SPEAKER_00: If you're in Wisconsin, you gotta have a little cheese.
SPEAKER_00: That's all I'm saying.
SPEAKER_00: A little cheesiness.
SPEAKER_00: So well, good morning.
SPEAKER_00: Good to see everyone today.
SPEAKER_00: Those of you joining us online, uh, we're glad you're with us as we continue in our series that we're in right now called Uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_00: If you're in the lakeside room and the family room with your littles, uh, thank you for joining with us.
SPEAKER_00: And we are in week three uh boy, three weeks left to go in this series, so that makes us week nine of the series.
SPEAKER_00: Uh my name is Jack Guerrera.
SPEAKER_00: I'm one of the teaching pastors and one of the pastors here at Spring Lake.
SPEAKER_00: And this series for me has been fun.
SPEAKER_00: Two primary reasons.
SPEAKER_00: First of all, is the topics we've talked about so far and we've hit on so far.
SPEAKER_00: For some people, it's been a breeze-through.
SPEAKER_00: These are topics you hear and you're like, that wasn't too bad.
SPEAKER_00: For others, it kind of ripped the scab off of some wounds.
SPEAKER_00: And we've had some great conversations and it's helped some people move forward in different topics and areas that we usually don't want to talk about.
SPEAKER_00: And I always love seeing areas where healing can happen.
SPEAKER_00: And the second, and this is really the fun one, the second one for me is when people go, Well, yeah, that's an uncomfortable topic, but you didn't say what I wanted you to say about it.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, that made it for me uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we've got to get out of our own echo chamber and listen to a bigger or a broader view, and especially a scriptural view, on how to deal with some tough stuff in life.
SPEAKER_00: So, like I said, we've got three weeks to come, and all three of these are buckle in and strap yourself in type of topics.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna give too much of a teaser on that because today I want to get into what I'm gonna cover, and I'm gonna talk about personal disciplines.
SPEAKER_00: Personal disciplines.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to open up by asking a simple question of what owns you?
SPEAKER_00: What is it in your life that lives rent-free in your mind?
SPEAKER_00: It gets space anytime it wants.
SPEAKER_00: As a matter of fact, if you're not doing this or eating this or thinking about this or in the practice of this, your mind is already preparing for the next time you get to do it.
SPEAKER_00: What is it that lives rent-free in your mind?
SPEAKER_00: What is it that owned you?
SPEAKER_00: Here's another way of looking at it.
SPEAKER_00: They say it takes 21 days, some people say 30, to create or break a habit.
SPEAKER_00: What is it that if I said to you right now, hey, look, as a church or as an individual, for the next 21 days, give this up.
SPEAKER_00: Your first thought was not on your life.
SPEAKER_00: This is the thing that owned you.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it's a vice or an addiction.
SPEAKER_00: It can be, as scripture calls it, a sin that easily entangles us, keeps us from running the race well.
SPEAKER_00: And for other people, it may not be a sin, but for you or for me, there are certain areas in my life, it quickly can become an idol.
SPEAKER_00: And in that case, it kills our personal disciplines.
SPEAKER_00: And our culture, you have to understand this, our culture feeds these obsessions with something called algorithms.
SPEAKER_00: Let me look at your social media or your YouTube page, and I can tell you the things you tend to obsess over, the things you get stuck on.
SPEAKER_00: And that algorithm will feed it to you as much as you want.
SPEAKER_00: And we're addicted to cortisol, we're addicted to that anger, anger type of response.
SPEAKER_00: We're addicted to things that feed us emotionally.
SPEAKER_00: What is it that owns us?
SPEAKER_00: And there are companies out there that don't get paid unless they get you hooked.
SPEAKER_00: See, it's no longer about the product they're selling.
SPEAKER_00: You're now the product.
SPEAKER_00: I'm the product.
SPEAKER_00: What is it that owns us?
SPEAKER_00: The Bible tells us to take every thought captive, including these areas.
SPEAKER_00: Can we discipline ourselves with our money, with our eating, with our personal habits, with our schedule, with our time with God, with our phone, our screen time, our social media?
