Counter-Formation: Embracing Abundant Life in Christ

Devotional

Day 1: Intentional Spiritual Formation in a Distracting World

In a world designed to distract us, intentional spiritual formation is essential to counteract cultural manipulation. This involves a conscious effort to renew our minds, reshape our desires, and reorient our actions toward God's kingdom. The cultural currents often seek to commoditize our attention, pulling us away from the abundant life Jesus offers. To resist this, we must engage in daily practices that align our hearts and minds with God's purposes. This intentionality is not a passive drift but an active pursuit of spiritual growth, requiring us to be vigilant and deliberate in our spiritual journey. [29:54]

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: What specific distractions in your life are pulling you away from focusing on God's kingdom, and how can you intentionally counteract them today?

Day 2: Choosing Abundance Over Manipulation

We face a clear choice between the enemy's agenda to steal, kill, and destroy, and Jesus' offer of abundant life. This choice is not merely theoretical but requires a daily commitment and preparation, much like preparing for a harsh winter. The enemy seeks to manipulate and distract us, but Jesus calls us to a life of abundance, filled with purpose and joy. Embracing this abundant life involves a conscious decision to reject cultural manipulation and instead pursue the richness of life that Jesus offers. This requires us to be proactive in our spiritual practices, ensuring that we are prepared to withstand the challenges that come our way. [36:24]

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10, ESV)

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you feel the tension between cultural manipulation and divine abundance, and how can you choose abundance today?

Day 3: Integrating Faith into Every Aspect of Life

Spiritual formation involves integrating our faith into every part of our lives, avoiding the trap of having big heads, shrunken hearts, and tiny hands. This means being a faithful presence within our contexts and practicing creative resistance. We are called to live out our faith authentically, ensuring that our beliefs are not just intellectual but are reflected in our actions and relationships. By integrating faith into every aspect of our lives, we become agents of change, demonstrating God's love and truth in tangible ways. This holistic approach to faith challenges us to be consistent and intentional in how we live out our beliefs. [39:55]

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:17, ESV)

Reflection: How can you integrate your faith more fully into your daily routines and interactions, ensuring that your actions align with your beliefs?

Day 4: Embracing Kingdom Qualities for Spiritual Growth

We are called to be undivided followers, unhurried friends, sacrificial developers, and thoughtful witnesses. These kingdom qualities guide our spiritual formation and help us live out our faith authentically and impactfully. Being undivided followers means having a singular focus on Jesus, while being unhurried friends involves prioritizing relationships over busyness. Sacrificial developers invest in others, and thoughtful witnesses share God's love with wisdom and grace. By embracing these qualities, we align ourselves with God's kingdom values, allowing His transformative power to work in and through us. [47:58]

"Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." (Colossians 4:6, ESV)

Reflection: Which of the four kingdom qualities do you find most challenging, and what steps can you take to cultivate this quality in your life today?

Day 5: The Role of Community in Spiritual Formation

We cannot undertake this journey alone; community plays a crucial role in supporting and encouraging us. By embracing daily formation, we counter cultural forces and allow God's transformative power to work in and through us. Community provides accountability, encouragement, and a space for growth, helping us to stay focused on our spiritual journey. As we navigate the challenges of living as exiles in a world that often opposes our values, the support of a faith community becomes essential. Together, we can stand out as thoughtful witnesses of Jesus' love and truth, demonstrating the power of God's kingdom in our lives. [52:34]

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV)

Reflection: How can you actively engage with your faith community this week to support your spiritual growth and the growth of others?

Sermon Summary

In today's message, we explored the concept of counter-formation, a process of going against the cultural currents that often distract and manipulate us. In a world where our attention is constantly commoditized, we are called to live differently by embracing the abundant life Jesus offers. This requires intentional daily formation, a commitment to spiritual growth that involves renewing our minds, reshaping our desires, and reorienting our actions toward God's kingdom.

We discussed how the enemy of our soul, Satan, seeks to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus offers us life in abundance. This choice between cultural manipulation and divine abundance is clear, yet it requires us to actively engage in spiritual practices that counteract the world's influence. We cannot drift into this abundant life; it demands preparation and intentionality, much like preparing for a harsh winter.

Spiritual formation is a lifelong journey of becoming apprentices of Jesus, involving our head, heart, and hands. We must integrate our faith into every aspect of our lives, avoiding the trap of having big heads, shrunken hearts, and tiny hands. This means being a faithful presence within our contexts and practicing creative resistance, showing hospitality and civility in a world that often lacks both.

