Reset - Week 1 - The CORE - Pastor Mike Novotny
Reset
Week 1 - The CORE
Pastor Mike Novotny
That was, they'll just want to go home right now. I mean that was good. That was seen people baptized in Jesus name and save me. The best thing that happens around here. So thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for being here in a really important morning. Here at the CORE, welcome to a New Year and a new sermon series called Reset.
Just a few days after Christmas. I did a very, very dumb thing.
I stepped onto my bathroom scale.
When I looked down, a number digitally appeared, a number that caught my attention because it was bigger. Then the biggest number I had ever seen between my big toes.
Now, for most of my life, God has blessed me with a blessing that most of you are very not happy with just lightning-fast metabolism. I eat like garbage, dessert, 16 times a week. It's never really affected me. But about four or five months ago, I noticed that number started to creep up and up. And up and up, and up and up.
And up and up and up until a few days after Christmas. The number was a gain, 10 of my body weight in about four months.
And I stared at that number and I stepped off the scale and I looked in the mirror and I realized.
My scale is broken.
I'd this was happening. Like, everyone always told me, you, just wait, Pastor, you're gonna hit this age and it's not going to be the same. And it's happening and I can realize it might be that time in my life to push reset. And to recalibrate and to rethink my physical habits.
And if you do that this time of year, whether you're an official, you know, goal setting New Year's resolution, Person or not. A lot of us this time of year think about the way we treat our bodies. Not because it's easy. But because most of us know that it matters,
Yeah, I think about those big three areas of our physical health. How we how we eat? How much we sleep and how often we move? And you know, the reason so many of us want to push a reset, is because we live in a culture that makes that so difficult to do. Well,
You know, it's difficult to get enough sleep. When there's so many movies and series and sports and and playoff matchups to watch the Netflix CEO. Once said, the biggest competitor for Netflix is sleep.
And a bit if we interviewed sleep, they'd say my biggest competitor is Netflix. Yes. It's really difficult to get the kind of sleep, your body needs and in a world where there's sugar packed into everything, where cheap food is, is cheap. When fast food is so delicious and just genetically engineered to hit your palate just right? It's really difficult to treat your body well. But I mean, you know, just like I do The reason we care about those things is because it matters.
Not just so that we can make it to 80, 85, 90 years old, but the energy we have today, the ability to serve people. To be alert and loving and selfless, we keep fighting oftentimes these same battles with our physical health because we know it's not everything but it is something.
And so at the start of a new year, lots of us want to push that reset button and rethink the way. We treat this body that God gave us
Now, it's important as all that is, I don't want to talk to you about your physical health today because I'm gonna shift to something even more important, but very similar, your spiritual health.
Because I would propose to you that having a healthy soul. Is a lot like having a healthy body.
It's not easy.
We live in a culture that does not make a strong connection with God, a vibrant faith and easy thing. It's not the default setting. Of modern America, to give you a strong faith. It's a fight and a battle, and a race in its work. And yet You're not propose to you that as much as it matters, how you treat your body.
It is so much more important. The way you treat your soul.
The way you answer, the biggest questions of life, the kind of faith that you have. Deep in your heart. These are the things that yes matter at the end of life, but they matter In our daily life, too.
In fact, if you're taking notes at home or in your program just like eat sleep and move, are these three building blocks of physical health. I think there's three big spiritual things you need to answer this year.
And they are:
your priorities.
your purpose.
and your place.
Your priorities. I mean, you know that you can't make everyone happy.
So, the big question of today is, who are you going to choose to make happy?
There's no way you're going to get to the end of everything you could possibly do on every list, so which things will you do? And whose list will determine what you do.
We've all gotten to the end of the year and kind of looked back and said, whoa, I did not use my time very well. We know that some things kind of intrinsically matter more than others. And so the big question for you is, are you doing the things in your life that matter the most to God are your priorities? His priorities, are you substituting the best things for lesser things every healthy Soul? Mission exactly what their spiritual priorities are.