SPEAKER_00: Or are we always looking for shortcuts to get something better off of it?
SPEAKER_00: Some of you right now are hearing me and you're like, okay, are we gonna go into this infomercial understanding?
SPEAKER_00: And it's that's not what it's gonna be, but those infomercials are everywhere to get you hooked even more.
SPEAKER_00: You can have millions of dollars if you buy my plan for$99.95.
SPEAKER_00: Some people are obsessed with money.
SPEAKER_00: You'll be amazed at how you can hear the voice of God if you'll wear these special headphones from Ronco.
SPEAKER_00: Anybody remember Ronco from back in the day?
SPEAKER_00: Youngsters, look it up.
SPEAKER_00: But we're looking for the shortcut instead of the disciplines of doing things right and well.
SPEAKER_00: You can have the most amazing body if you'll just sprinkle this fairy dust on your food and use these magic chopsticks.
SPEAKER_00: We're looking for the shortcut instead of the proper way to do things.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna rabbit trail a couple of times in this, and here's the first one.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know that the same diet that lowers blood pressure also lowers the risk of heart attacks, also lowers the risks of multiple types of cancers, also lowers cholesterol and other physical ailments.
SPEAKER_00: It's the same diet across the board, and it's what your grandmama told you.
SPEAKER_00: Eat your fruits and vegetables, eat the healthy meats.
SPEAKER_00: It does not include processed foods all summer.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody told me recently, and I love this, they said hot dogs are the particle board of the food world.
SPEAKER_00: Let that sink in for just a minute.
SPEAKER_00: Many of us are looking for the shortcuts to get to the mountaintops, but it's not about having the biggest bank account or the best physique or showing off our talent or being able to one up our neighbor or our friends or family members.
SPEAKER_00: What is the goal then of these personal disciplines?
SPEAKER_00: It's about being the best steward of everything God has blessed us with for his kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: Everything God has blessed us with.
SPEAKER_00: The goal is to, as the Bible says, honor God with our bodies.
SPEAKER_00: It's not about perfection, but being healthy and not limited in our motion and our possibilities.
SPEAKER_00: It's being able to, as the Bible says, give the Lord our first fruits of our finances and give toward works of God.
SPEAKER_00: There are some areas of ministry and things going on around the world that stir your heart, and you would love to get behind or support it, but you're so strapped you can't.
SPEAKER_00: That's not the way we're called to live.
SPEAKER_00: We should be living, as the Bible says, renewing our mind, washing our minds daily with the water of the word.
SPEAKER_00: What does it look like to build that time properly into our schedule?
SPEAKER_00: We should be living, as the Bible said, not addicted to anything, not any food or porn or weed or alcohol or anything that puts us under an influence.
SPEAKER_00: When you find yourself planning the next time you get to have or use or drink, there's a problem.
SPEAKER_00: You no longer own it, it owns you.
SPEAKER_00: Rabbit trail number two.
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever heard anyone say, Man, my marriage is so much better when I'm drinking?
SPEAKER_00: I am so much better of a dad when I'm drinking.
SPEAKER_00: You should see me at work when I'm drinking.
SPEAKER_00: Said no one ever.
SPEAKER_00: There's a problem when it owns us instead of us owning it.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you right now are thinking, stick to preaching and stop meddling.
SPEAKER_00: But what I want to talk about today is thoroughly throughout Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible calls this self-discipline or self-control, and it's a core virtue essential for spiritual maturity, avoiding sin and resisting temptation.
SPEAKER_00: Rather than relying solely on human willpower, it's viewed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit empowered by God's grace.
SPEAKER_00: In the Bible, discipline primarily means training, instruction, and loving correction rather than punishment.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to talk about that in a little bit.
SPEAKER_00: The root meaning emphasizes learning towards spiritual growth.
SPEAKER_00: Now, there are seven areas in Scripture that the Bible gives us that says these are on us to discipline ourselves to do.
SPEAKER_00: Well, can't I just love Jesus and do whatever I want?
