Win The Day (1)
Win The Day • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 5 viewsIn John 10, Jesus tells us why He came to this world: "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." In other words, We were meant to thrive! But sometimes, even as Christians, it doesn't feel like we are thriving... Sometimes it feels like we are drowning... like life is swallowing us up... BUT IT DOESN"T HAVE TO!!! We don't find the abundant life all at once. We find it by winning one day at a time!
Notes
Transcript
Handout
John 10:10 (NIV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
In other words, we were meant to thrive!
But… It doesn’t always “feel” like we are, does it?
Sometimes it “feels” like we are just getting by… Like life is right on the edge of swallowing us up… And it leaves us wondering “Where Jesus? Where is this ‘abundant life’?”
On April 20, 1913, Sir William Osler delivered a speech at Yale University. It was a simple message.
Here’s the cliff notes version: Four words—”LIVE IN DAY-TIGHT COMPARTMENTS.”
LIVE IN DAY-TIGHT COMPARTMENTS — Sir William Osler
LIVE IN DAY-TIGHT COMPARTMENTS — Sir William Osler
In other words… Live For Today!
That is easier said than done…
But if we can pull it off… If we can put it into practice… It is the solution to a thousand problems!
According to psychologists Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert, the average person spends 46.9 percent of their time thinking about something other than what they’re doing in the present moment.
In other words, we’re living in the wrong time zone.
— We’re depressed about the past.
— We’re worried about the future.
— We’re distracted.
— We’re frustrated.
— We’re overwhelmed by this, that, and the other thing.
We are HALF PRESENT, HALF THE TIME, which means we’re HALF ALIVE.
The only way to be FULLY ALIVE is to be FULLY PRESENT,…
and the only way to be FULLY PRESENT is to, you guessed it, live in day-tight compartments.
This is not just a good idea.
This is a God idea.
(look at scripture)
Mt. 6, The Lord’s Prayer — “Give us this day our DAILY BREAD.”
Jesus tells us — “Take up your cross DAILY.”
The Psalmist writes — “This is THE DAY that the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it.”
Lamentations — “His mercies are new EVERY MORNING.”
Paul (Eph 4:26) — “Don’t let the SUN GO DOWN on your anger.”
Jesus again (Mt 6) — “Don’t worry about TOMORROW.”
Bottom line.
Yesterday is HISTORY.
Tomorrow is a MYSTERY.
Today is a CHARITY!
Today is a Gift from God!
Our job is to Win the Day, that’s it!
Matthew 6:30–34 (NIV)
30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
31 So … (So… Worry about tomorrow… Stress about the future… Be anxious about your personal well-being…) do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
I have no idea what goal you’re going after, what problem you’re trying to solve, what habit you’re trying to break or build, but I know the secret to your success.
It’s gonna happen one day at a time.
You have to Win the Day.
Then you have to get up and do it all over again the next day.
Do this two days in a row, and guess what that’s called?!? A winning streak!
That’s sanctification!
The Church of the Nazarene talks about Entire Sanctification…
John Wesley called it Heart Purity…
It is that point of commitment in which we realize that we cannot do anything without God… and so… we commit ourselves to allowing Him to work…
Over the next seven weeks—we’re going to unpack seven habits that will help you stress less and accomplish more!
We are going to explore 7 biblical truths that — if you will commit to them — WILL change your life!
Let me start by planting this seed of faith right here.
Almost anyone can accomplish almost anything if they work at it long enough, hard enough, and smart enough.
You are capable of more than you can imagine!
How do I know this?
Because “God is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine.” — Eph 3:20
— When we believe Him and Trust Him…
(pray)
It is estimated that… 75% of New Year’s Resolutions fail within the first month.
Why?
— Because we tend to focus on too much… too big of a picture… It’s overwhelming!
You feel like quitting before you even start.
So here’s the question, and we’ll keep coming back to it during this series.
“Pick a habit, any habit. Can you do it for a day?”
— can you fast for a day?
— can you pray for a day?
— can you focus on the Bible… on scripture… for a day?
— can you set aside that habit that’s been destroying you for one day?
You have to take your walk with God and reverse engineer it into daily habits.
The only ceiling on your intimacy with God and impact on the world is daily spiritual disciplines.
If you meet with God every day, He is going to show up and show off.
Turn to Genesis 50:15-20.
While you’re getting there, let me share with you…
Vladimir Lenin once said: “There are decades when nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen.”