And her purpose.
New slash. You are not an animal.
If your dog gets enough to eat and you scratch them on his belly, he's pretty content with life.
But despite what you may have heard about some men just filling our bellies and scratching us by the ears is not enough. The human heart was actually created for a bigger purpose, a higher meaning,
We search for it. We can't just get up and go through the motions and check the boxes. You're actually created for much more than that. So the question is, do you know? The purpose.
To make money pay the bills. Cook another meal. Pass another test. No, no.
That God has a much bigger purpose for wherever you go to school, whatever neighborhood you live in whatever family, you're a part of whatever church you attend. Does your soul know? The great purpose that God has for your life.
Or something, I wish I would have known when I was 18.
Do you know your place in that bigger purpose?
It's a question of do you know yourself who you are and who you're not?
Do you know the way that God has wired you which will lead you to find your place in the bigger picture. The kind of stuff you should volunteer for say, yes to. And the kind of stuff that God just hasn't made you to do and it's going to drain you and sabotage the bigger picture unless you say no to it. Do you know as the Bible would say your part? In the body of Christ.
With your eye, or an ear, or a mouth or a heart, whether you're the strong hands or quick, feeds or compassionate Spirit, do you know where you fit in? And what that means for the year to come.
These are big questions.
I mean we don't think about it as we try to knock off five pounds of extra holiday weight but I once you God in fact needs you to know your priorities, your purpose, and your place, which is exactly What we're going to do for the next few weeks.
I'm the sermon series. We're going to push the big spiritual reset button and try to get you back to the very Basics of your priorities. Your purpose and your place. In fact, if you're still taking notes, here's how it's going to happen. Let me give you a preview. We're going to turn to Jesus's Great Commandment.
We're on our savior himself. Actually tells us what our priority should be.
Then we're going to look at what some people call, Jesus's Great Commission. Where he talks about the great Christian Mission and purpose of all of God's sons and daughters,
It's finally, we're going to study something that I call the great question. It's about spiritual gifts personality, where you fit, how you belong, which should probably do and what you probably. Shouldn't if you stick with us for the next few weeks, you're going to find out. Your priorities from the Great, Commandment your purpose from the Great Commission and your place from the great question. You're going to hit reset.
And I hope I pray that this year might just be the best. Spiritual year that you've ever had.
So let's take off that discussion by talking about your priorities.
You know, that on the Tuesday, Before the Friday that Jesus died.
A guy who had his PhD in the Bible, pushed Jesus into a corner and forced him to pick. The most important spiritual priority.
I've heard the story.
It's in Matthew chapter 22. Here's the setup. Starting with verse 34.
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees. Got together different religious groups were testing, challenging Jesus. One of them an expert in the law tested Jesus, with this question. Teacher, which is the greatest Commandment in the Law.
It's a big question. I'm the Law. You might have noticed how to capital L, this refers to the law of Moses. Which are the first five books of the Bible, the ones that Moses wrote: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. And if you would just scrap the rest of your plans for the day and read, all five of the books of the law of Moses. And if you would count with a highlighter, every do and don't every Commandment given by God, you would come up, 613, separate Commandments.
The Law, Moses, 248 times said, do this and do this, and do this, and do this.
And 365 times said, but don't do that and don't do that, and don't do that. And don't do that. It was a great debate among rabbis and religious teachers. Well, which are the ones matters. Most if I'm going to focus on one for maximum spiritual health, here's the question teacher, what is the greatest? Commandment in the law.
I'd be curious if you had a blank piece of paper and y'all had to hand it in what you would say. To that question. Your parents might write down, honor your father and mother.
And the slip to your child.
Uh, you might think of the blessing of faithfulness and Fidelity and right do not commit adultery. I think about the worship of various gods or remembering the Sabbath day and Gathering around the word of God. We might have to think about that question but
But Jesus actually didn't. He immediately responded in verse 37.
