2 - Personhood

Welcome back church! If you’re just joining us, we’re in the second week of a 4 week series called Cadence. And as we learned last week, cadence is a word used to describe rhythm.

One of the first places we see Godly cadence is in the rhythm of creation. When God created the cosmos, He was clearly in “the groove,” and everything He made was, “good.” In fact, when God was all finished creating, Genesis says,

“God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)

Did you catch that?

When the master craftsman took a step back to look over creation He said, “very good.” I love this sweet picture of God the Father and creator of all things as he looks over his creation. And as a quick public service announcement, don’t forget that humankind was a part of that original - very good - creation.

And humans were not only designed in divine rhythm but with a biological cadence hard-wired into us. There is a healthy rhythm and an unhealthy rhythm to life, which I’d bet money you already knew because you’ve felt it. You know how good and refreshing it is to be in a healthy groove.

When God oversaw the process of creation he created individual people, programmed for community, with individual giftings and passions. Last week we took a broader look at the process of divine cadence through God’s eyes. Over the next few weeks, we are going to take a more detailed approach as we unpack what divine cadence looks like in individual personhood, community performance, and long-term passion.

Personhood, performance, and passion.

These are just a few of the areas where healthy rhythm matters and in which a broader understanding of how God created things can be beneficial in the life of a believer.

So, let’s get started where it just might matter most...

With you.

With the divine cadence found in personhood.

Main Teaching

As we get started today, let me define for you what I mean when I use the word personhood. Personhood is the quality or condition of being an individual person. So, when I say there is divine cadence in our personhood, I’m saying that every individual person ever created has been hard wired with an internal rhythm.

We learned last week that God wrote rhythm into all of creation and this week we are going to look more closely at what that means for you and me.

And when you’re talking about the internal cadence of individuals, you’ve got to talk about something called Circadian rhythm.

Circadian rhythm

The very word, Circadian, comes from two Latin words, circa diem which put together mean, around a day. Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. These natural processes respond primarily to light and dark and affect most living things, including animals, plants, and microbes.[1]

And if you remember back to our sermon last week, the first thing that God created was a day;

“And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” (Genesis 1:3-5)

All that to say, the importance of a day cannot be overstated. And amazingly, God hard wired humanity with an internal software set to a daily cadence called circadian rhythm.

“Around a day.” It’s how you and I are built. So, what exactly does that mean for us?

SLIDE: Circadian Rhythm

It means that there are physical, mental, and behavioral changes set to a 24-hour clock. And it means there are best practices within the cycle as well as bad habits and rhythms that you may have working against the way you were designed.

Morning Cadence

As a reminder, Psalm 118:24 says,

“Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

But not every day feels like something to rejoice in. It’s often difficult to get going, you stayed up too late again, you’re overworked, overtired, and the snooze button on your alarm clock has become an all too familiar friend.

But that’s not actually how it’s supposed to be. You were designed to wake with the sun and to gradually ramp up throughout the morning. However, we often circumvent the natural process.

SLIDE: Intentional Cadence

When we look at the life of Christ, we often see Him up early in the morning having intentional time with his heavenly Father.

Mark 1:35 says;

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

Jesus’ groove was to meet the day in prayer and devotion. One thing you won’t find in the New Testament is a frantic Christ gathering all his belongings and rushing out the door, habitually 5-minutes late to every meeting... He was intentional with His morning routine, and interestingly his morning routine mirrored pretty closely the chart of circadian rhythm.

So, what does your morning usually look like? Is it frantic and hectic? Do you constantly feel that you are falling behind? Maybe you’d say you don’t even have a rhythm - you just wake up and see what the day has in store for you.

Whatever your preference is, it’s important to remember the morning routine sets up the day.

Evening Cadence

As you head through the day and into the evening, I’m sure there are good and bad habits you have. Some of us just limp through the afternoon hours while others experience deep times of creativity and productivity. There are even numerous studies about the effectiveness of a “power nap” in the afternoon. Not to mention many countries around the world that observe a dedicated time for napping called a siesta or repose.

And some of us follow or followed the rhythms and schedules of our kids as they go through the school year. The afternoons are a time for snacks, homework, driving to activities, etc.… Dinner, or “supper,” becomes a sort of finish line for many families as we return from the day's highs and lows to a meal around the table together. Of course, this can all change as kids get older and develop their own routines and rhythms. The dinner table gets progressively empty and the need to be a family taxi driver transitions into something more like a late-night counselor… when your growing children are home and want to talk.

