Christmas Eve Eve

Formed and Finished
– by Kent Wagner

Advancing the Kingdom by Living for God and Loving People

When Pastors meet other Pastors, there is a weird exchange that goes on.  They inevitably end up talking about “how their church is doing” and what they are doing to “grow” their church.  It’s not a bad thing, and I’m certainly interested in seeing the local church continue to grow and expand.  But I have to tell you, I’m not like other Pastors – my goal is not to grow a church.  My goal is to grow disciples of Jesus.  What I long for is not a packed house necessarily, but packed hearts that are sold out to the Kingdom and mission of Jesus.  I think, if you listen closely to my sermons, you can backward engineer this.  My sermons are almost always about trying to form you spiritually into a deeply devoted follower of Jesus, they are not about how to be successful in life, how to interpret the bible, or teaching truth for truth’s sake.  Each of those things will show up in my sermons – but my primary goal is to connect your life with Jesus.  For you to see how the more you are formed in the likeness of Jesus, the more you will truly discover what real life is.

Did you ever think of yourself as formed or unformed?  What it means is that all of us have a level of “finish” in our life – areas that have been shaped into certain perspectives and ways of thinking that influence everything we do.

It reminds me of when we bought a brand new house years ago.  Jenni and I would regularly slip over to the construction site to see the progress.  At every stage of the build, there were different levels of finish occurring.  The first was the foundation – it was laid and finished.  Next was the framing, then roofing, drywall, flooring, paint, exterior, doors, windows, etc.  Even after we took possession of the house there were still unfinished areas to it.  The downstairs bedrooms and the laundry room were only roughed in.  It was liveable but not complete.

When I think about the human life and us learning to walk with God, I think about how all of us are at different levels of finish – and my heart’s desire is to help you see how inviting Jesus and His leadership and authority into those areas can bring SO much life and joy!

Some of you are just at the point of laying the foundation – you are exploring Jesus and what it means to walk with Him.  Others are further along and you have a biblical foundation in Jesus and have all the framing and roofing, but you need to put insulation in and drywall.

So, the question is, what is still unfinished in you?  Where do you still need to be formed?

These areas will be the tender areas of your life – the places you get upset or mad, the places you are tempted to run towards sin or escape.  They will be the things you see in other people that get you riled up.  They are places where you still need to be discipled into Jesus.

It is Paul saying in Philippians 2:12b-13

“continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

God is working in you and wants to work in you.  It is His Kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven and it is us working out our salvation – being formed and finished.

That’s why, when other pastors get together, I don’t brag about the size of our church or the style of music.  What I brag on is the people – you – who are being formed more and more to look like Jesus.

The neighborhoods that are impacted because you are in them.  The workplaces filled with grace because you bring the Kingdom with you into them.  The schools being transformed from the inside out.  It is a church becoming disciples and making disciples of the world.  It is the mission of Jesus…

Matthew 28:19-20
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””

This Christmas,  you are going to probably give a lot of gifts to the people in your life.  What if this year you chose to give the gift of a fully formed and finished life lived for Jesus.  What if you started taking those places where you get upset, mad, or are tempted to run to Jesus and let him work in you.  This means doing serious reflection, serious prayer, it means slowing down, it means repenting, it means be intentional.  But I promise you, the thing that will matter most is that it means recapturing life – becoming the man you were supposed to be.  Becoming the woman God sees you have the potential to be.  It means being discipled and making disciples.

Decide to give that gift.  Start by just simply saying this dangerous prayer:

“Jesus, I know there are areas of my life that are unfinished.  Please reveal them to me and help me to be patient with myself and to let you work in me.    Work in my life to fulfill your good purposes.  Make me a disciple and help me to make disciples.  I want to be more like you Jesus – teach me.  I ask this in your powerful name, Amen.”

Serving Jesus,

Kent A Wagner

Kent A. Wagner

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