In my mother-in-law’s house, there is a really important wall. It’s a wall that has marked our children’s physical growth over the years. When you walk into the guest bedroom and look down at the base of the wall, you see little pencil marks next to dates from years ago. Then as you look eye-level, you have more current dates of how these three have grown physically. As I survey that wall, I have a sense of gratitude for how tall they’ve grown through the years.
Spiritual growth happens through “little advances.” God has designed your growth to happen through spiritual disciples such as Bible study, prayer and fasting, and attending worship regularly. Believer, you have a purpose in life, and your purpose is to become “a little Christ.”1
The Forty-Day Challenge is a series of sermons designed for your growth. It’s designed to motivate you to grow spiritually by forming seven habits that Christians have used for centuries to grow in their faith. Please put this in front of you for the next few minutes. I want you to take a 40-day challenge with me.
40 days of Bible reading.
40 days of prayer
40 days of serving.
40 days of giving.
Over the next few minutes, I’m going to touch on each of these seven habits. I’ll be all over the pages of the Bible. I hope to serve as a catalyst for your personal spiritual growth for the next few moments. I want to encourage you to form some personal habits that shape and focus your life.
1. I Commit to Reading My Bible for 40 Days
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” (2 Timothy 3:16).
1.1 Lifeway Study of Bible Reading
The people at Lifeway followed 2,500 believers like you back in 2008. They followed these believers around for a year to see what helped their faith grow.2 Here’s what they found: Reading the Bible is the number one predictor for spiritual growth.3 This is what they discovered: “Hands down. No contest. When it comes to spiritual growth, nothing beats the Bible.”4 Reading the Bible is the number one predictor for spiritual growth.
Scripture is the protein for your diet.
1.2 God’s Breath
It’s this picture of God’s breath. Many translations will say Scripture is inspired here in verse 16. But there is a powerful picture that I am eager for all of you to see and remember: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” (2 Timothy 3:16). The literal words of the original language of your Bible say that “All Scripture is breathed out by God.” Picture it carefully: the Bible is breathed out by God. Jesus taught us that God is Spirit (John 4:24). The Bible teaches God does not have a body that you can touch and feel. So, God doesn’t have a literal mouth and throat, but the picture is really powerful, isn’t it? The Scripture is pictured as coming from God’s very throat. As the air moves from His lungs and past His teeth, the Bible is voiced by God Himself. The Bible is pictured as being the product of the very breath of God.
1.3 My Reaction to Reading the Bible
It’s important to speak to you about your reaction to personally reading the Word of God. If God accuses me of wrongdoing, then I respond with repentance. If the Lord praises me, then I respond with gratitude and joy. If He warns me of danger, then I thank Him for His protection. If God commands me to do something, then I ask Him for help to accomplish the command. If God makes me a promise, I marvel at His power and trust Him to do what He says. And if God tells me something about Himself, then I worship Him.
If you go out these doors, you’ll see Bible reading plans near the Encourager Room. If you go to our website, you’ll find Bible reading plans on the front page. You can download the Bible app on your phone. Once you are there, you can choose all kinds of reading options. Adopting a personal habit of reading the Bible is one spiritual habit that will increase your and your church's spiritual growth.
1. I Commit to Reading My Bible for 40 Days
2. I Commit to Seeking the Lord in Prayer for 40 Days
Of the seven spiritual practices, this is the only habit that no one else can observe. For the Bible commands Christ-followers to secret prayer – prayer when no one else is around.
2.1 Crooked Judge and the Widow
Jesus tells a parable in order that His people would not lose heart to pray. Jesus tells us about a crooked judge and a downtrodden widow.
Jesus describes this judge like this: “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man” (Luke 18:2). The judge refused to do right and give this woman justice: “‘Yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?” (Luke 18:5-7b).
