Habits | Understanding the Power of Habits | Part 1
We are there in Luke 4 and we’re starting a brand-new series. Today is our Church’s 11-year anniversary and our Family and Friend Day. We’re celebrating 11 years of ministry. We’re glad you’re with us and this morning we’re starting a brand-new Sunday Morning series called “Habits”. How do develop good habits and how to break bad habits. And when it comes to habits, usually people think of habits as a negative thing. Things such as biting your nails, losing your temper, etc… But there are also good habits like flossing your teeth, being punctual with time, etc…Today we begin this series and over the next several weeks we’re going to talk about the power of habits, how to develop good habits, how to break bad habits, how to dial in your habits. This morning the sermon will serve as kind of an introduction to this idea of habits. And we are going to be talking about understanding the power of habits.
We’re going to begin tonight by just defining the word “habits”. You’ll notice that people that are successful in life, whether it be in business or whether it be in family relationships or interpersonally or their health, they are known as “creatures of habits”. I want you to notice that the Lord Jesus Christ was a man of habits.
Luke 4:16 “16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.”. Notice how it said “as his custom was”. Custom means a habitual practice. It is something that is done on a regular basis. The Bible tells us that when Jesus showed up to his hometown, he did something that he was accustomed to do. He did something that he normally did, that he routinely or regularly did. His custom was to go into the synagogue. I also want you to notice how the Apostle Paul was also a man of customs. A habit is a routine or behavior that is performed regularly. Many times we do these things automatically because we are used to doing them. Acts 17:2 “2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,”. Paul had a manner or a custom of going into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day. Here the Bible tells us about the Apostle Paul.
Now Jesus was without a doubt the most influential person in world history. I mean the Lord Jesus Christ was even by secular standards a man that changed the course of history. He was influential in his life. You would have to give that title to the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the Apostle Paul would probably come in second. Paul was also a man of influence. Paul was also someone that was highly successful. Jesus of course was the foundation of our faith. But the Apostle Paul was in some ways the promoter of our faith. He’s the one that took the message of Jesus and took it unto the uttermost part of the earth. He’s the reason that honestly if you’re a gentile this morning and you’re saved and you’re a believer and you’re a Christian, you owe your salvation to not only Jesus but the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul taking the gospel to the Gentiles, taking the gospel to the world. And here the Bible tells us gives us a little insight about the Apostle Paul and where he was very similar to Christ. It says “as his manner was”. Manner means a prevailing custom or a habit, something that’s done regularly or routinely.
I would submit to you this morning that it is not a coincidence that the Lord Jesus Christ, the most influential person that has ever lived, was a man that lived off of routine and off of habits and off of customs. There were things he did on a regular basis. If you study the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, you’ll find that he was a man of routine. You’ll find that he was somebody who would get up early and go to a desert place and he would spend time in prayer. In fact, when he was going to be betrayed by Judas Iscariot, the reason that the Pharisees were afraid and the Romans and the Jews were afraid to take Jesus and to capture him was because everywhere he went he had followers. He had people who loved him and respected him. The reason they needed Judas Iscariot is because he knew where Jesus would be alone. After being with Christ for several years, Judas was able to identify some habits and routines of Jesus. We see here that the Apostle Paul also had a manner or customs or habits or routines.
A routine or behavior is something performed regularly and in many cases automatically. Now that may be a good thing or it may be a bad thing. It may be a good thing that you have a habit of when you get angry that you choose to walk out of the room and cool down. Or it may be a bad thing that you have a habit that when you get angry you begin to scream and yell and throw things. You might have a good habit in the evening of reading a book or reading the Bible. Or you may have a bad habit of eating ice cream while watching YouTube until 2 in the morning. You may have a good habit of getting up early in the morning and taking a jog or going for a run or taking a walk. Or you may have a bad habit of sleeping in. Habits are things that we do regularly, routinely and automatically. Habit formation is a process by which a behavior becomes progressively more automatic through repetition.
Acts 20:18. Notice what the Bible says. “18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,”. Again the Bible shows us that Paul had a manner. “The word manner means a prevailing custom or a habit”. Paul is looking at the people he’s served and he’s ministered to and the congregation he’s been helping. He tells them that they know what manner he has ever since he has been with them.
