Spiritual Keystone Habits

But we don't really even need to mention it, but the microbes one yesterday. Sorry that your husky fat. One thing we can agree on is the Ducks lost. So. No Bruiser, I don't know Ducks, man. There's a few, I guess it's all right, we'll leave Sports out of this. If it's too divisive. I'm glad that you're here. Today. We're going to continue our series recent happiness, and that I've Loved walking through these Beatitudes. I've loved to have been able to just study some of these a little bit deeper to challenge us on patch Rob, to be back next week to bring the attitude. Number 3. I'm not going to jump into the Beatitudes today. I'm going to be bringing a message that it's really a part of the overall scope of this fall series called a 60-day spiritual growth. So if you have your book, The the next to the attitude will be covered next week. My notes are in that book, maybe use a front cover, the back cover, take your notes somewhere else, but the weird it at a taco ways that we can grow spiritually. And I have absolutely loved seeing how many people have grab that book and a really begun began to just dig into the Beatitudes taking notes. I'm going to class is having discussions. I just I sense it. There's a real hunger fnbca for spiritual growth. We need it. And then And I would appreciate, I want you to know that I appreciate each and everyone of you forever for tuning in either online or here and watching it weird to talk about some basic principles of spiritual growth. And and when I say basic, this is kind of at the really, really basic stuff, but stuff we need to be reminded of or talk about habits where to talk about spiritual Keystone habits that we need to get into what I have a message today and then a couple in November. And I'm just going to talk about seven different habits that we can bring in, to our lives, to help us grow. I have it. Is this is the definition of weather. We all know what to have it is, but this definition just taught me. It's a routine or practice performed regularly, an automatic response to a situation. That's the part that I underline. When I read that are automatic response to the situation, other than other ways we can call this is that you do not only a habit, but a, a system or a routine. How many people are routine, people? Everybody raise your hand, cuz we all have a routine. I am a man of routine so much so that if you throw me off of my routine, it wrecks, my day. Anybody with me, like my routine. My alarm goes off at 5. I get up. I grab my coffee in my Bible. I do my devotions, and then when I get ready, before I get ready at every day, I make the bed is what I do. And then I shower and get ready. And I don't know if something happens to throw off my morning routine. The rest of my day is shot. Right? Like if I sleep in or Aura at forget to make the bed, I don't have it, but I happen to not make the bed everything. The rest of the morning is just, it seems to be sped up. I seem to worry and stress and I'm heading to work. And then I speed and in the state patrol tries to pull me over at that moment of panic and I go faster and then the state patrol pulls me over later and I mouth off and then eventually Pastor Adam in prison.

So I exaggerated a little bit. I've not been to prison.

But yeah, that's right. But sometimes it feels that way if you're a person of routine, right, your routine gets thrown off and my stuff that is normally do just, and this is what I want to talk about these habits. Did you know about half of your waking hours are spent doing automatic behaviors? Without thinking things that you do. You walk through life, you happen to do them much of what you do every single day is not a result of a singular decision, but a result of a habit. Think about that phrase.