We also introduced four kingdom qualities that guide our spiritual formation: being undivided followers, unhurried friends, sacrificial developers, and thoughtful witnesses. These qualities help us live out our faith authentically and impactfully. We are reminded that this journey is not one we undertake alone; community plays a crucial role in supporting and encouraging us.

As we navigate the challenges of living as exiles in a world that often opposes our values, we are called to stand out and be thoughtful witnesses of Jesus' love and truth. By embracing daily formation, we counter the cultural forces that seek to shape us and instead allow God's transformative power to work in and through us.

Key Takeaways

1. Formation Requires Intentionality:** In a world designed to distract us, we must intentionally pursue spiritual formation to counteract cultural manipulation. This involves renewing our minds, reshaping our desires, and reorienting our actions toward God's kingdom. [29:54]
2. The Choice Between Manipulation and Abundance: We face a clear choice between the enemy's agenda to steal, kill, and destroy, and Jesus' offer of abundant life. Embracing this abundant life requires daily commitment and preparation, much like preparing for a harsh winter.

3. Integrating Faith into Every Aspect of Life: Spiritual formation involves integrating our faith into every part of our lives, avoiding the trap of having big heads, shrunken hearts, and tiny hands. We must be faithful presences and practice creative resistance in our contexts.

4. Four Kingdom Qualities for Spiritual Growth: We are called to be undivided followers, unhurried friends, sacrificial developers, and thoughtful witnesses. These qualities guide our spiritual formation and help us live out our faith authentically and impactfully.

5. Community and Daily Formation: We cannot undertake this journey alone; community plays a crucial role in supporting and encouraging us. By embracing daily formation, we counter cultural forces and allow God's transformative power to work in and through us.

** [29:54]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:30] - Introduction to The Formation Machine Series
[02:15] - The Agenda of Culture vs. God's Agenda
[05:00] - The Challenge of Distraction
[08:45] - The Enemy's Plan vs. Jesus' Abundant Life
[12:30] - The Importance of Daily Formation
[16:00] - Spiritual Formation Defined
[20:00] - The Role of Preparation in Spiritual Life
[24:30] - Integrating Faith into Life
[29:54] - The Concept of Faithful Presence
[33:00] - Creative Resistance in Action
[36:24] - The Four Kingdom Qualities
[39:55] - The Role of Community in Formation
[44:35] - Daily Practices for Spiritual Growth
[52:34] - Conclusion and Prayer

Sermon Clips

Now, it might be true that this isn't our fault, but it's also true that it is our responsibility if we want to counteract the effects of the culture around us and its impact on the way we can gain and give attention. If we want to live differently, we have to be prepared to live differently. [00:26:19] (17 seconds)

But this wasn't a surprise to Jesus even 2,000 years ago. As a matter of fact, this concept of the curriculum of our culture and the counterformation of Jesus is encapsulated in one famous verse from Jesus. He says it this way. He says, the thief, this is the enemy of our soul, Satan himself. [00:28:46] (19 seconds)

But we have made that unintentionally the finish line, not the starting line. See, Jesus calls to make a decision to follow him, absolutely. But in our journey of discipleship, that's the starting line, or what we call here at Menlo, spiritual formation. [00:30:26] (17 seconds)

Fundamentally, Paul is encouraging us to fully integrate our lives with our faith, that where our choice to follow Jesus and be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit is given access to every part of who we are, every relationship, every priority, every scheduled item, every goal. [00:33:41] (22 seconds)

You're committed to getting smarter. And the faith of the mind, which is such an important thing here at Menlo, where our mind can inform our faith in a way that is intellectually honest and personally rigorous. It's amazing. And you're in Silicon Valley on top of it. But every strength has a shadow. [00:34:54] (19 seconds)

Faithful presence within is a concept from a classic Christian sociologist, and it points to the fact that as we engage in daily formation, choosing to follow Jesus every day, that we are called to be a faithful presence within whatever context God has placed us. [00:39:15] (17 seconds)

I am living a life that reflects the gospel, and I'm able to communicate it with conviction and compassion, that we are ready for the conversations that God brings our way as we share the reason for the hope that people see in us. We offer ourselves as a faithful presence of Jesus in a hostile world, regardless of what our family believes, our co-workers believe, our classmates believe, our neighbors believe. [00:49:00] (30 seconds)

Left to our own devices, we will be divided followers, acquaintances in a hurry, developers only when it benefits us, and witnesses that do more harm than good. But you don't have to do this alone. As a matter of fact, you weren't designed to do it alone. [00:50:27] (18 seconds)

Whenever I find myself in a negative mindset, I will tell myself, time to clean the aquarium tank. Using that image as a metaphor to remove the negative thoughts and influences. [00:51:51] (14 seconds)

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