SPEAKER_00: No, because part of loving Jesus is disciplining ourselves for his service and his glory and honor.
SPEAKER_00: A few years ago, I did a my second or third year here, we did a series where I was able to cover these more in depth.
SPEAKER_00: But today I just want to high-level these seven areas, and then we're going to get into a specific practice of it.
SPEAKER_00: Here they are on the screen.
SPEAKER_00: Ready?
SPEAKER_00: First of all, is time, honoring the hours God has given us, and managing schedules with purpose and balance.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody in this room, I don't care how old you are, I don't care how much you make, you get 24 hours in a day.
SPEAKER_00: How do we manage it?
SPEAKER_00: Secondly, is our temple, caring for our physical bodies, treating them as sacred vessels for wellness and energy.
SPEAKER_00: Thirdly, is our talents, discovering, developing, and sharing our unique abilities to help others and enrich our community.
SPEAKER_00: That's our church community, as well as our city around us.
SPEAKER_00: And fourthly, our treasure is managing and sharing financial resources, income, and possessions generously.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know the Bible talks more about our finances, our money, than it does about hell?
SPEAKER_00: Than it does about sex or sexuality?
SPEAKER_00: Do you know the Bible clearly states that how we handle our finances is a test and a show of our character rather than just our currency?
SPEAKER_00: It's discussed in the New Testament, especially in the book of Luke, more than almost any other subject in the practical sense.
SPEAKER_00: Let's go to number five.
SPEAKER_00: Five is trust, building unwavering faith and reliance on God's provision for our needs.
SPEAKER_00: It's a discipline to put our faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: The next one, theology, understanding and applying biblical principles of stewardship.
SPEAKER_00: Are we getting deeper in our scriptures?
SPEAKER_00: Do we understand Jesus more this year than we did last year?
SPEAKER_00: How much Bible do we have with us if we don't have our Bible with us?
SPEAKER_00: That's the theology, and then number seven is our testimony, sharing our personal stewardship journey and inspiring others through our actions and experiences.
SPEAKER_00: Pastor Jeff talked about this a few weeks ago when he talked about uh evangelism and sharing our testimony.
SPEAKER_00: When we look at these seven areas, 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 24 through 27.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna go to some other scriptures in a moment, but Paul uses the picture of an athlete in training to discipline himself, to be prepared for godly works in these seven areas.
SPEAKER_00: It is an understanding that we are called to grow in our disciplines.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna tell you right now, don't read these seven and go, I have to attack all seven at once.
SPEAKER_00: You will overwhelm yourself.
SPEAKER_00: I would encourage you to pick one, two, maybe three if you're a go-getter, but one or two, what are the lowest staves on the barrel that you would say, these are the ones I can work on right now.
SPEAKER_00: These are the areas I can grow in.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to encourage you to embrace and understand your season of life.
SPEAKER_00: There are some of you who walked in this morning, I love watching in the small lobbies as families check in, because some of you come in with a two-year-old on one arm, a baby carrier in the other, and a four-year-old on your ankle.
SPEAKER_00: And you are just glad to get out the door in the morning and make it to church.
SPEAKER_00: And you're reading this list going, what in the world?
SPEAKER_00: And there are others of us who maybe you don't have any kids at home.
SPEAKER_00: You woke up this morning and had a cup of coffee and chatted with your spouse and got yourself ready and then watched the news or flip through some, you know, scroll through some stuff.
SPEAKER_00: We are in different seasons of life.
SPEAKER_00: Embrace where you are and understand that there are seasons for each of these.
SPEAKER_00: All of us are in process, including yours truly.
SPEAKER_00: And scripture tells us, reminds us, let's do what we do faithfully.
SPEAKER_00: Let's run, I'm gonna run through a list of scriptures on stewardship.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't a comprehensive list.
SPEAKER_00: As a matter of fact, on the UVersion Bible app, you're gonna see about double the amount of scriptures I'm gonna show you on the screen this morning.