Much of what you do, everyday? Is without thinking. Now that can be an awesome and amazing thing. Or it can be a little bit scary. Cuz we all have these routines, we all do these things without thinking, there's a a book called Atomic Habits by James clear. And he talks about how we all have these goals. But we really need to be working on is our habits and he says this, you don't rise to the levels of your goals, but you fall to the level of your systems or your routine. We need to interact with that level of our, a personality, our everyday actions without thinking, we need to interact with that level. To create the spiritual changed, the 60 days, or spiritual growth that we need to see. We need to understand that every day without thinking activities are having an impact on your life. We to think about that big. Why? Why is this? Because simple answer God created it that way. This is interesting in your brain. Only takes about two percent of your body mass. But 25% of the oxygen, you inhale, for energy. Your brain is a constantly at work. And what habits do is it helps your brain to rest and I read the study and I know this probably boring to most of you, but what they did is they hooked up a little mouse to brain brain waves scanner and and they put this little mouse little mouse. I'm a tad amazed and ran it through the first time all the brain waves starting to go crazy, what's going on. And the more times they put this mouse through the Maze and he begin to learn and buy habit, take, right, left to get to that little piece of chocolate. Look, what happens on the right side with the Habit routine and how the brain works? See your body wants to get to a place where it's not working as hard all the time. So you have that Reserve energy when you need it. This is the way our brains work. It's that Power of Habit. One more book that I mentioned and I know I won't bore you with these books, but for the Power of Habit, I'd recommend this one by Charles duhigg. He mentions the Keystone habits. These are habits that affect everything else in your day. These are habits. We need to focus on a keystone is like a stone archway. You have all these other archways in the one in the middle effects and holds together. Everything else. If we can find the Keystone for the spiritual Keystone habits, in our lives. It will affect the rest of our days, positively at Keystone have. It would be like, I have an exercise or running. When you, when you make that decision in your day. It makes you want to make better decisions the rest of your day. That's just an example. Maybe you're not a runner and you say I don't want to ever run, but there are decisions that we make habits. We need to build. That will positively impact, ripple effect, the rest of your day. And I want to spend a little bit of time this morning looking about looking at some spiritual Keystone habits. And how they're going to affect us, but I want you. I want you to know this. These idea ideas, spiritual Keystone habits is in scripture and let me show you. The Book of Daniel, if you have your bible to read Daniel chapter 6, most of you have heard about Daniela. It when I mention the name Daniel in the Bible, you think of Daniel in the Lion's Den. Great story, amazing story, but it didn't start their Daniel made decisions when he was younger to follow God and not waver and those decisions impacted everything else. He did in life. Think, before the lions den. Daniel was rising and power with King Darius. I thought he was, he was getting right up there. He was one at King Darius. His favorite people in the Kingdom? What his favorite L wise people, he would go to and all of the other leaders began begin to get jealous if so much. So they decided they wanted to destroy Daniel for the story. So they decided to trick King. Darius. Darius. I think a really good idea. Would be for us to create this law. that says, if anybody prays to anybody else or any other God other than you, We should throw me like that. King Darius, the kings that were full of themselves. Like what a great idea. I want all the glory for a while. So he stamped a decree. It's at. This is lot now. They made this rule because they knew Daniel would pray every single day, three times a day without fail. They made this Lodge erected directly attacking Daniel. And Daniel could have panicked, you could have ran, he could have worried, they're after me. Daniel 6:10 says this but when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual and it's upstairs room with its windows open toward Jerusalem. Here it is. He prayed 3 times a day underline this part. Just see, it always done giving. Thanks to his God. Those words just as he had always done. Daniel in that moment could have panicked.

What does Keystone have it that he created? When he was younger came into play and I would argue that without even thinking. Daniel went to his room and prayed because it's something that he did every single day, three times a day. He made that decision. And I believe this one, the most powerful examples of a spiritual Keystone habit that we seen scripture, but I want that to be said, of me instead of you that when life gets crazy. When everybody's pushing your buttons, when you get cut off in traffic or work is insane. Adam Frey just to see it. Always done. And I want to get to that place in my life. When I talk about 60 days of spiritual growth. I want to use this time purposefully. To create these kind of habits in my life. And I want to focus on the spiritual Keystone habits.

Like I said, there's about 7 that I've written down that I want to focus on and that the few messages that I'm going to get to intersperse in the 60 days of spiritual growth, as we go through the Beatitudes study. but today, I want to How many spokes on to? I want to focus on to that again. So so basic but we all need. Spiritual Keystone habits. Number one is this spiritual Keystone have it daily devotions basic principle stuff. Basic stuff.

I want to post you this this challenge, if this is the Sunday School basic Christian answer, and I don't mean this attack anybody. Why is it so hard for us to do this?

