0:03

Hello and welcome to the John Mark

0:05

Comer Teachings Podcast. I'm Strawn Coleman, your

0:07

host and part of the teaching team

0:09

here at Practicing The Way. Each

0:12

week we share a teaching from John Mark

0:14

or other trusted voices in the

0:16

formation space. Today

0:19

we start a new series exploring

0:21

the nine practices in our rule

0:23

of life. You might be familiar

0:25

with them, Sabbath, Prayer,

0:27

Fasting, Solitude, Generosity,

0:30

Scripture, Community, Service

0:33

and Witness. What you might

0:35

not know though is that we developed our

0:37

rule of life jointly with our friends at

0:40

Bridgestown Church. They've been doing

0:42

a new teaching series on it and we've loved

0:44

it, so naturally we wanted to share it with

0:46

you all. In today's

0:48

teaching we begin by hearing from

0:50

Tyler Staton, Lead Pastor at

0:52

Bridgestown Church and National Director of 24-7

0:54

Prayer USA. He

0:58

introduces the series by explaining

1:00

what it means to take

1:02

on Jesus' easy yoke and

1:04

the relationship between spiritual practices

1:06

and actual lasting internal change.

1:10

Spoiler alert, discipline alone won't

1:12

get us there. As

1:14

you listen, you may like to ask yourself the question,

1:17

Are my spiritual practices currently marked

1:20

by rested, joyful love? Here's

1:23

Tyler. For

1:44

my yoke is easy and my burden is

1:46

light. This is the word of the Lord.

1:49

Thanks be to God. Search

2:00

Sixty two percent of Americans made

2:02

New Years resolutions this year. The

2:05

most com resolutions by category were:

2:07

forty eight percent of people made

2:09

physical fitness goals thirty eight percent

2:12

of is about improving finances, for

2:14

thirty six percent improvement ill health

2:17

and then thirty four percent losing

2:19

weight and thirty two percent improving

2:21

diet. Obviously, people could select more

2:24

than one of these and you

2:26

can see the overlap and some

2:28

of the selections. Sport I found

2:31

most revealing about their research was

2:33

that eighty percent of respondents felt

2:35

confident about reaching their goals. But.

2:39

Only twenty percent of respondents had

2:41

any plans for accountability or follow

2:43

through to help them reach those

2:46

goals now based on planning that

2:48

air tight. You. Can get through.

2:50

This is headed. Eight percent of New

2:52

Year's resolutions don't make it through January,

2:54

another twenty two percent drop off in

2:57

February, and another twenty two percent after

2:59

that in March. So more than half

3:01

of New Years resolutions don't make it

3:03

through the first quarter of the year.

3:05

In fact, Forbes found that only. Six

3:07

percent of New Year's. Resolutions actually

3:09

make it to year and so

3:11

seventy four percent of those very

3:14

confidently are accountable people are scratching

3:16

their heads at the end of

3:18

the wondering what went wrong. But.

3:22

Even that six percent figure is misleading

3:24

because it defines success all wrong. Everyone's

3:27

has a New Years resolution not aimed

3:29

at accomplishing the practice, but as experiencing

3:31

the fruit that I believe this practice

3:33

offers. I commit to a plant based

3:36

diet because I want to feel more

3:38

energetic or too cold. plunging because women

3:40

told me that would increase my circulation

3:43

to help of my metabolism. Wants to

3:45

read more books because I think that's

3:47

going to be a may have more

3:50

rewarding way of unwinding than watching television.

3:52

the point is not to get to

3:54

the year end having ground your way

3:56

through the league and die at a

3:58

red twelve novels but to feel

4:00

the way that a body powered

4:02

by brown rice and avocados is

4:04

supposed to feel, or to think

4:06

the way a well-read person is

4:08

supposed to think. Now,

4:11

let me make this a little bit more personal. In

4:14

the last year, I dealt with more physical health

4:16

problems than any other year in my life, and

4:18

it is not close. And

4:20

as a year that included plenty of

4:22

sickness, limitation, and hours spent in the

4:25

offices of doctors and surgeons and specialists

4:27

drew to a close, almost

4:29

like a cherry on top of 2023 in late

4:31

December. Apologies

4:34

for the overshare here. I

4:36

was diagnosed with a pretty advanced

4:38

case of shingles. Now,

4:41

shingles, if you're not aware, is

4:43

a horribly painful outbreak of sores

4:46

on the skin, and it is

4:48

caused almost exclusively by high

4:50

levels of stress. And

4:52

that diagnosis was a moment of very

4:54

unwelcome clarity for me, because around that

4:57

time, if you had have asked, hey,

4:59

Tyler, are you feeling particularly stressed right

5:01

now, I would have said, no. Feeling

5:04

great. Thanks for asking. A

5:07

moment of unwelcome clarity summarized in the

5:09

realization, if the body keeps the score,

5:14

I'm losing. But

5:16

here's the thing. I practice

5:19

solitude, meaning silent prayer aimed at

5:21

slowing down my mind, body, and

5:23

soul to live attentively to Jesus.

5:25

I practice solitude 10 minutes every

5:27

single day and for an hour

5:29

on Fridays. And I

5:31

practice Sabbath for 24 hours once

5:33

a week with my family and

5:35

my community. I take quarterly 48-hour

5:37

silent retreats, all of which are

5:40

spiritual practices aimed at slowing me

5:42

down and keeping me living at

5:44

the pace of Jesus. I'm checking

5:46

all of the boxes, but

5:49

success isn't checking the boxes. It's

5:51

not accomplishing the practices. It's experiencing

5:53

the life that those practices are to

5:55

cultivate in my inner being a

5:58

life of inner slowness and strength. stillness

6:00

and that diagnosis was a very

6:02

unwelcome moment of clarity. I'm doing

6:04

the practices. Why

6:08

isn't it working? Hold

6:10

that thought. For my

6:12

yoke is easy and my burden is light.

6:15

That's the famous line. It's one

6:17

of those standout sayings of Jesus that's made its

6:19

way beyond the walls of the church and into

6:21

poetry and song. One of those lines that plenty

6:23

of people have heard even if they don't know

6:26

its origins. There's a puzzle though in these famous

6:28

words that has been turning over in my imagination

6:30

like a Rubik's Cube for months now. And if

6:32

you're working on a puzzle, how do you start?

6:35

You don't just take one puzzle piece out of

6:37

the box and look at the image and think

6:39

about where it might fit. You dump all the

6:41

pieces out on the table and you turn them right

6:43

side up and you find the corners first if you know

6:45

what you're doing. So

6:48

if we're going to solve a puzzle, we've got

6:50

to start by acknowledging the pieces. Piece

6:53

one for my yoke is easy.

