching. I'm like, it's not

that bad. It's just something in me that

goes, I I can't watch that.

It's soft. It's not soft. Okay, random.

Stop rambling. The point is this. They

had enough. They continue six mornings

and then there's the Sabbath. And he

goes, "Gather enough for two days." So

what happened is if they gathered enough

on Wednesday for Thursday, it would rot

and stink. They pay a price all of a

sudden. Then every week they had a test.

Now you got to gather enough for the

Sabbath

and it's going to last you and it did.

But you had to stop everything. Verse 29

says, "Bear in mind the Lord has given

you the Sabbath. Everyone is to stay

where they are on the seventh day. No

one is to go out." So the people rested

on the seventh day. It's like he had to

force them to rest. They didn't know

how. Rest wasn't just physical rest, but

it started there.

It was it was an allconsuming rest that

you and I have no idea how to do. We can

stop working our jobs.

But can we really stop all the other

things?

Look at the rhythm. They gather, receive

enough. Repeat, gather. Six days. Stop

again. Why would he do it this way? He

could have given them a storehouse of 40

years worth of mana. But he gives them a

rhythm.

Some of us is like we are desperate for

God to fill our 401ks and provision or

whatever your dreams are and he's given

you a boring rhythm daily. I told you I

hated this message. I this is this is

the thing I just I want God to show up

with a powerful word and the call on my

life and remind me all the massive fruit

and impact I'm making or or whatever the

the thing that I'm stressed out about.

like I I I have all these things I want

to do with my with my kids and this plan

and I want you to talk to me and with

this big amazing thing and then it's

just like it's not working out and I'm

frustrated

this fall. One of the things I'm I'm

just most frustrated about. I've had

I've had some great experiences like

with my kids, but some of the things I'm

really going after is how do I show them

this at all? Just like a little seed.

>> In the meantime, I'm frustrated at my

own life and God keeps just taking me

back. Will you just get up tomorrow

and do the same thing again when you

don't feel like it?

Some of us just like the trust fall is

just will you do it again? Will you come

to me again? Will you meet me again?

Will you show up again? Will you love me

again?

He gives them a rhythm.

He's not just solving their hunger. He's

forming them. He's forming a people and

he's forming you and I. And this is how

truth gets into us. This is key. I think

we have a slide. Here's how truth gets

into us. This is really helpful for me.

Hopefully helps you. There's

information, experience, and practice.

There's all three operating here, but

you can't just focus on one. Information

is great. It tells you what's true.

People on Instagram love truth. They

love to remind people how it's true.

They love to do it in 10 seconds or 30

seconds. Here's the truth. It's great. A

lot of people are getting truth for the

first time succinctly. A lot of people

are getting not truth for the first time

or not the last time

very succinctly as well.

Truth information it's great. Tell me

what's true. We need it information.

Second experience.

That's that's ultimately like I've got

to encounter the truth or so what

they've encountered the truth.

Set them free. And now here they are in

the wilderness where they have to

practice it. And that's what trains them

and what's that forms them. And this is

why it's like, am I going to live what's

actually true? Is the truth going to

live through me?

That takes time. And that's the

privilege of our life.

They had the information. Yahweh

provides. They'd experienced him out of

Egypt through the Red Sea. And now God

says, "Let me train your life around

this."

God provides. You don't have to hoard.

And you can trust him. And you can

actually stop. Some of us, the Sabbath

is, can you really stop?

It's hard for me

and I'm a professional Christian.

It's hard. It's so hard.

You know, I'm really good at stopping

the the the work clock.

My kids know it. You're off. It's this

day. or whatever. And they can see, but

you're not off inside. You're off

outside. You've been delivered.

But I can see it's not in you. Your day

off hasn't started yet. In fact, I

haven't seen it in a lot of weeks.

We can all pray that God, you're our

provider, but are we are we really

believing it? We practicing what we

preach. And you can't do it by striving.

You do it by being faithful. You do it

because you don't feel like it. Because

I know it's true. And I know that if I

keep stepping forward, I've got a

history with God that promises me he

will meet me. He will form me. And he

will use me. And he won't waste

anything. So God is God. I'm not. the

world can keep moving without me and my

value is never about what I get done.

So this is what he's doing with Israel

and this is what he's doing with you and

I. He's putting the truth into their

calendar and he wants to put it into you

and mine. Most of us don't have an

information problem. We have a Sabbath

problem

how we live and the practices formation

is what I believe being turned into how

I live. That's the only reason why we go

after these things over and over and

over again. So, when we were in Exodus

16 a couple weeks ago, I talked about

limitation. Uh, this time it's all about

how Sabbath is retraining us.

Generations have produced, produced,

produced, and God is saying, "Stop."