Think about it. If this is a basic answer that, we all tell our kids, why is it so hard for us to read the Bible everyday? I'm not pointing fingers at a study by the Barnett Institute. Asking a simple question. Over 3,000 people. They ask 18 and over. How often do you read the Bible in? And then obviously, this is might be a little small. But, but you see on the far side there. Never. That's about a third of the people. That doesn't surprise. Is does it? Like we would we probably right that that that didn't surprise me when it when I read this chart mean when you get a spattering as various various things there and then on the far right? You see every day. They are Town & Country divided into every day. Here is what got me. If you see at 15 and 60% in 2018 and 2019 to 2020 and 2021. Pandemic craziness ensues. The everyday Bible reading goes down.

Why is it went when I would think we need to be going to the Bible more? Does it go down? Why is it in our lives when we get busy and stressful? The first thing to go is

I guess I'm not saying that the VCA work where we're different, right? Really? Honestly, it doesn't matter with 3,000 people said in a survey. What matters is how you and I answer that question?

what matters is you and I

Is Daily Devotional. Time Bible reading a habit in your life? Is it a habit? But we need to ask this question. Why, why is this so important? Why is this is spiritual Keystone habit? On a flip over to Psalm Chapter 1, what one of my favorites to study to memorize Psalm chapter 1. 1 through 3. I love these verses. Listen, as I read this. Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or stand around with Sinners or join in with mockers, but they Delight in the law of the Lord meditating on it day and night. Delight in the law of the Lord meditating on it day and night. And when they do, they are like trees planted along, the riverbank bearing fruit each season. Their lease never with her, and they prosper in all they do. I love that song. But it's also a great challenge their Delight. Is in the law of the Lord. Their Delight is to to to listen to God's word to let God's word. Infiltrate my heart, mark my heart stamp, my heart,, you would shine on me, that I might not sin against you. Somebody a friend of mine, text text me. This, this week said, the word of God will either keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the word of God.

Delight in the law of the Lord is God. Give me your commands. Because I want to follow you and you heard this analogy. But but if we don't read this, if we don't Delight in it, it's like if my wife writes me, a love letter and I take it. I fold it up and stick it in the Georgia. I'll get to it when I'm when I need it later, right? It's ridiculous. Nobody does that. It's an exaggeration. But there are times in your my life were things get crazy. And we stick it in the drawer and get to it. Later.

I want us to learn to Delight in the lava Lord. I want that to become a habit in US. I want to read your word. It says they Delight in the law of the Lord says when they do, they are like trees planted along the riverbank. There's a big difference between a tree near a water source, and that same kind of tree with no water.

Just when were in God's word, it's like we are getting that that life giving water everyday. And it says, as we do, they bear fruit each season. Think about that, when we Delight in the law of the Lord, making it a habit. We bare fruit. These was interesting. Fruit affects is the outward effect of what was happening on the inside. If a tree is unhealthy, it will not fruit. I had apple tree that did not get a lot of water and I had two apples on it. Thank you. That's my bad. I didn't want about my fruit trees.

Mimi from the outside its leaves looked okay, but it wasn't bearing fruit. And when we bear fruit, it's an outward affect those around us. When you are in God's word and Delight in God's word, your impact on your life will affect those around you. It will affect your marriage. I promise it will affect your family. It will affect the way that you, you live at work, the way that you drive when we Delight in the law of the Lord. That we bear fruit. And then I love this one and they're least never with her.

I just I just don't want to see.

Any of you withering?

Breaks my heart.

Then you get to a place in your life from sex.