6:56

Now we rarely think of Jesus this way

6:59

but he was a rabbi, a Bible teacher

7:01

and a rabbi was a Jewish spiritual leader

7:03

with disciples. Most people hear

7:05

a word like disciple and they immediately

7:07

think of religion but discipleship was not

7:09

first a Christian idea. While

7:11

of course the master apprentice concept is

7:14

really widespread in its origins, the origins

7:16

of the word disciple came from Greek

7:18

philosophy not from the Jewish temple. Jewish

7:20

rabbis were borrowing this concept from Socrates

7:23

and Plato and disciple directly means

7:25

follower or apprentice. It's someone who

7:28

is emulating the life of a

7:30

mentor, their skills and their personal

7:32

habits and their priorities the whole

7:35

lot. It's a person who

7:37

is learning a trend. What

7:39

construction? Now I'm so inept

7:42

at any form of craftsmanship that I had

7:44

to hire Jordan and Joseph Russell to put

7:46

together the foosball table that I got for

7:48

my children for Christmas while

7:50

I distracted them outside. What

7:53

is standing between me and successful craftsmanship?

7:55

It's not beginning to read IKEA manuals

7:57

as I doze off to sleep every

7:59

night. to get a wrench and

8:01

a hammer in my hand and begin

8:03

to get my hands dirty. I need

8:05

to apprentice under a general contractor who

8:07

can show me the way. And that's

8:09

discipleship. It is to

8:11

learn the life of a

8:13

rabbi by both intellectual understanding

8:15

and embodied practice. Now

8:18

by the time Jesus showed up

8:20

discipleship was very common in ancient

8:22

Israel. There were rabbis like Hillel

8:24

and Gamaliel who were well known

8:26

and highly sought after. But every

8:28

single rabbi had disciples following them,

8:30

emulating both or I'm sorry, learning

8:32

their teaching but also emulating their lifestyle

8:34

and practice. Every rabbi had a yoke

8:37

which is a shorthand way of

8:39

saying this particular rabbi's teaching, knowledge,

8:43

intellectual understanding and this

8:46

particular rabbi's practice,

8:48

meaning the embodied practices that

8:50

convert that knowledge into life.

8:53

Next piece of the puzzle of

8:55

everyone around at the time of Jesus. It

8:58

was the Pharisees who most obviously

9:00

seemed to be wearing his yoke.

9:03

I mean like Jesus, the Pharisees

9:05

had beliefs that were firmly rooted in

9:07

Yahweh and the Hebrew Scriptures and like

9:09

Jesus, the Pharisees lived by a distinct

9:11

set of practices designed to help them

9:14

embody those teachings in their everyday life.

9:16

So the Pharisees are simultaneously the people

9:18

whose lives at least externally most match

9:20

Jesus's own and they're the recipients of

9:23

Jesus's harshest criticism. What's

9:25

the deal with that? Well

9:29

the thing about Jesus's famous lives is that we

9:31

tend to pull them out of the story that

9:33

they're written in and hold them like nuggets of

9:35

wisdom that stand all on their

9:37

own. But if we read these

9:39

famous words of Jesus within the plot of

9:41

the story that Matthew is writing, something

9:44

interesting emerges. Just continue reading

9:46

the story, picking up exactly where we left off at

9:49

that famous line and you'll see what I mean. For

9:52

my yoke is easy and my burden is light. At

9:54

that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the

9:56

Sabbath, his disciples were hungry and began to pick some

9:58

heads of grain at each time. When

10:01

the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, look,

10:03

your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the

10:05

Sabbath. The Pharisees go on

10:08

from here to criticize Jesus' disciples for snacking on

10:10

a bit of grain, on a slow Sabbath stroll

10:12

through this field, and then

10:14

to criticize Jesus for miraculously healing a

10:16

man in the synagogue on

10:18

a day when by their narrow understanding

10:21

he was meant to be resting, not

10:23

healing. Jesus'

10:25

point in response to all this is something like,

10:28

you are following the rules of Sabbath to

10:30

perfection, but it's all

10:32

making you less restful, peaceful, and

10:34

loving, not more. Sabbath

10:37

is making you controlling anal and

10:39

off-putting to the very people that

10:41

are most in need of rest. So

10:43

according to Jesus, there's a way

10:46

to go about spiritual formation. The

10:48

dots every eye crosses every T

10:50

and seems to be lived with

10:52

pinpoint accuracy and

10:54

yet misses the mark entirely,

10:58

like a New Year's resolution that

11:00

you successfully practice but never experienced

11:02

the life that that practice was aimed at in

11:04

the first place, or like

11:07

a disciplined rhythm of solitude that you

11:09

think is curbing you in a slow,

11:11

attentive way until you realize suddenly and

11:13

painfully that you are keeping the practices

11:16

but you're far from the life. The

11:20

earliest communities of Jesus' followers were

11:22

called followers of the way, meaning

11:24

they so embodied the narrow way

11:26

of Jesus' lifestyle that they were

11:29

identified by it in the surrounding world.

11:32

Jesus' modern followers are far from

11:34

the ancients. The Church of

11:36

our time has become infamous for being

11:38

a people of alternative beliefs but a

11:40

nearly indistinguishable lifestyle from the surrounding world.

11:43

And sure, maybe in the very worst

11:45

cases, that's because of an intentionally ego-driven

11:47

spirituality, but the vast majority of the

11:49

time, it's just really good, sincere people

11:51

trying to follow Jesus and the complexity

11:53

of their everyday lives, but living with

11:56

a mysterious gap Between my

11:58

best intention and my actions. Ritual day

12:00

to day lives. In

12:02

his latest and I personally think best.

12:05

Book author David Brooks confesses that

12:07

when he wrote the book The

12:09

Road To Character just a few

12:11

years ago, which is all about

12:14

living your life for other people,

12:16

he spent the weeks right after

12:18

that book's publication obsessively checking his

12:21

Amazon rankings. So.