Jesus replied, “Love the Lord, your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and the greatest Commandments.
And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself, all the law and the prophets all 613, plus hang on these two Commandments.
Now just said you want to know what your spiritual priorities should be. It's not how much money you make. It's not how many prayers you pray. It's not how much money you give in second place from Leviticus chapter 19, love your neighbor. As much as yourself as fast as you try to meet your own needs, try to be your neighbors needs. That means so much to God. It gets not the silver medal, but the gold.
The greatest the most important is to love God.
Love God. That's not just for an hour on the weekend it’s a love God with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind and all of your strength in the way that you think in the things that you love in the things that you do, let God be the first one that you seek the one. You trust, most the one you love with the deepest passion of your heart. Jesus says, if you do that. It's like the whole law. Hangs on that. Love God, right? And you will not waste this day this year. Or your life, it is.
Your soul is greatest priority.
So we should probably talk about that, huh? In the Bible. The word love
It's kind of like your Grandma's purse.
But there's a lot in there.
So, since this is so important to Jesus, let's unpack this a little bit. What exactly does it mean? When Jesus said to love God,
We'll write this down. Here's my biblical definition to love God. Simply means to joyfully. Prioritize. God.
So, when God comes first, Before what's easy, what's convenient? How your parents taught you. What the pastor of the church has if God If God is at the top of the list,
And you follow God joyfully not reluctantly not begrudgingly. Not
But with a smile on your face, if you do what God wants, this is the definition Of love for God.
You prove it to you from first John chapter 5. The New Testament says this is love for God. Here it is to keep his commands.
And I don't miss this, and his commands. Are not burdensome.
According to Jesus, what matters more than anything else? Is that you today and tomorrow and for the rest of your life. Joyfully prioritize God.
Which actually makes perfect sense. Doesn't it?
Um, who here has been in our relationship before married? Dating someone long term. You know what makes a person feel loved in a relationship?
When you're joyfully, prioritizing them .
That you say, hey, I love you honey or I have feelings for you. But when you actually do something, To prove that there are a priority in your life. I mean, imagine, I'm sitting on the couch. I'm watching some English, Premier League soccer, and my wife has like 100 things on her. To-do list, she's washing dishes with one hand and stir in the super dinner on the other and like, with her toes. She's returning emails. And I'm saying, hey, honey, I love you.
She's going to say ah no, no, you don't. No, I don't want you just to say it, I don't want you just to feel it. I want you to do it. I want you to prioritize me. That's how relationships work, but if I got off the couch and said, fine put away the game, and I stomp around, well, she feel loved. The answer is no, but if I joyfully put her first, if I act without having to be asked if it's just, you know, I like soccer but I love you more. And so I pick you first, that's what love looks like in real life.
And the authors of the Bible, know that that's what love for God. It looks like too. It's not just the feeling it's not just a belief. Yeah, sure, I believe in God. I love him. I sing a song. It's when I have to pick when I can't do everything when God. Is my priority and I'm not dragging my feet and saying, oh I guess I have to because I'm a Christian, the Bible says
Now, what I want you when I serve him with a willing heart
This is what love looks like.
Um, isn't as into your life or at the end of this day, you can look back and say, I tried to put gone first and I wanted to
Jesus would say that.
That's what matters. Most visualize it this way. Let's imagine That this big yellow brick that says, God on it represents. God.
Hey, with me so far. Let's imagine that this red brick represents sin. Something God doesn't want you to do. Let's imagine this green brick represents work. Career money and let's imagine this blue brick represents relaxation Comfort, Recreation. Sitting down catching up kicking a nap. According to Jesus. What matters? Most at the level of your soul is not. Do you believe in God?
To Jesus. The question is,
Where is God?
When you can't do everything, when you have to pick and choose. What comes first? Where does God fit into the order of your heart?
So, for example, let's say you grab coffee with a friend after church today.
