Scripture: Galatians 6:1-10; Jeremiah 18:1-4
Title: Ordinary Day Breakthroughs
Sermon thesis: The LORD uses our ordinary days to develop our character, our faith and our spiritual strength so that we may be able to reflect His glory and live an Abundant Life here on this Good Earth.
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
I want to talk to you today about being faithful in the ordinary. That is to say, being faithful in the normal every day to day living. I want to talk to you today about how to not only be faithful but to grow as you go about your normal everyday routine of living life.
It is easy today to get caught up in doing “big” things for God, feeling “big things” for God or experiencing “big” things for God. It’s easy for us to want to go from one big event to another big event. We tend to give our attention to those who are able to fill stadiums and church buildings and those who are able to write best selling books or create music that quickly become #1 hits.
We turn on the T.V. or go onto the internet and we can see all kinds of highlight reels of the day – the biggest hits in baseball, the touchdown catches in football and the last second shots in basketball. We see the newest sensation on The Voice, American Idol or The World of Dance and we begin to think why couldn’t that be us or at least someone in our family. We see someone win the big prize on Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune and we wonder why couldn’t that be us or one of our family? Why doesn’t something big happen in our lives?
When we begin to focus so much on all the big moments, we lose the power of everyday, ordinary faithfulness. The power of the Gospel is not always communicated most clearly in stadiums or churches that seat thousands. It is communicated most clearly when Christ followers are living out a life of holiness in their everyday lives. When they are being a witness of the abundant life in their ordinary everyday lives.
The power of the Christian Life is more than all the big moments that we experience. The Power of the Christian life is in the ordinary everyday moments. The moments of taking care of sheep on the hillside, the moments of picking up grain off the ground, the moments of walking from this city to that city and of taking care of a loved one day after day. That is what we find as we read our Bibles – we find the power of everyday ordinary life moments.
There are times that we may feel like we are going around in circles. Moments we feel like the clay in the potter’s hand that goes around and around and around on the potter’s wheel. We think that nothing is really happening. That all we are doing is wasting time. That all we are doing is watching the spiritual paint dry all around us.
When that happens, we tend to lose our passion. When that happens, we tend to get discouraged. When that happens, we tend to get bored with God. When that happens if we are not careful, we will find ourselves slipping away from God. But that is the case at all.
What is really happening is God is working around us, on us and in us. In the midst of our going to work, raising our children or grandchildren, washing the dishes, mowing the yard, fixing meals, folding the laundry, shopping for groceries things are happening. We may not know it, but things are happening on the inside of us and on the outside as well.
We have to learn how to enjoy the everyday pace of things. We have to understand that the Christian Life is not a sprint. It is not even a marathon. It is a life long journey that God has designed to take us through this life to fully experience everlasting life.
The truth is this morning we don’t need to worry about being special. We are already special. We are already God’s masterpieces. We are already children of the Lord God Almighty. We are already Citizens of Heaven. We are already united with the LORD in our hearts, minds and souls.
So, enjoy your job. Take care of your family. Clean your house. Read your Bible. Attend worship. Pray. Be watchful. Seek to do good. Love your family – your spouse, your children, your grandchildren. Be generous. Laugh. Enjoy your meals. Be honest. Be kind. Live each day the best you can and remember these three things:
1. In the midst of doing ordinary things the LORD is developing our character.
The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 17 that David was anointed to be the next King of Israel. He was just a boy, but in God’s eyes he was already Israel’s next king. He had a king’s anointing. But as you read David’s story you don’t read where in chapter 18 that King Saul abdicates the throne and welcomes David as the next king.
What you do read is chapter after chapter of David doing all kinds of things. He goes back and takes care of his father’s sheep. He defeats Goliath. He becomes the son-in-law of King Saul. He develops a life long relationship with Prince Jonathan. He becomes a mighty warrior. He even for a time becomes a fugitive as King Saul decides that David was his enemy. He goes and lives in the land of the Philistines for a short time.
Now, all that time David had a king’s anointing. And yet he was taking care of sheep, playing music before King Saul and being friends with Jonathan. He could have thought God had forgotten him, but the truth is, God was preparing him day after day to not just have the anointing but have the character of a king. God was daily guiding and helping David develop the character of a man after God’s own heart.
The Bible tells us that it is a couple of decades before David is able to ascend to the throne. That means it was somewhere in the neighborhood of over 7,300 days before David was called King David.
Focus on that for a moment – 7, 300 days.
Twenty years of getting up each morning and doing what you need to do – learning how to be a warrior, learning how to be a leader, learning how to run a government, learning how to work with people from other countries, learning how to listen to the voice of God and learning how to be a good husband and father.