12:23

There it is. The gap

12:25

that we all know too well between what

12:27

we believe and how we really. Mean

12:29

to live. And the

12:32

day to day last Rak Sullivan. And

12:35

most of us are a whole lot

12:37

less sinister, hypocrite, and a whole lot

12:39

more. David Brooks really believing that the

12:41

best and right way to live as

12:43

for the sake of others and yet

12:45

of sensibly checking on the approval of

12:47

others to form my own sense of

12:50

self. On checking all the boxes, I'm

12:52

keeping the practices I understand, the concepts,

12:55

Wasn't. Working. Today

12:59

we're getting into teaching series gonna cover

13:01

the nine for practices that make a

13:03

be easy yoke of Jesus. But right

13:05

from the beginning I want to direct

13:07

your attention beyond what are the practices

13:09

or even how do I do the

13:11

practice as to what are the practice

13:13

is supposed to do to me. The

13:16

big question for today is are so

13:18

much. How do I were the Easy

13:20

Yoke of Jesus or one of the

13:22

correct practices that make up the Easy

13:24

Yoke of Jesus It is. How does

13:26

practicing the Way of Jesus actually like

13:28

my burden and rest my soul? And

13:31

to get at that puzzling. Question: I

13:33

want to look deeper into

13:35

this familiar passage through three

13:38

simple questions: What why and

13:40

how. The First:

13:42

What Is Jesus as invitation?

13:46

Let's look back together at Matthew

13:48

Chapter Eleven Verse Twenty Nine with

13:50

along with Me in Your Bibles.

13:53

Take. My yolk upon you and learn

13:55

from me for I am gentle and

13:57

humble and hearts and you will find

13:59

ruff. For yourself, Charles Virgin point out

14:01

that there's only one place in all

14:03

four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

14:05

as eighty nine chapters of the bible.

14:07

And yet there's only one place where

14:10

Jesus tells us about his heart. There's

14:12

one place where he explicitly says here's

14:14

what my inner life is like. Here

14:16

is the beat of my heart is

14:18

gentle and humble. Does.

14:20

That description surprise you. Mean.

14:23

If you had to summarize the heart of God and

14:25

just two words, would you. Choose.

14:27

These two. Are

14:30

my ego with something different? Mighty and

14:32

powerful? Resilient, And

14:34

determined ceiling and forgiving. Cold.

14:37

And distant. Jesus.

14:39

Says here's the beat of my heart as a

14:42

sensible and humble. And. Of are

14:44

a bit of research firm Passer, another Dana or

14:46

Atlanta the ancient Greek word here translate as gentle

14:48

as one The Jesus uses only two other times

14:50

in the whole of the four gospels. One is

14:52

in the Sermon on the Mount when he said

14:54

blessed are the meat. Or. Gentle.

14:57

For. They will inherit the earth. And

14:59

the second was in his final

15:01

entrance into Jerusalem. Say two daughters

15:03

on see your things homes you

15:05

gentle and riding on a donkey

15:07

on a cold the full of

15:09

a donkey. I am gentle. Jesus's.

15:12

I'm. Not demanding, not reaction or not

15:14

impatient are easily angered. My temperament as

15:16

a whole lot more like an old

15:19

men playing chess in the park than

15:21

it is us cel occupying a high

15:23

rise of the put a shadow over

15:25

top of that park my natural state

15:27

my home based The way that are

15:29

roll out of bed at each morning

15:32

is relaxed listening, easy to be around.

15:34

I've got a whole lot more going

15:36

on and any C O ever a

15:38

wells and yet my presence is easier

15:40

my spirit chancellor my gaze kinder surprise.

15:42

Them since. I've

15:45

got time for you. The.

15:47

Posture most natural to him rights or

15:49

it when does not a pointed singur

15:52

but open arms. I

15:54

am gentle ends humble. This

15:57

is the same and require that we read elsewhere in the

15:59

new. Last month refer to the lower

16:01

class or the for loop. Chapter one

16:04

he has brought down route from their

16:06

zones but has lifted up the humble

16:08

which is also translated Those of Lo

16:10

Est or Romans Twelve live in harmony

16:12

with one another. Do not be proud

16:14

that we willing to associate with people

16:16

of low position. This is the same

16:19

word for humble. Jesus is telling us

16:21

that he is a person without status

16:23

that socialist his own impressive is not

16:25

the center of attention. He's not commanding

16:27

the room If you were to walk

16:29

into. A part in Jesus was there. You'd

16:32

likely find an empty seat next to him.

16:34

You wouldn't find it hard to get his

16:36

attention. So if you opt into a church

16:38

service on a Sunday, you probably wouldn't find

16:41

Jesus on the front row surrounded by a

16:43

cluster of his friends that you couldn't break

16:45

into or the pop star microphone dangling from

16:47

his ear. Still probably these mostly in the

16:50

back to easy to overlook, an easy to

16:52

approach. The. Way that Jesus

16:54

uses the word home or the same

16:56

way that we use English word approachable.

17:00

He's. Not intimidating. He.

17:02

Somehow held onto a stunning

17:04

heavenly power. but he's holding

17:06

it in a humble way

17:08

that. You can't

17:10

help but be drawn to him

17:13

and finds him inviting. Disarm.

17:16

A. Coke. And

17:19

the result of getting near to the

17:21

heart of Jesus is back to Verse

17:23

Twenty Nine and you will find rest

17:26

for your souls. Rest.

17:28

For your soul that's the result

17:30

of getting close to Jesus the

17:32

that sounds almost to spiritual. So

17:34

let's try this. relax. The

17:37

goal of disciple ship to Jesus. Is

17:40

to relax. Your

17:42

customer scholar front or Dale Brown or

17:45

says a parcel John repeatedly uses this

17:47

difficult to translate ancient Greek word and

17:49

as gospel will almost always bring it

17:51

into English in our modern inflation as

17:53

believe or trust but he are you

17:55

The very best translation of the words

17:57

is relax. Try reading.

18:00

John gone sponsor Sit relax ever

18:02

you come across believe or exhaust.

18:05

John. Chapter six. Then they asked him

18:07

what must we do to do the

18:09

works the God requires? Jesus answered the

18:11

work of God exists to believe in

18:13

the one he has sent. The work

18:15

of God is this to relax into?

18:18

Jesus. All

18:20

of his teaching his mission, his

18:22

disciple, ship and hear you and

18:24

eyes and the chaos, need and

18:26

frenzy of this world relaxed and

18:28

relationship to him. As

18:31

far as of that is John. Of

18:33

all the gospel authors who emphasizes this

18:35

the most, Because. When Jesus

18:37

had repeatedly predicted his own death and he

18:39

was living with a bounty on his head

18:41

but still insisted that he was going to

18:43

Jerusalem and even after breaking bread and comparing

18:46

it to what was about tap into his

18:48

body employing one thing the same about his

18:50

blood in the midst of all of that

18:52

disorientation and would just cause for worry word

18:54

we find your own of the Last Supper.

18:57

Laying. His head on. Jesus Just. Literally.

19:00

Relaxing in to Jesus,

19:03

hearing his gentle and

19:05

humble heartbeat against his

19:07

ear. Come. To

19:09

me with your burdens, And. I'll trade

19:11

you Jesus's. I'll give you

19:13

mine's. My. Burden his

19:16

life is rest relaxation for

19:18

the ferry deepest. Part of.

