Amen. All right, we're there in Luke chapter number four, and of course, as we've been announcing today,
we're starting a brand new series. This is our church's 11-year anniversary, or Family and Friend Day.
We're celebrating 11 years of ministry, and we're glad you're with us.
And this morning, we're starting a brand new Sunday morning series called Habits.
How to develop good habits, how to break bad habits, and when it comes to habits,
usually people think of habits as a negative thing.
You know, you might think of someone who bites their nails as a bad habit.
There are other types of bad habits, like losing your temper, but there are also good habits.
A good habit like flossing every night, or a good habit like being on time and being punctual to places.
These are habits that we have in our lives, and today, we begin this series,
and over the next several weeks, we're going to talk about the power of habits,
how to develop good habits, how to break bad habits, how to dial in your habits.
And this morning, the sermon will serve as kind of an introduction to this idea of habits,
and we are going to be talking about understanding the power of habits this morning.
Now, I'd encourage you to take some notes on the back of your course of the week.
There's a place for you to write some things down, and I'd encourage you to write some of these things down as we look at them.
We're going to begin tonight this morning by defining habits, the definition of habits.
What exactly is a habit? And what you'll notice is that people that are successful in life,
whether it be in business or whether it be in family relationships,
whether it be just personally, interpersonally, their health, whatever it might be,
these are people that are people of habits. They are creatures of habits.
Now, I want you to notice that the Lord Jesus Christ himself was a man of habits.
Luke chapter 4, you're there. Look down at verse number 16, Luke chapter 4 and verse 16.
The Bible says this, And he, this is referring to Jesus, of course, came to Nazareth where he had been brought up.
Jesus is coming back home to his hometown where he grew up.
Now, I want you to notice what the Bible tells us about Jesus.
It says, And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, and notice these words,
and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read.
That word custom means a practice or a habitual practice. It is something that's done on a regular basis.
The Bible tells us that when Jesus showed up to his hometown, he did something that he was accustomed to do.
He did something that he normally did, that he routinely or regularly did.
He, as his custom was, went into the synagogue, the Bible tells us.
Go to the book of Acts, if you would. You're there in Luke.
Just flip over past the book of John into the book of Acts.
Luke, John, Acts. Luke, John, Acts.
And I want you to notice how the apostle Paul was also a man of customs because a man of habits.
Why? Because a habit, and we need to define it, a habit is a routine or a behavior that is performed regularly and in many cases automatically.
When we're talking about a habit, you say, what exactly are we talking about?
We're talking about something that you do, a routine or a behavior that is performed regularly and in many cases automatically.
You don't even think about it. It's just something you do.
Acts chapter 17, if you would, look at verse 2. Notice what the apostle Paul, what the Bible says about the apostle Paul.
Acts chapter 17 and verse 2. Notice, we saw that Jesus, he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
Here the Bible tells us about the apostle Paul.
Now, Jesus was without a doubt the most influential person in world history.
I mean, the Lord Jesus Christ was, even if you're not a believer, even just by secular standards, if you had to talk about a man that changed the course of history that was influential in his life, you would have to give that title to the Lord Jesus Christ.
However, the apostle Paul would probably come in second.
Second, Paul was also a man of influence. Paul was also someone that was highly successful.
Paul was also, really Jesus, of course, was the foundation of our faith, but the apostle Paul was in some ways the promoter of our faith.
He's the one that took the message of Jesus and took it unto the uttermost part of the earth.
He's the reason that, honestly, if you're a Gentile this morning and you're saved and you're a believer and you're a Christian, you owe your salvation, of course, to the Lord Jesus Christ, but you owe it to the apostle Paul, taking the gospel to the Gentiles, taking the gospel to the world.
And here, the Bible tells us, gives us a little insight about the apostle Paul and where he was very similar to Christ.
Acts 17, verse 2.
And Paul, notice these words, as his manner was, went in unto them and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures.
The Bible tells us that Paul, as his manner was, what does that word manner mean?
It means a prevailing custom or a habit, something that's done regularly, something that's done routinely.
And I would submit to you this morning that it is not a coincidence that the Lord Jesus Christ, the most influential person that has ever lived, was a man that lived off of routine and off of habits, off of customs.
There was things that he did on a regular basis.
If you study the life of Christ, and I'm not going to take the time to go through it.
In fact, I'd ask you to go to Acts chapter 20 if you would.
Acts chapter 20.
But if you study the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll find that he was a man of routine.
You'll find that he was somebody who would get up early and go to a desert place and he would spend time in prayer.