And in the midst of that conversation, you think of something that's not right.
Um, like a secret. You heard about a mutual friend.
And it's super interesting. It would easily be the most exciting part. Of the conversation.
For the sake of that moment, what she did. Well, I can't believe. Did you know that?
I mean that would provide a rush in a sense. But, Then there's God.
The guy who loves to protect the reputations of people that the God who doesn't want to see. Trust destroyed, just for sharing some juicy tidbit in the moment. The god who commands us to treat others as we would want to be treated. And if I had messed up, I want the whole world. Talking about that. In that moment, when you're choosing between God and sin, the question is just what, what do you what you love most.
No doubt. So there are some short-term benefit. To this, but is your love for God so much that you could say. No, no, I'm not going to say that.
No, that knowledge is going to be stored and locked in my heart. It's not going to come out. Because I want to protect that person's reputation, every time, you're tempted to sin, whether it's gossip or having too much, to drink or snapping on one of your kids. The question is, is what Which I love most.
But it's not just sinful things.
Think about good things like money.
In the Bible. Money's not bad. Making money isn't bad. Spending money is not bad, saving money and investing money is not bad. But what the Bible cares about most is, is when God has something to say about money,
Which comes first.
Because God is a lot to say about money. Did you know this about the Bible?
Um, God is so generous. That he wants us no matter what, our income bracket to be generous.
You know, some people think of, you know, if I just come to church or if I just love my neighbor then what I do what this doesn't matter. But that that's just not true. This is love for God to obey his commands and God says, if I give Some to you give back.
If I bless you with much then then give Much sit down and set aside a percentage. Don't say I'm going to give later once. All the bills are paid once a down payment is set once my Investments reach. Well then I'll have more to give that's not what God says. And so the question is, what do you love more? Financial plan or the plans of God, which have extravagant radical generous giving from the start.
And as a joy, To write the check to set up the donation to give To the poor every every day we're choosing? What means more to us.
Everything about Comfort.
Have been comfortable is a great gift from God that we don't have to carry stress and work all the time. We can sit down and relax and take it easy, but there are some times when to serve God, we have to do uncomfortable things.
Let's say all that serious. You were struggling with a certain thing that’s kind of embarrassing and you don't want people to know about
And that's why they don't know about it.
Maybe.
Self-Harm that happened in your bedroom, it might be the stiff bourbon you pour for yourself most nights a week, it might be a struggle with pornography or a relationship. That is just far from the love and respect to that God wants in a marriage and you would love to be free. You would love to change that but the problem is the change is not comfortable.
Telling your friends that you. You drink too much. Or they have a D- marriage is embarrassing. And it's uncomfortable, but God is the god of honesty. Of openness. Of community, he's not the god. Who wants you to hide your secrets and somehow pray things away. Instead, he asks you to get very uncomfortable to confess your sins, to each other, to talk about difficult issues in a relationship or in your personal. Habits. And so to joyfully prioritize God means doing really uncomfortable things and so Jesus is huge. Question is here's what matters more than anything. It's not Do you believe in God?
It's not. Did you come to church on Sunday?
It's the god when everything was said and done. Have the first place in your heart. Ending your life, did you joyfully put him first?
This is love for God to keep his commands and his commands.
Are not burdensome. So, here's a personal question. So, I've been talking for the last five minutes.
Was there something I said that just kind of stopped your breath and your lungs.
What was there? One of those 10 examples that I gave you just knew Yeah, that's me.
If that happens to you, that was the holy Spirit of God.
Trying to push that reset button on your heart.
That was God. Telling you it's time to stop running and hiding. I might be a sex thing or a scheduling thing. A marriage thing, a money thing, a priorities or an ambition thing, but God wants to move you to not just repeat the same patterns of last year and think that somehow this year will be more blessed. He's reaching out to you. Inviting you that this is love for God. This is what matters most out of all the things to keep his commands.
