SERMON: HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE SPIRITUAL PEOPLE

HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE SPIRITUAL PEOPLE
11 October 2009

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Psalm 116

1. I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
2. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
3. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
4. Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!"
5. The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
6. The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.
7. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
8. For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,
9. that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
10. I believed; therefore I said, "I am greatly afflicted."
11. And in my dismay I said, "All men are liars."
12. How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?
13. I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
14. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
15. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
16. O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant ; you have freed me from my chains.
17. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.
18. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,
19. in the courts of the house of the LORD-- in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD.

-- in 1990, one of the most influential business management books of all time was published by Dr. Stephen Covey -- "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" -- this book revolutionized the way business managers looked at running their companies and managing their people -- before, managers simply looked at the bottom-line and managed people as nothing more than another resource -- another tool -- to increase profits in their business
-- but Covey's book moved management past that and emphasized the value of each individual's efforts in the overall success of the business -- instead of just looking at people as something to be used, Covey suggested that highly effective companies and highly effective and successful people in life had seven habits in common -- all based on valuing the people that worked in their organization -- in fact, Covey argued, these seven habits will not only make you an effective businessman, they will make you a successful person in your personal life as well
-- the seven habits that Covey lists in his books are:
1. Be Proactive -- when problems and obstacles come up in your life, don't waste time blaming people or things -- but focus your energy on moving forward;
2. Begin with the End in Mind -- in other words, have a vision as to where you want to go;
3. Put First Things First -- focus on the steps that you have to take to accomplish your vision -- don't waste time and energy on tasks in the future, but focus on what you need to do today to accomplish this vision;
4. Think Win-Win -- remember other people have goals and visions, too, and work with them to come up with an answer that helps everyone;
5. Seek First to Understand and Then to be Understood -- in other words, you have to know and understand the people that you are working with first and what their needs are before you can explain your own needs -- as John Maxwell said, "No body cares how much you know until they know how much you care";
6. Synergize -- by which he means to bring together everyone in your organization and let them contribute to the overall goal and direction of a project;
7. Sharpen the Saw -- which focuses on self-renewal, including physical, mental, spiritual, and social aspects of life

II. Habits of Highly Effective Spiritual People
-- now when you think about it, there's really nothing ground-breaking in Covey's book -- the seven habits he listed are things that most of us knew we should be doing -- not only in business but in our personal lives as well -- we just had never thought of putting them together like this
-- but sometimes it takes someone like Covey to sit down and synthesize these ideas into one easily readable book that can ignite a spark and start a revival of sorts -- what Covey did here is similar to what Rick Warren did in his book, "The Purpose-Driven Life" -- Warren didn't come up with anything new but simply restated biblical principles in a new way that caught America's attention and revitalized the church
-- thinking about this, I thought it would be helpful for us to take a few moments this morning and do the same thing with our spiritual lives -- you know, I've often said that I don't have an original thought in my head -- that everything I give you is either begged, borrowed, or stolen -- but, truth be told, I think that is true for everything -- I think everything that we know and that we say and that we

do is merely a reflection of God's word played out in our lives and just repackaged in a different way by some author or speaker or preacher

-- so, this morning, I have come up with the "Habits of Highly Effective Spiritual People" based on Psalm 116 -- there's nothing new that I'm going to be giving you here -- you've all heard this before -- but maybe by presenting it in a new light and repackaging it for you in this way -- you might gain some insight into your spiritual life and the Holy Spirit might be able to speak to you and catch your attention on some changes that you need to make
-- these habits are based on this fact -- if you were to study the lives of any great saint -- if you were to read the biographies or study the habits of any person of faith that we look up to -- from the Apostle Paul to Mother Teresa to Billy Graham to St. Augustine or any of the heroes of faith listed in Hebrews 11 -- they all have one thing in common -- they all have followed and applied the three habits of highly effective spiritual people that I have derived from this passage -- #1. Believe and Know God -- #2. Follow and Serve God. -- #3. Praise and Thank God
-- the difference between them and us, though, is that one little word, "habit" -- instead of just giving lip-service to these principles -- instead of just playing at these on Sunday mornings -- these great men and women of God lived them out -- these principles became habits in their lives -- things that they did consistently -- day-in and day-out -- without even thinking about it -- these habits defined their lives -- they energized their walk with Christ and they turned these people into heroes of faith and inspiration for us
-- so, let's take a moment this morning and look at each of these habits individually and consider how we might move from doing these haphazardly in our lives and how we might make them truly part of us as we seek to grow closer to God everyday

a. Habit #1 -- Believe and Know God

1. I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
2. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
3. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
4. Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!"
5. The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
6. The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.