19:21

Sounds. Good doesn't it? All

19:25

right then. Why? Isn't

19:27

it working? why

19:29

this jesus i'm following does my burden

19:31

feel heavy in my soul feel more

19:33

anxious or just tired than it does

19:35

arrested what a circumstances seem to have

19:37

a more powerful sale muscles health the

19:39

my beliefs do and what is transformation

19:42

seem unable to touch my anger problem

19:44

or my pornography problem more must judgment

19:46

problem or my gossip problems what is

19:48

my family of origin of my personality

19:50

types and that one little fragment of

19:52

my identity seem to have and more

19:55

defining say is on my own formation

19:57

and the savior of the world does

19:59

and why Why doesn't a set of

20:01

solitude practices seem to be affecting the way that

20:03

I'm carrying stress and the way that it shows

20:05

up in my body? Why

20:08

isn't it working? That's

20:10

an honest question, not a cynical one.

20:14

And it's one that doesn't have

20:16

one simple answer, but instead is

20:18

the result of a combination of

20:20

factors of historical, experiential, and relational

20:23

factors that we'll address one at

20:25

a time. Why

20:27

isn't it working? Well, the first historical

20:30

reason. A 2015 study

20:32

by the Barna Research Group on the state

20:34

of discipleship in the modern church concluded that,

20:37

generally speaking, there's an assumption

20:39

that the appropriation of biblical

20:41

knowledge will by itself lead

20:43

to spiritual maturity. Now,

20:46

of course, biblical knowledge is very

20:48

important, but it also doesn't lead to

20:50

maturity all on its own. There's

20:52

likely a face or two in your memory

20:54

who have made that unattractively apparent to you.

20:58

So why not? Because

21:00

Jesus doesn't only invite us to believe His teachings,

21:02

He invites us to wear His yoke, which

21:05

includes both intellectual belief in the

21:07

truth that He is teaching and

21:09

embodied practice, remember? We

21:11

are whole embodied people. We're not just brains on

21:13

a stick. All formation requires

21:16

knowledge that is converted into

21:18

practice. Discovering that

21:20

I'm gluten intolerant does not immediately lead

21:22

to me feeling differently. I must convert

21:24

that knowledge into different habits in my

21:27

diet in order to have a change

21:29

in the way that I feel. The

21:32

belief that getting more sleep at night will

21:34

lead to more satisfying days does not change

21:36

the way that I'm living my days if

21:38

I'm still staring at the glow of a

21:40

screen late tonight. Belief

21:43

must be converted into practice

21:45

to reach its formation potential.

21:48

And some beliefs are more powerful

21:50

than others, but all beliefs,

21:52

including our spiritual beliefs, Must

21:55

be converted into practice if they're

21:57

going to form us. There

22:00

were just so pervasive in the church.

22:02

Today did not come from Jesus? Where

22:04

does it come from? According

22:07

to psychologists Todd whole, until the

22:09

thirteenth century, spirituality and theology, we're

22:12

not used as distinct terms today.

22:14

Spirituality is a term often used

22:16

to describe the more experience or

22:19

aspects of relationship to god, and

22:21

theology is a term used to

22:24

refer to the ideas about god

22:26

or the academic pursuit of god.

22:28

But according to haul for thirteen

22:31

years of church history of the

22:33

separation like that was entirely unthinkable

22:35

to know about. God was

22:37

to know god, and the

22:39

pursuit of god was inseparably

22:42

the pursuit of god's understood

22:44

academically, and the pursuit of

22:46

god experience relational and bodily.

22:48

That was not just the

22:50

com and was essentially the

22:52

only way of thinking about

22:54

Spared from maturity until the

22:56

sixteenth and seventeenth century enlightenment,

22:58

when the embodied practices of

23:00

Jesus declined significantly in the

23:02

global church as scientific objectivism

23:04

and rationalism rose. In

23:06

other words, a split than a

23:08

merger between spirituality and theology that

23:10

did not exist for the first

23:13

thirteen hundred years worth of Jesus'

23:15

followers making it not only possible

23:17

but comments to divorce the truth

23:19

of Jesus from the way of

23:21

Jesus assuming there's a way to

23:23

get out Jesus as allies without

23:25

actually wearing Jesus as yelled. The.

23:28

Dominant matter for use in the

23:30

gospel of John. for Jesus imitation

23:33

his life. But. Many

23:35

of us when we first heard the invitation

23:37

jesus A sounded more like if you accept

23:39

Jesus is lord and savior still receive as

23:41

gracing you'll go to heaven when you die.

23:44

Which. Is beautiful and true but

23:46

also comes is incomplete. The

23:48

obvious oversight in this sort of

23:51

explanation of invitation his life. Or.

23:54

Your entire lies. Which.

23:56

I already was a pretty significant oversight.

