Series: Making Change... Change of Habit

I'm sorry to post this late as it was last Sunday's sermon, but it was quite a busy week last week and it slipped my mind until now. The season of Lent will do that and it happens quite frequently. But...  I was able to get caught up because today a great friend shared God's message. I'm not sure how I would have done a sermon this week. Thanks Phil... I really appreciate you being with us today.

Mar. 16, 2014                                                                                      

John 3:1-17

A minister was in the habit of telling his little girl a bedtime story before tucking her in. One evening he told her such a thrilling tale her eyes popped open. She sat up in bed studying her father. 'Daddy, do you mean it, or are you just preaching?'
-Robert McClelland, Worldly Spirituality: Biblical Reflections on Money, Politics and Sex (St. Louis, Mo.: CBP Press, 1990), 81.

Prayer:

We are in week 2 of our Lenten Season series, “Making Change.”

Now… we’re not talking about all of the making of change that we do here at Cana or all of the change we make in our lives. We have too… we have to change or we die. Much of this physical or outward change is good and its change we need to make to move forward in our lives and lives of faith.

But this isn’t the change we’re talking about. The change we’re interested in is heart change, and if we are to make the physical change sustainable we will need to have a change of heart as well. We can make all the physical and outward change we want, but unless we have a heart change not of the outward change will last very long.

Last week we reflected on a “Change of Season”… Today our reflection is on “Change of Habit”

All of us have habits… things we do without even thinking about them. Things that we’ve picked up and learned along the way of life. Some of these habits are good…

o    Like… regular bathing… that’s a good habit

o    Like… brushing your teeth.

o    Driving the speed limit.

o    Buckling up.

o    Opening and holding the door for the ladies or others.

o    Covering your mouth when coughing.

o    Saying, please and thank you… etc.

I have a habit of always looking over my wife’s shoulder when she cooks… she doesn’t like that… but I like to cook!!!

And there are bad habits…

o    Like… speeding… someday you’re going to get caught.

o    Like… burping or the other… in public… it’s sort of always a bad habit, but it’s part of life too.

o    Using profanity.

o    Showing up late for work, or drunk, or not prepared.

o    Lying… or gossipy… or always exaggerating.

o    Eating too much food… chips… diet coke… sweets… etc.

Many… if not most of our habits are chosen and we choose to do them. We are aware of most of them and doing most of them… and we know that Bad Habits are hard to break.

Art Holst says in his book, “Wit and Wisdom”… Human beings are creatures of habit. We like to do it the same today as we did it yesterday so we can do it the same tomorrow, because the rut gets comfortable. But, the only difference between a rut and a grace is its length, depth and how long you're in it.
--Art Holst, cited in SourceBook of Wit and Wisdom (Canton, Ohio: Communication Resources, Inc., 1996), 5a.

How might we change our habits?

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians’ urges them to set aside their desires and bad habits. You see… the Galatians’ had some bad habits of using profanity and doing shameful acts…. worshipped idols…. practiced witchcraft… They were a jealous people and did a lot of gossiping as well as others. Kind of sounds like the church….

Paul tells them in Gal. 5:22… “to put on good habits to be Loving, Peaceful, Patient, Good to Others, Faithful, and Self-Controlled. Don’t be jealous or conceited or claim to be better than you are.”  

In the end… Paul says, “If you want to change… embrace the Spirit of God and place him in your heart.”

In the same sense… that is what Jesus is telling Nicodemus in our story today. Nicodemus is befuddled by Jesus’ words of being “Born Again”. Nicodemus is a Pharisee and one who placed judgment upon the people for doing things they shouldn’t.

Nicodemus and Pharisee’s had judgmental bad habits about enforcing The Law.

Matt. 12:1-2… when Jesus and his friends were walking along a field picking grain on the Sabbath. “Some Pharisee’s noticed this and said to Jesus, ‘Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath?’ They are not suppose to do that!”

So when Nicodemus hears ‘Being Born Again’ he can’t seem to wrap his head around that idea. But like his judgmental habits… it’s not about what a person does, but about what is in their heart. What Jesus is telling Nicodemus and us… is to let God into our hearts. Remember… Where your heart is… so will be your treasure.

I’d like to share two stores as we end…

Bad habits seem exempt from the laws of the universe. You can follow all the rules, eat right, exercise daily, sleep well, love your neighbor, love yourself, go to church, be honest with the IRS, give blood, vote, remember your mother's birthday, tell no ethnic jokes, write thank-you notes, recycle, clean your refrigerator, read the Bible, serve dinner at the shelter, wear clean underwear, get your teeth cleaned -- and still have bad habits. Like an obnoxious relative, bad habits just keep showing up again and again.
-- Howard Hanger, Chutzpah! Vision,January 24, 1997, 3.

A man had a habit of grumbling at the food his wife placed before him at family meals. Then he would ask the blessing.
One day after his usual combination complaint-prayer, his little girl asked, “Daddy, does God hear us when we pray?”

“Why, of course,” he replied. “He hears us every time we pray.”

She paused for a moment, and asked, “Does he hear everything we say the rest of the time?”

“Yes, dear, every word,” he replied, encouraged that he had inspired his daughter to be curious about spiritual matters.

However, his pride was quickly turned to humility .... The daughter responded, “Then which does God believe?”
—broadcaster.org.uk/section2/jokes/christianjokes.html. Retrieved May 28, 2008.

My friends… if we are to Make Change in our Hearts… we will need to have a Change of Habit.