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Northside Church
As for me #2
Jamey Mills
8/20/23
NORTHSIDE…
Good Morning… It’s always good to be with you guys. My name is Jamey and I’m the lead pastor here at Northside.
We are in our 3rd week of a sermon series we are calling… “As for Me”...
Where we are looking at the importance of the decisions that we make…
In the first week we talked about making that same resolution before the Lord that Joshua did… in Joshua 24:15
But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
… As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Drawing the line that will impact and inform every other line that we draw… or making that decision the one that will impact every other decision that we make. There is wisdom and strength in deciding now… what we can instead of relying on how we feel in the heat of the moment. As for me and my house… we will serve the Lord. There is a consistency in that.
Last week we talked about our battle with temptation… about how so much of what we have in the Bible is aimed at helping us learn from the past… we talked about how temptation is a part of our everyday life and we need to be prepared and we talked about how we have every reason to be confident in the faithfulness of God. He knows… He is with us… and He will give us a way to escape and the strength to endure temptation… but we have to be looking for it and choose it.
Have you ever noticed how most “healthy” things are difficult? If you want to be healthy in any capacity… if you want to learn or improve a skill set… healthy relationships… musical instrument…
Healthy things are hard… take intentionality and sacrifice… It seems like it's part of the way things are made. A lesson in it that God would have us learn.
At one point I was a decent athlete… not amazing… but decent.
That helped in youth ministry… I could dominate at dodgeball… made several kids cry… a few youth leaders (may have broken a youth leader's rib)... made my wife cry… but the point is… It’s really important that you know I dominated a group of middle schoolers
As I got older and my role within the church changed, I wasn’t nearly as active…I was constantly traveling and because Burger King was just down the street and had a dollar menu I went from about 180 to about 240.
I still remember the day in South Corvallis that I was trying to keep up with my kids and the light started to go out… just a little. Breathing was hard… I was getting light headed… and I knew something had to change.
Brandi and I went on a pretty aggressive diet and over 6 months I think I got down to about 190 or so…
Through the process of planting Northside…with lots of hours, lots of meetings, lots of nights out of the house… I got back up to about 220. Brandi and I jumped back on the diet and it's back down to about 185 now.
And in that process I have been reminded of a few things…
Dieting stinks… I don’t enjoy it.
Some of the things I really like… aren’t good for me. Why… in the grand scheme of things… can’t ribs and maple bars be health food.
Dieting requires consistency.
I don’t do it perfectly… but overall… I have made some good progress at making consistently healthier choices overall.
Consistency matters.
Not sure if you’ve ever noticed how most everything that is good… is hard and requires intentionality and consistency.
Consistency plays a huge role… in
Physical health
Financial freedom
Healthy relationships
Reaching goals
Growing in any skill set
And… growing spiritually
Tons of people struggle with consistency…
The guy who wrote a good portion of NT struggled with it.
It’s why he said…
Romans 7:15 (NLT)
I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
I don't do what I want to do, instead, I do what I don't want to do…
In vs. 24… he goes on to say…
Romans 7:24–25 (NLT)
Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
I’m sure you hear it… Paul is saying… consistency is tough.
There is a grind to it… waking up early everyday, eating right, working out, spending time in the word, time in prayer…
Hes the same one who said
Philippians 3:13–14 (ESV)
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
And
1 Corinthians 9:26–27 (NLT)
So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadow boxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified
You can hear it… the struggle with consistency…
And his fight to become more and more consistent in the right things.
One author said it like this… the one thing we are often consistent in is inconsistency… but hey at least we are consistent…
That line about… superficial… the word super is in superficial… and who doesn't want to be super.
Its tough… and we struggle…. But the truth is… we all value consistency…
Employers look for it…
It matters when it comes to brakes on our car
Pilots landing our airplanes… that fly at 30K feet and were made by the lowest bidder
Electricity
Shower water temperature
With availability of food
As I was thinking about this stuff… I started wondering if some of the most important and consistent things we have in life… are the most overlooked.
Running water… toilets… electricity… a roof over our head…
I think a lot of us take some of the most consistent and important things for granted… and I can't help but wonder if we do that with God…
Just a few of that many passages that talk about God’s consistency…
Deuteronomy says that God keeps His promises to a thousand generations.
James 1:17 (NLT) Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
Jer 31 talks about God’s everlasting love and unfailing kindness
Psalms 100 says his mercy is unending… It's consistent.
Matthew 28:29 Jesus said He is with you to the very end… His presence is consistent.
Hebrews 13:8 (NLT) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
The Bible describes God as being Omnipotent, Omniscient, and OmniPresent…
All powerful, All knowing and All present… consistently.
When God in the OT reveals Himself as being “I AM” what is He saying… EHYEH… I AM… I will be… He was and is and forever more will be. Alpha and Omega… Beginning and end. There is nothing more consistent.
When we say that God is faithful… we are saying He is consistent.
Not in chaos… or in wishy washy ways… But consistent in the ways you and I most need… ways that lead us to truth… lead us to life… lead us to real freedom.
That should give you a sense of deep comfort.There is a security, strength, and dependability in understanding the consistency… the steadfast nature of God.
Consistent in His nature. You don’t have to wonder. He does not change
Consistent in truth and in what He stands for. It's not illusive.
The way to God and Salvation is consistent… it does not change.
Consistent throughout history
In His grace toward those who call on Him
In His forgiveness to those who believe in Him
In His leadership and discipline
His care for you and presence
God is consistent… and that should bring a sense of comfort…
And one of the ways to grow toward Christ… and to become like him is in the area of consistency in the right things…
It was around 600 BC… nearly 20 years after the babylonians destroyed Jerusalem… and they hauled a lot of them off in captivity… and paid special attention to the best of the best…
King Darius noticed Daniel was different… (Ch 6)
And gave him a leadership position.