In fact, when he was going to be betrayed by Judas Iscariot, if you remember the story, when he was going to be betrayed by Judas Iscariot, the reason that the Pharisees were afraid and the Romans and the Jews were afraid to take Jesus and to capture him
was because everywhere he went, he had followers.
He had people who loved him and respected him and that were guiding him.
The reason they needed Judas Iscariot because they needed to know when and where Jesus would be alone.
And Judas, after being with Christ for several years, was able to identify some habits, some routines.
Judas knew where Jesus would be.
Judas knew where Jesus would go.
Judas knew the habits and the routines and the customs of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We see here that the apostle Paul, as his manner was, he had some habits.
He had some customs.
What's a habit?
It is a routine or a behavior that is performed regularly and in many cases automatically.
Now that may be a good thing or it may be a bad thing.
It may be a good thing that you have a habit of when you get angry, you choose to walk out of the room and cool down.
Or it may be a bad thing that you have a habit that when you get angry, you begin to scream and yell and throw things.
It may be a good thing that you have a habit of maybe winding down in the evening reading a book or reading the Bible,
flossing your teeth, brushing your teeth and going to bed.
Or that may be a good habit.
Or you may have a bad habit of staying up, watching YouTube and eating ice cream until two in the morning.
There are habits that are good and there are habits that are bad.
But a habit in and of itself is a routine or a behavior that is performed regularly and in many cases automatically.
You may have a good habit of getting up early in the morning and taking a jog or going for a run or taking a walk.
Or you may have a bad habit of sleeping in.
Habits are things that we do regularly, routinely and automatically.
Habit formation is a process by which a behavior becomes progressively more automatic through repetition.
Acts chapter 20, look at verse 18. Notice what the Bible says.
And when they were come to him, he said unto them, this is again the Apostle Paul,
Ye know from the first day that I came into Asia, notice what he says,
after what manner I have been with you at all seasons.
Again, the word manner means a prevailing custom or a habit.
Paul says, hey, you know, he's looking at the people he's served and he's ministered to, the congregation he's been helping.
And he says, you know, from the first day, what manner I have been with you at all seasons.
See, you might ask yourself, why does it matter? What's the big deal about habits?
Go with me if you would to the book of James, James chapter number 1.
You're there in the book of Acts. If you go to the end of the New Testament, you start at the very end, the book of Revelation,
and you go backwards, you'll have the book of Jude, the books of 1st, 2nd and, excuse me, 3rd, 2nd and 1st John, 2nd and 1st Peter and James.
Revelation, Jude, 3rd, 2nd and 1st John, 2nd and 1st Peter and then the book of James, James chapter number 1.
You say, what's the big deal about habits? Why should I come to church and spend 3 or 4 weeks learning about habits biblically from the Bible?
Here's why, because we are what we continually do.
See, we all have identities. We're going to talk about that in the following weeks.
We all have identities, things that have identified us.
You are identified as someone who's punctual. You are identified as someone who's always late.
You are identified as someone who keeps their cool or you are identified as someone who loses their temper.
You are identified as someone who's thoughtful or you are identified as someone who's selfish.
We all have identities and often we believe that we are the way we are, that's why we do the things we do.
The truth is that the opposite, the reverse is the actual fact.
You are known as you are known because of the things that you do.
We are what we continually do and here's the good news.
The good news is that you can train yourself, you can train yourself to begin to think differently, to do different things.
It won't come naturally but over time you could break bad habits.
You could develop good habits. You could change your identity because we are what we continually do.
So let's talk about the formation of habits. We talked about the definition of habits.
A habit is a routine or a behavior that is performed regularly and in many cases automatically.
Let's talk about the formation of habits.
The habit formation is a process by which behaviors become progressively more automatic through repetition.
Now when you talk about habits, the experts and there are neuroscientists who study these things and look at these things and write on these things.
The experts tell us that when it comes to habit formation, whether good or bad, it happens in two phases.
There's the problem phase and the solution phase.
Oftentimes when we develop habits, whether it's good or bad, whether they're good habits or bad habits, they are developed in these two phases.
One is the problem phase. The other is the solution phase.
Within those two phases there are four steps. I'll explain them to you.
The cue, the craving, the response and the result or the reward.
And this is what the secular world tells us but like we often find out, the Bible actually already laid these things out for us way before neuroscientists figured them out.
God actually has detailed for us these four steps, these two phases in habit formation.
Are you there in James chapter 1?