Jesus uses a widow in His story on purpose. A widow would have no standing in the community in contrast to the judge. Inasmuch as the ancient court system belonged to the world of men, the fact that this woman finds herself before the magistrate shows that she has no male family member to bring her case to court.5 The fact that she continually comes to the court for justice shows she doesn’t have money to bribe him for a swift settlement. A widow in the first-century Jewish tradition was the ultimate example of vulnerability.6 She was status-deprived. She continually badgered the judge. Notice verse five: “This widow keeps bothering me…” Jesus paints for us a picture of a boxing match where the macho, unjust judge is cornered by the least powerful person in the community.7
2.2 Persevere in Prayer
Pray! Pray! Pray!
Persevere in prayer. It was by perseverance that the snail reached the ark in Noah’s day. Be like the rocks on a shoreline that defy the raging waves. When waves of unbelief crash around you everywhere, stand firm in your resolve to pray. Be like this widow before an unjust judge. She thought, “I have no other option. The judge must hear.” Perhaps she was about to lose her small amount of property where her house sat. If she lost that, her children would die of starvation.
2.3 God Isn’t Crooked
Jesus tells this story to tell us His Father is different than the crooked judge. God is everything the crooked judge is not. God is good and gracious where the judge is crooked. God is loving where the judge could care less. God is the Mighty Judge who promises to make everything right. He will one day render perfect justice throughout the universe. Again, God is good to His deepest core. Shall not God move when His children ask?
“I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8).
1. I Commit to Reading My Bible for 40 Days
2. I Commit to Seeking the Lord in Prayer for 40 Days
3. I Commit to Encouraging 40 People with My Words of Affirmation and Love in 2024
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37–40).
Christianity is revolutionary because Jesus came along and said, “You please God by how you treat others.
3.1 My Brother’s Keeper
One of the more famous stories in all of literature comes from the earliest parts of our Bible. Cain and Abel, the children of Adam & Eve, are in conflict. Cain actually murders Abel. God quickly confronts Cain with these words: “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9b). It’s a rhetorical question to enforce the Bible’s command that we care for one another. I am my brother’s keeper. Say this with me: I am my brother’s keeper.
3.2 One Another Commands
Did you know there are at least fifty-nine “one another” commands in Scripture? Let me give you a quick summary of some of the highlights. You are called to be patient with one another (Mark 9:50). You are called to honor one another above yourself (Romans 12:10). We are to live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16). The Bible commands us to carry each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). Not to be outdone, we are to have equal concern for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25). You are to be called to do nothing from selfishness plus we are to humbly count others more significant than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). We are to pray for each other (James 5:16). Twice I discovered we are to encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11).
But above everything else, we are to love one another. At least eleven times, the Bible tells us to love one another.8 We are to show brotherly love to one another (Romans 12:10). We are to spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24). We are to make our love increase and overflow one another (1 Thessalonians 3:12). Plus, we are to love one another deeply from the heart (1 Peter 3:8). Psychologists tell us that the more healthy, loving relationships you have, the happier you are.
1. I Commit to Reading My Bible for 40 Days
2. I Commit to Seeking the Lord in Prayer for 40 Days
3. I Commit to Encouraging 40 People with My Words of Affirmation and Love in 2024
4. I Commit to Giving 10% of My Income to a God-Honoring Church
“Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.” (Malachi 3:8-9).
4.1 Robbing God
The Bible repeats the word “rob” four times in verses 8 and 9. The prophet asks a really pointed question: “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me” (Malachi 3:8b). You can feel his finger being pushed into your chest. He’s all up in your face. Hebrew experts have puzzled over God’s choice of words here because the word “rob” here is a very rare word. It’s not at all the normal Hebrew word for robbery, which, of course, would just mean to take something that’s not yours. Instead, the word used here in the middle of verse 8 is a word that means to pillage, plunder, and oppress.9 This word is robbing, but you are robbing with force.
4.2 What Is a Tithe?
The Bible instructs us to give a tithe (10%) of our “first fruits” (defined in the 21st Century as “gross income”) is recognized as the minimum biblical standard. Tithe means ten percent. It means giving 1/10 of what I receive to the Lord.