Let me say this.
That doesn’t mean… You can’t just flip the calendar, and expect everything to change.
You have to flip the script.
Mark Batterson writes: “If you want to change your life, you have to change your story.”
Are you at Genesis 50 yet? Ok, hold your place there, we’ll get to it in a minute…
In the science of cybernetics, there are two kinds of change.
First-order change is behavioral—it’s doing something more or less.
If you’re trying to lose weight, eating less and exercising more are steps in the right direction.
First-order change can facilitate a quick-fix, but second-order change passes the test of time.
Second-order change is conceptual—it is mind over matter.
This is where the magic happens!
Everything is created twice. The first creation is mental, it’s internal. The second creation is physical, it’s external.
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
If we want to change in our lives… in our relationships… in our walks with God… We MUST renew our minds!
That means thinking about ourselves differently…
Everything was once a thought, and that includes you.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Let me ask you… Who else was with God?
— NOONE!
That means that He was talkiing to Himself! He was THINKING!
You don’t just bear His image, you are His idea.
You are His workmanship.
You are a unique expression of God’s imagination.
To see yourself as anything less is to believe a lie.
There never has been, never will be, anyone like you.
That’s not a testament to you… It’s a testament to the God who created you!
You are significant!
No one can worship God like you or for you.
No one can serve God like you or for you.
You ARE Special!!!
You have to start thinking about yourself differently!!!
We tend to think of habits as external exercises that increase proficiency or productivity.
It’s practicing scales.
It’s practicing skills.
Those external habits will pay dividends…
But the biggest return on investment… are the internal habits that no one sees.
It’s your internal monologue.
It’s the way you explain your experiences to yourself.
It’s the stories you tell yourself day in and day out.
On average, about 60,000 thoughts fire across our synapses every single day.
According to a study done by the Cleveland Clinic, 80% of those thoughts are negative.
The problem is our stinking thinking.
Your thoughts have both an emotional and physical effect.
Your thoughts have the power to lower your blood pressure, slow your pulse, and boost your immunity. Or do the exact opposite.
The battle for today is won or lost in our mind.
The stories you tell yourself are far more important than the situations you find yourself in.
That’s when and where and how we flip the script.
— Jesus said: Mt 17:20 “20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
— Book of Revelation tells us: Rev 2:10 “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.”
With this as a backdrop, Let’s look at Genesis 50:15-20.
Let me set the scene.
When Joseph was a teenager he had a dream, a dream that his brothers would one day bow down to him.
He makes the mistake of telling his brothers about this dream, and his brothers fake his death and sell him into slavery.
Life goes from bad to worse. Joseph ends up in prison for a crime he did not commit.
If anybody could have played the victim card, it’s Joseph. But this isn’t the story Joseph narrates to himself.
Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream.
Pharaoh puts his signet ring on Joseph’s finger and makes him second-in-command.
Thirteen years after selling him into slavery, his brothers come knocking on his door, begging for food because of a famine.
Genesis 43:28 says his brothers bow down before him.
Imagine what Joseph must have thought… must have felt. It’s a day when decades happen.
The vision he had at seventeen—the vision that went off the rails, the vision that took a wrong turn, the vision that seemed so far away, the vision that doesn’t seem possible—that vision is fulfilled in this moment!
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”
16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died:
17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
It’s like a time lapse video.
Joseph looks back on all the ups and downs, all the pain and suffering, all the twists and turns, and this is what he says: (vs 20) “You intended to harm me, BUT GOD intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Joseph Flipped the Script!!!
HOW?!?!?!?
By choosing to look at life differently!
We ALL need 50:20 vision.
Let me make this as simple as 1,2, 3.
There are three things we need to gain 50/20 vision:
1. You have to know your name
We MUST know who we are.
More than a century ago, Charles Horton Cooley, founder of the American Sociological Association, said, “I am not what I think I am, and I am not what you think I am. I am what I think you think I am.”
Little bit of a tongue twister… But does it sound familiar?
Cooley called it the “looking-glass self” — it’s basing our sense of self on how we believe others see us.
Our sense of self comes from lots of different sources.
— what people say about us...
— how the world defines us…
— how we view success…
— even how we view faith…
When we do that, we are letting other people narrate our story.
We start living our lives according to their expectations.
Do you see how dangerous that is?
It’s critical for us to take our cues from Scripture.
Why?
Scripture is our script-cure.
We need to KNOW who God says we are!