Now the example I'm going to give you is a negative example because there are negative habits.
But it can also be used in a positive way and obviously these four steps also apply to positive habits.
See you may have a habit. Maybe you have a habit you're trying to quit.
Maybe you have a habit you don't like. You don't like the fact you smoke. You don't like the fact you drink.
You don't like the fact that you do this or whatever it may be that's affecting your life.
You say I have this habit and I'm trying to break this habit but you're not even sure how the habit was formed.
Well the Bible defines for us how habits are formed.
Now remember neuroscientists tell us it happens in two phases, the problem phase, the solution phase.
Within those two phases there are four steps, two for every phase.
Under the problem step phase we have the cue and the craving.
Under the solution phase we have the response and the result.
Let me show this to you from the Bible. James chapter 1. Are you there?
Look at verse 13. James chapter 1 and verse 13. Notice what James says.
He says let no man say. He says look, nobody should be able to say these things.
When he is tempted, you see the word tempted there? That's a biblical word.
We often talk about being tempted or temptation.
Let me define that for you. What does the word tempt or tempted or temptation mean?
Temptation is a thing or a course of action that presents itself as an opportunity with the purpose of attracting someone to join, participate or choose the course.
A temptation is something.
And by the way, just because a temptation happens to present itself to you does not mean that you've done anything wrong.
The Bible tells us about the Lord Jesus Christ who was the Son of God, who was without sin, who never sinned.
The Bible tells us that he was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin.
So just because a temptation arises and opportunity arises does not mean that you've done anything wrong.
But it also does not mean that you have to take the bait.
See the first step to habit formation is the cue. This is what we would call the trigger.
This is where someone is going about their merry way, about their happy day, doing whatever they're doing,
not feeling like they need anything or want anything and all of a sudden there's a cue or there's a trigger.
The Bible would call it a temptation. It is a thing or a course of action that presents itself as an opportunity with the purpose of attracting someone to join, participate or choose that course.
The first step to habit formation, now we need to understand this because later, later when we talk about, in a couple of weeks when we talk about how to break bad habits,
we're going to talk about one of the best things that you could do is identify your cues and avoid them.
Let me just say it. If you struggle with alcohol, don't walk into a bar.
I'm just going to walk into a bar and just have a cup of water. Well, get a cup of water at Starbucks or get a cup of water at home.
You say, why do I need to know the cues? Here's why you need to know the cues because it is easier to flee from temptations than to resist temptations.
So there's the cue. There's the trigger. There's the temptation. It presents itself as an opportunity.
It presents itself as an opportunity for you to make a choice, for you to take a course, for you to participate, for you to choose that option.
That's the cue, number one. You say, when a habit happens, whatever the habit is, when a habit happens, how does it happen?
First, there's a cue, a trigger. The Bible would call it a temptation. But secondly, there's a craving.
Notice again, James chapter one and look at verse fourteen.
But every man is tempted. Now, remember, he says, let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God.
Now, the purpose that James is bringing this up is because he's saying you can't blame God for your temptations.
God does not put temptations upon your path, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted he any man.
The Bible says that God doesn't bring temptations. In fact, Jesus taught us to pray, deliver us from evil.
So he said, men, women, human beings are tempted. They're triggered. There's a cue, something that causes them to want to respond in a certain way.
But really, when they give in to that temptation, there's a craving.
James one fourteen, but every man is tempted, that's the cue, when he is drawn away, notice the words, of his own lust.
The word lust means desire. See, step one to habit formation is the cue, the trigger. Step two is the craving or the motivation.
The Bible would call it lust. See, there's something inside of you that wants to respond to the cue.
Now, for all of us, it's different things. Now, the Bible says that there has no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man.
Anything that you struggle with, there are other people in this world that have struggled with it.
No temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. Any sin that you may struggle with, there are other people that have struggled with those same sins or those same situations.
However, with that said, I would say this, not everybody struggles with the same sins.
For example, if you have a habit of gambling, then you might drive down a highway by a casino, there's a cue, and now there's this internal craving, this lust.
I've never been in a casino, I've never stepped foot in a casino, and I don't plan to, I don't have a problem with gambling, so I drive by casinos and no reaction.
But for some people, there's a reaction. I get around somebody that's smoking and I just, you know, think, that doesn't smell very nice.
But people who struggle with smoking might get around somebody who's smoking and think, this is the greatest smell ever.
The truth is that there is a cue, there is a cue, something that prompts you, something outside of you, a temptation.