What’s the big deal about habits? Why should we come to Church and spend three or four weeks learning about habits Biblically from the Bible? Here’s why. Because we are what we continually do. See, we all have identities. We’re going to talk about that in following weeks. We all have identities, things that have identified us. You are identified as someone who’s punctual or someone who is later. You are identified as someone who keeps their cool or someone who loses their temper. We all have identities and often we believe that we are the way we are and that’s why we do the things we do. The truth is the reverse. The actual fact is that we are what we continually do as opposed to doing what we actually are. Here’s the good news. The good news is that you can train yourself. You can train yourself to begin to think differently and to do different things. It won’t come naturally but over time you could break bad habits. You could develop good habits. You could change your identity because we are what we continually do.
So let’s talk about the formation of habits. We talked about the definition of habits. A habit is a routine or a behavior that is performed regularly and in many cases automatically. Let’s talk about the formation of habits. The habit formation is a process by which behaviors become progressively more automatic through repetition. Now when you talk about habits, the experts who study them whether good or bad habits, they say it happens in 2 phases. There is the problem phase and there is the solution phase. Oftentimes when we develop habits, whether it’s good or bad, they are developed in these two phases. One is the problem phase and the other is the solution phase. Within those two phases, there are four steps. I’ll explain them to you. The cue, the craving, the response and the result/reward. This is what the secular world tells us. But like we often find out, the Bible actually already laid these things out for us way before neuroscientists figured it out. God actually has detailed for us these four steps and these 2 phases in habit formation.
I’m going to give you a negative example because there are negative habits. But it can also be used in a positive way. And obviously these four steps also apply to positive habits. See you may have a habit. Maybe you have a habit you’re trying to quit. Maybe you have a habit you don’t like. Maybe you don’t like the fact that you smoke or drink or whatever it is. And you say “I have this habit and I’m trying to break this habit.”. But you’re not even sure how the habit was formed. Well the Bible defines for us how habits are formed. Remember, neuroscientists tell us it happens in two phases. The problem phase and the solution phase. Within those two phases there are four steps. We have the cue, the craving, the response and the result/reward. Let me show this to you in the Bible.
James 1:13 “13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:”. The word temptation is a course of action that presents itself as an opportunity with the purpose of attracting someone to join. By the way, temptation does not mean we have done anything wrong. The Bible tells us about the Lord Jesus Christ who was without sin. It says “he was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin.”. So just because a temptation arises and opportunity arises does not mean that you’ve done anything wrong. But it also does not mean that you have to take the bait. See, the first step to habit formation is the cue. This is what we would call the trigger. This is where someone is going about their day doing whatever they’re doing, not feeling like they need anything or want anything, and all of a sudden there’s a cue or there’s a trigger. The Bible will call it a temptation. It is a thing or a course of action that presents itself as an opportunity with the purpose of attracting someone to join or participate or choose.
Now we need to understand this because in a few weeks we’ll talk about breaking bad habits and we need to identify our own cues so we can avoid them. Let me just say, if you struggle with alcohol don’t walk into a bar. “I’m just going to walk in a bar and drink water.”. You need to know your cues because it will make it easier to flee from temptations and to resist temptations. So there’s the cue or the trigger or a temptation. It presents itself as an opportunity. It presents itself as an opportunity for you to make a choice, for you to take a course, for you to participate, for you to choose that option. That’s the cue.
First is the cue but second is the craving. James 1:14 “14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”. James is bringing this up because he is saying we can’t blame God. God does not put temptations upon your path. “For God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any man”. The Bible says that God doesn’t bring temptation. In fact Jesus taught us to pray to be deliver from evil. Human beings have cues that cause them to want to respond in a certain way. When they give in to that temptation, there’s a craving. James 1:14 “14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”. The word “lust” means desire. See, step one to habit formation is the cue. Step two is the craving or the motivation. The Bible would call it lust. There’s something inside of you that wants to respond to the cue.
Now for all of us it’s different things. The Bible does say “there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.”. Anything that you struggle with, there are other people in this world that have struggled with it. No temptation taken you but such as common to man. Any sin that you may struggle with, there are other people that have struggled with those same sins or those same situations. However with that said, I would say not everybody struggles with the same sins. For example, if you have a habit of gambling then you might drive down a highway by a casino and you have a cue. Then there will be an internal craving or lust.
I’ve never been in a Casino and I don’t plan to or have a problem with it. I’ve driven by Casinos on the road without any kind of temptation. But for some people there’s a reaction. I get around somebody that’s smoking and I just think it doesn’t smell very good. Others who struggle with smoking think it is the greatest smell ever. The truth is that there is a cue. Something that prompts you to be tempted. It’s not your fault you drove by a bar or casino. It’s not your fault that you walked down the street and somebody was smoking. But that is a cue to cause you to be tempted.
