New Habits

Intro

This morning we are bringing our current message series to a close. For the past month we have been going through a series titled “I’ll do it tomorrow”.

The focus of this series has been on change, more specifically the importance of making the right kinds of changes in your life; changes that...

bring you closer to God

rather than pull you further away from him.

We have discussed the inevitability of change. That none of us can prevent it. Life is in a constant state of changes.

The challenge for us is to be actively involved in determining what kind of changes we are going to allow to happen in our lives.

We discussed sanctification and defined more clearly what the right kind of changes should look like. Changes that set us apart from the rest of the world and allow us to live holy lives that reflect the character and nature of Jesus himself.

Last week we went over the danger of know what you need to do, and yet continuing to put it off or procrastinate. We determined that when we put off our responsibilities as it relates to sanctification there will always be a cost, particularly one that none of us will want to pay.

It has been my prayer through this series that all of us will have developed a sense of purpose and a desire to be the person God created us to be. To make the kinds of changes that draw us closer to God by becoming more and more like him in our thoughts, words, and actions.

And all of this sounds good from a big picture sense. We understand the need for this. We may even have the desire for this kind of life. But in a very practical sense, how do we actually do it.

How do we change?

Is it by a supernatural experience? Does God simply change us and we just start living holy lives? I think experience tells us no. If that were the case we wouldn’t have to be talking about this right now would we

Is it a matter of willpower? Just do it? If that were the case then what need would we have for the Holy Spirit?

Neither are correct in of themselves. Rather change is only possible because of the grace of God and power of the Holy Spirit working in and empowering believers to make choices that they otherwise would be incapable of making.

God is the source of power, but we have to play our part in utilizing that power in order to change.

One area that needs to be stressed when discussing change and the area we will focus on this morning is the power of discipline and spiritual habits.

Power in the Text

If you have ever played an instrument or a sport you know the power of training and practice.

In college I decided that I wanted to learn to play guitar. I knew nothing about guitar, I had never played, and to be honest I didn’t even know what I needed to get started.

However, I decided to go to Guitar Center and buy a guitar. It was a fairly cheap one because number one, I was a poor college student and number 2, what if I got frustrated and quit before I ever learned to play.

So I bought the guitar and a book on how to play it. Brought it back to my apartment and started trying to teach myself how to play.

I was terrible. The strings would tear up my fingers, I couldn’t keep tempo, my strumming was all over the place, and trying to get my fingers in right place for the right chords and then trying to switch to other ones was impossible.

Many times I thought about getting rid of the guitar. But I kept at it. I practiced day in and day out.

But you know what. Little by little it started to sound better. Little by little I my fingers didn’t bleed anymore because I started to get callouses on my finger tips.

Little by little I could keep the tempo and my strumming pattern stayed consistent. Eventually I could play a song and sing it at the same time.

Eventually I got to the place where I could play in front of others and eventually became the worship leader at our campus ministry meetings.

When I started out, I would have told you I’m never going to get it.

It took a lot of discipline, practice, and training over to time to get there.

Likewise, God’s word, the Bible trains us in right living. We aren’t told only what not to do, but also what we should do instead.

Paul talks about this kind of training in his letter to the young Pastor Timothy.

1 Timothy 4:6-9 NLT 6 If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. 7 Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. 8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 9 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it.

Paul understood that godly living wasn’t the result of any one moment or experience. Instead it was the deliberate and disciplined choice to train.

Training is hard and it takes time. But it produces results that without training would not be possible.

We are told that like Timothy we need to train ourselves to be godly.

It will not happen on its own, and it will not happen overnight.

Think about that mature Christian in your life that seems to be such a good example. They embody what we would consider a godly life. They truly reflect Jesus in their words and actions.

They are someone you even hope to be like but for you it just seems so much harder. To you, that person is the super Christian that you will never be able to live up to.

It might even appear as though it just comes so much easier for that person.

What you are failing to see is the time, intentionality, discipline, and spiritual training that they have gone through to become the person you see today.

They have taken on spiritual habits that have become the wellspring from which their behavior flows.