Not your fault, not your fault you drove by a bar, it's not your fault you drove by a casino, it's not your fault you walked down the street and somebody was smoking.
Not your fault, something outside of you that cues you, that triggers you, that tempts you, that presents itself as an opportunity.
Now, with that temptation, you can have no sin. Jesus had no sin, though he was tempted at every point, like as we are, yet without sin.
However, why do we sin? Why do we give in? Why do we mess up? Why do we fail? Because of the craving, the lust, the motivation inside of us to respond to the outside cue.
Then there's the response. This is the act. This is when you choose to give in. You choose to do. You choose to go. You choose to participate.
You choose to go down that road, the response or the act. Notice how God describes it for us. Look at verse 14 again.
In verse 13 we're told, when he is tempted, that's the cue. In verse 14 we're told of his own lust, that's the craving.
And then in verse 14 we're also told this, but every man is tempted when he is, notice these words, drawn away of his own lust.
The drawn away, that's a choice. That's a choice you make. That's a choice I make. We choose to allow ourselves to be led by our cravings when he is drawn away.
Notice these words, and entice. See, the temptation doesn't cause you to sin. And in fact, even the craving inside of you.
You may have a craving to want to do something and decide that you're going to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Christ.
You've not yet sinned. But when you decide to act, when you decide to be drawn away by the craving that was brought by the cue, now we've sinned.
This is the response. And again, we're using this in a negative way. We could go through these four steps in a positive way.
You say, why did you choose to go through them in a negative way instead of a positive way? Two reasons.
Number one, the Bible chose to give us a subject that went through it in a negative way.
And number two, you and I can identify probably better with the negative aspects of habits.
Because whatever habit that you have that's a good habit, you say, I have a habit, I run three miles every morning.
Well, you probably didn't develop that naturally. It took a lot of intention. It took a lot of work and effort and making you do that.
And we can talk about it, and we will talk about developing good habits, but the point is this. Bad habits are very easy to develop.
You say, how do they happen? The cue? The craving? The response? Then of course you have the result.
Or what? The experts would call the reward. I don't like calling it the reward. I just like calling it the result because sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not.
And when it's sin, it's not. Look again at our passage, James chapter 1. Look at verse 13.
Let no man say when he is tempted. That's the cue. I'm tempted of God.
For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted with he any man. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust.
That's the craving and enticed. That's the response. They're drawn away and they are enticed. Notice the result, verse 15.
Then, when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin. And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
You know the Bible says the wages of sin is death? You know the Bible says that the result of sin is death, not just the physical death, but the second death?
Of being cast into the lake of fire? If you're here this morning and you're not sure you're on your way to heaven, please let us show you before you leave.
You can know for sure you're on your way to heaven. You don't have to go to hell when you die.
But you do need to know this, that if you are a sinner, which we all are, we are condemned, initially condemned to hell.
And though that is a problem, and I would say that's the main problem, that's the major problem.
And please don't, you say, I don't know, if I die today, I don't know. Don't leave here without allowing somebody to show you.
Somebody might ask you, do you know for sure that you're on your way to heaven? Let them show you that.
That's the main problem and let us help you solve that problem.
But let me say this, hell is not the only death that sin brings about. Sometimes sin kills relationships.
It kills health. It kills success. It kills morals and it kills your own perception of self.
See, the Bible tells us that when we allow ourselves to go into our lust, lust, when it is finished, when it conceives,
it brings forth these negative things that will bring forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Because we are what we continually do.
So if you want to, say I came to church this morning because my marriage is falling apart.
I'd like to have a better marriage. I would submit to you this morning, your marriage, and my heart goes out to you,
I'm not picking on you, I'm trying to help you.
Your marriage is falling apart because of the things you do in your marriage.
You are what you continually do.
You say my children are rebelling and I'm losing their hearts and they're growing weightward.
I would submit to you this morning that you are losing your children because of the things you do with your children.
You are what you continually do. I'm not trying to pick on you.
You say I'm financially just a mess. I'm in debt and I'm broke and I don't know what to do.
You are in that place because of the choices you've made with your finances.
I'm not picking on you, I'm just telling you that we are what we continually do.
And what you can begin to do today is to change those habits.
It won't happen overnight. You won't see change overnight.
But the Bible says, be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Here's what I do know, you can begin to sow in the right direction and you will eventually reap in that same direction.
You are where you are in life because of the choices that you've made,
because of the habits that you've developed, because of the routines that you've established.
So let's talk about the power of habits.