The Apostle James tells us that through the every day pressures of life – the trials, the burdens, the stresses, the joys and successes our character is developed (James 1:2-4). It is through those things that our character is deepened. It is through those things that the Lord enables us to be the person that He desires for us to be. It is through those things that we mature and become complete in the LORD JESUS.
That is what happened to the Prophet Daniel. Daniel did not become the mighty man of God that we read about in Daniel chapters 6, 9 and 10 overnight. No, it happened as he lived day by day. It happened as he practiced a life of holiness day after day. It happened as he became a man of prayer and faithfulness day after day.
The Bible tells us that around the age of 15 is when Daniel and his three friends choose not to eat and live by the king’s liberal standards. Now, we would consider that a big event.
But it would be another 15 – 20 years before King Nebuchadnezzar would have his dream that Daniel was able to interpret. It would be another 12 years before Daniel would interpret the next major dream. It would be another 20 years or more before he would interpret the handwriting on the wall and still another 10 years before he had to face the lion’s den. All in all, that is about five major events in approx. 70 years or more. While there could have been more the truth is our “big” moments tend to be years apart rather than days apart.
We have a habit of reading the stories of the saints in the Bible and condensing their lives to believe that each day the water was parted, the sun stood still, or the walls came tumbling down. We tend to think of things happening each day to Abraham, Moses, Ruth, David and Esther when the truth be told they lived like we do – day by day, moment by moment.
Life is made up of more than a few major events in our lives. It is made up by all the little things that happen in our lives. God uses the everyday mundane moments in our lives to develop us. God uses the everyday events of our lives to teach us how to be faithful, true and trusting. Sanctification is not simply a once and for all surrendered automatic decision. It is a process of becoming each day more and more like Jesus. It is becoming a mature Christlike follower day after day after day.
That is why all the little decisions we make are important. With each decision we develop a little bit more of our character. We sow a seed into our personality that takes root and grows. We sow a habit that in turns becomes a part of our personality.
Years ago, in the NBA there was an ongoing debate about practicing. Some players thought they didn’t need to practice. They believed that once you became a star all you needed to do was to go out and play basketball. Others who were smarter knew better. They knew that in order to be good you had to put in practice time – practicing your shot, running laps, dribbling and learning new plays.
They knew that the only way to become a great basketball player was to practice, practice some more and then after you do that practice even more. They knew that it would mean standing in an empty gym while others went home refining your shot, practicing your dribbling or working out in the weight room. They knew that it would mean running lap after lap so that in the game you didn’t tire out easily. Those who understood those truths had careers that lasted longer, were more fulfilling and found themselves at the top of their game.
The same is true for us. Each day gives us the opportunity to build our character, our Christian mindset and our Christian witness. When we are faithful in our everyday lifestyle, we will be ready when the LORD calls on us. We will be able to experience exceptional days. We will be able to allow the Holy Spirit to flow through us because He become a part of our spiritual DNA.
II. In the midst of doing ordinary things we build our spiritual strength
In the midst of being faithful, of doing the right things day after day we also find ourselves continually building our spiritual strength. We find ourselves discovering more and more how to work with the power of the Holy Spirit that has come into our lives and resides with us.
That is what happened to Elisha.
When we first meet him, he is a wealthy farmer’s boy (1 Kings 19:19ff).
He is plowing alongside the other men with his own team of oxen. It has never occurred to him that he would become Elijah’s assistant. It has never occurred to him that one day he would become one of the greatest prophets to have ever lived on the earth. He was just a farmer’s boy doing what farmer’s boys do – plow, plant, harvest and repeat.
Then came the day when Elijah came near him and told him that God wanted him to become his assistant. And for years that is what Elisha did. Whatever the prophet told him to do he did it. They traveled together, they prayed together, and they taught together. All during that time Elisha was in the background watching and learning. All that time he was not only developing his character he was developing his spiritual strength. He watched as Elijah had to deal with idolatry, greed, lying and other sins. He watched as Elijah had to stand up to evil and defeat it time and time again. He watched as Elijah lived out this amazing life of holiness, favor and blessing.
Then came the day when it was revealed to him that Elijah would be going to heaven. The prophet went to this city and that city doing his best to get away by himself, but Elisha would have none of it. He had developed his spiritual and physical muscles that each time Elijah set out he was right there behind him.
Finally, it came time for Elijah to be carried up in the chariot and when Elijah asked what Elisha wanted it was a double portion – He wanted to be the next prophet but not just the next prophet, he wanted to have a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. He wanted to do more than even Elijah had done. Now, talk about wanting to do great things. The Bible tells us that the LORD answered his prayers.
