Living With Holy Habits

The Life You’ve Always Dreamed Of: Holy Habits
Matthew 6 Mount Pisgah Allen R. Hunt 1/28/07
I. Middle School BB – been a real learning experience for me
Been a while since my glory days in middle school hoops – but some things are timeless
Played game last week – lost by a point in OT
Simple reason - 7 for 22 – free throws – ouch
In fact, 8 of 9 games, been outshot at free throw line
Teaching guys simple fact – free throws win games

Mark Price – best free throw shooter in history. Averaged over 90.4% - 11 years
How do you do it?
“Do the same thing every time.” Habit
Key to a lot of things

II. One of closest friends in HS - Scott
Loved sailing – family bought a boat – had it over on Tampa Bay and gulf
Occasionally I’d go with them – what little I know about sailing, learned watching them
Nice boat – well maintained – but it could do nothing by itself
Every time we went, we had to get it out of its slip, we had to raise the mast and hoist the sails, we had to motor out of the marina and into the waters before we could sail at all
In order to go anywhere, we had to position the sails in way to catch the wind
No wind, no go
Up to us to position sails to capture the power of the wind
Could have had best boat in the world, great maps, but without wind, nothing
Your life is like that also
This series about getting life you’ve always dreamed of – life God designed you for
And sailing is the perfect metaphor for this

Week 1: Enlarge your vision to God’s vision for your life = Destination
Week 2: Let go(d) of the past in order to step into the future = Anchor
Week 3: Holding to Healthy Habits through self-control = Rudder
Week 4: God’s power in your life comes through holy habits = Learning to Sail
Because the power belongs to God
Try to do it all by yourself – will be futile and frustrating
Holy Spirit blowing all around you – plenty of wind
But up to you to catch it – to position your life in order to capture that power

And that is where holy habits come in
Becoming holy so that habits form us rather than distract us or draw us away
Matthew 6 is entire chapter of instruction about your holy habits
3 chapters of Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 – greatest sermon ever preached
How to capture the power of God in your life

III. 7 Channels to Experience God’s Grace: Methodist “Methods” or Holy Habits
1) Prayer (Matthew 6.5-8; 7.7-11; Luke 11.13; 18.1-5)
Notice that Jesus assumes – “When you pray”
Takes it for granted – this is the first habit
Notice also the motive – not to impress others or be seen or known
Motive – simply to be with God

2) Searching the Scriptures (James 1.22-25; 2 Tim. 3.16; Acts 17.11-12)
Obvious but bears repeating – Word of God
Jesus tempted – sustained by Word of God

3) Holy Communion (Acts 20.7; Luke 24.13-35; 1 Cor. 10.15-17; 11.23-28)
Max – was serving communion
Young man usually came and sat in back – new to church.
Christmas Eve – he finally received communion –said, “Thank you”
“No, thank God”
Integral to worship since first century – persecuted for insane idea about body and blood
John Wesley – received communion every day as his habit
God specially present during this – available each week at 8, part of every series of messages, and after every worship

4) Giving (Matthew 6.1-4; 6.19-24)
Interesting how Jesus twice addresses giving in this chapter
Prayer once, fasting once, but giving twice
Jesus spent more time talking about money than any other subject – because we have deaf ears – fail to understand enormous power of money

One pastor in children’s sermon – watch out, they answer honestly
Talking about things money cannot buy – laughter, love
“What would you say if I offered you $1000 not to love your mother or father?”
Silence until little boy, “What would you give me not to love my sister?”
Understood enormous power of money – can do enormous good or shipwreck your life

Giving is a way to experience God’s grace
SarahAnn and Promise pledge - $10/month for 3 years – worried how she would ever be able to do that – half her allowance and that’s a lot - $360 over three years
Got her giving statement the other day – after 2.5 years, totals $405 – part-time work here, babysitting there, giving along the way – amazed at how God honored her faith

5) Fasting (Matthew 6.16-18)
Again, Jesus assumes – “When you fast…”
Forgotten – in video, “Who does that anymore?”
Early Christians did it every Friday
John Wesley – every Wed. and Friday
Amazing power of fasting – reveals what controls you, to open you up to God’s voice
Next week’s message will give you details on how to tap the incredible power God has waiting for you through fasting

6) Acts of Mercy (Mark 10.45; Matthew 10; 1 John 3.17)
Mount Pisgah - greatest church I know in understanding that Church exists for others
Angel Tree, NFCC, MHCC, Habitat, New Hope mission, and list goes on
But reason we do that – not to be nice – not to be seen or known – but to experience God’s grace when we do so
Habit – holy habit – trying to catch some of Gods wind, breath, Spirit

7) Koinonia (Community) (Heb. 10.24-25)
Faith is a team sport
Often the use image of a bonfire – together, the logs blaze, give off warmth and light
Take one log away by itself, will glow for a while
But eventually, not surrounded by others, will cool, and fire goes out
Holy habit – experience God’s power through other believers in genuine fellowship

I met Caj Sheehan when living in CT.
He was a Catholic priest near where we lived.
I was a student looking to get out of New England as quickly as I could.
He was 89 years old, I was not even yet 30.
Watched him from afar – lived with a group of other priests.
They met twice each day – morning and evening for prayer – others came when they could – Caj was always there.
I occasionally stopped by the little chapel to have some quiet time as walked to or from school to home. Occasionally saw a few others – always saw Caj. Habit

Each time I saw him, asked about my health (not good), wife (quite good) and children.
Always said in his New England curmudgeonly way, “Well, I’ve been praying for all of you.” I knew he had. Habit

Caj spent 60 years serving as pastor of churches before he retired.
When he retired, secretary of church where he lived always knew that if someone needed an emergency visit, Caj wanted to go – 89 years old. Mercy - habit
Wore the same clothes he had worn for nearly 30 years – he took his small pension each month – and placed it in the Poor Box – Giving a habit
Church where he lived provided all he needed – and he figured that was enough.

Never forget day I stopped by to pray – ran into Caj – knew praying for a friend of ours.
Saw him – his head was swollen with a big bruise on it, said, ‘Caj, what happened?’
‘Oh I was in the prayer chapel, fell asleep, and hit my head on the railing.’

Caj had a loyalty to Christ that comes only with time.
Could tell by looking at his eyes that Caj in a word was holy.
Holy because day in and out – week after week – year after year, Caj knew how to sail
For the most important race of all – race for Christ, for God, race that leads to eternal life
So today Caj is wearing his crown
Destination, anchor, rudder, and technique
Invite you to the same – when Lent begins in a few weeks – decide now
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