Ephesians 3:1-12 (NRSV)

1 This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, 3 and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, 4 a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. 5 In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

7 Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. 8 Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make everyone see[c] what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; 10 so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

“If you abide in my words you are my disciples indeed and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free…” - Jesus

I. The Spiritual Journey

Information does not equal transformation

Journey speaks of process, movement, direction and a goal.

II. Jazzfest Depression

When you reach a goal in life it often feels a bit anti-climactic. The getter there is hard work and invigorating but the actual final achievement can leave one feeling a little empty.

Goals - for achievement and goals for being

III. Gain the world and lose yourself

Sin - Hamartia - Archery term for missing the mark

You can gain the whole world and lose yourself in the process

IV. Christ - The overarching goal for our lives

Jesus is not only a means of getting to heaven but the very picture we are aiming at.

A puzzle is much easier when you have the box top.

With the overarching goal of becoming like Christ then we look at the smaller short term goals for vocation, finance, education and ask ourselves how can I operate within these areas in a way that opens me up for transformation? And how can I bring whatever transformation I have experienced to bear on this situation?

I. The call of Simon

Luke 5:1-11 Jesus knows how to get Simon’s attention

Jesus calls Simon Rock… and then satan

Matthew 16:13-18

Simon will in fact become a rock but it will require some very hard times ahead

II. A not so encouraging word from Jesus

Luke 22:31-34

 31“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

III. The tip of the iceberg

Most of what people see of us and even our own understanding of ourselves is just the bit visible above the surface, but there is much more to us beneath the surface.

IV. Stages of the Spiritual Journey and the Wall in the Middle

1. Awareness of God/Conversion

2. Discipleship

3. The Active Life

THE WALL

4. The Inward Journey

5. The Outward Journey

6. Transformed By Love

These stages are not linear but cyclical

You know you have hit a wall the everything that has worked for you up to that point doesn’t work in the same ways anymore. You may feel as if your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling or that scripture seems unhelpful, or that church becomes more difficult to be a part of.

3 reactions to the wall: 1. Bounce out - some hit the wall and bounce off of it and out of church and faith 2. Bounce in - some bounce off the wall but continue to attend church but will cease to experience transformation from that point on 3. Go through the wall - But for those who choose to go through the wall they will enter into a richness of faith on the other side.

V. The restoration of Peter (John 21)

Do you love me? Feed my sheep.

Peter can now actually be food for others in their journey because the chaff of his life has been removed.

VI. How to get through the wall

Don’t go it alone. Find some companions with whom you can process your journey.

Keep showing up. Do not waste the trial and suffering instead try to learn the lessons that the wall will provide.

Engage in the inward journey with help of a spiritual director, counselor, and/or 12 step program.

VII. Tested faith and true hope

James 1:1-4

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Prayer does form us. But it can also influence God’s decisions.

God does not ask us to pray just for praying’s sake. He actually wants us to partner with him to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven.

Sometimes, God will only act in response to prayer (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Prayers are weapons in spiritual warfare.

When we pray, we are entering into the cosmic battle between Satan and God. Sometimes, our prayers are not answered not because we didn’t have enough faith, or because of sin in our life, but spiritual forces are blocking our prayers (Daniel 10:12-13, Mark 9:28-29)

Boldness in prayer is not something that bothers God.

God seems to engage with us in even deeper ways when we are bold with him in prayer (Genesis 18:22-32, Exodus 32:11-14, Luke 18:1-8)

Intercessory Prayer.

This is the form of prayer we see Moses doing for the Israelites. Moses stands in the gap for the Israelites despite his privileged position. It is the responsibility of those on the mountaintop to pray for those at the base.

Structured Prayer.

Christians throughout history have prayed the Psalms as well as the prayers written by others. Praying this way can help us through times when we don’t know how to pray, or our words don’t seem to be enough. Structured prayer can form us spiritually and theologically more than any other form of prayer.

Contemplative Prayer.

Brian Zahnd refers to this form of prayer as “sitting with Jesus.” Sometimes we fill our prayers with too many words and forget to listen to the response of the Holy Spirit. Contemplative prayer gives the Holy Spirit room to speak to us.