Echoes of Grace
Routines Vs Rituals
- Duration:
- 27m
- Broadcast on:
- 18 Nov 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
Good morning. So, this morning's lesson as you're going to open up your Bibles, our first verse, or our first scripture we're going to read is in Daniel. So as you open up your Bibles to Daniel chapter 6, I may walk you through something here. So you see our title, not going to choose these colors again, they're hard for even me to read, but our title is fast food today. Now, you might think that's quite an odd lesson title. How are you going to give a lesson about fast food? Well, the way we're going to give a lesson about fast food is this. So, as I go throughout my day-to-day life and work, and as I'm sure many of us probably do, at least of the younger generation, what we do is we go to work and we work and we work and then lunch time comes around and, "Well, I need lunch." That's going to stay down there now. Well, I need lunch, right? And so what do you do? You go get lunch. Now, what I do is I just go get fast food, because it's easy, it's quick, and it's similar, right? And so it's become a routine for me throughout my day-to-day, is to get fast food. And so because that's become my routine, I've started to think about this. Well, if we have routines, and there are these things called rituals, what routines and rituals do we have during a worship service? Or what routines and rituals do you have in your daily life? So, although we're titled fast food, we're talking about routines and rituals today. Because it has become my routine to get fast food every day. Just about every day I work. Well, in order to talk about these two, we have to define them otherwise it's not going to make any sense. So, we'll begin by defining a routine. If you define a routine as a regular intentional practice, well, that makes it really easy, it's intentional, it's regular, but it's aimed at fostering growth, discipline, or connection. So is me getting fast food every day, maintained for growth, discipline, or connection? Well, for me, growth, absolutely, I'm still working on it. But then you have this thing called ritual. And we're going to define a ritual as a prescribed or established form of a ceremony, often performed without personal engagement or understanding. So whenever you think about those two definitions, right, and you can think about fast food, or you can think about we have five songs. Are those five songs we have a routine or a ritual? That's our question, right? Well, we have to continue to define them, because out of here, it could be either or. Hopefully it's the first one, but it could be the second one. So we have to continue to define. So we'll define a routine as a pathway to growth. Daniel, chapter six, turn with me there. Daniel chapter six and verse 10. In Daniel chapter six, this is all about Daniels and the lions. Dan and verse 10, it says, when Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber, open towards Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times and prayed three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously. So here's a routine by Daniel says, he got down three times a day, giving thanks to his God. As he had done previously, that's how we know this is a routine, because this is giving thanks to God for to foster growth, discipline, or a connection with God. And he's done it three times a day, and he does it every day. Then we also have in first thessalonians, because for every Old Testament, we're going to try and make there to be a new. And first thessalonians chapter five, first thessalonians chapter five with me, go to verse 16, and we'll read through verse 18. It says, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. So what does this say? It says always, right? Pray always. It says continually, right? So I'm sorry. We rejoice always. We pray without ceasing or in some version that is pray continually. And then in all circumstances, you give thanks. So this is take this routine to foster your growth, right? Now these are not just routines that we find in the Bible, although they are routines in the find in the Bible that help to offer growth. These are routines that you can put in your own. Now you have to be careful, because if we define routine this way, then we define Richard with a heart. And Isaiah chapter 29 in verse 13, it says, turn with me there, Isaiah chapter 29, and verse 13 is where we'll read. In verse 13, it says, and the Lord said, because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men. We'll just continue reading here. It says, therefore behold, I will again do wonderful things with these people with wonder upon wonder, and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden. Well, so what do we have here, right? If we have our use the right word, we want to say ritual, if we have our routine in which fosters growth, it's out of the heart, well then we have rituals, we don't have heart, right? What does it say there again? It says, because this people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, yet their hearts are far from me. So you have to ask yourself, do you pray to the Lord and honor the Lord and yet your heart's not in it, right? Is your prayer or your understanding or your worship a ritual? Well, as I said, for every old will give you a new Matthew chapter 15, go to the words of Christ. Matthew chapter 15, click all the right buttons. Matthew chapter 15 in verse eight and nine, it says, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines, the commandments of men. So once again, what do we have? Well, their hearts are far from me. Their hearts are far from me and what? Well, once again, they honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. It says in vain, do they worship me? And if we define ritual as without heart, then we can define rituals as vanity, right? In vain, they worship me. Do you come sit in the pew, do you pray every day? Let's say you wake up and you read your Bible, you pray before every meal. Is that just a ritual? Do you know that just something you do to check it off the list? Right? So both of these things are rituals due to our terms of the definition, right? It's not done with their heart. So that's, that's where this can be dangerous because you think, Oh, I have this great routine. Well, if