You Need Repetition - Train for Your Output

Intro:

I am excited to jump into part four of our series Lessons from the Wild. So far, we have talked about Climb the mountain, harness the mind, take the shot - You can’t be afraid to fail, and to keep moving when it doesn’t look good.

This sermon series originated on a deer hunt this past fall, after a series of events that proved to have great spiritual application.

If you missed any of these messages, encourage you to go back and watch them. You can find them on our website, waymakerchurch.org, or listen to them on podcast through Spotify and Apple Music.

Today, I want to share with you a message I have entitled “You Need Repetition. Positive outcomes are rarely the result of chance. Many times, they are built through consistency and repetition.

The Story:

I have shared with you over the past few weeks about different parts of an experience on a hunt this past fall. Today’s message comes from a conversation I had with Marcus after an opportunity didn’t pan out the way He expected.

I mentioned in week two that we had an opportunity take a shot. The moment didn’t go as planned, and a few shots were missed. After the walk back to the truck and the conversation we had while walking carried over into the truck.

It was the proverbial mental processing of the experience followed by the statement “I can’t believe I missed”. As the moment unfolded, I remember asking the question. How long have you had your rifle? How many times did you shoot the rifle before we came out here?

In the moment, it was more of a rhetorical question because I was there for both the purchase and the range. The answer to the question was he bought the rifle less than two weeks before the hunt, and we went to the range once to make sure it was sighted in.

The rifle purchased was a used rifle. It was advertised as a .270 caliber. He purchased the gun and ammunition for the range. While at the range, the rifle was sending rounds all over the place inconsistently. We thought their was an issue with the rifle. Maybe a warped barrel.

After a few shots, we decided to let the gun cool down. As we were assessing the moment, Marcus decides to take a deeper look at the gun and realizes the caliber of the gun is not a .270, it was a .30-06. The crazy part is that the gun shop had it advertised as a .270.

It didn’t shoot straight because it was the wrong size ammo for the gun. By the grace of God we didn’t have any major malfunction at the range. I had the right ammo because it was the same as my rifle.

Once we used the right ammunition it shot a lot better as you would expect. However, the practice time before the hunt was limited to that specific day at the range.

In our conversation in the truck, I asked the questions to draw the attention back to the reality that we have to train effectively for the outcomes we desire. Essentially, there was a need for repetition.

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Submit:

I would imagine you can see where I am going with this from a spiritual standpoint. I have observed that many people desire maturity and depth of relationship with Christ, while often living without the training and repetition needed to obtain it. If we desire to mature spiritually and be used by God, it will develop through consistent engagement in practices that reshape how we think, feel, and act.

Spiritual disciplines gradually reform your thoughts, desires, and habits to align you with Christ’s character, and they become means of grace and transformation when practiced with unconditional obedience and perseverance despite struggle.

The goal of the believer is seen in Colossians 1:9–11.

Colossians 1:9-11 “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;”

Spiritual maturity is the result of consistent repetition.

In any type of training, the first and most important step is getting your mind right, and 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 gives us the mindset.

1 Corinthians 9:24–27 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

The mindset is running to win. Now the key to understand is that we are not competing with one another. We are running to receive a crown of life in eternity. With that understanding, we set our minds to run with certainty; we fight for it, and we discipline our bodies and bring them into subjection to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

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Apply:

The Spiritual mechanism used by God is repetition. Hebrews 5:12–14.

Hebrews 5:12-14 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

What do we need to repeat consistently?

Reading and Memorizing Scripture. Scripture reading and memorization grounds you in the vocabulary the Holy Spirit uses to develop your faith, replaying the gospel story from its source. Proverbs 3:1-2. Colossians 3:16.

Proverbs 3:1–2 “My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.” Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Prayer: Prayer repeatedly connects you to God and provides space to wrestle with questions that might undermine your faith, accessing the intimacy Christ’s death purchased. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Meditation: Meditation trains your reason and imagination to grasp the depth of God’s love and the life application of the word. Psalm 1:1-3.

Psalm 1:1–3 “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”

Confession: Confession repeatedly positions you in honesty before God, enabling restoration from sin. 1 John 1:9.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Generosity: Generosity practiced habitually cultivates an eternal kingdom perspective and trains your heart toward compassion by default. Proverbs 3:9-10. Proverbs 11:25. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7.

Proverbs 3:9–10 “Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.” Proverbs 11:25 “The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.” 2 Corinthians 9:6–7 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap 4bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Serving: When you serve, you’re simultaneously being transformed and reflecting Christ’s pattern. Service matures you by reshaping your character through active engagement with others’ needs—it’s not something you develop in isolation but through the relational demands of caring for people.

Serving creates kingdom-centered values by forcing you outside yourself. You can’t serve authentically while remaining self-absorbed, so the practice itself trains you toward the humility, compassion, and other-centeredness that characterize Christ’s maturity. 1 Peter 4:10-11.

1 Peter 4:10–11 “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

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Closing:

We are designed by God to mature. Consistently repeating spiritual disciplines lead us to spiritual maturity. Remember, Hebrews 5:14 told us that maturity comes by reason of use.

Successful spiritual outcomes result from consistent, Christ-honoring input and repetition. Now here is the best part: you don’t have to do it on your own. Jesus promised we would have a helper, the Holy Spirit. John 15:26. John 16:13-14.

John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”

John 16:13–14 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

As you read and meditate on the Word, the Holy Spirit helps you by guiding you to the truth. He takes what Jesus said and helps you understand and apply it to your life.

The work He does is internal and relational. He doesn’t just give us facts about God; He leads us to Him. This is why reading your bible isn’t optional. It is the primary tool God uses to rewire your identity and develop maturity in you.

My favorite part is that while we are a work in progress, we don’t have to focus on our failures or mistakes. What begins inwardly will eventually be seen outwardly. That is the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us.

When He leads you to Jesus through the Word, the Word purifies and changes you as you do what it says. You don’t have to perform to be better; He simply changes you so you can be better.

The biggest need in the process is that you and I must bring our whole selves to God. We can’t be half in, half out.

My simple encouragement this week is to press and go deeper. If you have been struggling in your walk. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you develop in the reading and memorization of Scripture. Ask Him to teach you how to pray. Ask for Him to speak to you as you meditate on the word and lead you to the place of consistent confession that purifies your heart. Ask Him to teach you how to live a generous life and reveal to you how He wants you to serve others.

If you will do these things, maturity will certainly come.

Let’s Pray!

Holy Spirit give us a great desire to press in.

Salvation.