After the craving or temptation is response. Notice verse “14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”. The Bible says we are drawn away of our own lust. That’s a choice you make. That’s a choice I make. We choose to allow ourselves to be led by our cravings. You may have a craving to do something but you still can deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Christ. But when you decide to act, when you decide to be drawn away by the craving that was brought by the cue, now we’ve sinned. This is the response.
And again we’re using this in a negative way but we could go through these four steps in a positive way. Why are we choosing to look at the negative example instead of positive example? Number 1 – Because the Bible chose to give us an example in a negative way. Number 2 – We can probably identify better with the negative aspects of habits. Because the things that are good habits such as running 3 miles every morning, you probably didn’t develop that naturally. It took a lot of intention and work and effort to make you like that. We will talk about good habits in this series. But the point is that bad habits are very easy to develop. How do they happen? The cue, the craving, the response. And then of course you have the result. The experts often call it reward but I don’t like using the word reward. Because that is more confusing. I prefer just calling it the result because it makes sense whether negative or positive.
Let’s look at the passage again. James 1:13 “13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”. Then in verse 15 we have the result “15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”. You know the Bible says the wages of sin is death? You know the Bible says that the result of sin is death. Not just a physical death but the second death of being cast into the lake of fire. If you’re here this morning and you’re not sure if you’re on your way to heaven, please let us show you before you leave that you can know for sure you’re on your way to heaven. You don’t have to go to hell when you die. But you do need to know that if you are a sinner (which we all are) we are condemned to hell. And though that is the biggest problem, it is not the only death that sin brings about. Sometimes sin kills relationships. It kills health. It kills success. It kills morals and it kills your own perception of self. See, the Bible tells us that when we allow ourselves to go into our lust, lust when it is finished bringeth forth death.
If you came here today and your marriage is falling apart, I would say that your marriage is falling apart because of the things you do in your marriage. You are what you continually do. Or maybe your children are rebelling and you are losing their hearts. I would submit to you this morning that you are losing your children because of the things you do with your children. You are what you continually do. If you are financially a mess and in debt and broke then it is because of the choices you’ve made with your finances. We are what we continually do and what you can begin to do today is to change those habits. It won’t happen overnight. You won’t see change overnight. But the Bible says “Be not deceived; God is not mocked. For whatsoever man soweth that shall he also reap.”. If you begin to sow in the right direction then you will eventually reap in that same direction. You are where you are in life because of the choices that you’ve made and because of the habits that you’ve developed and because of the routines that you’ve established.
So let’s talk about the power of habits. What is the power of habits? Go to Isaiah 28. Why does it matter? Here’s why it matters. Small almost unnoticeable change can compound in remarkable results over time or in remarkable death over time. Small investments of time and energy in any area, small amounts of unnoticeable change can compound into remarkably good or remarkably negative results over time. The Bible teaches this concept. Isaiah 28:10 “10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:”. What does that mean by “precept”? How do you get remarkable results over time? Precept upon precept, line upon line. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s here a little and there a little. Little by little.
Isaiah 28:13 “13 But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.”. See, the change that needs to happen whether positive or negative will happen little by little. Here’s the truth. People don’t become a drug addict that loses their marriage or career or home or relationship and burns every bridge over night. It happens day by day, choice by choice, decision by decision. It can happen in a negative or a positive way. A small, almost unnoticeable change can compound into remarkable results over time. Habits are the compound interest. Here’s what I want you to understand. If you’re familiar with financial terms and you know what and how compound interest works, habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. Success is the product of healthy habits. You can begin to take steps today to change in any area. You will eventually succeed. You will eventually win. You will eventually reap. Why? Because habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.
I want to read to you an article highlighting this idea from the sports world. I’ve read this to our Church family in another sermon before so you might remember this. But I think it just goes very well with this idea of how habits or small unnoticeable changes can compound into remarkable results over time. Here’s an excerpt from a book. “The fate of British Cycling changed one day in 2003. The organization, which was the governing body for professional cycling in Great Britain, had recently hired Dave Brailsford as its new performance director. At the time, professional cyclists in Great Britain had endured nearly one hundred years of mediocrity. Since 1908, British riders had won just a single gold medal at the Olympic Games, and they had fared even worse in cycling’s biggest race, the Tour de France. In 110 years, no British cyclist had ever won the event. In fact, the performance of British riders had been so underwhelming that one of the top bike manufacturers in Europe refused to sell bikes to the team because they were afraid that it would hurt sales if other professionals saw the Brits using their gear.