Egypt, Pharaoh, your identity is what

you produce. And God is saying, "That'll

never be your identity. If you want that

to be your identity, you will continue

to be delivered but not free. So God

says you're mine even when you're

asleep.

Final point, don't underestimate

the faithfulness of the ordinary. Never

underestimate ordinary faithfulness.

These ordinary mundane things are doing

more in your life than you realize.

There there's this dynamic, this older

me, really younger me. I I I reflecting

back, not like when I'm 15, but maybe

like 25, 30, 35 even. And and I was

wrestling with things like the spiritual

disciplines, the practices of Jesus.

They they're just they were never

exciting. They never stirred me up. I

only wanted to focus on the things that

were like, you know, I could get

passionate about. And I'm just not

passionate about that. That's fine.

They're good. I do them is

but as I've gotten older I've realized

that sometimes

sometimes when life gets real sometimes

when you get to live like your dream of

serving God in many ways I do then

you're left with the reality of your

dreams disappointing you when you

thought that the point was a

mountaintop.

There's there's some of you in the room

that have reached the mountaintop and

that's way worse than continuing to look

up on the mountain and envy someone

else. There's those of you at the bottom

looking up. You're looking around you at

the reasons why you're not there. Those

of you that have gotten to the top are

looking around and going like, "Is this

all there is?"

The beauty of the Christian life is he

gives you eyes to see the mountaintop

and you don't have to scale it before

you figure out that that's not the goal.

that'll never bring you the freedom, the

satisfaction that you crave.

And as I've looked back, I know I'm not

an old man yet, although it feels like

it at times.

Sometimes the practices are all I've got

when things are going great. And I'm

like, mountaintop, but why does this

feel? He's like, "Because

the mountaintop is actually meeting with

me and knowing me and you had access to

me when you were 25, 15, and 10,

Christian,

and you thought I was going to meet you

better on the mountaintop.

>> You know, Moses invited everyone there.

It's only It wasn't because they

couldn't get there. They were invited.

They said, "No, Moses, you go before

us." So, it's a picture of the only man

willing to meet with God.

Risking the closeness. And you and I

have the same invitation.

Sometimes these practices feel like

they're all I've got. When life gets

hard, when ministry is confusing, when I

have questions, it's amazing. On any

given week, I've got all these amazing

things happening. testimonies of

breakthroughs and people encountering

God and and how things we've been

praying for are starting to take shape.

And then on the other side, like I'm

praying for people that like are are

going through divorce, loss of child,

like absolute having to move and they

put everything to be here and they want

to be here and they can't. All of these

things like simultaneously I can carry

the weight of the world. I can fixate

that or ignore it or push things under

the carpet. I have to stay present with

what? not just focus on good things and

ignore the bad things or not just sit in

the bad things and just like you know a

little bit of the good things to just

sprinkle it in so I can just like keep

my head above water. What is it? He

doesn't say he doesn't even tell you

what to focus on. He just says meet with

me. Know my presence. Practice this.

What does scripture do? His voice. What

does prayer do? His voice.

What does worship do? His presence.

What's the community of people do?

remind you what you're a part of. The

family of God that he's the king of what

it's all getting us

to know him and to be his.

I just realized that if I just keep

leaning in

to practicing

my spiritual life, they will anchor my

soul.

And even when I don't feel it, I'm

resisting the darkness. Every time I

take a step, I get up.

I practice

because the ways of the world are

constantly pulling me away from his

ways.

There's no contest

when I just show up.

You don't have to feel transformed every

time to practice something. The practice

is transforming you.

So, mana, day one, they're like, "What

is this?" But after day, 1472,

after 23 years, what do you think

they're looking at? They're like, "Was

it any less supernatural when it kept

showing up?" No. But it was normal to

them. And all of a sudden, the miracles

were just mundane. Was he providing any

less? Was he forming them any less? No.

And that's that's formation. Some of you

like those first few months when you met

Jesus like like your prayer life was on

fire. Your your reading scripture was on

fire. Your encouragement to others, your

your worship, everything was just like

easy and on fire, right?

And then five years later, eight years

later, you're sitting there going like,

"It's good. It's fine.

Nothing dramatic happens." But here's

the encouragement part. But you prayed

again.

You had a dry spell and you came back,

not a lightning bolt.

You tried the Sabbath again.

He met you there.

Some of you, the most beautiful parts of

your story is the the life cycles of how

you've basically just tried to walk with

Jesus, failed, made some progress, and

you just didn't give up, and you keep

coming back to him because he hasn't

stopped inviting you along the way.

That's the sometimes that's the most

powerful testimony in the world. I love

I love the miracles. Israel had a whole

lot of them. It didn't help them get

through the wilderness.