24:00

This is not only teaching us how to die, even

24:03

more so is teaching us how to live. Now

24:05

salvation is the technical one word summary for

24:08

the life that Jesus offers to you and

24:10

me. And salvation is

24:12

biblically presented to us as a

24:14

past, present, and future reality. Salvation

24:17

is something that has happened. Christ has already

24:19

paid our debt. And salvation is

24:22

happening. Work out your salvation with fear

24:24

and trembling, and it's something that will

24:26

happen to those who believe Christ will

24:28

return to make our salvation full and

24:30

final and complete. Salvation

24:32

is about what Jesus has done for us. And

24:36

it's about what Jesus is doing and

24:39

will do for us. However,

24:41

in recent church history, salvation has often

24:43

been described purely as a past work

24:45

of Jesus, ignoring the presence

24:47

and the future. The

24:50

life of Jesus is not about what you do for

24:52

God. It's about what God

24:54

has done, past tense, for

24:56

you. And you receive

24:59

his life, not by what you

25:01

do, but by believing in his

25:03

truth. Yes, that's absolutely true. And

25:06

it's incomplete because it minimizes

25:08

a salvation life into a salvation

25:11

moment. Many

25:13

people, myself included, can trace

25:15

their decision to follow Jesus back to a

25:17

divine moment, like that sacred

25:19

moment when the disciples dropped their nets

25:21

and went after him. But of course,

25:23

that moment was the beginning of a

25:25

new life. Other

25:28

people can't trace back their decision to follow Jesus

25:30

to a particular moment, but it's said, realized it

25:32

in hindsight, like I was exploring this rabbi named

25:34

Jesus, and somewhere along the way, I looked up

25:37

and realized, I'm not sure exactly

25:39

when and where, but I've accepted him as Savior

25:41

and Lord. But

25:43

when we overemphasize a salvation moment,

25:45

the unintended consequence is that we

25:47

can create the possibility of receiving Jesus's

25:49

life without becoming Jesus's disciple. And

25:52

that's a possibility that is very difficult to square

25:54

with the biblical story. It's one

25:57

that turns transformation into nothing more than a

25:59

transaction, a minimum. the full expansive

26:01

invitation of Jesus into just a

26:03

portion of that invitation. In

26:06

the words of Dallas Willard, salvation as conceived

26:08

of today is far removed from what it

26:11

was in the beginnings of Christianity and only

26:13

by correcting it can God's

26:15

grace in salvation be returned

26:17

to the concrete embodied existence

26:20

of our human personalities walking

26:22

with Jesus in his easy

26:25

yoke. Now don't

26:27

misunderstand me here. Salvation is

26:29

by grace alone through Jesus. It

26:31

is about the forgiveness of sin

26:33

and it is a gift, not

26:35

an achievement. And salvation is rebirthed

26:37

into the fullest kind of life.

26:40

A life that we work out with fear and trembling and

26:43

a life that we will know completely at his return. Salvation

26:45

is like a seed planted into the

26:47

soul of a human being and like

26:50

a seed it is one that grows

26:52

and grows and grows into increasingly multiplying

26:54

life and like a seed it must

26:56

be cultivated and tended if it's to

26:58

reach its full potential. Which

27:00

means among other

27:03

things that the way of

27:05

Jesus by his own admission does

27:08

require effort. In

27:11

fact a yoke was a tool laid

27:14

onto the back of an animal for

27:16

the sake of labor. To

27:18

take on a rabbi's yoke was

27:21

to willingly wear their life and

27:23

teaching for the sake of active

27:25

labor. The unique thing about

27:27

Jesus among other rabbis was not that

27:29

his yoke requires no effort. It's that

27:31

the yoke of Jesus works in this

27:33

entirely upside down way where the longer

27:35

you wear it on your shoulders the

27:37

lighter you seem to become. And

27:39

where the longer that you labor with him the

27:42

more at rest you seem to become. Rick

27:45

Rubin is one of the music industry's

27:48

most decorated producers. He gave

27:50

us the sound of the Beastie Boys,

27:52

of Tom Petty, Weezer, Jay-Z, Willie Nelson

27:54

And who could forget Sir Mix-a-Lot. Year.

28:00

He also give us the really

28:02

inside and cycle book secreted of

28:04

acts causing all the insides he

28:06

gained working with all these different

28:08

artists over the year. And there's

28:10

a chapter within that book where

28:13

he talks about committed ritual and

28:15

practice and he concludes discipline and

28:17

freedom seem like offices. In

28:19

reality, They. Are partners.

28:22

And. That's a whole lot like what Jesus

28:25

is telling us about. the joke. It.

28:27

Requires effort and cultivation, but

28:29

that discipline does not imprisons.

28:32

Is. Freezing me. And.

28:34

Her memoir simone Kid puts it this

28:36

way: Religion is not to be believed,

28:38

but danced. And she goes

28:40

on to describe the yoke of

28:42

Jesus not only as the endless

28:44

pursuit of biblical inside, but as

28:46

a living knowledge aware of converting

28:49

insight into embodied practice much like

28:51

we learn the steps of a

28:53

dance. Jesus is yours is

28:55

unique because we're other Rabbis were appealing

28:57

to their disciples sense of duty. It's

28:59

Jesus appeals to our sense of desire

29:01

is challenge. Sounds something like can you

29:03

bear to believe that what you want

29:06

deepest is not a desire to differ

29:08

and the name of real as it's

29:10

but a desire to awaken in the

29:12

name of hope? And can you bring

29:14

me that hope Trusting that I can

29:16

show you a way to convert your

29:18

life as your fall after mates and

29:20

to allies this Sam's that have more

29:23

and more into a flame until you're

29:25

living in it's reality. As.

29:28

Bring his little bit closer

29:30

from a history lesson and

29:33

to an experiential acknowledgments. The

29:36

Old Testament Tabernacle given to Israel

29:38

by all the way back in

29:40

Exodus. It had plenty of regulations

29:42

like plant closings and offerings and

29:44

sacrifices and special days, but of

29:47

course still doesn't Tabernacle wasn't about

29:49

any of those since. It

29:51

was about formation for life was God.

29:54

That's what's fair to say. My son has

29:56

always been about from Tabernacle to Jesus and

29:58

all the way through churches. It's going

30:00

to form people for lies with

30:03

god or goddess. gentle and humble

30:05

and heart a God or welcomes

30:07

Everly Bird and the God who

30:09

promises rest for our souls. But

30:12

the ancient tabernacle shows us the

30:14

human propensity to confuse the end

30:16

with the means to elevate be

30:18

how of spiritual formation above the

30:21

why of spiritual formation. So.

30:23

After a heart rending invitation to com

30:25

and where his easy oh jesus find

30:27

himself immediately walking through a grain field

30:30

on a leisurely Sabbath strong and his

30:32

disciples ravenous aca to as they go

30:34

when the fairest he saw this they

30:36

said to him look. Your

30:38

disciples. Are. Doing what is unlawful

30:41

on. The Sabbath. A. Few

30:43

verses later the freeze pose this question

30:45

a second time, again sounding a whole

30:47

lot more like an accusation than it

30:49

is a question. Verse nine: Going from

30:51

that place he went into their synagogue

30:53

in a man with a shriveled hand

30:55

was they're looking for a reason to

30:57

bring charges against Jesus asked him, is

30:59

it lawful The Hill. On The Sabbath. Jesus.

31:03

Is standing with a group of priests. And

31:06

front of a man who needs healing. Under

31:08

the roof of their own synagogue.

31:12

A man who Jesus will go on to heal.

31:14

While. They go on missing the forest for

31:16

the trees. Is. He jesus

31:18

his life was a light that was

31:20

exposing them. You. Are following

31:22

the rules and you are keeping the

31:24

praxis to perfect sense. But the way

31:27

that you are practicing his d forming

31:29

you not forming you. Hold

31:31

on, Do not miss this.

31:34

There is a way of

31:36

pursuing spiritual formation. That.

31:38

Leads to deformation. What?

31:41

Is it? A. Serious

31:43

is elevated the house there to formation

31:45

over the wives for to formation. And.

31:48

The question of the heart of Jesus is

31:50

not what are the practices, or how do

31:52

I do the practices as what are the

31:54

practice doing to? Was.

31:57

Serve the for. Her. What

31:59

Is it? The this practice of service supposed

32:01

to be doing to me. Was.