4.3 Jesus on Tithing
There is always a number of experienced Christians who object to tithing. The thought goes like this: This is an Old Testament idea. Someone says, “Wait a minute, Pastor. You’re trying to put me back in the Old Testament, under the Old Testament law. Pastor, don’t you understand that tithing is legalistic?”
4.4 Does Jesus Expect Me to Tithe?
Jesus NEVER abolished the tithe. Jesus never said, “You have heard, ‘Bring the full tithe into the storehouse,’ but I say to you 5% will do.” In fact, what you do read is the following: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” (Matthew 23:23).
4.5 Parents at McDonald’s
Every parent has experienced something like what I’m about to tell you. You take your child to McDonald’s because of the food and the playground. I can remember doing this kind of thing with all three of our kids. We lived in small towns, and it was just good to get out of the house and let them play. So we ordered our food, and you’d look across the table, and there’d you see your child’s fries. Now, everyone knows a stolen French fry is the best tasting, right? So, reach over to grab a fry when a little hand pushes you back and says, “No, those are mine.” Wait a minute! I was just at the cash register, and Junior didn’t go for his wallet to pay, did he? You paid for those French fries! And now, he’s saying, “Back off! Those are mine.”
“Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions” (Malachi 3:8).
4.6 Everything in Heaven
Over in 1 Chronicles 28–29, King David and the children of Israel raise a bunch of money to build a temple in Jerusalem. Then David prays over the offering like a preacher would in church. At one point, David prays to God and says something like this, “Everything in heaven and earth is yours, Lord. Wealth and honor come from you. Everything comes from you, and we have only given you what comes from your hand.” David is saying that giving is really returning what God gives us back to God.
4.7 Test God’s Provision
God rewards generosity. God loves when His people are generous because we are never more like our Father when we are generous with others.
“…put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need” (Malachi 3:10b).
God presents us with a really interesting proposition. He says, “Put me to the test” when it comes to your money. “Try it my way,” God says, “and see if my way works.” Again, God rewards generosity. God says, “I’m going to take care of you. You’re my child, and I will take care of your needs.”
4.8 I Cannot Afford to Tithe
What if your salary was reduced by 10%? Wouldn’t you continue to live? And if tithing is God’s will and He promises to provide for those who trust and obey Him, won’t He allow you to get by on 90% rather than 100%? In fact, are you not safer living on less inside God’s will than living on but being outside of His will?10 Yes, you can afford to tithe.
4.9 Tax Contribution Statement
Imagine if you had all the records of your giving for 2023 in front of you right now. Just this past week, I looked at my contribution statement for my giving to our church this past year. Imagine if yours was in front of you right now. Plus, we put all the giving of all your charities – everything you’d given to every ministry, every missionary, and every dollar you gave to those in need. Now, add it all up for me, and let me ask you a searching question. If I multiplied this by ten, would you be happy with your 2019 income? Would 2024 been a good year for you if you multiplied everything you gave by the factor of 10?11
1. I Commit to Reading My Bible for 40 Days
2. I Commit to Seeking the Lord in Prayer for 40 Days
3. I Commit to Encouraging 40 People with My Words of Affirmation and Love in 2024
4. I Commit to Giving 10% of My Income to a God-Honoring Church
5. I Commit to Serving People in the Name of Jesus both Inside and Outside My Church for 40 Days in 2024
“But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28).
In the interest of time, I will just encourage you to serve here. We have created a page to gauge your interest in where you’d like to serve. Time-lapse photography will allow you to see physical growth over a span of years. But there are no photographs that can show you your spiritual growth.