Daniel soon proved himself more capable of the others and even of those above him… The kind made plans to elevate him over the entire empire…
And that didn't sit well with the others. They began to look for faults in Daniel…
6:4 says they found nothing… He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy…
So they thought… they only chance we have is to against his faithfulness…
So they went to the King… and said… King, you're obviously awesome… but not everyone is giving that to you… we need you to make a law… and strictly enforce it… that anyone who prays to anyone or anything else over the next 30 days will be thrown into the lion's den.
The kind said you're right… I am awesome… do that.
Daniel 6:10 (NLT)
But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.
10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.
Daniel was consistent… prayed 3 times a day… everyday. Regardless of the culture… of the rules… or of the consequences…
The officials reported it… the king wasn’t happy about it… tried to find a way out… but knew the rules were the rules… Dairus admired Daniel's consistency… and even said may the God whom you serve so faithfully save you…
Daniel was thrown into the lion's den… the king went home and fasted on his behalf…
He refused the usual feasts.. And in the morning the king ran out to see… Daniel, servant of the living God… was God faithfully able to rescue you.
The kind was overjoyed… when Daniel was lifted from the pit there wasnt a scratch on him… for he had trusted the Lord (6:23)
It says that God sent an angel to shut the mouth of the lion…
But here’s the point… and its a big one for us.
Daniel’s faith wasn’t formed in the lion's den… it was tested, refined and affirmed there.
His relationship with God, heart for God, steadiness with God were formed in His consistency with God.
came from day after day… 3 times a day… crying out to God on His knees.
I wish I could tell that's where I am…
And while I am not there yet… it is where I am headed… I have made the resolution… As for me… I will serve the Lord.
Successful people do consistently what others do occasionally. - Craig Groeschel
Consistency matters…
Probably 25 years ago I heard a young pastor that talked about how he spent a day at the beach… watching the waves… and after a few hours… he was caught by the consistency of it all. Each wave… one after the other… would form, roll up, hit the shore and die… one right after the other… the power of its consistency… changes the landscape…
And that's true for us too. There is power in consistency.
Three things that can help us with consistency…
1. You have to know the why in your consistency
Why did Daniel pray consistently?
Not an outward show like some of the religious leaders…
3 times a day he sought the Lord in prayer because he was devoted to God… It wasn't just a desire. Desire’s don’t have why’s…
You want to draw closer to God? Want a healthier marriage? Want to quit wasting so much time? Want to quit a bad habit you have to know the why… and
The clearer you can be the better.
Daniel was consistent with the Lord… why… because He knew that God was in control… He knew that He was created by God and for God and wanted to honor Him.
You want a healthier marriage…
If your why is… because she says… or because I am supposed to… good luck. But if you why is… because I love and cherish her. Because I want to care for her well and I want to model for my son what a godly husband looks like and for my daughter what she needs to look for… if you know the way your motivation toward consistency improves.
You want to be healthy… why.
You want to quit a bad habit…
Why… get specific.
You want to draw near to God… why.
Get specific.
God’s consistency was and is not aimless. He knows the why.
2. You have to have the right mindset
Being consistent in the right things… for the right reasons and in the right ways.
There are some leaders out there that preach consistency to the point of it sounding like the end goal… or… that do it in such a way that causes us to feel that if we mess up or miss one… we are worthless and weak… it develops that all or nothing mindset that often just leads to us quitting.
That is exactly what the read the bible in a year plan did to me for a few years in a row.
In my experience, momentary failure is part of the process. Being consistent is not synonymous with being perfect. The illusion of perfection is sometimes what keeps us from even trying. And we cannot allow that to keep us engaging and growing in our relationship with Jesus.
Do you think Daniel ever missed one? A meeting with the king… maybe in the lion's den… okay, no he probably hit those ones…
Having the right mindset matters. It helps us step back and look at the whole… to look at trajectory and trend in our lives which… in my experience is a far better way to see and evaluate growth.
It’s a powerful thing to understand… that reaching the goal is great and important… but celebrating the everyday victories that lead you there is huge. Life… is made up of days just like today, one after the other.
to begin to see that reaching the goal… is often learning how to value the victories every day that lead you there.
One author said this… when it comes to making goals about consistency…
Make it simple, make it short and if you miss one day don’t miss two.
3. Fall in love with the process.
To me a huge part of this is knowing the why.
That’s where it goes from a box to check… to an investment toward something.
So much of what God has for you is in the process. He’s teaching and leading.
To daniel… prayer wasn’t the goal… it was one of the steps that he learned how to celebrate as he was learning what it means to do life with, trust, and respond to God everyday.
In Galatians 5 it talks about these
Two forces that are at work in each and every one of us. Our sinful nature and the Spirit of God.
And it says that they want the opposite things. One translation says that no choice is free from the fight…
It reminds me of what CS Lewis said…
"Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance." - C.S. Lewis
"Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance." - C.S. Lewis
And Paul goes on to talk elaborate as to what that fight looks like…
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
(NLT)
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:22–25 (NLT)
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
I told you guys not long ago… that a pastor once told me its like you have two dogs that are at war within you…
Which dog do you think will when? The one you consistently feed.
What things do you think God would have you be most consistent with?
Time in the word, prayer,
Being more consistent with Church or small group stuff
Serving others
giving
Time with or praying with your spouse
Eating better
Working out
Serving within the community
Let the consistency of God inspire you and comfort you.
Know the why… understand and embrace the process…
Make it short, keep it simple, and if you miss one day, don’t miss two.
COMMUNION Thought