-- when Rick Warren's book, "The Purpose-Driven Life," came out, the first four words in that book captured the attention of America -- "It's Not About Me" -- those four words, more than anything else, set the stage for the success of that book and the plan for life that it contained
-- the opening words here of the Psalmist should do the same for us as we look at the habits of highly effective spiritual people -- "I love the Lord" -- those four words mean so much -- these four words should be what defines us as people and what gives purpose and meaning to our lives -- "I love the Lord"
-- when we say that, we are saying several different things -- first, we are saying that we believe in God -- that is the starting point of any spiritual life -- you have to believe that God is -- you have to believe that God is there -- that He is real -- and that He loves you and has a plan and purpose for your life that is greater than your own -- believing in a personal God who knows you and loves you gives your life meaning
-- Shia LaBeouf is one of Hollywood's best and brightest stars -- for the last several years, he's been at the top of the box office, with movies like Transformers and Indiana Jones -- in fact, the last Transformers movie pulled in over $200M in it's opening weekend -- but, despite being one of Hollywood's highest paid and most productive actors, LaBeouf told an interviewer in June that his life has no real meaning or purpose -- he said -- and I quote -- "Sometimes I feel like I'm living a meaningless life, and I get frightened -- I have no answers to anything -- What is life about? -- I don't know"
-- the message is clear -- faith is essential to finding fulfillment and purpose in life -- believing in God is the first step in that process

-- the second thing we say when we exclaim, "I love the Lord," is that we know God -- in verse 1, the Psalmist says that God heard his cry of mercy -- in verse 2 he says that God turned His ear to him and the he would call on God as long as he lived
-- to love God is to know God -- it is to have a personal relationship with Him -- this means that you can speak to God and know that He hears -- that you can go to God with any of your problems -- with any of your needs -- with any of your worries and cares -- and you know that the God of all the universe -- the Lord God Almighty -- will stop and listen to you and speak back to your heart because He cares
-- when I use the term "know" here, I am not just talking about head-knowledge -- I'm talking about heart-knowledge -- I'm using the term "know" in the same sense that the Bible does when it says that Adam knew Eve -- a better term might be "experienced" -- it means that we know a person intimately, inside and out, with our head and our heart and our emotions and our whole being -- that is what we mean when we say that we know God -- that is what we should be striving for
-- that is why we pray and speak with God -- that is why we read His word -- that is why we listen for His voice in the church and in His people -- so that we can get to know Him better and experience Him in our lives

-- the third thing we imply when we say, "I love the Lord," is that we know what God has done for us -- look back at verse 3

3. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
4. Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!"

-- this was the state of our being before we came to know God -- we were trapped by sin and death -- we were sentenced to eternal separation in outer darkness -- we had no future -- we had no hope
-- but when we cried out for help, God heard us and sent His Son to the earth -- through Jesus' death and resurrection on the cross, our sins have been forgiven and we have been ushered into eternal life with Him -- all we have to do is receive His free gift of salvation
-- the Psalmist said that God was gracious and righteous and full of compassion -- He saw our needs -- He heard our cries -- He had compassion on our souls and He poured out His grace and righteousness into our lives
-- that is why the Psalmist can say, "when I was in great need, He saved me" -- we know and recognize what God has done for us

-- these three things taken together are what we mean when we say "I love the Lord" -- we mean that we believe and know God -- this is the first habit of a highly effective spiritual person

b. Habit #2 -- Follow and Serve God

7. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
8. For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,
9. that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
10. I believed; therefore I said, "I am greatly afflicted."
11. And in my dismay I said, "All men are liars."
12. How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?
13. I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
14. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
15. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
16. O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant ; you have freed me from my chains.