1. I Commit to Reading My Bible for 40 Days
2. I Commit to Seeking the Lord in Prayer for 40 Days
3. I Commit to Encouraging 40 People with My Words of Affirmation and Love in 2024
4. I Commit to Giving 10% of My Income to a God-Honoring Church
5. I Commit to Serving People in the Name of Jesus both Inside and Outside My Church for 40 Days in 2024
6. I Commit to Actively Participate in Worship for 40 Sundays in 2024
“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation” (Psalm 95:1)!
“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker” (Psalm 95:6)!
Psalm 95 is actually sung by our Anglican friends, and they have given it a nickname—the Venite. Venite is the Latin word for the first two words: “Oh, come.” Picture someone standing at the doors of the worship center and motioning you inside. Come inside the sanctuary!
6.1 Muslim Call to Prayer
Some of you have traveled around the globe and have been woken by the Muslim prayer call before sunrise. Others of you can remember the sound of church bells ringing out from the church’s bell tower on Sunday mornings. It’s a call to worship. Imagine if I were right out there, and I said to you, “Come on. Get in here. You need this. You were built for this. Let’s worship.”
6.2 Aggie Yell Leader
Think of an Aggie Yell Leader and you get the picture. The Yell Leader invites the crowd to really get into it. He has all these hand motions to instruct us.
6.3 Personal Questions
What would this year look like if you were in church worshipping the Lord a minimum of forty Sundays this year? What would your spiritual growth look like if you were in church worshipping the Lord a minimum of forty Sundays this year?
1. I Commit to Reading My Bible for 40 Days
2. I Commit to Seeking the Lord in Prayer for 40 Days
3. I Commit to Encouraging 40 People with My Words of Affirmation and Love in 2024
4. I Commit to Giving 10% of My Income to a God-Honoring Church
5. I Commit to Serving People in the Name of Jesus both Inside and Outside My Church for 40 Days in 2024
6. I Commit to Actively Participate in Worship for 40 Sundays in 2024
7. I Commit to Sharing the Gospel 40 Times in 2024
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
Hymn writer, Isaac Watts has written:
“Must I be carried to the skies
on flowery beds of ease,
while others bled to win the prize
and sail through bloody seas?”12
There’s a sense of conviction because I know the gospel has saved me, it could save others. Here is our boldness. Here is our courage.
It’s found in this vital truth: the gospel … is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” Have you arrived at the place where you can say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel” at your business? Have you arrived at the place where you can say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel” around your house? Who’s Your One Person God is Calling You to Share with? Have you arrived at the place where you can say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel” around your school?
Who’s Your One?
Have you arrived at the place where you can say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel,” with your friends? Is God calling you to share the gospel with one or two friends forty times this year? What if you had 40 Bible studies over the gospel of John with nonbelievers?
Conclusion
Look at this card with me. If you want to grow, you will need to make a personal commitment. You will need to make an effort. You will need to ask others for help. We grow together by encouraging one another and holding one another accountable.
EndNotes
1 C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York, Simon & Schuster Touchstone, 1996), 171. See Romans 8:29.
2 https://www.americanbible.org/uploads/content/engaging-scripture-is-the-1-predictor-of-spiritual-health-and-growth.pdf; accessed July 16, 2019.
3 Brad Waggoner, The Shape of Faith to Come: Spiritual Formation and the Future of Discipleship (Nashville: B & H Publishing, 2015), 296. https://factsandtrends.net/2016/12/03/5-truths-10-years-discipleship-research/; accessed July 16, 2019.
4 Greg L. Hawkins & Cally Parkinson, Move: What 1,000 Churches Reveal about Spiritual Growth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 167.
5 Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 640.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid., 641.
8 John 13:14, 34, 35; 15:12, 17; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 John 3:11, 23; 47;, 11, 12; 2 John 5.
9 Richard A. Taylor, and E. Ray Clendenen, Haggai, Malachi, The New American Commentary, vol. 21A (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004), 418.
10 Randy Alcorn, 188.
11 I am grateful for Pastor Danny Roberts for this idea.
12 I owe this reference to Adrian Rogers,“ Life’s Greatest Adventure” in Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust, 2017).