We Delight in the lava board. Repair fruit trees are leaves, never wither and we prosper in all that we do, this is just basic stuff. What's so so important? And you can call it a Sunday school answer and say, yeah, I've heard this all before but listen to me. It is so important that these are one of our spiritual Keystone habits. I read your word. I open my bible every day on my way to work. I let it play my stereo system just so I can hear your word. I read it with my family. I I read it over and over at it maybe of the YouVersion it wasn't towards me of the verse of the day. So I'm getting it there to just do something. Maybe you've never read the Bible before in your life. Pick it up and just read a couple versus you're never right before. Starting a book of Mark. I just like that gospel. It's it's great to get through. It gives you a great synopsis before you keep reading it read a chapter. Just make it a priority. Make it happen. And what I do is, I read God's word. I planted in my life. Let your word shine a light to my path. How did this will keep me from sin from anger?

What are those who Delight in the law of the Lord? They bear fruit trees, never with withered, at least never weather and they prosper in all that they do. Reading the word a spiritual Keystone habit. How you doing in that? It is not a judgmental thing. What is the challenge?

60 days of spiritual growth. Do something. Open up the word of God and read. Lots of great Bible reading plans. They're like, it similar to a Sunday school answer. Ready your boy Vine. Prayer.

Spiritual Keystone have an automatic response. Do whatever I face needs to be prayer. I want that to be said of me and I know it's another Sunday school answering. You know, what? I looked at other statistics and how much Christians pray and really it doesn't matter. I might even put it up there because the question is how you and I doing at this. How are you doing and making your first response? Whether it's amazing things are happening. Your life. You are blessed. Thank you. Jesus prayer. Or And frustrated school is just rough. My boss at work. My family.

Is your automatic response, Jesus? Help.

Do you pray again? Please hear me? Maybe, all you do is prayer at dinner, Rub-a-Dub-Dub. Thanks for the grub. Yay, God.

Anyway, stir fry and write me. Come on. I'll give you credit for that. But the challenges is it are automatic response. I'm not talking about a prayer after dinner. But is it a prayer that you during that prayer? Pray without ceasing continually through the day Cheese's. Thank you, Jesus. Help me. I want to do something at it was kind of interesting cuz I didn't studying on prayer. I want to look at the life and prayer life of of Jesus. I know that that's going to set the bar pretty high cuz you're talkin Jesus here. But that's kind of where I want to aim, right? I want to look at SM of Jesus recorded prayers, some of the times that it was recorded of him trying not necessarily what he said, and I want to drop some correlations and I just want to look like in the Book of Mark. I mentioned reading through the Book of Mark. I just liked that book is put together really well, and the whole Bible put together. Well, but I want to look through the Book of Mark at instances where he recorded Jesus praying, and I want to drop some correlations. The first one did Mark 1:35 and see Jesus is, is, is preaching all day long. He's healing people. He's, he's just out in the crowd, is get Jesus at with sort of like a rock star swords or people just would gather around him healing Jesus Jesus. And he's just all day long. People clamoring for attention. That's what he was here for. Right? That's what Jesus came for to bring healing and it show the way but all day long, he was out and about with his with people. End of any day that next day you would say that is a sleeping day. If I ever saw one, right? We don't have those like there was a rough day. I'm not going to set my alarm for 5 a.m. I deserve, right? We've been there a way to look at Mark 1:35 after that kind of day before day, break the next morning. Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. All the days of sleeping in sleeping in his bad. I'm saying that was a good, good shooting. What did Jesus do? He not only got up, but he took great pains to find an isolated place to talk to God. He had to put forth effort.

There are times in our lives when we're going to need to put forth effort.

To talk to Jesus. Not that he can't hear you in the business, but Jesus knew that God. He needed God's voice. So we got up early and found a place to pray. Let's get another one, Mark 6:46. Again, this is right on the heels of a full day of preaching. Jesus was, was with the people. And, and he just fed the 5000. This is the miracle of the Loaves, and Fishes were just a few and multiplied it and fed 5000. Like that would be cool to see. Like there's a lot of Miracles like 30, awesome. Like, I just want to see how that happened. I just, I just want to hear that. Jesus was preaching all day long with people and it says this again, busy day full day. The first 45 mediately after this, Jesus insisted that the disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to buy, say to you, when he sent the people, as he said, the people home after telling everyone. Goodbye. He went up to the hills by himself to pray. After a busy day. Yet every reason you and I would say that's a great day to go home and binge, watch something. It's a great day to go and curl up in bed early. Jesus.

