Off Beat: Recovering from Spiritual Arrhythmia

Welcome:

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Our hope is that you would take FIRST STEPS + NEXT STEPS in your relationship with Jesus.

We want you to GROW in your FAITH and EXPERIENCE JESUS!

Introduction:

It’s good to be back

Today we start a 3 Week conversation called: Off Beat: Recovering from Spiritual Arrhythmia!

What do we mean by that?

Arrhythmia is an irregular pace heart beat. In others words, the heart isn’t beating at the optimal pace it was design to beat.

Arrhythmia can be caused by unhealthy diets, substance abuse, too much stress, too much stimulus [coffee], over-exertion ....etc.

All these can cause the heart to become out of sync…OFF BEAT.

Like the heart, I believe our spirits can suffer from an arrhythmia [an unhealthy, irregular pace that is not beneficial and possibly dangerous]

I believe we have all experienced this spiritual arrhythmia

Our schedules were altered, our family dynamics have been modified, our work environments have changed, events have been cancelled/rescheduled....and our spiritual rhythms have been disrupted!

This has caused stress, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty in our lives…whether we want to admit it or not.

Transition:

For the next 3 Sundays I want to address 3 Symptoms of an OFF BEAT Life and How we can RECOVER from them!

Our Key Text for this series:

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25, ESV)

Context:

Paul planted the Galatian Church on his first missionary journey

Paul gets word that there have been some unhealthy influences that have crept into the church and now the Galatian Christians are stepping away from the truths taught to them when Paul was present!

i.e. = justification by works not by faith

Paul addresses these issues and in Chapter 5 Paul reminds them to stay in step with the Spirit.

Paul is dealing with Christians that have allowed unhealthy/ungodly outside teachings to speak into their faith....and not they are in a spiritual arrhythmia — off beat

So Paul encourages them to get back in step with the Spirit!

I think one of the symptoms we are experiencing as a result of the past 6 months is SPIRITUAL APATHY.

Apathy = lack of interest, concern, or enthusiasm

Studies have shown that the spiritual fervor of believers has been on the decline

Studies have shown, that this consistent spiritual disruption [arrhythmia] has not been kind to our spiritual health/growth.

The Barna Group

50% of Churched Adults have not streamed services in the last 4 weeks

30% of Practicing Christians have dropped out of church entirely for the tine being

50% of Practicing Christians Millennials are NOT viewing services online

Only 1 in 3 Practicing Christians are still attending the same church they attended pre-COVID

We have begun to check out of online gatherings, we’ve slowed down our pursuit of Christ, our pursuit of Christian community.

Since March we have been inundated with media:

Safer At Home Orders, masking, racism, rioting, masking, and the politicizing of nearly everything in between…

we have fallen out of step with the Spirit and have allowed the unhealthy habits of culture to create in us a SPIRITUAL APATHY that is hindering our faith.

This is a strategy the Devil is using to keep us in a Spiritual Arrhythmia that will pull us away from our faith

Because our natural rhythms of gathering/worship/discipleship have been disrupted, we are less enthused about growing in our relationship with Jesus!

Illustration:

When this slow down began people were excited to take a break [and I think that was needed in society]

But as it drug on, people filled that time on Sunday and during the week with other things. .

Those spiritual disciplines began to fall down the priority list in all of our lives

With gyms closing, some of our physical health disciplines began to fall down the priority list

With businesses laying off employees, our mental and emotional disciplines began to fall down the priority list.

Soon, we let go of the beneficial tension that would help us grow in our faith

Tug of War - letting go of the rope

We didn’t wake up early anymore, because there was no where to go

We put off reading the bible regularly because there was less accountability

We stepped back from worship because there was no one to lead us

We de-prioritized our Sabbaths, because it was easier than doing it on our own at home.

APATHY!

So how do we treat this symptom?

You have to step back into the ring!

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3)

Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of heaven is advancing....but it’s not advancing without opposition! [Matthew 11:12]

Every time we give up a little control, it’s a FIGHT to get it back! [think about your giving in to your children; think about giving in to an addiction; think about giving in to a unhealthy eating habit]

We have allowed the “MEH MENTALITY” to creep in and pull us away from the fight

OUR FIST STEP is the decision to get back into the ring....to pick up the rope and begin to tug!

Take back your schedule!

Take back your Sabbath!

Take back your time with God!

Commit in INK…Show up, worship, learn, serve, grow, thrive!

This will be a fight!

Your flesh has enjoyed this OFF BEAT LIFE!

Your flesh has enjoyed LIVING UN-CRUCIFIED! [We’ll talk about that next week]

We have to get back into consistent healthy rhythms

This is the shock to our system that we need right now!

Conclusion:

John is exiled to the island of Patmos and he writes the words of Christ to seven churches [letters of warning and commendation]

The first church Christ speaks to is the the church at Ephesus

Revelation 2:2–5 ESV

2 “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

Our response to SPIRITUAL APATHY is REPENTENCE and LOVE

We need to remember all that God has done for us through His Son Jesus

We need to humbly repent [turn] and GET BACK IN STEP WITH THE SPIRIT!