All that to say, life has a rhythm.

Different cultures adhere to their own unique cadences, like a siesta, while also adhering to time tested and proven rhythms that extend all the way back to the divine creation of it all.

SLIDE: Universal Truth

The point being cadence is a universal truth that expresses itself uniquely in every individual. And we’ve all got to recognize that the rhythm of life is a good and Godly gift that we’ve been given.

And gifts are meant to be blessings.

A Spirit of Power, Love, and Self-Discipline

Now, up to this point in today’s sermon I realize this all probably sounds like a self-help motivational speech to get you out of bed earlier. For some of you here today, this might be the case. But the truth is, I want God’s best for you, and I trust there is incredible peace and joy available for us as we learn to walk in step with God.

In rhythm and cadence with the divine creator of the universe.

And here's the best news of all. God sent a divine helper, counselor, and comforter called the Holy Spirit to assist us on the journey. You don’t have to try and figure it all out on your own… You have this church family, you have your family, friends, the Spirit, and best of all Jesus.

For many of us… probably for all of us… Our rhythms are off because we lack the conviction and discipline to do what we know we need to do every day. And this is where God steps in… Listen to this verse from 2 Timothy 1:7;

2 Timothy 1:7

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

I love this verse as it’s a great reminder God has given us, through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. And it’s that last piece that’s so important for us as believers.

SLIDE: Intentional Choices

Self-discipline is a necessary component of building new and healthy habits, rhythms, and cadences. It takes a lot of discipline to be intentional about all your choices throughout the day.

And yet, this is what God has given us to work with. A lifetime of days strung together to form months, years, and decades. He’s hard-wired us with software set to a daily cadence, which was the same rhythm He originally used to create the cosmos.

We do so much to try and stretch our time and circumvent the natural boundaries we’ve been given, but at what cost? Is the hustle and grind of life giving you the kind of rooted faith you desire? Is life really just about productivity, output, and performance or is it more about the process?

Maybe it’s time to reconsider your schedule. Maybe it’s time to accept the software you’ve been given and give your cadence some divine consideration.

Maybe it’s time... to get serious about your time.

Conclusion

Did you know only once in all of human history is it recorded that God bent the rules and extended the boundaries of a day? Here it is, as recorded in the Old Testament book of Joshua;

“Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

“O sun, stand still at Gibeon, And O moon in the valley of Aijalon.”

So, the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. There was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel…”

In Joshua 10:12-14, we are told that during a battle, the sun stood still midday or about 12:00 p.m. in order to help the nation of Israel completely defeat the armies of five Amorite kings (Joshua 10:5-11). The battle is described in verses 7-10. In verse 11 we discover that the invading armies fled.

There was no day like that before it or after it… make sure you hear that today. What this means for us today is that God bent the rules once like He never had before, and He’s not done it again since. And so, instead of hoping for more time in a day, or a personal assistant, or for someone to clone you… What you and I need to do is learn to live, and more importantly, learn to flourish within the boundaries God has graciously given us. We need to align our rhythm with His.

A healthy cadence takes work, practice, and determination and everyone is different. As I said before, cadence is a universal truth that expresses itself uniquely in every individual. God has graciously given the Holy Spirit to help guide us through the process. So, here’s the challenge for the week:

SLIDE: Turth for Your Life

Take some time to look at a graph showing Circadian rhythm and consider your daily rhythm. What areas are draining you and need to be reformed? What areas are working and need to continue.

Where is God in your day to day cadence? If you’re not intentional about your time with Him, then I can almost guarantee you that it won’t happen.

And finally, consider what it means to walk in step with the Holy Spirit. As we discussed last week, the Spirit was there at the beginning of creation and as we talked about today, the Spirit was sent to you and me by Jesus.

The Holy Spirit can be a difficult topic for folks. I would suggest reading through Jesus’ words in John 14-17 and the Apostle Paul’s explanation in Galatians 5:16-25. Write down any questions you have as you go through the passages and share them in a small group or with another believer.

Next week, we’re going to be talking further about how rhythm impacts our fellowship with one another.

Let’s pray together.

Prayer: “God please show us where we are out of rhythm and alignment with you and give us the courage and discipline to get back in step with you.”

[1] https://www.nigms.nih.gov/education/fact-sheets/Pages/circadian-rhythms.aspx

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