32:05

Among the board that we see God. Jesus.

32:07

Promises that his presence can

32:09

be predictably found among our

32:11

need neediest neighbors. Wilson think

32:14

that we go to serve the force that we

32:16

can imitate the compassion of Jesus and that is

32:18

the how of services, how we're meant to serve.

32:20

But it's not the why. When.

32:22

You go under the bridge and serve at

32:25

night strike and find yourself laying a plate

32:27

of food or a styrofoam plates down on

32:29

a linoleum table. Ask if this brother sister

32:31

needs a drink as well and they go

32:33

back to get that from them. You are

32:36

meant to recall the promise of Jesus and

32:38

Loop Twelve that at my returns you will

32:40

sit down at a table and other put

32:42

on the apron and I will come to

32:44

wait on you. As a

32:47

reserve because as as and service during the

32:49

to his neighbors that we can encounter experience

32:51

really the very things Jesus as promised us

32:53

in a way that is difficult to encounter

32:55

of we insulate ourselves from the lots of

32:57

those very neighbors. Or or

32:59

school When you find yourself on your hands

33:01

and knees washing the seat of someone who

33:03

probably has another feet was since this time

33:06

last week. On a cold, wet winter nights

33:08

you're serving their says you can remember that

33:10

it's Jesus who promises to wash your feet

33:12

even on the very night of your betrayal,

33:15

that this is the way that he relates

33:17

to use. And when you encounter that experience

33:19

really in that moment, it as a way

33:21

of making it's way deeper into you than

33:23

it does when you're just reflecting on and

33:26

alone and a prayer closet. Is.

33:28

He this is why we serve because

33:30

services the place of encounter with Jesus.

33:33

Who reforms me from the inside out?

33:35

That's what services supposed to do to

33:38

me. Why? Do we

33:40

practice Apis? When you're

33:42

in a workplace for demands and you've got

33:44

a humble of obligations, and you live in

33:46

a city full of distraction. so why on

33:48

earth would you set aside twenty four hours

33:50

once a week purely to rest. Hopefully.

33:53

So that I can become a person of

33:55

interest in in my life to eternity in

33:57

a way that says was my anxieties and.

34:00

The ambitions in their proper perspective.

34:03

And because I see the limits of

34:05

my practice, My. Own inability

34:07

to plan and execute my soul level

34:09

rest shows me that's what I really

34:11

want. Deep as one a really long

34:14

for most I cannot his life hack

34:16

into my routine but I must receive

34:18

from the God whose gracious to give.

34:21

But. Why do I practice solitude? Why

34:23

are set aside time just to be

34:26

silent? Because the noise of this

34:28

world goes attachment to lesser lovers that them break

34:30

the hearts of their worshippers. And

34:32

without silence over attach myself to

34:34

productivity or to accomplish merger Control

34:36

and Solitude returns my wandering heart

34:38

to peace and world of competition

34:40

and hurry and anxieties. And again

34:42

this is not a life hack

34:45

The Jesus offers us are clever

34:47

New Years resolution we can take

34:49

on good practice, partners with God's

34:51

transformation within mates and the limits

34:53

of my attempts at practice. Partner

34:55

with God's transformation with and me

34:57

because it's when I see said

34:59

all my attempts at solitude are

35:01

not. Producing the so level rested I

35:04

believe that I really need and want

35:06

to receive from God that appeal my

35:08

hands open and I say God cannot

35:10

plan and execute my way to transformation

35:12

would you com and do within the

35:15

what I cannot do for myself to

35:17

know the fruit of the practices We

35:19

gotta keep our eyes fixed on the

35:21

why of the practices, what what they're

35:23

supposed to do to us and all

35:26

spiritual practice is aimed at a very

35:28

familiar threefold. And to be with Jesus,

35:30

become like Jesus and do. What Jesus

35:32

did? But. To very

35:35

common conditions do crop up in

35:37

the lives of us are in

35:39

our lives when we confuse the

35:42

hell with the why and they

35:44

go by the name of entitlement

35:46

and shame. There's.