Send all the people away saying goodbye. He took great pains to hike up the hill by himself to pray. Interesting, isn't it? At what? One more? Embark 14:1. Maybe I've read before but it's the Garden of Gethsemane.

This was Jesus prayer time before he was about to be beat and tortured and go to the cross. His heart was heavy. He knew what he came for.

And it says this and verse 32.

They went to the Olive Grove called Gethsemane. And Jesus said, sit here while I go and pray, he took Peter James and John with him and he became deeply troubled and distressed. He told them my soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. He went on a little further and fell to the ground and he prayed that if it were possible the awful our awaiting him might pass by. I have a father. He cried out. Everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me yet. I want your will to be done. Not mine. I want as hard as heavy, where does Jesus go? That response. I need to go to God. I need to go to God. I think it went when you look at all three of these things. We see some direct correlations of what Jesus is showing us and they should they show up two things. One. Is this, it shows a clear pattern of Jesus habit of consistent prayer. Jesus, consistently spent time with God's. I would say for Jesus. It was a spiritual Keystone habitat. Just something he did. Do we have to understand? He was Jesus was God, but was also fully man. Fully human. He created this Habit to go to God. And secondly. It shows this that each of these times that Mark records, Jesus praying were all at inconvenient intention field times. What is Jesus telling us? He is showing us and and modeling us the importance of this habit because prayer causes us to slow down.

You have to. Not even know how to explain it, but I'm a day can be busy. But when I just need Jesus, when I start to pray.

That elimination of that, hurry.

Goodnight. My timeline is now being transformed to Jesus timeline. It slows down and prayer also is got a Jesus shows us Usher's us into God's presents. And here's why this is important. Because it's only in his presence that we gain proper perspective.

It's when I pray. When I look at my day and all the stuff that's going on, when I pray, it gives me perspective. Do not feel like it's all just going to swell. It's warm me to destroy me to overwhelm me. I'm slowing down and going, okay. God, you got this. In my perspective, shifts, this is what Jesus is showing us. This is what Jesus was able to do in the Garden of Gethsemane went. When he said, God take this from me. I don't want to do that. He was sweating drops of blood. Any perspective in a moment with God. He says these words. Yet not my will but yours be done.

How important is this for us? All to learn? The habit of Prayer. The habit of prayer shines brightest in these tension stress field times.

Are you doing?

I know, we're not all there.

Got a lot of steps to take. It starts with the little steps.

How many purposeful to pray at before, in a message? But my phone actually sent from Hydra, sometimes for me to pray, I don't forget to pray for this. Don't forget the paper this I look at my yeah.

Don't have it. And I'll take it. I'll take it. Anyway, any help. I can get. How you doing? I want to give you one. Practical.

Practical things you can put in your bag for prayer and it's an invitation really this Tuesday night at 7. We're doing with all of our router groups or doing this thing called The Prayer experience is right here at 7 in this room.

Here's the deal. We're going to gather and pray. We'll have a little bit of corporate time praying and then we're going to spend almost an hour of individual. Solo prayer.

