INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• I hope the past three weeks have been a blessing to you as you strive to deepen your relationship with Jesus.
• We could have easily ended this series last week excited about going into a season of spiritual training where you studied your Bible, prayed more and really tried your best to practice the disciplines of solitude, submission and service.
• What I’ve learned from my own experiences and from listening to so many Christians is that inspiration, and a plan is not enough.
• It is so easy to get off track in life. Did you know the Bible is replete with stories of people who got off track with God?
• It began with Adam and Eve getting off track with God over the temptation thing, and so God banished them from the garden of Eden.
• All civilization gets off-track with God, so He flooded the earth.
• Abraham gets off-track with God and has a child with Hagar, his wife’s maidservant (at Sarah’s insistence) instead of trust God.
• Moses gets off-track and is not allowed to enter the Promised Land.
• The entire Old Testament is one incident after another where God’s own people get off-track and lose their way, it seems as though they spend more time off-track than on!
• Staying on-track in our relationship with God can be a challenge.
• “Why would we expect to be any different than many of the great men and women of God throughout the Bible?”
• God uses the phrase or some derivative of the phrase “DO NOT BE AFRAID” AT LEAST 366 TIMES IN THE BIBLE.
• It is really easy to get off-track, even with the best of intentions.
• Have you ever gotten off-track spiritually? I am not talking about a full-on walking away from God, but that you just did not feel close to God?
• If you have or if you are in the heart of this situation now, today is for you!
• When God wants to build, Satan wants to destroy. If you’ve just started the habit of studying your Bible and praying each morning, you need to know the devil hates that.
• It would be a lot easier if the devil just walked around with horns and a pitchfork and yelled at you while you tried to read the Bible (actually, that would be kind of freaky).
• But you would know it was him. The enemy is really much more subtle and deceiving.
• I want to spend the rest of our time walking through four subtle myths Satan will try to discourage you and your growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
• The first myth to avoid is…
• SLIDE 2
SERMON
I. The “I’ve lost that loving feeling” myth.
• This is a myth that plagues and eventually ruins many relationships, both with God and in marriages.
• In Revelation 2:1-5, John has a couple of things to about this subject.
• SLIDE #3
• Revelation 2:1–5 (HCSB) — 1 “Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus: “The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands says: 2 I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. 3 You also possess endurance and have tolerated many things because of My name 4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
• Remember, God wants to build; Satan wants to destroy. When you start developing the spiritual disciplines you need to grow, you will be under attack.
• There are times where we just do not feel close to God.
• We are not as excited about God’s Word, we are not excited to spend time in prayer, the things of God maybe have grown a little stale.
• The church at Ephesus at one time was a powerhouse for God, but over time, they lost their fervor for God.
• Somewhere along the way, the church lost its love.
• It can so easily happen in any relationship and when it does, look out, Satan has a great time with you!
• In verse 4, the word LOVE is the word Agape, which is deeper than just emotions. Agape love is not just about a feeling. It is the kind of love that God has for mankind.
• In the midst of serving it can be easy to quit loving if our focus in not fixed on Jesus.
• The folks were allowing other things to crowd out Jesus.
• He’s not saying they hate God, He’s saying, “You’ve stopped making the choices you did before to make knowing God and serving others a priority.”
• This happens in marriage. People drift apart, then go through the motions of marriage.
• When writing concerning the church at Laodicea, John writes:
• SLIDE #4
• Revelation 3:15–16 (HCSB) I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth.
• When we loose that loving feeling, we will drift.
• So, in the times where you don’t feel as close and are tempted to take a break from some of the spiritual habits you’ve learned, you need to actually do the exact opposite. Some days you need to grind it out, as is true in marriage at times.
• The most important days to have a quiet time are the ones I’m least motivated to have one.
• When we stay focused on Jesus as stay with our spiritual disciplines, making time with God a priority even though you don’t feel like it, God will show up in a powerful way.
• Let’s look at myth number 2!
• SLIDE #5
II. The “spiritual comparison” myth.
• We grow is through reading the Word of God, and watching others so that we can learn how to apply the Word in our lives. We tend to look up to other Christians.
• I have looked up to other Christians and learned a lot about how to live out my faith.
• God wants us to grow by watching other Christians, it is easy to let that devolve into the comparison trap.
• Satan will get into our ear and tell us that we are not doing enough, we are not doing as much as Kevin does for Jesus.
• When Satan gets in your ear just remember, God never created you to be great at everything.
• He uniquely shaped you to excel in the calling He has on your life. Nowhere in the Bible does it say we need to be awesome at every spiritual discipline all of the time.