Over the rest of his life he would do twice as many miracles as Elijah did. He would face kings, armies and all kinds of difficulties. He would help a widow save her children from slavery, he would raise the Shunammite’s boy from the dead, he would purify a deadly stew and bring healing to Naaman the leper. He would be able to reveal to his servant the army of the LORD and be instrumental in defeating the Syrian army.
None of this happened by accident. It happened because day by day Elisha allowed God to develop not only his character but to teach him how to be strong in the LORD. Each day he would ask God to give him more power. Each day he would ask God to help him live in that power. Each day he would place himself at God’s disposal. Each day he would do all he could to receive God’s blessings and anointing.
Each day he would spend time in prayer. There were days he spent in solitude with the LORD. Other days he spent pouring himself into his students in his schools of prophets. Other days that he spent pouring himself into others that needed him. There were days he spent fasting and seeking God with all his heart, mind and soul.
The truth is we all have to flex our spiritual muscles if we want to be mighty warriors for the LORD. We need to practice the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, celebration, solitude, study, meditation and sharing. We need to allow the LORD to have full access to our hearts, our minds and our souls and then watch as He disciplines us and prunes things in and out of our lives.
The Bible tells us that we are to allow the LORD to help us renew our minds (Romans 12:1).
That means that we must actively give our minds over to the LORD and also check on what we are putting in our minds. We must guard our minds and think only on those things which are above and not dwell solely on those things that are below (Colossians 3:1-2).
That means we must allow the LORD to bring to the surface the gifts that He has already given us. This is what the Apostle Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:3 – 7.
Timothy was not allowing what God had put inside of him to come out on the outside. Timothy had been given certain gifts and spiritual powers that he was allowing the world and evil to keep tamped down. He was not working in his strength areas. He was not flexing his spiritual muscles. He was not becoming all that the LORD wanted him to be.
Paul tells Timothy to fan into flame the gift of God. Fan into flame the gift that God had given Timothy when Paul had laid his hands on him in prayer. Fan into flame the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In other words, exercise those spiritual gifts. Get busy exercising those spiritual muscles. Get busy becoming stronger in the LORD.
This is what the Apostle Paul was writing about in his letter to the Ephesians when he tells them that they are to no longer be children but to be mature in their walk with the LORD (Ephesians 4:14). They were to no longer allow evil and the world to toss them around. They were to develop the spiritual strength to stand up to evil – to stand up the wiles of the Devil – to stand up to the Devil when he tries his best to destroy them, cause chaos, confusion and division. They were to be able to stand up the Devil’s temptation and lies.
There are so many people who get tossed around by evil. There are so many churches that get tossed around by evil. The slightest thing trips them up and causes them not to be united but to be divided. The slightest thing causes them to question one another and to no longer unite under the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
We have to put on God’s armor, and it takes strength to do that. We have to pray for strength, we have to discipline our bodies, our minds and our hearts. We have to press forward toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We have to stand firm and once we stand firm stand some more. We have to fight the good fight and be a workman who will be approved by the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
All of those things do not happen automatically. None of those things happen by accident. They all are a result of us allowing the LORD to strengthen us through His blessings, anointings, discipline, pruning and saturating us with His Holy Spirit.
It is easy to get fat and lazy as followers of Jesus. It is easy for us to allow things to slide.
That is what happen to the High Priest Eli. At first, he allowed the LORD to develop his character and give him strength. For years he was a great example of what God could do in and through a person. But then over the years he got lazy. He allowed himself to get comfortable. He allowed his sons to do evil. By the time he was in his 70 – 80’s he no longer was a man of impeccable character. He no longer was a man of vision but was a man who could no longer see what the LORD wanted him to see.
As a result, he and his family lost the ability to be priests. He and his sons were killed on the same day. His daughter in law went into labor and called her son – Ichabod – which means the glory of the LORD has left. Eli and his sons had a horrible ending because they did not take the time to build their character or to strengthen their souls.
It could have all been different. If only Eli would have allowed God to walk with him day by day. If only his sons would have listened to the LORD as He did His best to correct them and show them the right way to live. Their disastrous end did not have to happen at all.
That is why it is so important for us to listen to the HOLY SPIRIT. That is why it is so important for us to do our best to not grieve the Holy Spirit.
Once again, the Bible tells us that we are the clay in God’s hands. And on many days, it might seem like all God is doing is causing us to go around and around in circles. There may even be those days that we want to tell the LORD – “Would you stop spinning us”. “Would you do something great in our lives.” “Would you let us get off this wheel and do something.”
But we have to realize that when God has us on His wheel, He is shaping us and molding us into His image. He is moving us a little here and a little there. He is causing us to rise higher. He is preparing us to be a vessel of honor. He is preparing us to be a vessel that He can pour in His Holy Spirit. He is preparing us to be a vessel that will have the character and the strength to bring peace, healing, joy and salvation to the lives of others.