And someone invites you, I'm going to ask you to do an uncomfortable thing. If this isn't like the normal setting of your heart, if something else is getting the biggest attention and focus of your energy, today's the day to step forward to ask for prayer. To tell someone that you trust to reach out to a pastor to do things. Differently. This is not. Church is not the place where we have to impress each other. It's where we seek God together.
And I'm asking some of you not to make this another year where the marriage is miserable.
Are you feel enslaved to a habit? You can't escape instead have the courage to love. God so much. You do the hard thing? And put it first.
To which some of you are thinking Pastor. Um, It doesn't feel very joyful right now.
This is love for God. The joyfully prioritize, his commands. Why does Then why does it feel so heavy because I'm not done with the sentence?
Would you let me finish? Here's what love is. It's joyfully prioritizing. God here's why because God joyfully, prioritized us.
This, this is the thing.
The reasonable part of my heart just cannot process think of that sentence. God, God prioritized us.
The God, who created the heavens and the Earth saw you one of eight billion breathing people and he prioritized, you. This is the thing that doesn't make sense. But that can change your heart. Here's what the Bible says it. 1 John chapter 4 we love. Which means obeying God's commands. Why? Because God first loved us.
2000 years ago, God did something that was so illogical. And irrational, that putting him first with joy, and anticipation is the only reasonable response.
Many years ago, when I was just a kid. I was writing my bike around the neighborhood and I noticed something on the street.
A pedal over jumped off my bike, picked it up, and I found out that it was a checkbook.
Some dudes checkbook fat with blank checks his name, his address. What's this? I thought
But notice that the address was right in the neighborhood. So, put the checkbook in my pocket. I pedal over to his front door, I knocked. And when the guy opened the door and saw this strange grade school kid standing on the front porch. He glanced at my hand.
He saw the checkbook in a hand, it in the checkbook. And you know, the first thing the guy did
He wrote me a check. What's your name, kid? All right.
You have my check, I think it's 50 or 100 bucks, which is like a billion dollars when you were me I couldn't believe it. No. What expression if you had to, if you had to predict what expression was on, this guy's face, who was a 50 or 100? Brother what do you think it would be
He was pure joy.
I had given him something first and his response, not reluctant, but joyful was to give me something in return. Imagine if I knocked on his door, but he had never lost his checkbook. Excuse me, sir. My name is Mike Novotny. Would you give me 50 please?
No. So what changed? That from being a have to, or I don't want to a get to I want you. It was the fact that I did something valuable first.
Friends. This is the Christian faith. That we don't start the process with our obedience to God. No, I love how the passage has it. We love why? Because God first loved us, we strive to put God first, whether it's in our money, or with our body, our sexuality, our schedules, our words, our actions, our everything, why?
Because before God ever gave us a single Commandment. He made the most insane. Commitment, he loved us.
The cross of Jesus tells the story while we were still sinners, he died for us.
When you're only five percent sure. You're going to make it to heaven.
He gave the most amazing gift.
Before we could do a thousand things to make up for the bad. He baptized us Into Jesus' name, but before all the habits were fixed and we cleaned ourselves up. He shed his holy precious Blood, so that we could be cleaned up in the sight of God. This is so absurd. When Jesus God, in human flesh, simply washed his disciples feet. They said no, it's not right. You doing that to us.
But that was the tiniest preview of a greater sacrifice that Jesus would give When hours later, he'd stretch out his arms on the cross and not just wash. Their feet would die for the Forgiveness of their sins. Friends, this is what changes. Our hearts that Jesus made. Saving you his number one priority.
For he told you to do anything. He did something.
For he commanded you to live like this. He lived and died for you. Before he said serve God, God himself.
Served you. Why do we joyfully prioritize? God, because he gave us something infinitely better than a blank check.
Instead, he wrote the check that paid our entire debt, he finished it so that you and I could be a thousand percent sure that we're good with God. And we'll spend forever with him in heaven.
