In Habit: Pray UP

3:33 - Welcome back into the room - Quick reminder after service packing food kits for families. Stick around after service - pack a bag - let us know if you want to help step in to deliver as well.

Question for you… Have you ever seen these photos?

(Monkey Selfie Slide)

This is the Monkey Selfie.

Back in 2011—before selfies were really a thing… I mean, they existed, but they weren’t this thing yet—there was a wildlife photographer named David Slater in Indonesia.

He was trying to photograph these monkeys and had what he thought was a clever idea: He set up his expensive camera equipment somewhere the monkeys could grab it, just to see what they might capture…I didn’t say wise I said clever idea

And what came out of that experiment was this adorable, slightly amazing photo—a monkey taking a picture of himself.

Now before you get concerned about whether we’re allowed to show this—don’t worry. We can…It’s public domain… according to the courts.

Yes. There were lawsuits…Several of them…Here’s where it gets fun.

Slater sets up the shot. - Owns the camera. - Pays for the gear. - But the monkey presses the shutter.

That distinction turns out to matter a lot.

Slater shares the image—through media outlets—probably hoping for some recognition and maybe a little money. But this wasn’t some huge cash grab. He shared it because… come on… it’s a hilarious, charming photo.

Then Wikipedia enters the story.

Wikipedia posts the image and says: “This photo was taken by a monkey. Therefore it is public domain.”

Why?

Because under copyright law, a photograph must be the product of a human author.

Which triggers a very understandable knee-jerk reaction from the photographer— or wait—sorry—the camera operator—nope—the camera owner. See? All of this matters.

Slater objects. Wikipedia refuses to take it down.

Then—somehow—it escalates further.

PETA jumps in and sues both Slater and Wikipedia—on behalf of the monkey—claiming the monkey was exploited.

Again… totally true story.

In the end:

The courts rule the image is public domain

Wikipedia was legally correct

PETA drops the lawsuit

Slater is left holding an empty bag after years of legal chaos

And arguably… everyone involved looked a little bit like a jerk.

No, maybe you’ve never created a multiyear legal battle that left people frustrated embittered or broke. But my guess is you’ve had a knee-jerk reaction or two. I know I certainly have. Do you know that the knee-jerk term actually started way back in the early 1900s because of the automatic response of our reflective system. Do you know when the doctor takes a hammer to texture reflexes and it’s right above her right below the knee cap and your leg is flipping out. By the way, if you have a bad back and they do that that’s a interesting moment.

Originally, it was coined the term because it was a response that happens fast, and without thought, it just happens. This phrase became popular early within political commentary and journalism. It was a mildly insulting term - essentially saying that someone responded like the knee does to the hammer. Action without thought, an action that can often leaves us either looking or feeling like a jerk.

There was a season when I would only read the email from my direct supervisor in private. Because there were enough times that the email would elicit a knee-jerk reaction from me. And I would undoubtedly end up looking like a jerk in my response. Because I snapped to rash judgment, and didn’t fully consider what was being said. I would come across a little like the Prophet Eli did when he responded to Hannah…

In 1 Samuel 1 there is a woman named Hannah who is unable to have a child and she is heartbroken. Whats worse is this other woman would tease her and ridicule her because she wasn’t able to have children. So one day while praying at the temple - like knees bent, tears flowing, Lord I need you now kind of moment…The priest this dude named Eli has a KNEE-JERK response.

1 Samuel 1:12–14 (CSB) While she continued praying in the Lord’s presence, Eli watched her mouth. Hannah was praying silently, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to be drunk? Get rid of your wine!”

Talk about missing it! This Knee-Jerk reaction deserved a Knee to the Jerks stomach..sheesh.

He tries to smooth things over and after she tells him that she’s not drunk she’s crying and weeping before the Lord. He tries to regain his composure and say go in peace and may God grant your request. And she leaves peacefully. But are you kidding me.

Eli got it wrong. But here’s the reality I think that all of us in this room can say to a high degree of certainty that there’s been times we have gotten it wrong too. We have looked at a situation at a conversation or a series of events and we have reacted in a knee-jerk fashion.