There’s no better place to discover that than right here… in scripture!
(hold up bible)
The book of James likens the Bible to a mirror.
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror
— this is where we discover who we are in the eyes of God. This is how we know our name. This is how we flip the script.
Look back at Joseph's story.
After playing a few mind games with his brothers, which I think is totally justified… Joseph finally reveals his identity.
Genesis 45:3 He says, “I am Joseph.”
We tend to read right past this… Joseph knows his name.
Well, of course Joseph knows his name, Pastor. It’s his name!
Not so fast.
Fun fact.— When Pharaoh makes Joseph second-in-command he doesn’t just give him his signet ring. What else does he do?
He gives him an Egyptian name: Zaphenath-paneah.
It would have been so easy for Joseph to forget who he was.
To embrace, and just live in, his new identity…
If you allow it, culture will name you and tame you.
It will label you.
It will define you.
Cancel culture will chew you up and spit you out.
That’s what “political correctness” does!
You have to know who you are.
You have to know whose you are.
You need to know your name.
You are BLESSED.
You are CHOSEN.
You are BLAMELESS.
You are ADOPTED by the Heavenly Father.
You are REDEEMED by Christ.
You are SEALED by the Holy Spirit.
You are STAMPED with the Image of God.
Let me tell you: There is NO SUCH THING as a white Christian, a black Christian, a gay Christian, a lesbian Christian, …
Either you ARE a Christian, or you ARE NOT!!!
28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
(Everyone write this down)
You are who God says you are.
If you want to flip the script, you need to know your name.
2. You have to fix your focus.
Qigong Jen said to Luke Skywalker: “Your focus determines your reality.”
This is more than a Jedi mind trick.
Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Why?
Your focus will determine your reality.
If you’re looking for an excuse, you will always find one.
If you’re looking for a place to put the blame, you will always find one.
BUT… If you’re looking for something to be grateful for, you’ll find it.
There is a concept in psychology called cognitive reappraisal.
It’s telling yourself a different story about what is happening.
Joseph is exhibit A.
Joseph could have played the victim card. Right?
He also could have played God and evened the score with his brothers.
But… He doesn’t!!!
Why?
He’s got a God’s-eye view.
He let God tell him a different story.
Dr. Martin Seligman, the former president of the APA, said that all of us have what he calls an explanatory style.
“Explanatory style is the manner in which you habitually explain to yourself why events happen.”
It’s those explanations—not the experiences themselves—that make us or break us!
Look at Joseph.
What is Joseph’s explanatory style?
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Hebrews 12:1–2 (NIV)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Where we place our focus matters!!!
There was a meme circulating social media at the end of 2020—the 2020 dumpster fire.
That’s how some of us view our lives…
Pretty funny, but it’s the wrong!
2020 wasn’t a dumpster fire. And neither is your life!!
It’s a refiner’s fire.
And what comes out of the refiner’s fire is always more pure, more precious, more valuable.
Why?
It’s been refined by the touch of the master’s hand.
The prophet Malachi asked: “Who is able to endure? Who is able to stand? He will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross.”
How do we fix our focus?
Short answer… Heb 12:2
Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
I love the moment when Peter gets out of the boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee.
It took a ton of faith.
But here’s the deal: If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat.
Peter does!
He gets out of the boat because he’s focused on Jesus, and Jesus walks on water!
He’s simply doing what he’s seeing.
That’s what following Jesus is all about. But… What happens?
He loses focus.
He starts focusing on the wind, on the waves.
He starts to focus on the world around him… on what it says about him…
Church.... That’s when we start to sink!!!
How do we keep our focus?
How do we keep from sinking?
Here’s some suggestions:
One, keep a gratitude journal.
One of the simplest ways to fix your focus is to keep a gratitude journal.
Why?
It will sanctify your reticular activating system—the part of the brain that determines what we notice and what goes unnoticed.
We don’t see the world as it is.
We see the world as we are.
We see the world through the lens of our perspective.
Simply put… Your self-explanations are more important than your experiences.
We need to see the world through the lens of Gratitude!
Two, change of pace + change of place = change of perspective.
— I’m not talking about moving to a new city…
The key to spiritual growth is routine, but once the routine becomes routine, you have to change the routine.
It’s the law of requisite variety.
Sometimes, we need to change our Bible translation… or our location… we need to take a break from the routine, and make things new… refresh the excitement…
Lots of ways to put this into practice.
