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*“SO I’M A** CHRISTIAN…NOW WHAT?”*
*#2: “The Power of Habits”*
Pastor Greg Henneman
February 11, 2007
Text: Colossians 3
Theme: Christ can change your life –if you cooperate!
Goal: To inspire us develop the basic habits that will help us grow spiritually.
*Introduction*
Last month we talked about WHY I AM A CHRISTIAN.
We looked at various worldviews such as atheism, Hinduism, and Islam.
And we learned that the Christian worldview makes the most sense.
You don’t have to put your mind into neutral to be a Christian.
You don’t have to be stupid to follow Jesus Christ.
This month I want to follow up that series and talk about SO I’M A CHRISTIAN, NOW WHAT?
Ok, so I’m not an atheist.
I’m not a Hindu.
I’m not a Muslim.
I believe that following Jesus Christ makes sense.
I’ve taken that step of faith and I’ve asked Christ into my heart.
I look to the cross and I say, “Thank you Lord!
I believe that you died for my sins.
Come in to my life and let’s do life together!”
That’s great!
So I’m a Christian!
NOW WHAT?
What does that really mean?
How does that change my life?
Last Sunday Pastor Bonita started this series when she talked about the FIVE ESSENTIALS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.
She talked about five major habits that Jesus gave us that will transform our lives and help us grow closer to God.
We’ll look at those five essentials briefly again today.
But today I want to emphasize the POWER OF HABITS.
Habits are amazing.
Have you ever thought about the power of habits?
Habits help us do things without thinking, like brushing your teeth or tying your shoes.
When a little kid is learning to tie her shoes, she’ll stick her tongue out and have to focus and think, “Now this loop over here, and then this one.”
But after a while it because a habit and she can do it without thinking!
You ever try to brush your teeth with your opposite hand?
It’s difficult!
I tried it the other day because I was thinking about habits.
No problem with my right hand: back and forth, up and down.
Easy!
But with my left hand, woe! Up…down…this way…and it’s so slow!
*Illust:* How many of you, sometime when the electric was out, you kept flipping the switch when you walked into a room?
We’ve all done that, right.
Electric is out for a couple of hours at home.
You walk from the living room into the kitchen and flip the switch.
“Oh man!
I knew the electric’s out!
Why’d I do that?”
Habit!
Habits are powerful!
*Illust:* A lady named Rose wrote to Dear Abby…
Dear Abby: I am forty-four years old and would like to meet a man my age with no bad habits.
-- Rose
Abby wrote back: Dear Rose: So would I. (BI Habits)
We can have good habits and we can have bad habits.
Someone said, “We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.”
That’s true!
Thousands of people start to smoke, thinking they can quit whenever they want; but it becomes such a habit they can’t break it!
Habits are powerful!
*Illust:* It’s interesting how the habits differ between the generations.
People over 35 generally know their Social Security numbers by heart.
People under 35 memorize their credit card numbers.
People under 15 generally have all the cable channels memorized.
(BI Habit)
Habits.
Everybody has them.
*Turn in your Bibles to Colossians 3 and take out your outline.
*
*Let’s talk about some powerful habits that Jesus wants to build into our lives.*
So you’re a Christian, now what?
What do you do?
How do you live?
What needs to change?
What doesn’t need to change?
*READ COLOSSIANS 3:1-4.*
In the first two chapters of Colossians Paul has talked about the centrality and the sufficiency of Christ.
Christ is the center of God’s plan!
Christ is sufficient to meet all your needs.
So don’t let that philosophy teacher get you sidetracked!
All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ!
Don’t get caught up in some New Age stuff where they want to give you a bunch of extras.
“Oh you need Christ and these rituals.
You need Christ and these special secrets.
You need Christ and these rules and regulations.”
No!
You have fullness in Christ!
You are in Christ and Christ is in you.
And your baptism meant that just as Christ died /for/ your sins and rose again, you are to die /to/ your sins and rise to a new kind of life!
Beginning in chapter 3 Paul says, “Since you have been raised with Christ”…here’s what you need to do.
You’ll see on your outline that I’ve shaped what Paul says around the word GROW.
Here are four things we need to do in order to grow in our relationship with Christ…
*G – Get new habits.*
/Colossians 3:1-4 “…set your hearts on things above…set your minds on things above…”/
What’s he talking about?
He’s talking about your heart!
He’s talking about your mind!
Your heart used to be set on certain things and your mind used to be focused on certain things.
But now that Christ is in you, he wants to change your heart and your mind so that you become more in tune with God’s agenda and God’s purposes in the world!
You see, being a Christian is NOT a new law to follow but a new life to experience!
God didn’t give us a set of ideas to kick around and debate.
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