What is the power of habits? Go with me if you would to the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah, towards the end of the Old Testament, you find these big books of the Bible,
they're called the major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel,
big books of the Bible towards the end of the Old Testament.
If you could find the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 28,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Isaiah 28.
Let's talk about the power of habits.
Again, why does it matter? Here's why it matters.
Because small, small, almost unnoticeable change can compound in remarkable results over time,
or in remarkable death over time.
Small investments, small investments of time and energy in any area,
small amounts of unnoticeable change can compound into remarkable good
or remarkable negative results over time.
The Bible teaches us concepts. Isaiah 28, look at verse 10.
Isaiah 28, verse 10, the Bible says this,
For precept must be upon precept.
By the way, let me say this.
You're here at Verity Baptist Church on our 11-year anniversary at a big family and friend day.
You might have came because you had a neighbor or a co-worker or somebody invite you to church.
You might have got a mailer in the mail or you might have got an invitation on your door
and we're so glad you're here.
And you might have came and you might have said, you may have said,
and I'm only saying this because this is something that people often say when they come to church.
You might have came and said, I'm having a problem in my life and I feel like church could help me.
God could help me. The Word of God can help me.
By the way, you're right. God can help you.
The Word of God can help you. Church can help you.
But let me just help you out with something.
You don't come to church one Sunday and think that's going to solve your problems.
It takes time. Notice what the Bible says, Isaiah 28, verse 10,
For precept must be upon precept.
Precept upon precept. What does that mean?
A precept is when you're told, you come to church like this and we say, okay, here's what you need to do.
You need to do this in whatever area, in your relationships, in your health, in your finances.
Do this, do this, do this.
You say, well, how does that end up forming and compounding remarkable results over time?
Here's how it happens. Precept upon precept.
Precept upon precept. Line upon line. Line upon line.
It doesn't happen overnight. It's here a little and there a little.
Little by little. Look at verse 13, same chapter. Isaiah 28, verse 13.
But the word of the Lord was unto them. Notice.
Precept upon precept. Precept upon precept.
Line upon line. Line upon line.
Here a little and there a little, that they might go and fall backward and be broken and sared and taken.
See, the change that needs to happen, whether positive or negative, will happen little by little.
Here's the truth.
People don't become, and excuse me for using this example,
but people don't become a drug addict that loses their marriage,
loses their career, loses their home, loses all their relationship, burns every bridge.
That doesn't happen overnight.
You don't go from one party trying one thing and just the next day you're just on the streets with nobody to love you or help you.
It does happen day by day, choice by choice, decision by decision.
It can happen in a negative or a positive way.
Line upon line, precept upon precept.
See, small, almost unnoticeable change can compound into remarkable results over time.
Habits are the compound interest.
And here's what I want you to understand.
If you're familiar with financial terms and you know what, how compound interest works, habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.
Success is the product of healthy habits.
You can begin to take steps today to change in any area, whatever area, and you will eventually succeed.
You will eventually win.
You will eventually reap the results.
Why?
Because habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.
I'd like to read to you an article, if I may, kind of highlighting this idea from the sports world.
I've read this to our church family in another sermon before, so you might remember this.
But I think it just goes very well with this idea of how habits, small, unnoticeable change, can compound into remarkable results over time.
Here's an excerpt from a book called This Coach Improved Every Tiny Thing by 1%.
And here's what happened.
Here's what it says.
It says, the fate of British cycling changed one day in 2003.
The organization, which was the governing body for professional cycling in Great Britain, had recently hired Dave Brailsford as its new performance director.
At the time, professional cyclists in Great Britain had endured nearly 100 years of mediocrity.
Since 1908, British riders had won just a single gold medal at the Olympic Games, and they had fared even worse in cycling's biggest race, the Tour de France.
In 110 years, no British cyclist had ever won the event.
In fact, the performance of British riders had been so underwhelming that one of the top bike manufacturers in Europe refused to sell bikes to the team because they were afraid that it would hurt sales if other professionals saw the British using their gear.
Brailsford had been hired to put British cycling on a new trajectory.
What made him different from previous coaches was his relentless commitment to a strategy that he referred to as the aggregation of marginal gains, which was the philosophy of searching for a tiny margin of self-improvement in everything you do.
Brailsford said, the whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike and then improve it by 1%, you will get significant increase when you put them all together.
Brailsford and his coaches began by making small adjustments you might expect from a professional cycling team.
They redesigned the bike seats to make them more comfortable and rubbed alcohol on the tires for a better grip.