35:49

Entitlement Meaning God owes me a particular

35:51

return on this investment. Entitlement

35:53

as an attempt to snatch from God

35:56

what he is eagerly designed to gift

35:58

to me. god He wants

36:00

to give me peace, healing, and wholeness as a

36:02

free gift. But when I think God owes me

36:04

those things, I misunderstand the nature of the giver

36:06

and miss out on the gift. When

36:09

it's entitlement that's coloring our imaginations, we turn

36:11

God into a system like an exercise plan

36:14

rather than a relationship like

36:16

a friendship or a marriage. Modern

36:18

people like us, we've got the tendency to

36:21

turn everything into a wellness plan, right? I'm

36:24

going paleo, I'm into a adaptogen mushroom

36:26

supplements now, I do yoga at home

36:28

every morning, I've started practicing the way

36:30

of Jesus. But

36:32

discipleship of course is relational,

36:35

not systematic. It

36:37

is participation in a mysterious communal

36:39

love that exists between father, son,

36:41

and spirit, and relationships are endlessly

36:43

more gratifying than systems ever could

36:45

be, but relationships are a whole

36:47

lot less predictable than systems are

36:50

too. The

36:53

underlying condition of entitlement is that

36:55

we depersonalize God, and

36:57

that is not the God that we receive

36:59

and is revealed in Jesus. On

37:02

the other side of that coin though is shame. And

37:05

shame says something like, my spiritual formation's up to

37:07

me, so if I'm behind where I think I

37:10

should be, then it's my fault. You

37:13

know, regardless of spiritual maturity or years

37:15

under our belts following Jesus, it's my

37:18

pastoral experience that almost everyone carries

37:20

some area of their lives that they insist on trying

37:23

to sort out all on their own. Some

37:25

past wounds, some ongoing struggles, some

37:28

peace of our identity. The

37:30

result of which is that we relate to

37:32

God always like there's an elephant in the

37:34

room, like there's this one subject of our

37:36

lives that we've both agreed not to talk

37:38

about, but it is looming large in our

37:41

peripheral at all times. And

37:43

then shame attaches itself differently to

37:45

different personality types. For

37:47

the perfectionist shame becomes scrupulosity where I'm

37:50

fine tuning my life and doing everything

37:52

I can to perfect and execute my

37:54

plan. For the achiever shame becomes some

37:56

form of penance where I'm trying to

37:59

earn back. from God, what I think

38:01

I owe Him rather than receive His forgiveness

38:03

by grace. For the security seeker, we run

38:06

to other people to try to get the

38:08

approval and acceptance that we're meant to get

38:10

from God. All of this is shame expressing

38:12

itself differently through unique people. When Jesus is

38:15

saying, come to me all who are weary

38:18

and burdened, and

38:20

I'll give you rest. Who

38:22

is it that can approach Jesus? The

38:25

weary and burdened. We

38:28

obsessively assume that we unburden ourselves in

38:30

order to approach God, that we put

38:32

our best foot forward. But

38:34

according to Jesus, your burden is

38:37

your qualification. It's

38:39

what gets you in the door with Him. The

38:42

French priest, Father Jacques-Philippe writes this,

38:45

let us understand this, for the person

38:47

of goodwill, meaning for the imperfect but

38:49

sincere follower of Jesus, that

38:51

which is serious

38:54

in sin is not so much the fault

38:56

in itself as the despondency into

38:58

which it places Him. He

39:01

who falls but immediately gets up has

39:03

not lost much. He has

39:05

rather gained in humility and in the

39:07

experience of mercy, he who remains

39:09

sad and defeated loses much more. The

39:12

sign of spiritual progress is

39:15

not so much never falling as

39:17

it is being able to lift oneself

39:19

up quickly after one falls. Spiritual

39:23

maturity defined by this priest is not

39:25

never stumbling, it's learning to pop back

39:27

up quicker and quicker after you and

39:30

I inevitably stumble. For

39:32

the perfect but sincere follower of Jesus,

39:34

Satan's greatest trick in his real temptation

39:36

is to get you to wallow on

39:38

the ground defining yourself by your most

39:40

recent failure when God continues to define

39:42

you by His grace. You

39:45

see, both entitlement and shame,

39:47

they're upended by this one

39:50

really simple realization that spiritual

39:52

maturity is fundamentally relational. And

39:55

that's the last piece to this puzzle, meaning

39:58

that spiritual maturity is not a involves the

40:00

way that I relate to God, to

40:02

myself, and to other people. So

40:05

spiritual maturity is how I relate to God, and

40:07

that happens through both belief and practice. We've pretty

40:10

well covered that part already. But

40:12

spiritual maturity is also the way that I relate

40:14

to myself, because the salvation

40:16

life of Jesus is a seed that

40:18

is planted in the midst of an

40:20

existing and unique human story. And

40:23

that means spiritual maturity is going

40:25

to intersect with other shaping factors

40:27

within each and every person. Factors

40:29

like your family of origin and

40:31

your personality structure and your attachment

40:33

patterns. You

40:35

have been uniquely shaped and uniquely misshapen by

40:38

the home that you were born into and

40:40

the love that you did and did not

40:42

experience there. You've been uniquely

40:44

shaped by the personality structure that you relate to

40:46

the world through and the strengths and weaknesses that

40:48

come along with that. You've been uniquely

40:51

shaped by the trust structure that you developed

40:53

as a child and the way that that

40:55

informs your emotional and relational availability to other

40:57

people even today. The spiritual

40:59

life is a shared journey where every last

41:01

one of us drops our nets and follows

41:03

after Jesus of Nazareth, the same rabbi, and

41:06

the spiritual life is a unique

41:08

journey where the victories and obstacles

41:10

for each one of us along the way

41:12

are going to be as unique as human

41:15

beings are. So

41:17

this is about the way we relate to God, the way we

41:19

relate to ourselves, and lastly, the way that we relate to others.

41:22

Because the way of Jesus does

41:24

not culminate in a perfect work-life

41:26

balance. It culminates

41:28

in taking up your cross in sacrificial

41:30

love for others. It's

41:33

about losing your life and in that

41:35

act, finding it. The

41:38

issue that Jesus pointed out in the formation

41:40

of the Pharisees wasn't that they weren't taking

41:43

the practices seriously. It's

41:45

that their rigorous, active spiritual practice

41:48

was blinding them to the person in need

41:50

of love right in front of them in

41:52

their own synagogue. All

41:54

of our spiritual formation at the end of the day is

41:56

for the sake of others. It's meant to

41:59

form us into people. People who are than

42:01

freely offered as a gift of love to

42:03

the world around us. And so here's the

42:05

litmus test of our spirits. Information in the

42:07

way of Jesus is it leading me deeper

42:09

into community or different isolation? Is

42:12

appalling me further into sacrificial mission

42:14

or further into self gratification is

42:16

leading me broader and seeing others

42:19

or deeper and self centered navel

42:21

gazing. So. This

42:23

is an introduction to teaching series Unforced

42:26

Rhythms of Grace, nine Poor Practices for

42:28

a Rule of Life and additionally hearing

42:30

for me over the courses teaching series

42:32

you'll hear from a number of different

42:35

voices are passed all scene from our

42:37

friends and Maggie of the Bible projects

42:39

and even by our founding pass All

42:41

Jack Homers going to stop by say

42:44

as a business so we're going to

42:46

look one by one as and nine

42:48

essential practices that we see in the

42:50

life of Jesus in the Gospels was

42:53

most concisely. Summarizes joke and that we're

42:55

going to conclude with a rule of

42:57

Life which is ancient terminology for a

42:59

container for living out in holding these

43:01

practices together in community. But if we're

43:03

gonna go on that journey than you

43:06

need to know from the very outset

43:08

and you need to hold at the

43:10

forefront of your imagination every step along

43:12

the way. It's that this teaching series

43:14

on these nine practices. It's not about

43:17

how you do the practices. At

43:19

about what the practices do to you. Song.

43:23

On a close by returning to where we started.

43:26

That. Question now been turning over

43:28

my imagination for months now. How.

43:32

Does practicing the way of Jesus? Actually

43:35

makes my bird and like a muscle

43:37

rest. And what

43:39

should I expect to experiences are some

43:41

can't tell tale sign that really is

43:43

Jesus I'm following and it is his

43:46

jokes that I've got draped over my

43:48

back. How do I know? is it's

43:50

working. I

43:53

think it's easier to seize and explain.

43:55

Saw his picture. It

43:58

was the last, Not a summer vacation. In

44:00

late July on the Oregon Coast, I

44:02

was trying to squeeze every last drop out

44:05

of that time away because I could

44:07

feel it slipping through my fingers And

44:09

so I insisted that I was gonna

44:11

stay at the beach until the sun had

44:13

fully said and thanks. My oldest child

44:15

was the only member of my family

44:17

willing to hang with me through the duration

44:19

and as he was boogie boarding in

44:21

the ocean I was screaming the best

44:23

Not Of My life with involved I'm

44:25

an extravagant and are made up of several

44:28

courses of exotic ingredients that the Safeway.

44:30

The Oregon Coast was deaf. We're not going to carry.