Brailsford had been hired to put British Cycling on a new trajectory. What made him different from previous coaches was his relentless commitment to a strategy that he referred to as “the aggregation of marginal gains,” which was the philosophy of searching for a tiny margin of improvement in everything you do. Brailsford said, “The whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, and then improve it by 1 percent, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together.”
Brailsford and his coaches began by making small adjustments you might expect from a professional cycling team. They redesigned the bike seats to make them more comfortable and rubbed alcohol on the tires for a better grip. They asked riders to wear electrically heated overshorts to maintain ideal muscle temperature while riding and used biofeedback sensors to monitor how each athlete responded to a particular workout. The team tested various fabrics in a wind tunnel and had their outdoor riders switch to indoor racing suits, which proved to be lighter and more aerodynamic.
But they didn’t stop there. Brailsford and his team continued to find 1 percent improvements in overlooked and unexpected areas. They tested different types of massage gels to see which one led to the fastest muscle recovery. They hired a surgeon to teach each rider the best way to wash their hands to reduce the chances of catching a cold. They determined the type of pillow and mattress that led to the best night’s sleep for each rider. They even painted the inside of the team truck white, which helped them spot little bits of dust that would normally slip by unnoticed but could degrade the performance of the finely tuned bikes.
As these and hundreds of other small improvements accumulated, the results came faster than anyone could have imagined. Just five years after Brailsford took over, the British Cycling team dominated the road and track cycling events at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where they won an astounding 60 percent of the gold medals available. Four years later, when the Olympic Games came to London, the Brits raised the bar as they set nine Olympic records and seven world records.
That same year, Bradley Wiggins became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France. The next year, his teammate Chris Froome won the race, and he would go on to win again in 2015, 2016, and 2017, giving the British team five Tour de France victories in six years.
During the ten-year span from 2007 to 2017, British cyclists won 178 world championships and 66 Olympic or Paralympic gold medals and captured 5 Tour de France victories in what is widely regarded as the most successful run-in cycling history. How does this happen? How does a team of previously ordinary athletes transform into world champions with tiny changes that, at first glance, would seem to make a modest difference at best?
The truth is that the power of habits though they are small and unnoticeable changes over time, they compound. Now these people did it for what the Bible would call a corruptible crown. But you and I should do it for an incorruptible crown. What if you begin to just slowly improve as a parent by 1% or as a spouse or as an employee or employer or as a Christian. Over time, these small changes will result in something big. We talked about the definition of habits. It’s a routine or a behavior that is performed regularly and in many cases automatically. We talked about the forming of habits. It happens through cues, cravings, responses and results. We talked about the power of habits. Small almost unnoticeable changes can compound into remarkable results.
You say “That’s great Pastor. But you haven’t really taught us anything new.”. Here’s the point though. If it’s so easy then why do we not do it? Why doesn’t everybody win the championship? Why doesn’t everybody lose weight? Why doesn’t everybody save for major purchases? Why doesn’t everybody have good marriages and do a good job in parenting and serve the Lord? Why do these things not happen? I will submit to you because proper habit development takes an investment of time.
Ephesians 5:15 “15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,” . Circumspect means to walk with wisdom, to walk cautiously and carefully. What’s the difference between someone who is wise and a fool? Here’s the difference according to verse 16. “16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”. Do you know what a wise person does? A wise person realizes that one year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now they’re going to still be living their lives and if they’re not happy where their life is right now then they can begin right now to make small changes or an investment into their life. That will bring about remarkable results. But the fool decides they will just keep doing what they’ve been doing. They’ve been failing and it’s not working. Their 1st marriage failed; their 2nd marriage failed but they won’t try to change anything. According to the Bible, you’re a fool.