They asked riders to wear electrically heated overshorts to maintain ideal muscle temperature while riding and used biofeedback sensors to monitor how each athlete responded to a particular workout.
The team tested various fabrics in a wind tunnel and had their outdoor riders switch to indoor racing suits, which proved to be lighter and more aerodynamic, but they didn't stop there.
Brailsford and his team continued to find 1% improvements in overlooked and unexpected areas.
They tested different types of massage gels to see which one led to the fastest muscle recovery.
They hired a surgeon to teach each rider the best way to wash their hands to reduce the chances of catching a cold.
They determined the type of pillow and mattress that led to the best night's sleep for each rider.
They even painted the inside of the team truck white, which helped them spot little bits of dust that would normally slip by unnoticed but could degrade the performance of the finely tuned bikes.
As these and hundreds of other small improvements accumulated, the results came faster than anyone could have imagined.
Just five years after Brailsford took over, the British cycling team dominated the road and track cycling events at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where they won an astounding 60% of the gold medals available.
Four years later, when the Olympic Games came to London, the Brits raised the bar as they set nine Olympic records and seven world records.
The same year, Bradley Wiggins became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France.
The next year, his teammate Chris Froome won the race and he would go on to win again in 2015, 2016, and 2017, giving the British team five Tour de France victories in six years.
During the 10-year span from 2007 to 2017, British cyclists won 178 World Championships and 66 Olympic and Paralympic gold medals and captured five Tour de France victories in what was widely regarded as the most successful run in cycling history.
How does this happen? How does a team of previously ordinary athletes transform into a world champions with tiny changes that at first glance would seem to make a modest difference at best?
The truth is this, that the power of habits is that though they are small and unnoticeable changes, over time they compound.
Now, these people did it for what the Bible would call a corruptible crowd. But you and I should do it for an incorruptible.
What if you began to just slowly, what if you as a father decided to just slowly, not jerk the wheel, not change everything overnight, but just slowly today began, when it comes to your parenting,
and began to improve just 1% as a father, as a mother, as a husband, as a wife, as an employee, or as an employer, as a neighbor, or maybe just as a Christian.
What are the remarkable results that may come into your life as small changes begin to compound in your life?
Go to Ephesians chapter 5. In the New Testament you have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, C.
We talked about the definition of habits. Habits are a routine or a behavior that is performed regularly and in many cases automatically.
We talked about the forming of habits. It happens through cues and cravings, responses, results.
We talked about the power of habits. Small, almost unnoticeable change can compound into remarkable results.
Let's talk about real quickly as we finish up the investment of habits.
You say, well that sounds great. That sounds wonderful.
That doesn't sound very complicated, Pastor. You brought us here this morning and you haven't really told us anything that's all that new.
Here's the point though. If it's so easy, why do we not do it?
Why doesn't everybody win the championship? Why doesn't everybody lose weight?
Why doesn't everybody save for major purchases? Why doesn't everybody have good marriages and do a good job in parenting and serve the Lord right?
Why do these things not happen, I would submit to you, because proper habit development takes an investment of time.
Ephesians 5 and verse 15 says this, See then that ye walk circumspectly.
The word circumspect means to walk with wisdom, to walk cautiously and carefully.
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise.
Now, what's the difference between a fool and a wise person? Here's the difference. Redeeming the time because the days are evil.
You know what a wise person does? A wise person realizes that one year from now, five years from now, ten years from now, they're going to still be living their lives.
They're not happy where their life is right now. Then they can begin right now to make small changes, investment into their life and begin to make small changes that will bring remarkable results.
So that five years from now or ten years from now, they might look back and say, wow, see what the Lord hath done.
A fool says, I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing. I know I'm failing. I know it's not working.
I know I didn't work with my first marriage and it's not working with my second marriage, but I'm not going to try to change anything. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing.
You say, are you calling me a fool? No, the Bible is.
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise. Redeeming the time because the days are evil.
You don't have to turn here. Colossians 4 and verse 5 says, Walk in wisdom toward them that are without. Redeeming the time.
Here's the thing about habits. Habits take time. And habits make time your ally.
Habits often appear to make no difference until a critical threshold is crossed. Isn't that true?
I mean, isn't that why you quit running? Isn't that why you quit going on the treadmill? Isn't that why you quit going on the elliptical?
I mean, because here's what we want. We want to go on the treadmill for 20 minutes.
You know, get all sweaty and get all, you put on all your Olympic athlete and you look like you're a champion.