I mean, let’s be honest, our culture is primed for it. Our culture almost demands of us. Our lives are primed for it. Our city right now is absolutely primed for the reactions. Fast placed instant expectations, anger frustration, all of it boiling under the surface of this unrest, and it is prime for us to make some knee-jerk responses.

Knee-jerk responses in our own lives will often leave our loved ones hurting, or cause us to go down a pathway that is not the way God wanted us to go. Could be a job, a relationship, a hurtful word to a friend. escalating an arugument we never needed to be in in the first place.

Anyone ever done that with a friend or a loved one. You have a knee-jerk reaction to something they did or said, only to find yourself realizing halfway through the argument you agree with them and now you have to decide if you should let them win or not? Just me???? Man I am glad you are so much better than I am

You get what I am saying…the habit for a quick response not necessarily a thoughtful…or better yet…A PRAYERFUL response..is almost automatic. AND if we’re not careful we look more like ELI than we do Jesus.

Over the last several weeks, we’ve been talking about living in habit. Inhabiting the presence of God. Living it out. Day-to-day moment by moment. The little habits in our life that will help us in hell but God’s presence. We talked about having a habitude gratitude, we talked about having a habit of eating God’s word, of writing, God’s word, and a habit of seeing people as God sees people.

Again, A habit of seeing people like God sees people. Which requires us to remove the knee-jerk reaction in our life.

A Habit to help us to live empowered by the Holy Spirit to see beyond the noise and to the heart. To be empowered to help one more person BE KNOWN<FIND HOPE<MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the name of Jesus.

There are countless examples throughout the scriptures of the People of God making an impact in the world around them…so how do we ensure our response is from a God-given conviction? Speak up before we speak out…before we act out.

If you recall the way habits work. There is a CUE - then the Routine or the response to the CUE.

CUE - ROUTINE - REWARD

We are loaded with CUES that can send us into a KNEE-JERK reaction.

For Example:

A Friend says something that illicit a certain emotional feeling within you

Your co-worker gets the promotion over you

The kid in you class keeps picking on your friend

The teachers only see the “problem” and not the person - your child

The bank account is stretched thin

Your guages are in the redline teritory

OR - You forgot you gave up social media and dive into the abyss

Social Media - Just the other day I saw a heart-wrenching video of a little girl that I am 90% sure lived with us for about 4 months. Great opportunity to practice this routine…

You see what I am saying, your life, my life, we all have various CUES in our world that can easily send us into the JERKosphere.

So what is a habit that we can put in practice that will help us see people like God sees people? OR OR OR what habit can we deploy to ensure we have a godly response to the cultural pressures, the family pressure, the job pressures, the relational pressures. What can we do to help reduce those KNEE-JERK moments in our lives?

In HABIT: Speak UP

I know that this is gonna sound rudimentary. Elementary. Whatever word you might want to use. Maybe even two churchy. But it is the reality. We owe it to the people around us to live Spirit-filled Spirit-empowered lives and make a difference. AND AND AND to do that - We have to let the CUE send us to GOD first before anything else.

BUT PC - C’mon it cant be that we are just people of prayer - we have to act…EXACTLY

(C’mon Hole Slide)

I am not telling you your routine loop is standing in a spot with the ability to make a difference waiting on God to do it, or a miracle to happen, or the solution to just present itself. I am not saying stand around looking at the ground praying for a hole with a shovel in your hand.

What I am saying is seek the Lord before you dig…We have all heard the ads at some point Call before you Dig - right - Why? You gotta know if your digging in the right spot!

(Oops Slide)

No actors were harmed in the making of this computer generated image…haha.

What I am saying is - when the CUE hits SPEAK UP before you speak out, Speak UP before you act out, Speak up and seek the LORD.

And when I was writing this. I was reminded of multiple portions of scripture where individuals take it upon themselves to make a vow or to make a claim or to take action before they connect with God. And time and time again they put themselves and others in places in situations become more complex.

Eli is a small example. Nabal - who we talked about a few months ago - He and King David both acted without praying first and almost made a tragic mistake.

There are other examples of People going to God first - Hannah being one of them.The woman that was mistreating her - before she responded she went to God. Hagar - the mother of Ishmael was being mistreated by Sarah Abrahams wife. She went to God and God rescued her from the knee-jerk reaction. Nehemiah - went to God for direction and favor before going to the King with an action plan.