Big Idea/Why it Matters

We are very much, creatures of habit. In fact, our habits tell us more about ourselves than what we tell people we believe.

You are what you love. And your habits are a reflection of what matters most to you.

Remember, all of us prior to knowing Jesus had hearts that were blackened by the stain of sin. We had hearts that were bent away from God and toward rebellion.

Our daily habits demonstrated that to be true.

When we give our lives to Jesus, our daily habits must be shaped by spiritual disciplines that recalibrate our hearts to the things that God desires.

I asked the question, how do we change? What is our part? How do we participate in the sanctification process?

The answer is simple. Cultivating spiritual habits is what fuels change and growth.

Application

These spiritual habits take discipline. One of the most important things we need to understand about discipline is that discipline is a choice.

It is not dictated by feelings or even our circumstances. Discipline is a deliberate choice.

If you are a gardener you know that in order to have a nice garden that produces good fruits and vegetables you have to be disciplined in taking care of it.

If you don’t spend time cultivating your garden, weeds grow up and they choke out the fruit. Neglecting your garden will prevent it from growing.

Likewise, neglecting your spiritual life will bring the same result.

And it is important to note that spiritual disciplines aren’t just meant for vocational pastors and Bible teachers. They aren’t just meant for those in Church leadership.

The disciplines or spiritual habits God wants us to adopt are meant for every believer. For people who have jobs, children, and responsibilities that have to be taken care of. For those that have to mow the grass, do the laundry, care for the dog, and manage the family calendar.

This morning I want to just briefly go over 4 habits, that if you will implement, will fuel the kinds of changes you know you need to make in your life.

These 4 habits can be implemented by anyone, in any season of life, and at any stage in your walk with Jesus.

Prayer

I don’t just mean grace before a meal or the short prayer you may pray with your children at night. I am talking about intentional time set aside to spend time with and communicate with God.

Prayer is hard work. It does not come naturally. We must spend consistent time in prayer daily.

Ephesians 6:18 NLT 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Being alert and persistent in prayer is a daily exercise. Do you pray daily? If not, be disciplined and start by spending 15 minutes a day in prayer. If it helps use a note card… You will be surprised at how God will use this time to change your motives, thoughts, words, and actions over time.

Worship

Worship is the celebration of God in daily life.

It can include music, or it can be the praises we offer in the quiet of our own hearts.

In the Bible it is both corporate

Hebrews 10:25 NLT 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

and individually in the ordinary moments in life.

On one such occasion the prophet Elijah was looking for God in the big things only to find him in a whisper.

1 Kings 19:11-12 NLT 11 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.

We miss God when we look for him only in the big moments in life.

He is in the wonder of a baby’s laugh

He is in the mundane process of packing your kids lunch for school

He is in the process of paying your bills

He is in the quietness of a still night

God is in the everyday, the ordinary, the common moments that make up our lives. And we worship him when we celebrate him in the common ordinary moments every day.

Exposure to the Word

God’s word is our instruction book.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

It’s full of principles that have life-changing power. When we consistently expose our minds to it, something happens.

We are altered in our thoughts, actions, and insights

This is accomplished through...

reading

hearing

studying

memorizing

Meditation

This is the process of thinking about God’s word during the day and applying it to life.

Psalm 119:97-98 NLT 97 Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long. 98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide.

We must ask and then listen for God to show us situations, attitudes, actions, and circumstances where God’s word can be applied

Meditation is the method of using scripture to cleanse your mind

We are too busy for this most days. We have to to learn to slow down and meditate.

A great way to start these habits is to use a daily devotional...

Closing

These are just a few spiritual habits that if you would use them will cultivate spiritual formation and bring about change.

But these habits will never become habits unless we are disciplined with them. We have to be intentional about doing them everyday.

Yes you still have lives to live and things to do. But if we are honest with ourselves I think we will admit there is time in our day to do them because we are good at wasting it on other less productive things.

These spiritual habits that bring change don’t generally do this overnight or change us into completely perfect people, but over time, habits become second nature, and we will begin to see the change in our lives from the inside out.