Get on that treadmill and press those buttons and you start running 20 minutes later.
You look in the mirror and you're like, I look the same.
And you say, well, it's going to take some time so you do it again the next day. You do it again the next day. You do it again the next day.
But one week later and two weeks later and three weeks later, you've not seen much change. Why?
Because habits often appear to make no difference until a critical threshold is crossed.
Habits have a time range when you work and that work is not seen.
Now let me say this. Habits have a time range when you work. That work is not seen.
But also understand that work is not wasted. It's just being stored.
Here's an example for you. If you heat up a cube from zero degrees to 31 degrees, it may seem like you are accomplishing nothing.
But at 32 degrees, that cube will begin to melt. That cube did not melt because of the one degree that it took to go from 31 to 32.
But it started melting because of the accumulation of the heat from zero to 30 that looked like nothing was happening.
Here's another illustration. Bamboo can barely be seen for the first five years as it builds extensive root systems underground before exploding 90 feet into the air within six weeks.
The truth is this. That when we invest time into habits, the habits will take time and they'll make time our ally and habits often appear to make no difference until a critical threshold is crossed.
And habits have a time range. A time range in which the results are not seen but they're not wasted. They're just being stored.
And here's what you need to understand. When that breakthrough happens, that breakthrough moment, it'll happen after what the experts sell us in an area called the valley of disappointment.
And let me just explain this to you and I'll give you an example biblically. In fact, go to the book of Genesis if you would. Genesis chapter 41. We're almost done. Genesis chapter 41.
When you and I begin to make changes in our lives, we want the changes to be linear. You know what that means? It means that if I'm starting here, this is the starting point.
This is the change I'd like to make. Whether it's losing weight, whether it's saving money, whether it's getting out of debt, whether it's having a better relationship.
If I'm starting here and this is whatever the habit is that I'm trying to fix and this is time. I'm creating a little graph for you up here.
This is what we'd like to see accomplished. This is the time it takes to go there. What you and I want is for our results to be linear. Here's what that means.
We start here and we start moving in a straight line in this direction. We want to get closer to here over a period of time and we want it to happen this way.
We want it to be linear. We want results to be linear. The truth is that the results are often delayed.
Oftentimes what actually happens in life is this. If here's where I'm starting, here's where I want to go, here's the time it takes, I want this to happen but oftentimes this is what happens.
The results are delayed and that little moment there, that valley there is called the valley of disappointment.
Where we say, why am I dieting? Why am I saving? Why am I being nice to him? Why am I being nice to her? It's not working.
But what will happen is if you stick with it over time, you'll cross a threshold. It's called a breakthrough moment.
The breakthrough moments are the results. Please hear this. The breakthrough moments are the results of many previous actions.
Here's the interesting thing. When you finally have a breakthrough moment in life, when you finally have a breakthrough moment, whether it's business, you go start a business, you say I want to make this much, it's going to take this much time and you want it to go this way but it kind of goes this way.
Eventually when you finally have a breakthrough moment, you know what people will say? They'll call it an overnight success. They'll say look at that company, look at that Elon Musk, I mean look at Google, look at YouTube, look at these places.
It came out of nowhere. And they'll say it's a breakthrough success. You start doing this and you start having a good marriage or you'll start raising kids that are respectful and obedient and they're not rebellious and they love the Lord.
You know what people will say? Oh you must have got lucky. Your kids just have the right temperament. You must have married your soulmate.
And you guys must get along and never fight, never have any issues. And you know what? That is offensive to my wife. She has to put up with a lot to make this marriage work.
And the truth is this, that often times when we try to go this way and we realize it'll take time and we expect it to go like this, it actually goes like this. There's a valley of disappointment and eventually there'll be a breakthrough and people will say wow, look at that overnight success.
But what they have not seen is all the work and energy and effort that was not seen but it was stored, that was not seen but it wasn't wasted. And you have the breakthrough.
And then people will say, wow, you really lost some weight. And you'll say, well I've been trying for the last six months. Genesis chapter 41, let me give you an example and we'll finish up.
Genesis 41 verse 39. Here's an example of a young man in the Bible by the name of Joseph. In Genesis 41 we find Joseph at the climax of his life. This is what you and I would call a breakthrough moment.
Genesis 41 verse 39. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, if you remember the story, Joseph had a dream, nobody could interpret it. The butler finally remembered that Joseph, a young man that he met in prison, had the ability to interpret dreams and he had Joseph called and brought to Pharaoh.