In today's, we start a new year, I just want you to just sit in the gospel. That only the Christian faith offers.
You know, this world tries to get you to change your habits and rearrange your priorities. They only have two tactics. The carrot or the stick.
Why should you lose weight? Because if you don't, you're going to have a heart attack and have all these medications, why should you lose weight? So, you have more energy to get on the floor and play with your kids and your grandkids, there's only carrot or stick, Christianity has something so much better.
A carrot or stick. But the cross of Jesus,
The purest example of love that changes. Humans from the inside out. So that a friend can offer us another drink. The devil can tempt us to slander and gossip but we step back and say no, no.
All, I've got more.
Because he loved me first.
I want to ask you today, especially those of us who live here in America to not rush. To practical steps but just to sit in the goodness and commitment of God.
My work with our ministry is to write books.
And ever since I've started writing books, I've learned a little bit more about marketing that I ever knew before. You know, what I've learned about marketing to Americans
Americans love to help themselves.
Three steps to a divorce free marriage. Boom, that's a bestseller.
Five steps of vibe. We love to do stuff. It motivates us. And then they can be good. But it can never be first.
Now you'll try like a New Year's resolution and fail and so Christianity Jesus Christ offers you this but before you try Before you reorder before you take that step, let's just sit at the foot of the cross and think about the biggest step. That he took first.
The Forgiveness of our sins.
So, I urge you today to leave the past in the past and not bring any guilt or shame from the days that have gone by prioritize. God, yes. But not to earnest love.
But a simple gratitude that he loved you first.
It's 3500 years ago, Moses was about to get the first ever edition of the Ten Commandments, you know, the story.
A couple million children of Israel. They're at the foot of Mount Sinai God's thundering. And he's about to deliver his top 10 Commandments. The list of what it means to love God, and to love your neighbor as yourself. He would say have no other gods, you shall not use my name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, honor, your father and mother. Don't murder commit, adultery steal, give false testimony. Don't covet anything that belongs to your neighbor. Exodus chapter 20, gives us the first-ever list of the Ten Commandments, but to any of you here, know,
What God said before? The first commandment.
Before God started that long list of do. Don't don't. Don't you know what? God said to his people?
It's so important. I'll show you Exodus chapter 20 verse 2. He said, I am the Lord your God. Who brought you out of Egypt? Out of the land of slavery.
I saved you. You were stuck. You were slaves and I loved you so much. Here's what I did for you. I changed your future your situation. That's why I'm your God, your father in Heaven. Your Redeemer and your savior. Does that make you happy? Children of Isreal said, yes, that's good. Now, here's how you can make me happy.
And today, I hope you push and seek God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. I hope you do uncomfortable. Things step out of the darkness, confess your sins and connect with Jesus, like you never have before. But please please, before you do that.
Listen to this. We love because he first loved.
Let's pray. Oh God, I thank you so much for your Do not have to guess what matters most to know that all of us can love other people and love you. We don't have to be rich. We don't have to be thin. We don't need a new job or new house a new car. Instead, we can do the most important thing in life right now today as we love you and love others.
I'm praying that you'll give tons of Courage. To people who are here today, most of us need immense help when it comes to changing our life. Changing our diet and exercise habits are hard. Changing the habits of our soul are even harder. So we need help.
God help us to ask for it from our life groups. From our parents, from our friends, from our pastors. And from our church, this year, could be stronger and better and holier than the year past.
I've got more than anything help us to just see the height and the width and the depth of your love.
Be happy just to sit and stare at the cross of Jesus and realize, what a profound gift it is to be fully forgiven. A hundred percent sure that Heaven is ours because of what Jesus did. May the gospel. Dig deep into our hearts comfort us and then compel us to live for you. Because you're absolutely worthy of it.
God bless our church in the year to come Heavenly Father blessed time of Grace. As we declare, not just your law and expectations but especially the gospel of your son, Jesus. It's in his name that we pray, all these things. And God's people said. Amen.