We have to be a church. You will The

church will always be a place of

miracles unless you keep God from being

God.

Unless you quench his spirit.

But you can be a church full of miracles

and not know God. You can be a church

full of miracles and not be formed.

You can be a delivered church but not be

free.

Remember the compound interest. I just

realized again like as I was processing

things, we understand everything else,

but nobody thinks like I went to the gym

once. I don't know why I'm not ripped.

I put $1,000 into my 401k. I don't know

why I'm not rich. We don't we don't

think like that because we understand

that you have to actually do the small

things again and again and again. You

have to repeat long periods produce

disproportionate results. If you just do

the basics and the simple things they

acrew with interest your spiritual

life's the same way. Some of you need to

hear that today. It's not a sexy

message. I know.

Can you can you just live knowing the

interest that he will bring your life if

you will just keep saying yes every

morning? Some of us are just looking for

that big deposit, that big conference,

that big encounter, another prophetic

word, another fortune cookie.

He doesn't even mind if you put that in

your diet. He just says, "You're going

to be hungry tomorrow,

and I've got some mana. Day one, it's

great. Where is it on day 20?" Year 20.

Daily bread. So, here's here's how I

want to land. I want us to remind

ourselves that our act of being

countercultural isn't to people. It's to

the way of the world. There's two trees

in the garden. There's good and evil.

Our way of resisting evil and living

from heaven to earth is by practicing

spiritual resistance in these good

habits. That's not moralism. We'll talk

about that one second. This is an act of

resistance. And some of us need to know

if you want if you need to go to battle,

if you need to go to war. Stepping into

this is going to war. Every practice

says no to one kingdom and yes to

another.

I think there's one slide for this. This

is what prayer is doing. And I just want

to encourage somebody.

Prayer is resisting self-sufficiency.

No to that kingdom and yes to his all

sufficiency. Sabbath is resisting

production

and yes to your identity that doesn't

need to perform. Generosity will always

resist mindsets of scarcity and lack.

Hospitality will always resist isolation

and loneliness. Confession

will always go after your image and your

image management. Scripture, the

competing stories in your in your mind

and in the world. Some of us just need

to get away from the noise, the noise of

the world and let him speak. Let him

comfort you. Let him wrap you in his in

his word and in his voice. And this

church, being part of this community,

it resists an individualized

Christianity. I love that we can access

the best resources online. You can never

replicate this because this is the only

way that you actually live the Christian

life. It has to be walked out in

community because people are what

sharpen you and people are what keep you

and people are what allow you to be a

part of something bigger than yourself.

So this is what I'm I'm aiming at. Every

time I practice one of these practices,

it's like I'm making a declaration

to one kingdom and to the other. And

here's the declaration. It's it's simply

that Pharaoh doesn't own me anymore.

Egypt, I'm free. I'm delivered.

I'm going after freedom inside.

And here's where Jesus just obviously

enters the picture. I mean, he's been

here the whole time, but this is where

this is, this is not about moralism and

trying harder and developing better

habits. There's plenty of great podcast,

TED talks, and and helpful seminars for

you if that's what you need.

Because we have to be careful. That's

not what Christianity is. The practices

are never going to save you ever.

This is also where the word will help

you. Israel tried that. Really ugly. The

gospel is this. We don't pray so that

God loves us. We don't Sabbath so God

will accept us or that God will rescue

us. We don't show up at church just so

he forgives us. That doesn't work. It

doesn't that's not what happens. It's

that Jesus has done what we never could

at the end of the day. I can't do any of

this in my own strength. I have to

surrender to one who did it for me and

went before me. He entered slavery and

sin and he defeated death power in the

grave and he rose and he conquered death

and he gives me a life that I didn't

deserve. I didn't pay for. And that's

where I'm operating where my deliverance

just like Israel's it was a gift. They

didn't earn it. They couldn't do

anything to get it.

And it's the same story. Jesus comes in

and shows us ultimate deliverance is got

to be a gift. We do not have the

capacity to deliver ourselves.

And then the invitation is simply follow

me. Be formed by me. Don't be

intimidated by the wilderness. Yes,

there's a promised land, but I'm going

to form you and get you ready for the

promised land. I want you there more

than you want to be there. They the

whole story is about he wanted them

there right away. The slavery inside of

them

said they they couldn't.

His blessings will crush you if he gives

it to you before you've been formed.

And he has no interest in crushing you.

And the good news for them is they're

part of a bigger story because of an

eternal life that's being offered. So

their children and their children's

children got to step into it because it

was never about them. It was never about

their personal mountaintop. And you and

I will be set free the most when we

realize our lives aren't about us

accomplishing our mountaintop, our

giftedness, our whatever. And that's so

hard in this town because you guys,

we're so gifted.