SPEAKER_00: But you're gonna see how thoroughly the understanding of stewardship or discipline or self-control is in Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Let's start Proverbs chapter 10 and verse 17.
SPEAKER_00: It says, Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 25, verse 28, it says, like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 11, wealth gains hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs chapter six, verses six through eight.
SPEAKER_00: Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider its ways and be wise.
SPEAKER_00: It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provision in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs chapter twenty-one and verse five.
SPEAKER_00: The plans of the diligent lead to profit, as surely as haste leads to poverty.
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 16 and verse 32, it says, Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 12 and verse 1.
SPEAKER_00: We're all going to read this one together.
SPEAKER_00: You ready?
SPEAKER_00: On three, one, two, three.
SPEAKER_00: Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't that sound like a four-year-old just like chastising you?
SPEAKER_00: Luke 14 and verse 28.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.
SPEAKER_00: Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?
SPEAKER_00: Galatians chapter 5, verses 22 and 23.
SPEAKER_00: It says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and out of control.
SPEAKER_00: Is that what it says?
SPEAKER_00: What does it say?
SPEAKER_00: Self-control.
SPEAKER_00: 2 Timothy 1 7, for the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.
SPEAKER_00: Two more.
SPEAKER_00: 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17.
SPEAKER_00: All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
SPEAKER_00: Lastly, Titus chapter 2, verse 11 and 12.
SPEAKER_00: For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
SPEAKER_00: It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age.
SPEAKER_00: So we can see through this theme through scripture.
SPEAKER_00: And what I want to do now is I want to take the plane up to about 10,000 feet, and I want to look at something that's necessary for all of us to practice these disciplines.
SPEAKER_00: And that thing that is necessary is accountability.
SPEAKER_00: Accountability.
SPEAKER_00: If we could have done it by willpower, or if we could have done it on our own, let's be real, we already would have.
SPEAKER_00: Accountability is the vital mechanism that transforms stewardship from passive belief into active, responsible management.
SPEAKER_00: I want to look at four truths that accountability clarifies.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the first one: it's the principle of non-ownership, the principle of non-ownership.
SPEAKER_00: It's not ours to begin with.
SPEAKER_00: Accountability requires acknowledging that you do not truly own your own body or time or money.
SPEAKER_00: You have been blessed with it.
SPEAKER_00: And especially in this country, we have resources that much of the world wishes they had.
SPEAKER_00: Because they are external gifts.
SPEAKER_00: We cannot simply use them however we want.
SPEAKER_00: We are managing them under a set of rules established by the rightful owner.
SPEAKER_00: We are stewards, we're managers of it.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20 says, You're not even your own.
SPEAKER_00: You were bought with a price.
SPEAKER_00: So honor God with your bodies.
SPEAKER_00: So first of all, it's not ours, it's the principle of non-ownership.
SPEAKER_00: Secondly, accountability helps in remembering our responsibility.
SPEAKER_00: Accountability helps us remember our responsibility.
SPEAKER_00: While responsibility defines what we are supposed to take care of, accountability is a system that checks how well we're doing, it removes passive neglect.
SPEAKER_00: There's an account in the Bible, a parable Jesus gives of a landowner.
SPEAKER_00: So he's a business owner.
SPEAKER_00: And he's got these workers, his servants, he's got these workers, and he's like, I'm going out of town, I'm putting my stuff in your hands for you to take care of.
SPEAKER_00: And the one servant, the one worker, he gives an amount to, then a second, then a third, and he splits down.
SPEAKER_00: He leaves.
SPEAKER_00: This is Jack's translation.
SPEAKER_00: He comes back into town, he goes, What did you do with what I gave you?
SPEAKER_00: What'd you do with my stuff that you were a manager of?
SPEAKER_00: And the first servant, the first worker goes, You gave me these talents, I doubled it.
SPEAKER_00: The landowner, the business owner goes, Good for you, you get double.
SPEAKER_00: The next one, same thing.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what you gave me, here's what I did with it.
SPEAKER_00: I can give you interest, I can give you even more back.