There are days that it seems that all that the LORD has for us to do is to sit around on some shelf. We know that we are off the spinning wheel, but we don’t feel as if we have any use anymore. We don’t believe that there is anything more for us to do. We wonder why we are still around.
On those days we need to remember the story of Simeon in the New Testament. Simeon waited patiently for years for the Messiah to come to the Temple. Each day he would get up and spend time in prayer, in meditation and in reading the Scriptures. Each day he would go about doing his daily duties and wait on the LORD. Each day he would wake up thinking that this might be the day that the LORD would reveal to him the Messiah.
And so, each day he made sure that he did his best to be ready to meet the Messiah. Each day he had to make sure he could walk to the Temple, go up all those steps and be ready to meet the Messiah. He made sure that his body would be ready. He kept his mind sharp because he knew when he meets the Messiah he wanted to have the right words to say. He kept his heart right because he knew he would be in the presence of the Messiah.
Ancient Bible scholars tells us that Simeon was over 150 years years old when he finally was able to meet the Messiah. He had lived a long life like the Patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He had taken care of himself so that he would be ready to meet the Messiah.
And we all know that day came when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to be dedicated. Waiting for Jesus was Simeon – old as dirt but strong as a rock, old as dirt but with a keen mind and old as dirt but with a heart given over to the LORD. Simeon was ready to meet Jesus because he had not only allowed the LORD to develop his character but had worked with the Lord to be strong in body, mind and soul.
Each day he had done what was necessary to be a warrior for the LORD. Each day he had put aside some time to have some God talk, to read the Word, to study the Word, to talk to others and to pour his life into others.
Do you realize what a witness Simeon was to Mary and Joseph? Do you realize how key his words were to Mary? Do you realize that by him being a man of character, a man of great spiritual strength that he was like an angel coming down from heaven announcing to them that Yes – Jesus is the Messiah. Yes – you and Joseph are God’s favored ones. Yes – you are the mother of the Son of God.
Simeon’s ability to bring about a blessing was amazing. Everyone knew that there was something about this old man. You could see it in his face and hear it in his voice. He had waited for this moment and he was not going to waste it. He had spent a life time developing his character for this moment. He had spent a life time being strong enough to be God’s mouth piece.
None of us knows how many times the LORD is going to use us. None of us knows exactly what God can do through us at any age.
In the Bible we see that God used teenagers like Daniel, David and Hezekiah.
In the Bible we see that God used single mothers like Hagar.
In the Bible we see that God used married couples like Priscilla and Aquilla and Isaac and Rebekah.
In the Bible we see that God used widows like Naomi and Anna.
In the Bible we see that God used senior adults like Abraham, Sarah, Moses and Caleb.
The key in each of those cases is that each day they allowed God to walk with them, discipline them when necessary, prune them when necessary and fill them with His Holy Spirit.
When you feel like you are going around in circles remember it was going around in circles that God used the Israelites to bring down the stronghold – the walls of Jericho.
When you feel like you are no longer of any use – remember it was the prayers of the Apostle John when he was in his 80’s and 90’s that opened up the windows of Heaven and revealed to John some of the prophecies of the Last Days.
When you feel like you don’t want to pray, fast, celebrate, study, meditate, share and learn remember how much God was able to change Saul into Paul and bring about the salvation of thousands of people in the Early Church.
Ordinary days are not really that ordinary. They just look that way to us. They are God’s ways of developing our character. They are God’s way of being able to plant seeds of spiritual gifts, graces and blessings in our lives. They are God’s way of being able to remove what is necessary so that He can fill us with more and more of His Holy Spirit.
Ordinary days are days that God uses to accomplish the extra ordinary.
David started out that day just taking cheese to his brothers. Just an ordinary day but then God used him to bring about a mighty victory for Israel.
Esther started out that day to just have lunch with her husband. Just an ordinary day but then God used that day to bring about the downfall of Israel’s biggest enemy Haman and the promotion of her uncle Mordecai.
Peter started off that day just cleaning his nets after a long night of fruitless fishing. He ended by not only have a boat load of fish but becoming a part of Jesus’ evangelistic team.
You never know what God is going to do with our ordinary days. Today maybe the day your prayers change your life or the lives of your family. Today may be the day you experience a break through and experience the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit. Today may be the day the LORD opens up to you a new revelation or a deeper walk with Him.
The Bible tells us to stay faithful in the ordinary. To use the ordinary to develop our character. To use the ordinary to gain strength, to learn how to be our best for the LORD. To use the ordinary to share the message of Jesus Christ. To use the ordinary to accomplish the extra ordinary.
Closing song – ORDINARY DAYS – www.hymnal.net