The Bible says, and Pharaoh said unto Joseph, for as much as God has showed thee all this, Joseph interprets the dream, he interprets to Pharaoh that there are seven years of great wealth and seven years of famine coming.
And that what they need to do is they need to save up during the good times so that they can survive during the hard times. And Joseph has advised Pharaoh that he should find someone and put them in charge of this. Notice his response, Pharaoh's response, verse 39.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, for as much as God has showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art. Joseph says, well if God showed it to you, then you must be the most discreet and wise person around.
Verse 40. Thou shalt be over my house. Joseph is getting a raise right now. He's getting a promotion. He's having a breakthrough.
Thou shalt be over my house according unto thy word, that all my people shall be ruled. Only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, see, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph's hand and arrayed him in vesture of fine linen and put gold chains about his neck.
Look at verse 43. And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had and they cried before him. Bow the knee and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Think about this. Pharaoh, Egypt is the most powerful nation on earth at this time. Pharaoh is the most powerful leader on earth at this time.
And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there's this young man in Pharaoh's chariot being paraded through Egypt.
And the guards of Pharaoh and the servants of Pharaoh are telling everybody bow the knee to Joseph because Pharaoh had made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
And you know what I bet everyone in Egypt said? This guy came out of nowhere. This guy's an overnight success.
I mean this guy just, you know, just stepped on the sea and he's not on the spotlight. Look at him.
But you know what people didn't see? Go to Genesis 39. You know what they didn't see? It was Joseph as a slave.
Genesis 39 verse 2. And the Lord was with Joseph. And he was a prosperous man. And he was in the house of his master.
He's in the house of his master because he's a slave. He's in the house of his master, the Egyptian.
And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
And Joseph found grace in his sight and he served him. And he made him overseer over his house and all that he had he put into his hand.
See, before Joseph became the overseer of the house of Pharaoh, he first became the overseer of the house of Potiphar while he was a slave.
And then of course, you know the story he's lied about? He's thrown in prison.
And all the people who are now seeing Joseph being paraded about in the chariot of Pharaoh being told that this is now the ruler.
All the people that are saying, this guy came out of nowhere, this guy's an overnight success. They didn't see Joseph while he was a slave.
And I'll also say this, they didn't see Joseph while he was in prison. Look at verse 21.
Genesis 39 verse 21. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Look at verse 22. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison.
And whatever they did there, he was the doer of it. Look at verse 23.
The keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand because the Lord was with him.
And that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. See, the truth of the matter is this.
Joseph was a young man who I'm sure all of Egypt looked at him and said, this guy came out of nowhere.
This guy was an overnight success. He had a breakthrough moment. But the truth is this.
He had been working. He had been leading. He had been loyal. He had been serving for a long time.
Nobody had seen it. Nobody had noticed it. In fact, the butler had forgot about him.
But all that energy, though it was not seen, it was not wasted. It was stored.
And eventually, because we reap what we sow, eventually it caught up with Joseph.
And he had a breakthrough event in his life. And people said, an overnight success.
And they don't know, what you and I know, that there is no such thing as overnight success.
If you end your life like the Apostle Paul saying, I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.
If you end your life with a good marriage. If you end your life having raised good, godly children.
If you end your life financially successful, physically successful, career-wise successful.
If you end your life with whatever success you've had in whatever area of your life. If you do it, it will happen because of habits.
Routines that you regularly perform in your life. And as you're about your business, nobody notices it. Nobody sees it.
You don't even notice it sometimes. And nobody seems to care. But then you have a breakthrough.
And people say, wow, overnight success. No. It's the power of habits.
So here's the question I have for you. What habits do you need to break?
What are the bad habits that you need to break in your life? Or what are the good habits that you need to develop?
And I want to encourage you. I want to encourage you to be back with us next week.
Because next week we're going to pick up right where we left off. And we're going to talk about how to develop good habits.
We're also going to talk about later on how to develop, how to break bad habits.
We're going to talk about how to tune in habits in your life. Why?
Because small investments of time in your life can lead to remarkable results. But you have to start today.
So we encourage you to be with us next week as we continue this series on the subject of habits.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you. We thank you for these stories, these ideas in the Bible.
The Lord Jesus Christ was a man of habits. The Apostle Paul was a man of habits. Joseph was a man of habits.
Everywhere he went, whether as a slave or as a prisoner, he did the same things.
His investment was not seen, but it was stored.
And Lord, I pray that you would help us to be people of habits.
Lord, I pray that you bless the rest of today and all the fellowship and all the things going on.
In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.