SPEAKER_00: And then it comes to the last one.
SPEAKER_00: And that last worker goes, I know you're a hard man.
SPEAKER_00: You can look this up.
SPEAKER_00: This is what it says.
SPEAKER_00: I know you're a hard man.
SPEAKER_00: I know you have high expectations.
SPEAKER_00: I know you expect something in return for what you've given workers to work with.
SPEAKER_00: But I took what you gave me and I buried in the ground and I did nothing with it.
SPEAKER_00: I was a poor steward.
SPEAKER_00: Dig it up.
SPEAKER_00: Here's back what you gave me.
SPEAKER_00: The business owner goes, take what he had, and he gets nothing.
SPEAKER_00: The principle here is when we're good stewards, we're blessed with more.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to come back to that principle in the last point.
SPEAKER_00: But there's an understanding and expectation that there is a responsibility that goes, that is uh partnered with the accountability.
SPEAKER_00: Follow through on what we've been blessed on with.
SPEAKER_00: Accountability dictates that there will eventually be and we'll be called to an audit or report on how our resources were handled.
SPEAKER_00: Thirdly, is accountability also brings in transparent evaluation.
SPEAKER_00: I like the term, it brings in measurable honesty.
SPEAKER_00: When we're accountable, we can't lie to the person we lie to most, and that's ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: We will tell ourselves, we're gonna get started, we can tell ourselves this is my aspirational goal.
SPEAKER_00: I love that term.
SPEAKER_00: It's basically saying I'm not gonna do it, but I'm gonna write it down on paper like I'm gonna do it.
SPEAKER_00: This is my aspirational goal.
SPEAKER_00: But then you have someone to call you on the carpet and say, Are you following through on what you were supposed to do?
SPEAKER_00: In practical terms, it looks like this it's tracking our finances, it's knowing where our money is going instead of wondering where it went.
SPEAKER_00: Here's another one of those rabbit trails.
SPEAKER_00: We have a team of people at Spring Lake who are investors and bankers and accountants who will sit down with you if money is your your stronghold, it's the it's the strangle point in your marriage or your relationship or your life.
SPEAKER_00: They'll sit down and walk through your finances with you.
SPEAKER_00: And whether it's budgeting or figuring a way to get out of debt, they'll do it with you for free.
SPEAKER_00: There are ways to move forward with measurable honesty.
SPEAKER_00: Look at your finances and what that looks like.
SPEAKER_00: It's measuring and being honest about your screen time.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know you can flip on your phone to this little area that tells you how much time you're spending on your phone?
SPEAKER_00: I did it.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't like the answer.
SPEAKER_00: I had to change my own practices.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know there's a setting on your phone to where you can click the side of your phone three times, it'll turn your screen black and white instead of color?
SPEAKER_00: Do you know your phone's screen is enhanced in color to keep you drawn in?
SPEAKER_00: You can look this stuff up.
SPEAKER_00: Once again, we are the product, and their goal is to keep us on.
SPEAKER_00: We need to discipline ourselves with our time and what we're doing with uh even things like our phone.
SPEAKER_00: It's moving beyond in passive neglect toward measurable honesty with our health.
SPEAKER_00: I had to do this recently.
SPEAKER_00: I've always been one, I kind of enjoy the gym and sports, I eat fairly well, I like to do things in a disciplined way to take care of myself.
SPEAKER_00: I've never even had normal blood pressure.
SPEAKER_00: Mine's usually low.
SPEAKER_00: But from January until about end of March, end of really even early May, a lot of stuff just kept piling up.
SPEAKER_00: And little things I've done my whole life to keep myself healthy and impractical, like on the right path, whether that's especially at that time work stuff, getting the new campus going, staff things that were going on, some personal things that were going on.
SPEAKER_00: I shared some personal losses as well.
SPEAKER_00: And after a while, you just bottle that up, and out of nowhere I looked one day, and my blood pressure was 180 over 120.
SPEAKER_00: And I've never had normal blood pressure.
SPEAKER_00: And it forced me to stop and go, what am I not doing that I was doing that brought health?