• It gets a little out of hand when we start comparing ourselves to some of the spiritual giants throughout history. Martin Luther got up at 3:00 a.m. every morning to pray, so I should as well, right?
• I need to share my faith as boldly as Billy Graham, and I feel guilty when I don’t.
• If my Bible isn’t as marked up with notes in the margins like my pastor’s, then maybe I’m not doing it right.
• When you stop comparing yourself to other Christians, you’re finally free to focus on becoming the unique person God made You to be.
• Instead of feeling inadequate that I don’t measure up, I can now celebrate where I do.
• SLIDE #6
• Ephesians 2:10 (HCSB) For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.
• That means you are a one-of-a kind-creation of God. Don’t fall for Satan’s lie that you have to measure up to all the best spiritual practices of all Christians throughout history.
• Michael Jordan was the BEST basketball player EVER! He took a break to play baseball. He was not good at it, he never got out of the minors. He never got past AA and hit .202. The only reason he was in AA was his name.
• Here you’ve got the greatest basketball player to ever walk the planet spending his time doing something he wasn’t ever made to do. Maybe that’s how we look to God when we get so obsessed with trying to do everything.
• Do what you can for the Lord and do not compare yourself to others to the point of bitterness. Learn and grow, get Satan out of your ear!
• Growth inhibiting myth number 3
• SLIDE #7
III. The “I need to try harder” myth.
• I think a lot of times churches and pastors can help you fall into this myth sometimes.
• As you mature in your faith, there will be times when you have a setback.
• You know you shouldn’t, but you do anyway. You thought you had moved past struggling with that sin, but you were wrong.
• You thought you had this spiritual habit down, but somehow I didn’t open my Bible all week.
• At this point, the devil might sneak in a lie that on the surface seems like it could only be from God.
• He simply says, “You just need to make a recommitment in your faith.”
• The lie is not that you should ever recommit yourself to following God; it’s that the recommitment alone is enough.
• We talked about this in our Training versus trying, recommitment is good, but really, we do not need to try harder, we need to train.
• If we keep on failing over and over and keep on making recommitments, at some point we come to the conclusion, “What’s the point? I know I’m going to fail, so why even try?” Often this is one of the first steps of completely walking away from God.
• SLIDE # 8
• Romans 12:1–2 (HCSB) — 1 Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
• This passage does not say TRY HARDER, it says to allow our mind to be transformed!
• We can’t recommit ourselves to spiritual growth; we need to renew our minds for spiritual growth.
• That happens when we intentionally fill our minds with God’s wisdom, not the world’s wisdom.
• Replace the magazines you read for literature that draws you closer to God. Look closely at the people in your life who you have allowed to influence you. Memorize scripture instead of the latest songs in the top 40.
• When we do this, verse 2 tells us so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
• Once you allow God to renew your mind, He will give you the power and wisdom to know God’s good, pleasing and perfect will for your life.
• Growth inhibiting myth number 4!
• SLIDE #9
IV. The “I’ve reached the top” myth.
• God has a perfect will for your life, God has uniquely shaped you.
• Here is a thought, if Satan cannot tempt you to be bad, he will often encourage us to settle for being BORING!
• Once we think we reached the top, we go into cruise control mode and we no longer seek to grow and improve. Once we do into this mode, the relationship we deteriorate.
• Here is what we need to realize.
• SLIDE #10
• John 10:10 (HCSB) A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
• God wants for us what we want for is: to live lives to the fullest. We can’t fall for the lie that at some point it’s okay to coast.
• If you get down the habit of reading your Bible and praying every day, that’s fantastic, but don’t fall into such a rhythm that you never explore other ways to encounter God.
• God wants our relationship with Him to be fresh. He wants us to enlarge the circle of people we care about, He wants us to grow in how we interact with Him and step out of our comfort zones.
• We need to treat our relationships with God the same way. When your time with God seems to be getting a little predictable, it is the perfect time to mix it up.
• The Apostle Paul was maybe the greatest Christian to ever walk the planet (besides Jesus). Listen to what he said to a group of believers in Philippi:
• SLIDE #11
• Philippians 3:12–14 (HCSB) — 12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.
CONCLUSION
• Maybe looking at these myths might explain some times you got off-track spiritually in your past.
• My hope would be that just knowing about them will help you stay on-track with Jesus in your future.
• God wants to do great things in and through your life, but He doesn’t just give us a pep talk and say good luck.
• He wants us to be prepared to face the temptations and trials that we’re likely to run into.
• As we pursue growing more and more like Jesus, let’s constantly remember that He has gone before us and invites us to run with Him.