It can be as simple as taking a retreat… meditating… fasting…
Whatever you do, make it about time with God… in His Word!
(silence/solitude example)
Three, read old books.
Ivan Pavlov --“If you want new ideas, read old books.”
No book is older, no book is better than the Bible.
It gives us a God’s-eye view!
The Jewish theologian, Abraham Herschel said that prophecy is “exegesis of existence from a divine perspective.”
He also said: “In decisive hours of history, it dawns upon us that we would not trade certain lines in the book of Isaiah for the Seven Wonders of the World.”
Herschel is saying this: during times of crisis we need to get a word from God.
Scripture is our plumb line.
Scripture is our anchor line.
Scripture is our very life.
That brings us to number three.
You have to change your story.
According to a study done by Emory University, the best predictor of a child’s emotional well-being is not getting them into a great school.
It’s not giving them lots of hugs and kisses.
It’s not taking them on a pilgrimage to Disney World.
It’s not watching Pixar films… or the Lifetime channel…
According to these researchers, the number one indicator of emotional well-being… is a child knowing their family history.
Huh?!
It’s knowing who they are!!!
All of us are born into someone else’s story.
We all have a family of origin, and that is our genesis story.
Our children were born into our story.
I was born into my parent’s story.
My parents were born into my grandparent’s story.
For better or for worse, all of us are born into someone else’s story.
Now… Here’s the good news: As children of God. We are grafted into God’s family… we are grafted into God’s story!
This is huge!
Scripture becomes our script.
This book is our backstory.
And guess what?! Our lives become the rest of the story.
You are the fifth gospel.
You are Acts 29.
You are Revelation 23.
I know… I know… “Pastor, There is no Acts 29, or Revelation 23!”
That’s the point!!!!
You are the only Bible some people will ever read.
The question is this: Is your life a good translation?
Here’s how it works:
1. You surrender your life to the Lordship of Christ. You can do that right here, right now.
2. You give the Author and Perfecter of your faith complete editorial control, and He begins writing His story in you and through you.
— Some of us have never let Jesus do that…
In Judaism, those who followed a Rabbi had four responsibilities.
First, they would memorize his words.
Second, they would adopt the Rabbi’s unique interpretation of scripture. It was called the Rabbi’s yoke.
We call it the Sermon on the Mount and the Olivet Discourse.
Third, they imitated the Rabbi’s way of life.
(I’ll come right back to that one.)
Fourth, they discipled others the way you were discipled.
It’s Paul saying, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”
Look back at the third responsibility—imitating—is one key to habit formation.
There is a form of acting called method acting.
It involves taking extreme measures to get into character.
Dustin Hoffman went three days without sleep to prep for a scene in Marathon Man.
Meryl Streep learned Polish and German for Sophie’s Choice.
Christian Bale lost sixty pounds to play an emaciated insomniac.
Jamie Foxx glued his eyes shut to play Ray Charles.
Discipleship is method acting.
It’s taking our cues from Jesus.
We love like Jesus.
We think like Jesus.
We pray like Jesus.
We treat people like Jesus did.
Do that long enough, and guess what?
You become like Jesus!!!
Spiritual maturity is not some cosmic experience… It’s not some “lofty goal”… Nor is it “scripture memorization”…
Spiritual maturity is testing God’s Word.
Spiritual maturity is allowing scripture to move from Theory to Testimony in our lives by Testing it.
Let me give you an example.
Matthew 16:19, Jesus said, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.”
We have been given tremendous authority but we have to exercise it.
Now, be careful right here.
Every prayer has to pass a two-fold litmus test.
It has to be in the will of God and for the Glory of God.
God is not a Genie in a bottle, and our wish is not His command.
Prayer isn’t outlining our agenda to God.
It’s getting into God’s Word and God’s presence and letting God outline His agenda to us.
Remember the signet ring Pharaoh gave to Joseph?
It gave him full authority!
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
We have the full backing of the King and His Kingdom.
We have to operate in that authority.
We have to exercise that authority.
We have the authority to rebuke the wind and the waves.
We have the authority to rebuke the negative narrative.
We have the authority to bind things — and loose things — here on earth.
We have the authority to Flip the Script!!!
It’s our script!!!
We are the actors.
What story will we tell?!?
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
But today… Today is charity!!!
It is a gift from God!!!
Mordecai told Ether, “Perhaps you were placed here for such a time as this.”
Perhaps today is your day!
(Altar call)
Let’s pray together.
(communion)