Jesus Modeled it time and time again - before various influential moments throughout His life on earth he would pray - privately and corporately. Sometimes it was just between Him nd His father and other times he would let the disciples in on what he was doing. Jesus would SPEAK UP before speaking out or acting out - acting out of divine conviction.

It is a patterned that continued in the life of the earliest church. There is an incredible moment in the early church - a defining moment of sorts really.

A moment with my two favorite Apostles - I am not sure if you can have favorites but if you can these are my favorites. Peter and John - these two brothers in the faith that have all kinds of playful banter back and forth throughout the Gospels. When you see it, you will smile because it reveals their humanity. They are normal humans selected for a purpose. No different than and one of us in this room this morning.

You can read this incredible account in Acts 4 & 5. It reads like a movie script really. Peter and John filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit are following their direction from Jesus To spread the good news of Christ - the Kingdom of heaven available today and the promise of a future resurrected body. they made the religious community upset and got arrested. They stood before the rulers, the high priest and had to answer for a miraculous healing.

they wanted to know by what power or in what name did this healing become reality. Of course they spoke out of their divine conviction - Jesus the one you crucified.

the result - well they got a pretty serious whoopin - underserved - unprovoked…okay maybe kind of provoked…but not with malicious intent, provoked only because they spoke the truth and they (the leaders) didn’t like the truth. So they beat them, and ultimately released them. They went back to their people and told them everything.

KNEE_JERK REACTION TIME RIGHT?

5000 people came to faith after the healing, they have a large coalition of people - Knee-jerk reaction time - lets go show them right, right…nope.

CUE - ROUTINE - REWARD

CUE - provoked to highly emotional response - Routine…

Acts 4:24–26 (CSB) When they heard this, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them. You said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David your servant: Why do the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot futile things? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers assemble together against the Lord and against his Messiah.

Things are heating up in this prayer…Acknowledging God’s presence, claiming God’s revelation, and about to recount God’s sovereignty…

Acts 4:27–28 (CSB) “For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your will had predestined to take place.

Here it comes…clobbering time right…well check it out…it is petition time - time to seek the Lord Guidance

Acts 4:29–31 (CSB) And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that your servants may speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand for healing, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

Bold in God’s Truth - Seek Healing - Signs and Wonders

In Habit: SPEAK UP - Have a PRAY FIRST response not a Knee-Jerk Response

This is how we move forward church. There is power in our prayer that moves us into the right response. The Right Action. A measured and memorable one. Look what happened in the Assembly when they came before the Lord in this way!!

When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.

That is who we are church! Let’s be like this - Pray First and move with Bold Empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Watch what happened -

Acts 5:12–16 (CSB) Many signs and wonders were being done among the people through the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared to join them, but the people spoke well of them. Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers—multitudes of both men and women. As a result, they would carry the sick out into the streets and lay them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. In addition, a multitude came together from the towns surrounding Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

This church this is my prayer that we see this in our city right now…You are the right church to bring this…we are the people of God to lean in together not in a flash in the pan but a earnest, a sincere movement of a unified voice proclaiming Jesus in our communities.

This is who we are church - not as a building but as a people - using your God given gifting and your Holy Spirit empowerment to make a difference in your sphere of influence. Unified in mission and diversely equipped to impact a multitude of places.

This is what we are asking for church….Maybe you are wondering how do I play a role. How do I fit. Or maybe you’re asking how do I receive Jesus - how do I be filled by the Holy Spirit.

For those wanting to say yes to a life with Jesus but not sure how. Its not complicated truly - Believe that Christ died on the cross for your sins. You and the You next to you. Believe in you heart that he died on the cross and 3 days later God brought him to life - resurrected Him. Profess your loyalty to Jesus and turn from your sin.

Church Board - Staff - Designated Prayer Team come forward -

For those who desire to be filled by the Holy Spirit - just ask! Seek and God will respond. God will speak to you and He will respond. When the song plays this is our time to gather up front in prayer church. Prayers for empowerment, for direction, for conviction, for obedience to God’s call, for unity, for strength, for courage.

Holy Spirit Come fill this place!!

Holy Spirit Altar moment / Surrender to Jesus Altar moment

SONG - CLOSE