SPEAKER_00: What am I not doing in the mornings where I had a quiet time where I get my mind right with the Lord that I did, unless it was too busy?
SPEAKER_00: What are the personal disciplines of health and exercise that I do regularly unless I book my day so full of meetings, I'll pick it up later.
SPEAKER_00: What are the foods, darn cheese curds, that I'm eating in place of my fruit and vegetables that all of a sudden have taken over the path of what I need moves toward health?
SPEAKER_00: January, February, and March, my brain was tied up and I ignored my disciplines.
SPEAKER_00: I'm back where I should be.
SPEAKER_00: Diet, exercise, personal times, quiet times with the Lord, and my blood pressure reflects it.
SPEAKER_00: Disciplines matter.
SPEAKER_00: It means operating under the realization that your choices are constantly being weighed against your actual potential.
SPEAKER_00: Where are we limiting ourselves?
SPEAKER_00: This goes from talking about it to doing it, from complacency to course correction.
SPEAKER_00: And I heard this statement years ago, and it is so true.
SPEAKER_00: Complacency resents discipline.
SPEAKER_00: You want to see someone get mad?
SPEAKER_00: Hold them to their words.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I know I need to lose a few pounds, so I'm gonna start working out next week.
SPEAKER_00: Two weeks from now, ask them, hey, how's that working out going?
SPEAKER_00: None of your business.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, I know I need to change things up on my diet, or you know, I probably need to talk to the man upstairs a little more about what's going on in life.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, how's that personal time going?
SPEAKER_00: Complacency hates discipline.
SPEAKER_00: We will never move off of where we are until we are done being complacent.
SPEAKER_00: Complacent is comfortable.
SPEAKER_00: Complacent is the warm fuzzy blanket that we hide under instead of getting up and doing what we need to do.
SPEAKER_00: Complacency hates discipline.
SPEAKER_00: If you're using terms like, well, I probably should, or later I'm gonna start, or eventually I will, you've embraced complacency.
SPEAKER_00: I would encourage you to take a hard look at what the disciplines need to be.
SPEAKER_00: This brings us to our final point is accountability leads to the path of reward or correction.
SPEAKER_00: Accountability leads to the path of reward or correction.
SPEAKER_00: Remember this, our actions have consequences.
SPEAKER_00: Faithful management leads to greater trust, increased opportunities, and personal growth.
SPEAKER_00: Conversely, zero accountability breeds recklessness, leading to wasted talent and diminished resources.
SPEAKER_00: Discipline yourself, or you may suffer the consequences of destructive health, finances, relationships, career, feeling spiritually empty, and it can even lead to being disciplined, maybe on your job, maybe in your relationships.
SPEAKER_00: Scripture tells us, maybe even by God.
SPEAKER_00: If you go back through those scriptures we looked at, when we walk in the disciplines and the spiritual stewardship God calls us to, almost every one of those says it leads to a reward.
SPEAKER_00: And when we ignore those disciplines, it says it leads to destruction.
SPEAKER_00: Following our disciplines and accountability leads to the path of reward or correction.
SPEAKER_00: Now we've talked about the why.
SPEAKER_00: We've talked about what we need to do.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to get into a lot of the how.
SPEAKER_00: There's research on there's so much available on measurables right now on how to do this well.
SPEAKER_00: If we have as a church, we have resources within our G4 groups.
SPEAKER_00: We have some uh short-term groups that we offer.
SPEAKER_00: PastorJack at springlakechurch.org.
SPEAKER_00: If you don't know where to look, email me and I'll point you in the right direction.
SPEAKER_00: That includes you online.
SPEAKER_00: We'd love to be a help wherever we can.
SPEAKER_00: It's part of our responsibility in making more and better disciples.
SPEAKER_00: But I want to end with one thing on the screen.
SPEAKER_00: It's not original with me, but I think it's really important to remember as we start our new disciplines.
SPEAKER_00: Can we put that up?
SPEAKER_00: And it's just what's called the habit model.