I think it was Bill Johnson that said

gifts are free. Maturity is expensive.

Jesus prayed, he withdrew, he fasted, he

worshiped, he knew scripture, he ate at

tables, he welcomed outsiders, he lived

in community, he served and he rested,

he did all of the things he's asking us

to do, a simple life. And then he gives

the Holy Spirit.

And if the team could start to come up,

I need a land. The spirit forms the life

of Jesus in you and I as we continually

make ourselves available to him.

It's never moralism. It's life in the

spirit of God that he's inviting you

into. Grace is not opposed to effort.

Grace is opposed to earning. That's

Dallas Willard. I'm going to say it

again. This is something you should put

in your little quiet time journal. Grace

is not opposed to effort.

It's opposed to earning.

I need that every day.

We don't practice for our rescue.

but from it. So, here's what we need to

do. I want us to step into this this

week. It's really simple. Let's do it

together. We need each other. We need

these practices. Community itself is an

actual practice of being formed.

And and I'm I'm grateful that we're

we're growing and that there's the rooms

is is is filling up. We're meeting new

people. People are exploring faith.

People are getting baptized. And people

are looking for community. And here's

what I want to say to the church, both

the people that are brand new and the

people that have been here.

I'm incredibly grateful, but our church

can get bigger and we can miss and we

can actually be less connected to each

other and to what God is doing. And I

I'm I'm really uninterested in that. I'm

only interested in what kind of people

we're becoming. And some of you have

just been doing this beautifully for

years. Opening their homes, welcoming

people in, staying staying late, calling

people at all hours of the night,

discipling them, walking with them, and

keep going. Some of us need to be

reminded that make room. You've worked

so hard to have this group in your life.

You finally have this amazing group of

people that you walk in this city with

and it's like new people feel like a

threat. And I would just say like that's

not kingdom. I'm not saying dismantle

your community group, anything like

that. I'm just saying where can you make

room

of people?

And just here's a word of encouragement

that I'm learning.

Don't wait to find your gift.

Every single one of you are gifted, but

don't wait to find your gift. Don't wait

to find it out there and don't wait to

find it in the church. You know so many

of us the most natural thing in the

world what's my thing and where's my

thing supposed to be my voice my calling

my creative contribution

the problem with that is

you have to discover some sort of

extraordinary contribution and then you

in the process in that fixation you

neglect the regular ordinary things that

your soul craves

and your soul doesn't have the capacity

to carry your extraordinary gifts

without these practices, without [music]

this way of life. And sometimes you

don't discover your gifts.

You have to participate first and you'll

find them along the way.

Just start living this way of life that

Jesus is inviting us into. I promise

you, your gifts will emerge. It'll shock

you what he's put on your life and how

he'll use you.

Here's what I'd like you to do. If you'd

stand, there's three practices that I

just want to invite us into this week

[music] and then I'm going to release

you and you can go and linger as long as

you need, but you'll be dismissed.

Three simple invitations today.

First is just return to a practice. It

doesn't matter what it is.

How do you need to put scripture or

prayer or Sabbath, silence, generosity?

Pick one thing that you know the Lord is

stirring your heart that you need to

lean into this week and simply come

back. Come back to his way. Come back to

practicing the way of Jesus. Secondly,

just make room for a person this week

and this fall. Start with one person.

Name them. Name them before you leave

today.

Name them. If you need to write in your

phone or text somebody to keep you

accountable, name that person. Invite

them to lunch. Open up your home. Invite

them to brunch. Invite them to drinks. I

don't care. Invite them to something.

And yeah, join a community here.

Join our community. Make it a priority.

Not because it makes us feel better or

it looks better, but because I need it

and you need it.

Some of that will be sacrificial. It's

okay. I need a sacrifice. There's no

guilt and shame. All this I mean I

it's for you. It's for me. It's not

against us. Try again. Those of you that

have been burned by churches, by burned

by close relationships, we just invite

you.

Let us become a people that are

constantly getting better,

using our mistakes, our brokenness

to form us ever more like him. Third,

just show up again. It seems almost like

ridiculously basic, but some of us,

that's the encouragement we need today.

Just show up again. Come back next

Sunday. Come back to worship. Go back to

the word. Go back to his presence. Come

to the table. Let the ordinary

faithfulness continue just to accumulate

in your life. Holy Spirit, we come

today.

Surprise us by the power of rhythms.

Thank you that you absolutely want to

take us to mountain tops, to the

extraordinary, to the experiences,

but you're so much more concerned about

how you form us along the way. Convict

us in your kindness, comfort us in your

grace, and [music] compel us to go out

and be salt and light to a world that's

desperate

for a living king. We love you in Jesus

name. Amen. Feel free to linger and

respond in worship as