44:33

Planning to watch a movie afterwards and

44:35

hopefully finish up the novel that I've

44:38

been reading is I was turning in

44:40

and in the midst of my future

44:42

pleasure staffing daydream the perfect execution of

44:45

my own rest. So I thought thanks

44:47

Runs and from Boogie Boarding sits next

44:49

to me, wraps up tightly and towel

44:51

leans up against me to stay warm

44:54

and says dad, No.

44:56

One crushes summer vacation like you and

44:59

me. And

45:05

they were both just quiet. Moment.

45:10

Ago I was flooded with all kinds of

45:12

plans of my head and lawns. and my

45:14

god. But now. With. My

45:16

seven year old son winning against me. Watching

45:19

the sun get lower on the endless

45:21

ocean horizon, I was flooded with a

45:24

completely different feeling. The.

45:27

Schemes for my own arrest began

45:29

to fall away, and I was

45:31

instead content happy. Allies.

45:34

Great. For satisfied And there's

45:36

a word for it. For.

45:39

What happened To me? They're. Yours.

45:46

For. The Ferriss. There. Was

45:48

so much formation. But.

45:50

There was no joy. Jesus

45:54

forms his disciples. For.

45:56

Joy. I

45:59

can't actually. Remember what we had for dinner that

46:01

night? I don't think we

46:03

watched the movie I was fall asleep in the middle

46:05

of a we do anyway. And

46:08

I didn't understand. novel to. Several weeks after

46:10

I had returned from vacation, none of my

46:12

schemes came to be. But I will never

46:14

forget that moment that I wasn't planning. Sitting.

46:18

On the sand with Hank leaning up

46:20

against the watching the sun follow on

46:22

the ocean horizon I did not for

46:24

a second think but how do I

46:26

apply this to my life. I.

46:30

Just listened to the sound of the ways

46:32

and assault my little boy's heart being and

46:34

my arm and I looked and on the

46:37

great artwork of the creator. I did not

46:39

ask how do I apply this to my

46:41

life I or something like how do I

46:43

enjoy this. This

46:45

presence of God that is bursting into

46:47

my ordinary life all the time. How

46:50

do I enjoy? life and life to

46:52

the full. Dallas.

46:54

Willard says the aim and substances

46:56

spiritualized is not fasting prayer, him

46:59

singing frugal living and so forth.

47:01

rather it is the effective and

47:03

for enjoyment of active love of

47:06

God and human times and all

47:08

the daily rounds as normal existence

47:10

where we are placed. Richard.

47:13

Foster closes his classic, a Celebration

47:16

of Discipline which repopularized the idea

47:18

of spiritual formation by practice from

47:20

the church, had fallen in love

47:23

of whole life formation by nothing

47:25

more than had knowledge. He concludes

47:27

that book by calling Joy the

47:30

motor that keeps everything else in

47:32

the spiritual life running. And

47:35

in the midst of his most well

47:37

known teaching on the ongoing work of

47:40

cultivating a salvation live from the inside

47:42

out, Jesus concludes I have told you

47:44

this so that my joy may be

47:46

in you. And. Your joy

47:49

may be complete. The.

47:51

Most deeply formed Disciples

47:53

of Jesus. should

47:56

be the most content

47:58

alive happy hello Hilariously

48:00

joyful people in this world

48:04

Every year of your life Walking

48:06

the narrow way behind Jesus of Nazareth

48:08

with his yoke draped over your back.

48:11

You could find yourself more abounding

48:13

and overflowing with joy

48:17

That's how you know it's working Jesus

48:20

called his yoke easy precisely because it

48:22

is not a spiritual wellness plan It's

48:25

an invitation to bask in his constant presence and

48:27

to feel the warmth of his glow on your

48:29

face and to take it all in Jesus

48:32

is not trying to teach you new spiritual

48:34

techniques He's trying to help you

48:36

recognize him in all the ways. He's showing up

48:38

in the ordinary life that you already have he's

48:42

trying to teach you to come to him and

48:44

your early mornings and in the blur of your

48:46

work days and on your lazy Saturdays and to

48:49

come to him when you're alone and when

48:51

you're with others to come to him when

48:53

you're busy and when you're bored to Come

48:55

to him when you're inspired and when you're

48:57

frustrated and when you're disappointed and everything in

48:59

between because if you know his heart his

49:02

gentle humble heart You

49:04

want to come? and

49:07

something amazing happens when

49:09

we Walk and we know

49:11

his heart and when we walk with

49:13

him day in and day out effortlessly

49:15

almost accidentally The rhythm of

49:17

our hearts begins to matches to

49:20

beat for the same things at the same pace We

49:24

begin to gaze at others Exactly

49:26

as we see him gazing at us In

49:29

the words of day nortland only as we drink down

49:31

the kindness of the heart of Christ Well,

49:34

we leave in our wake everywhere. We go

49:37

the aroma of heaven and

49:39

die one day having Startled

49:41

the world with glimpses of a

49:43

divine kindness too great to be

49:45

boxed in by what we deserve

49:49

Amen I

49:54

appreciated it when Tyler said that

49:57

according to Jesus. There's a way to

49:59

go about spiritual formation that dots every

50:01

eye, crosses every tee and

50:03

seems to be lived with pinpoint accuracy

50:06

and yet misses the mark entirely.

50:09

As he says later on, that

50:12

mark being the gentle, lowly, humble,

50:15

joyful experience of his presence.

50:19

So let's take a moment now to remember

50:21

that presence, to

50:23

take a few deep breaths and

50:27

to receive his joy. So

50:31

I'm going to leave half a minute here, just

50:35

for you wherever you are and however you are,

50:37

to open the

50:39

very depth of your being to

50:41

receive the joyful

50:44

life-giving love of

50:46

God in your mind, your heart and

50:48

your body. I'll

50:50

close the time by saying Amen. Amen.

51:33

This podcast is from Practicing The Way. We

51:36

develop resources to help churches and small groups

51:39

apprentice in the way of Jesus. And

51:41

all that we make is completely free because it's

51:44

already being paid for by The Circle, a

51:46

community of monthly givers who partner with

51:49

us to see spiritual formation integrated into

51:51

the church at large. Thanks

51:54

for today's episode. Goes to Emily

51:56

from Lakewood, California, Abraham from

51:58

Omaha, Nebraska. Eli from

52:01

Bodark, Missouri, Steve from Portland,

52:03

Oregon, and Samara from Lausanne,

52:05

Switzerland. Thank you all very

52:07

much. To

52:10

join the circle or to learn more

52:12

about running a practice in your church

52:14

or community, visit practicingtheway.org. Until

52:17

next time, may the grace of the Lord

52:20

Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and

52:22

the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be

52:24

with you all.