Colossians 4:5 “5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.”. Here is the thing about habits. Habits take time. They often seem to make no difference until a critical threshold is crossed. Isn’t that true? I mean that’s why you quit running and working out. You work out for 20 minutes and then look in the mirror and you can’t see a major difference. Habits often appear to make no difference until a critical threshold is crossed. Habits have a time range when you work and that work is not seen. Now let me say this, work may not be seen but it is not wasted. Here is an example. If you heat up a cube from 0 degrees to 31 degrees, it may seem like you are accomplishing nothing. But at 32 degrees that cube will begin to melt. That cube did not melt because of the one degree but it started melting because of the accumulation of the heat from 0 to 30. It looked like nothing was happening. Here’s another illustration. Bamboo can barely be seen for the first five years as it builds extensive root systems underground before exploding 90 feet into the air within six weeks. The truth is that when we invest time into habits, the habits will take time. They often appear to make no difference until a critical threshold is crossed. Habits have a time range in which the results are not seen but they’re not wasted. They’re just being stored. Here’s what you need to understand. When that breakthrough happens, it’ll happen after what the experts tell us is “the valley of disappointment”. And let me just explain this to you and I’ll give you an example. Go to Genesis 41.
When you and I begin to make changes in our lives, we want the changes to be linear. We would like to see a steady increase. But oftentimes what happens is the results are delayed. That valley is called “The Valley of Disappointment”. That is the point when you start asking yourself why you are dieting, why you are saving, why you are being nice to someone. It doesn’t seem like it is working. But if you stick with it long enough, what happens is you cross a threshold or have a breakthrough moment. The breakthrough moments are the result of many previous actions. Here’s the interesting thing. When you finally have a breakthrough moment in life whether it is in business or another field, people will say it’s an overnight success. They will say “Look at Elon Musk or Facebook or YouTube. It came out of nowhere.”. If you have a good marriage or your kids are respectful and obedient and love the Lord, people will say “You must have gotten lucky with your kids. They just have the right temperament. You must have married your soulmate.”. Those statements are a bit offensive because success takes a lot of work to achieve.
Genesis 41:39. Let me give you an example. If you remember, the Pharoah has a dream that no one can interpret and the butler remembers that Joseph had interpreted his dream in prison. Then Joseph is brought from prison and successfully interprets the dream of Pharoah. Genesis 41:39 “39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:”. Verse 40 “40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. 41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. 42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;”. Verse 43 ” 43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.”.
Pharoah is the most powerful leader of the most powerful nation on earth at this time. Out of nowhere there is this young man in Pharoah’s chariot being paraded through Egypt. The guards and servants are telling everybody to bow the knee to Joseph. I bet everyone in Egypt said this guy came out of nowhere, this guy’s an overnight success, he immediately is in the spotlight. But people don’t realize the things he went through to get to this point. What they didn’t see was Joseph in Genesis 39:2. “2 And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. 4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.”.
See, before Joseph became the overseer of the house of Pharaoh, he first became the overseer of the house of Potiphar while he was a slave. And then of course you know the story. He’s lied about, thrown in prison. Now we see Joseph being paraded about in the chariot of Pharoah being told that he is now the ruler of all of the people. This guy seems like he came out of nowhere and is an overnight success. They didn’t see Joseph while he was a slave and while he was in prison.
Genesis 39:21 “21 But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. 23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.
See, the truth of the matter is Joseph was a young man who I’m sure all of Egypt looked at him and said this guy came out of nowhere. They thought he was an overnight success. He had a breakthrough moment. But the truth is he had been working, he had been leading, he had been loyal, he had been serving for a long time. Nobody had seen it. Nobody had noticed it. In fact the butler had forgot about him. But all that energy, though it was not seen, it was not wasted. Eventually we reap what we sow. Eventually it caught up with Joseph and he had a breakthrough event in his life. People may have thought overnight success but they don’t know what we know. There is no such thing as overnight success. If you end your life like the Apostle Paul saying “I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. If you end your life with a good marriage, if you end your life having raised good and godly children, if you end your life financially successful and physically successful and career-wise successful, it will happen because of habits and routines that you regularly perform in your life. As you are doing them, nobody notices or sees it. Nobody seems to care. But then you have a breakthrough and people say “Wow, overnight success.”. No, it’s the power of habits.
So here’s a question I have for you. What habits do you need to break? What are the bad habits that you need to break in your life or what are the good habits that you need to develop? And I want to encourage you to be back with us next week. Next week we’re going to pick up right where we left off. We’re going to talk about how to develop good habits. We’re also going to talk about later on how to break bad habits. We’re going to talk about how to tune in habits in your life. Why? Because small investments of time in your life can lead to remarkable results. But you have to start today. So we encourage you to be with us next week as we continue this series on the subject of habits.
Let’s pray.