-- the second habit of a highly effective spiritual person is to follow and serve God
-- I recently read a story about the Stephens family in Katy, Texas -- they were going out to eat one day with their 8-year-old son, Tyler, when they passed a homeless man holding a sign -- just like you probably do everyday when you go to town
-- Tyler noticed the man and said, "Let's take that man something to eat" -- Tyler's father looked at the man -- looked at the way he was dressed -- the location where he was sitting -- thought about the fact that it was starting to get late and there wasn't many people around and he replied, "That's a great idea, but it's probably not a safe for us to stop and do that"
-- when they got to the restaurant, Tyler had big tears coming down his cheeks -- when his father asked him why he was crying, Tyler said, "What good is an idea if that's all it ever is?" -- they bought food and carried to to the man

-- I think Tyler's question to his father is one that all of us who name the name of Christ should stop and ask daily -- "What good is an idea if that's all it ever is? -- What good is believing and knowing God if we do nothing more?" -- ideas -- and Christians -- without action are useless
-- to truly live out the Christian life -- to be a highly effective person in our spiritual lives -- we have to put our faith in action -- we have to do more than get saved and sit in the pews -- we have to pick up our cross and follow Christ and serve Him by serving others
-- look back at verse 7

7. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
8. For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,
9. that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
10. I believed; therefore I said, "I am greatly afflicted."
11. And in my dismay I said, "All men are liars."
12. How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?

-- the Psalmist points out that God has done so much for him -- He delivered his soul from death -- He wiped away the tears from his eyes -- He put his feet on a firm path
-- thinking about how good God has been to him, the Psalmist asks, "What can I do in return? -- how can I show Him my love?" -- and then he answers the question
-- verse 13

13. I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
14. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
15. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
16. O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant ; you have freed me from my chains.

-- I will call on the name of the Lord -- I will fulfill my vows -- I will serve Him

-- I heard a story this week about a Greek professor who had survived the atrocities committed by the Nazis in his homeland during World War II -- as a result he had dedicated his life to establishing an institute to heal the wounds of war among his countrymen and women.
-- at the end of his presentation at the conference, he reached in his worn leather billfold and pulled out a very small round mirror
-- as he held the mirror up, he explained what it was all about -- One day when he was a small child during World War II, there was a battle in his hometown with the Germans -- after the battle, he found the broken pieces of a mirror from a German motorcycle laying on the road near his house
-- he took the largest piece and began to smooth it down by rubbing the edges on a rock and ended up with this small round mirror that he kept in his wallet
-- the professor said that he became fascinated by the fact that he could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine – in deep holes and crevices and dark closets -- It became a game for him to try to get light into the most inaccessible places -- over the years, he kept the little mirror, and would take out from time to time and continue the challenge.
-- he said, "I grew to understand that this was not just a child’s game, but a metaphor for what I might do with my life. -- I came to understand that I am not the light or even the source of light. But light – as truth, understanding, and knowledge – is there, and it will only shine in many dark places if I reflect it. -- I can be the reflected light that changes people.”

-- this is what God wants from us -- He wants us to reflect His light and shine it into the darkness of this world by following and serving Him where He leads -- there's a lot of darkness in America today -- you don't have to look far to find it -- and our calling as Christians is to speak life into death -- to shine light into the dark
-- the life of every great hero of the faith was characterized by this one simple fact -- they cared about others and they served God by serving those who needed their help -- as Christians, we should be striving to meet the physical and spiritual needs of others -- this means more than just throwing money at ministry -- this means getting your hands dirty -- going into the places where Jesus went when He was here -- visiting the people Jesus visited when He was here -- ministering to and serving them and meeting both their physical and spiritual needs
-- before you leave here today, ask yourself the question, "Where is God calling me to serve? -- Where is God calling this church to serve?" -- and then go out and do it