I know as soon as I said that to me, like what come out tap. I'm not doing this to make you feel uncomfortable if we're doing this. So we can challenge ourselves to pray. Like never before that. You can learn that you can talk to God on your own. You think about an hour of bright? What do I do? When I do? I'll give direction. We're going to do some direction on how to pray with the word of God in your Journal. Like really over. We did this this summer and everybody who did this with me this summer, with the with prior experience and are routed through its head. I need I need more time and I got through like two or three verses and I have 40 of them. It's overwhelming. It's daunting. It's difficult. I want to invite you, but it's going to be in here on your own. I'm never talking to Tim Greenwich. If you don't have Tim, he said they've been to Tim. And his wife Crystal been going to church for a long, long time. And that great. Great people him was with us this summer. As we did, our pilot for rooted and was with his with the experience. And we asked later, like how did it go? What did you thinking? And then he was just real Rod him, just write down a couple of sentences of how he felt about this perks. And he said this, but I love these words said, I was hesitant to do the prayer night because I was afraid. God was going to use that time to point out everything that I was doing wrong. When in fact, it turned out to be the most intimate time I had had with God. Since I can't remember, I quickly realized that God is Not Just sitting up there waiting to condemn us but rather wanting to be prioritized in our life and have an interactive relationship with us cuz I can't stress how each of you need to be part of this prayer for a night. But but he says he's wore out quickly. Realize that God wanted relationship. I know that sometimes a hindrance to prayer and that you're afraid we got to commit reveal.

If he does. Dusky real stuff, but that's not his priority. His priority is relationship and restoring relationships. And sometimes that is getting this other stuff out of the way dealing with it. We're talk about repentance as one of the keys.

I just want to spend time with you. He wants to talk to you. That's why Bible reading and prayer in my opinion is so so important.

It's basic stuff. I mean, I was riding this thing. You know, what's going through my head, read your Bible. Pray everyday, and you'll grow grow grow.

Basic principles. The principles that will change your life. Just start somewhere.

A small step right now, will change your future.

Pictures of little things we choose right now become huge things in the future. Every adult in this room right now. What changed the direction of your life?

Have you built to have it? Are you working on habits? Are you being purposeful? Helped mold and shape that automatic response.

Anything that comes to life.

I told you this.

The other day. I was having a bad day. Haven't you ever had one of those? Everything. I mean, I every text message every phone call every emails like I can't take another thing.

And then I got to call and I had to immediately go to go deal with something. I just I'm at the end of my rope and I get in my truck and you honestly I just wanted to go drive to Florida. Just get out of here. I'm done.

But here's what I found myself doing. I got in my truck and I turn on worship music and I began to pray that it wasn't something. I purposefully like I need to go. Pray. I'm holy.

No, I don't want to. I'm not bragging. I'm not reached Daniel status. We're just as I've always done, but I sat in my truck and I begin to pray. And in that moment things begin to slow down.

Is it started to sting scripture? And I started to cry out to the name of Jesus and I gained perspective. You know what? That didn't make all the problems go away. I still there with them. But it changed my perspective. And I'm so thankful.

Many years ago. I began to create these habits of these habits. Is not a comparison game. You're free from comparison.

All I'm saying. Start something. Make the commitment.

Free right now.

I want to read because it is not just a good suggestion, it and it, if you Delight in God's word, you will grow. You'll bear fruit. It's a promise.

It's a promise.

Spiritual Keystone habits.

That's the challenge.

Jesus.

Is inviting you to make a change today?

Would you stay with me?

That's God saying stand.

The worship team is going to lead us in a song. During this song, some of our prayer team is going to come down to come and stand down front and they want to be here to pray with you. Maybe. Maybe you want to pray with them about something I said or maybe the other weights and burdens you walked in with. Is there something about praying with others? During the song, they're going to come down. I want invite you after this song. Pastor. Danny's going to dismiss us. But I want you to take this time.

And commit.

I'm in. I'm going to read, I'm going to pray. I'm going to work on it. Am I going to be perfect? I know that, but I'm going to Everyday going to be a little bit better. I'm going to create the automatic response. Bible reading in practice what I do.

South Memphis. Pray, the Lord.

We confess we found short and so many ways. But like Tim said, God, you're not up there trying to tell us all the bad things we've done. You're just wanting a relationship. Intimacy with us. God, I pray that you would help us. Obese person in this room. To surrender to you. And begin to create automatic response habits.

God, reveal yourself to us. We pray.