09 Oct Hopes & Habits (Because you can’t have uphill hopes and downhill habits) Part 7

Posted at 17:56h in Uncategorized by

A few years ago I was caught in an oceanic rip current.  I was almost instantly shot out into the ocean about 75 yards from the shore!  I am a very good swimmer (I used to be a lifeguard when I was a young man) and I did not panic and knew exactly what to do.  In a rip current, you cannot swim against the current or you will exhaust yourself and eventually drown. You have to cut across it.

So I did just that and swam to shore but I must admit, I was pretty tired by the time I swam to safety.  As a pastor I watch a lot of people “swimming against the current”. They eventually become exhausted and “drown” in their marriage, finances, health, etc.  So many people have uphill hopes but downhill habits.

Over the last number of months we have shared with you “8 Habit Helpers”:

    1. Hope is not a strategy (Heb. 6:19).  
    2. The things we do and the things we should do don’t always line up (Rom. 7:19).
    3. The two greatest gaps in life are “wanting and having” and “knowing and doing”.  If you’ll close the second gap, the first gap will automatically close.
    4. We are what we repeatedly do.  
    5. We form our habits then our habits form us.
    6. Always point your saying, sowing and serving in the same direction.
    7. Always point your mouth, money and ministry in the same direction.  Again, this is the same principle as #6 but said in a little different way.
    8. Habit will take you further than desire.

Then we shared with you “3 Different Dynamics”:

  1. Renew your hope (Prov. 13:12).
  2. Repent from your past (Rom. 2:4).
  3. Redefine your habits (Heb. 5:13-14).

Then we finally shared with you “Four Biblical Habits” that will radically change your life:

  1. Focus on firsts (Matt. 6:33).

Four “First” Facets:

  1. What you do first reveals who you are.
  2. Whatever you prize you will prioritize.
  3. Whatever you put first you set up to meet your needs.
  4. First things have power

Join us this month as we continue in our series…