-- there was a recent study published in Current Biology -- we've always heard that people who are lost tend to walk in circles -- and so these scientists devised an experiment to find out if it was true or not -- they put volunteers in the middle of a forest in Germany and in the middle of a desert in Tunisia
-- when they could see the sun or the moon or some elevated distant landmark, they could move in a straight line -- but when cloud-cover or moonless nights prevailed, the hikers began walking

hopeless circles -- the authors of the study concluded that people need absolute cues such as the sun or moon to keep going forward
-- that's what following and serving God does for a Christian -- it keeps us from going on circles -- it keeps us from going round and round and walking and getting nowhere -- following and serving God puts our path on the path and helps us move forward and become more mature in our faith -- it gives direction and purpose to our faith
-- that is why following and serving God is the second habit of highly effective spiritual people

c. Habit #3 -- Praise and Thank God (verses 17-19)
-- the final habit of highly effective spiritual people is to praise and thank God -- look back at verse 17

17. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.
18. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,
19. in the courts of the house of the LORD-- in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD.

-- verse 17 calls to mind one of the praise songs that we occasionally sing in church -- "We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord" -- remember that? -- this song and this verse remind of something that I think we've forgotten -- praising and thanking God for what He has done is a sacrifice that we offer to Him
-- under the Old Testament law, the people of Israel were required to offer specific sacrifices to God periodically -- these included sacrifices for sin -- sacrifices for the birth of a child -- or sacrifices of thanksgiving for something God had done in their lives
-- because of the way worship has evolved the years, we tend to approach worship passively now -- just look around you -- the setting of the church encourages passivity -- the congregation sits in pews focused at the front -- just like you were audience at a concert or play or movie -- and it implies that all the action takes place up here -- and that your role is just to view it and enjoy it -- this is especially true in larger churches where there is less interaction between the worship team and the congregation
-- but that's not what God intended our worship to look like -- our worship should be both corporate and personal -- when we come to church on Sunday, we should be approaching it as an offering to God -- we should come in reverence and awe and offer up our whole being in praise and thanksgiving as a living sacrifice to God
-- worship on Sunday morning should be a time when we come together as one body and one people and tell God, "Here we are -- we are yours -- do with us as You will -- because of everything that You have done, we offer ourselves to You -- we are fully and wholly Yours"
-- when we come together to worship, the sole question on our minds and in our hearts should be, "How can I praise God today? How can I experience God today?" -- we should always come to church as active participants -- not passive observers
-- however, this final spiritual habit is not just reserved for Sunday mornings -- it is to be a way of life -- we should be constantly thanking and praising God with our voices and with our hearts and with our actions
-- Terry Tekyll, the author of "The Presence-Driven Church," says that we should make a practice of singing hymns to God throughout the day -- as we drive from place to place -- as we go about our daily activities -- because when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God, our souls draw near to Him and He draws near to us
-- the lives of the spiritual giants that we know and read about are characterized by times of praise and thanksgiving -- just look at the Psalms -- just read through Paul's epistles -- and you'll see passage after passage where they cry out to God in praise and thanksgiving
-- praise and thanksgiving energizes our walk with God and keeps the focus of our life on Him -- that's why this is the third habit of highly effective spiritual people



III. Closing
-- The Barlow Girls are a contemporary Christian band -- a group of sisters who are really burning up the Christian charts right now -- their most recent song is called, "Beautiful Ending" -- it is a song that asks a question, "At the end of my life, will it be beautiful?"
-- in other words, when you look back at your Christian life -- when you look back at a lifetime of walking with God -- what will you see?
-- will you see random circles and broken promises? -- will you see a life that looks like a rollercoaster -- with many ups and downs and no consistencies? -- will you see a life that failed to accomplish great things for God?
-- or, will your life be beautiful? -- will it have been effective and successful? -- will it have made a difference in the life of someone else?

-- that is our goal with the three habits of highly effective spiritual people -- to live a life pleasing to God and to end life well -- to stand before the throne of God and have Jesus say to us, "Well done, good and faithful servant"

-- this week, my challenge to you is to think about these three spiritual habits and to compare them to your life right now -- are you living your life to its fullest potential? -- are you actively living out these three spiritual habits in your life? -- and, if not, will you make whatever changes you need to to move forward with Christ?
-- let us pray