Sermon Central
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01 Habits Of The Heart Series
Contributed by Ralph Andrus on Jan 23, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: ❶ Habits ❷ The Experience That Can Be Ours ❸ Action To Be Taken
1 Jn 1:1-10
❶ HABITS - The American Heritage Dictionary "A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition"
Comes from the idea "to have, to hold, possess,"
Roman poet Ovid in 43BC "Nothing is stronger than habit."
Habit is a cable; we weave a thread each day, and at last we cannot break it.
FLEA TRAINING
Fleas can jump extremely high [13" or 200x its length, that would be equivalent to 900’] (that’s how they get from animal to animal) so when a flea is caught, it is put in a jar. Without a lid, its simple for the flea to escape by just popping right out of the jar. So, the flea trainer quickly puts a lid on the jar.
Then leave it for 3 days
When the flea jumps, BANG, it hits the lid and falls down. Over and over, the flea will jump and BANG hit the lid. Until, after some time, you can see that the flea is jumping just almost to the lid, but not quite. He jumps and jumps, not quite hitting the top, but jumping as high as he can.
Now, that seems like a pretty smart flea to me. But, what’s strange is to see what happens when you take the lid off. The flea continues to jump just almost to where the lid was. It won’t jump any higher. It’s offspring continue to follow suit
The flea hit a limit to what it could do. He decided that he could not go any higher and then never tried to improve. Even though the limit was gone, he was stuck in a rut - doing just what he always did and not challenging himself.
- D.L. Moody "Your character is simply a long habit continued"
- We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.
- Psychological studies show that it usually takes six weeks to
make or break a habit.
- If you find that you can’t do something today, don’t assume you
will never be able to do it.
- Try it again tomorrow or next week.
- You might hit the lid occasionally but you won’t be held back
any imaginary limits that you outgrow.
- We are constantly challenge about habits
- Example - Acts 16
- Phillipi Women that was a soothsayer - Demon expelled
- Her masters upset
- Accused them of troubling the city
- v. 21 Teach customs (habits) which are unlawful
- We love our habits -comfortable with routines
- John’s Writings challenge our habits
- In His:
Gospel - Epistle - Revelation
History - Experience - Hope
Past - Present - Future
— Christ died for Us - Christ lives in us - Christ comes for us
— The Word made flesh -The Word made real in us -The word conquers
❷ The Experience That Can Be Ours
♦ v. 1-5 Writing, - We have discovered life, peace, joy
♦ v. 2 Eternal Life - A complete full life
♦ v. 3 - A Relationship with God
- Fellowship - Giving Supply (Father0
- Fellowship giving Security Christ own work for us
♦ v. 4 - Joy
- NOTE 5 "If we"
- IF - An assumption a condition — Call it a habit
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 17:20KJV — Demonic son that the disciples could not heal
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
❸ Action To Be Taken
1. An Inward Look
- What do we love?
- We hang out with our delights
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
2. A Humble Heart
v. 6 - Walk in Darkness
- Do my actions & attitude prove what I believe?
v. 9 - Confess my sin
3. A Choice Made
V. 9 Starts with confession
v. 7 Ends with walking
Larry Walters - 33
(1982, Los Angeles California)
"I have fulfilled my 20-year dream," said Walters, a former truck driver for a company that makes TV commercials. "I’m staying on the ground. I’ve proved the thing works."
Larry’s boyhood dream was to fly. But fates conspired to keep him from his dream. He joined the Air Force, but his poor eyesight disqualified him from the job of pilot. After he was discharged from the military, he sat in his backyard watching jets fly overhead.
