BetterBetterThis Year!This Year!

It’s a Matter of Perseverance

If you really want to create lasting change in your life, you must

make persistent efforts to change

Second week of a series called “Better This Year”

• About creating lasting change in your life

• If you’ve tried to change in the past and the changes didn’t stick, there’s a reason– At some point you gave up and stopped trying

• I’m not trying to make you feel guilty– I’m not calling you a “quitter”

• Changing your life is no small task– It’s not easy– If it were, we would all be perfect

Changing your life is not as simple as making a resolution

• That’s where it starts – the first step• The process of getting from the desire to actually

seeing change in your day-to-day life takes time– And it takes tenacity…perseverance

• Last week we discussed the principle of perspective – becoming an optimizer– Today’s focus is the principle of perseverance

• If you want to create lasting change in your life, you must master perseverance– Make it your habit to keep trying, trying, trying – as

long as it takes to get it done

Thomas Edison on the light bulb

• “I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”

Col. Sanders pitched his secret recipe to 1,000+ restaurants

• Finally, he got a taker• He didn’t fail 1,000

times – or at all• He succeeded• Only way he could

have failed would have been to quit

If there is a change you want to take place in your life …

• A change that will make you – A better person– A better Christian– A better parent, spouse, or employee

• If it hasn’t happened yet, keep this in mind:– If you keep trying, you’ll eventually get there

Newsweek asked people how long their resolutions would last

• Half didn’t bother to make resolutions!

• 23% said resolutions wouldn’t last 30 days

• Most people who try end up giving up

• Why? Three greatest enemies of change

• If you can persevere against them, you will become one of the few, the holy

• What are the enemies of change?

1. The first enemy of change is residue from the

past You don’t get a clean slate just because you decide to make some personal improvements

There’s still the stuff from yesterday to contend with

• I’m not referring to God’s forgiveness– With him you DO get a clean slate– When you repent and submit to him in

obedience, he forgives you, once and for all– He washes sin away and it’s gone forever

• That doesn’t change the fact that there is residue left over that you have to deal with

Extreme Examples

• If you’ve been robbing banks, then repent and commit to God, he will forgive you– But you still have to deal with the residue from

your life of crime – you have to face the law

• If you’ve been having an affair, then repent and commit to God, he will forgive you– But you still have to deal with residue your

actions have left on your marriage

Here’s the problem

• When we make a resolution to improve, we may be good for a week or two, or a month or two

• Then we discover that in spite of all the effort we’ve put forth to change, we’re still having to deal with the same old junk from the past

Not a mysterious phenomenon; it’s the law of the harvest

• Galatians 6:7 NIV Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

• This is important to understand– Today you reap what you have sown in the

past – good or bad– When you decide to make changes, for a time

you still have to deal with junk from yesterday– It doesn’t just magically go away

Don’t let this entice you to quit

• Don’t let the fact that you may still have some consequences to face become an excuse for giving up

• Remember the law of the harvest– If you are now sowing good seed, you will

eventually reap a good harvest– It’s just a matter of time– Don’t give up

2. The second enemy of change is having to wait

for the right results Not only do we have to deal with leftover “stuff” from yesterday, we also have to learn to accept the

fact that change doesn’t take place overnight

Galatians 6:9 NIV

• Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

• Note the phrase: “at the proper time”– Other translations:

• “At the right time”; “in due season”; and “when the time is due”

– In other words:• “You will be paid when the payment is due”

Don’t expect to see results before the time is due

• God pays on time

• If you continue to make an effort to do good, you will receive your payment – your harvest – when the payment is due

• But you’ve got to remember: it takes time

• You’ve got to be patient

Three things to keep in mind about the law of the harvest:

• You reap later than you sow• You reap more than you sow• You reap what you sow

Imagine applying for a job

• Boss says, “Here’s our payment plan. We’ll pay you one penny for the first week, and we’ll double your salary every week after that.”

• Would you take that offer?

• I would!

Here’s why

Week 1 $0.01

Week 2 $0.02

Week 3 $0.04

Week 4 $0.08

Week 5 $0.16

Week 6 $0.32

Week 7 $0.64

Week 8 $1.28

Week 9 $2.56

Week 10 $5.12

Total $10.23

Here’s why

Week 11 $10.24

Week 12 $20.48

Week 13 $40.96

Week 14 $81.92

Week 15 $163.84

Week 16 $327.68

Week 17 $655.36

Week 18 $1,310.72

Week 19 $2,621.44

Week 20 $5,242.88

Total $10,485.75

Here’s why

Week 21 $10,485.76

Week 22 $20,971.52

Week 23 $41,943.04

Week 24 $83,886.08

Week 25 $167,772.16

Week 26 $335,544.32

Week 27 $671,088.64

Week 28 $1,342,177.28

Week 29 $2,684,354.56

Week 30 $5,368,709.12

Total $10,737,418.23

This is the way it works in your spiritual life

• At the right time the harvest comes in, and it is bountiful

• You will reap a harvest in due season, if you do not give up

• Don’t give up in week 8 and settle for a few lousy dollars, when God is prepared to open the windows of blessing in your life ... in due season

3. The third enemy of change is unwillingness to

do it God’s way The reason people give up in their quest to improve is because too often they try to change using

some other method than God’s

We just don’t believe that God’s way works best

• So we try to accomplish things our way—and we inevitably fail

• For example, we want to build character into our children– The Bible tells us how to do it

• Lead by example

• Offer them encouragement

• Reward them for their accomplishments

• Offer them correction along the way

• “Don’t provoke your children to anger”

So, what do some parents do?

• “I tried that positive re-enforcement stuff for two whole weeks and nothing changed. My kids only know how to respond to threats and punishment.”

• If you want to believe that, instead of believing God’s way of parenting is better, then forget about your resolution to improve your relationship with your children, because it will never happen

It’s like the person who wants to get ahead financially

• So they invest in a get-rich-quick scheme

• Or the person who wants to lose weight– Starts taking illegal drugs and using laxatives

• Or one who wants to succeed at work– Starts bending the rules to give them an edge

• These strategies never work, and when they fail, we’re often tempted to give up and forget about it all together

To create lasting change in your life, you have to do it God’s way • That’s why Paul said,

– Galatians 6:7 NIV Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

• God knows what he’s talking about – Don’t try to cut corners & beat God’s system– The only way to lasting change is committing

yourself to being obedient to God & sticking with that commitment as long as it takes

There are no shortcuts to lasting change in your life

• But there is a sure-fire long way of getting there: Get on the right path, and stay there until the harvest comes in

• As you move in the right direction, you may not see results immediately, but you will see them eventually

• It’s just a matter of time• You will reap a reward for your efforts, so don’t

become weary in doing good, and don’t give up• Hang in there till the harvest comes in