SPEAKER_00: First of all, hard work, the physical and mental effort required to start.
SPEAKER_00: Move out of the comfort zone and move into the discipline zone.
SPEAKER_00: Remember when we said that complacency resents discipline.
SPEAKER_00: So step one is the hard work of it.
SPEAKER_00: Get up, put your tennis shoes on on a Monday morning.
SPEAKER_00: Mondays are crucial.
SPEAKER_00: Get your tennis shoes on, get out the door.
SPEAKER_00: Watch what you're eating.
SPEAKER_00: Check your finances more than once every six months.
SPEAKER_00: Know what's going on.
SPEAKER_00: Open your Bible at the start of the day.
SPEAKER_00: Number two, accountability, taking responsibility for your actions and results.
SPEAKER_00: Number three, belief.
SPEAKER_00: Have confidence in the process and the end goal and that it matters.
SPEAKER_00: Once again, those passages we looked at.
SPEAKER_00: There was blessing, there was reward, there was something prosperous in the practice of disciplines.
SPEAKER_00: I intention being deliberate with your time and your choices.
SPEAKER_00: Deliberate.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't happen by accident.
SPEAKER_00: Not one player that played in the World Cup over these last couple of months rolled out of bed one day and said, Huh, I think I might try soccer today.
SPEAKER_00: It was very intentional what they worked on.
SPEAKER_00: Disciplines require that.
SPEAKER_00: And then T, tenacity, the persistence to keep going when motivation fades.
SPEAKER_00: And it will.
SPEAKER_00: The first time the scale doesn't move.
SPEAKER_00: The first time you've saved up money, and this happens to all of us, and everything in your house breaks.
SPEAKER_00: But you have the money to fix it.
SPEAKER_00: The first time it is 10 below zero, and you are under your blanket with Pastor Pillow and Brother Sheets.
SPEAKER_00: And it is time to get up and do a quiet time, and you're like, oh, not today.
SPEAKER_00: Discipline yourself.
SPEAKER_00: Have that fortitude.
SPEAKER_00: And what I want to do today is as we close, remember, first of all, if you need help, reach out.
SPEAKER_00: If you can't don't have someone in your circles, if you have someone who's further along than you in an area, learn from them.
SPEAKER_00: But if you don't have that, reach out to us as a church.
SPEAKER_00: We'd love to partner with you.
SPEAKER_00: And remember this: no one will take better care of you than you.
SPEAKER_00: And you're responsible for doing that.
SPEAKER_00: Walk in these disciplines.
SPEAKER_00: The change is not easy, but it's worth it.
SPEAKER_00: Would you bow your head to me, please?
SPEAKER_00: Father, as we read these and look at these passages, they are not there for condemnation.
SPEAKER_00: But Lord, they can be convicting.
SPEAKER_00: And I ask God that you give us the disciplines, give us the strength to walk out and live these disciplines in a way, once again, that we're not our own limiting factor to how you can use us, to what we can be available for, to the testimonies of what you can do in us and through us.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I pray that all of it once again is that you may be seen in your glory.
SPEAKER_00: Before I close this, if one or two of these hit home for you this morning, would you just raise your hand up?
SPEAKER_00: I'd love to pray for you in closing.
SPEAKER_00: All right, there's several around the room.
SPEAKER_00: Cool.
SPEAKER_00: We're in the right space.
SPEAKER_00: Father, I pray for each of us, myself included.
SPEAKER_00: That you give us the uh the habits to be able to move forward.
SPEAKER_00: And God, bring people into our lives who can help us in the places we have it.
SPEAKER_00: The scripture says, as iron sharpens iron, so are the words of a friend.
SPEAKER_00: Bring these friends in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we thank you.
SPEAKER_00: We love you.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you for our blessings.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you for the cross.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you, God, that we are made right, not by our works, but by your work.
SPEAKER_00: Our salvation is in your hands.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, help us to be good stewards of what you blessed us with, to be the disciples you've called us to be.
SPEAKER_00: In Christ's name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
unknown: Amen.