you don't put your heart into your routine, then you have a great ritual. Oh, it's great. It looks really good on paper. It looks good to everybody around you, but you it means nothing. You've disconnected yourself from it. It has no personal engagement. So we have two different characteristics of our rituals versus our routines, right? Or we have a few, we actually have four. Our first one would be our intentions. Right? What intention do you have to do something? A routine engages your heart and your mind. It aims for growth and a deeper and a deeper connection with God. We're in a biblical study here. So if your routine's intention is to engage your heart. Okay? Well, we also intend to engage your mind and we intend to grow and form a deeper connection between us and God or us in the Bible. Right? That's a great routine. That's the intention you need for a routine. We can see in Mark chapter one and Mark chapter one verse 35, we have a routine and Mark chapter one and verse 35, it says, in rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place and there he prayed. So what do we have here? We have Jesus getting up early in the morning while it's still dark to go to a desolate place and pray. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not going to get up at three in the morning, leave my house, go, let's say, to the side of a cliff where nobody's around and pray. Right? I don't have that intention, but that is an intention. You have to intend to do that. You don't accidentally get up at three in the morning or I assume it's three. We aren't actually told the time, it's just still dark, right? You don't get up at three in the morning unintentionally, walk out your house, go pray out of mountainside. That's not unintentional thing. If it is, you've got bigger problems and we got to get that checked out, right? But then we have this, if this is an intention, right, and this is, this is the intention of a ritual is to grow, then what, or I'm sorry, this is the intention of a routine, which is to grow, then what is the intention of a ritual? Well, the intention of a ritual is often performed out of an obligation or habit, right? I go because I'm hungry to fast food, right? Now I do it because I'm trying to grow in some places, but it is performed out of obligation because you have to eat and it's just a habit of mine, right? It's without personal engagement or understanding. We go straight back to our definition and that second part, our definition often performed without personal engagement and understanding. That's the same thing. That's your intention in a ritual. Well, I just have to do it or well, it's always been done that way, right? So which, which intention do you want? Whenever you sit in the pew today, whenever we sing five songs, whenever we have an invitation song after the lesson, is it done to engage your heart and your mind? Or is it just because it's a habit, right? Do we record this because it's a habit because it had to happen during COVID, right? And so you have to ask those questions to yourself whenever you study, whenever you pray, whenever you, you know, do anything, when you read the Bible, what's your intention? Well, as I told you, we have different characteristics. We also have the characteristic of consistency. The consistency of a routine would be regular and consistent practice that builds spiritual strength and discipline, right? So once again, we're doing this for the purpose of strengthening or building ourselves up. Well, we can see in Psalm chapter 119, Psalm chapter 119. And we'll read verse 164, Psalm chapter 119 and verse 164, it says, seven times a day, I praise you for your righteous rules. So here, we have a regular practice seven times a day, seven times a day, what I praise you for your righteous rules. Right? So that is praising God, that is building spiritual strength, that is discipline. Right? Now you say, well, I wake up and I pray seven times a day. So I have a routine, right? Well, ritual is a regular practice that may come monotonous and lose meaning over time. So you wake up every day and you sit down on your knees, the side of your bed, stand up, stare out your window, whatever you want to do. And you pray to say, dear Lord, thank you for letting me wake up this morning. I please enable me to have a good day. You know, enable me to say, get off work early, not kill myself at work. You know, enable me this enable me that thanks for this. Thank you for that. Okay. So you have this. Now, if you give that same prayer every day, which is not a problem every time I give an opening prayer, it's dear Lord, we thank for the stand that we have to come together. And we ask that you might enable us to have the right mindset to hear and understand what is to be taught, that we might be able to apply it in our lives and take it out in the world. We ask that you might enable us to understand, be edified and edify one another. In Jesus Christ's name, we pray. Amen. Now I know that prayer like the back of my hand, because every time I give a prayer that's just about those exact words. Now, that's not because it's a ritual, because I say those words. Well, I guess I say those words, because I say those words, they're easy. But I say those words because it's strengthening words. I say it with heart. So it doesn't matter what words you say. It doesn't matter if you wake up and you say the same thing over and over and over and over, as long as it still has meaning. And as long as you still know why you're doing it. All right. Well, then we have a purpose. Well, the purpose of a routine is driven by desire. So you do something because you're driven by desire in order to grow close to, or to align with one's life goals, or to align with your life, your goals or your will. All right. What do you want to get out of this? Well, in Numbers chapter nine, and verse one through 14, we won't turn and necessarily read all of it. But I do want you to turn there with me is we're going to read some of it. So in Numbers chapter nine, beginning in verse one, we're in the Passover as it's being celebrated. It says we'll begin in verse two, let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. Verse three, it tells us that time on the 14th day of this month, that's why light, you shall keep it at its appointed time, according to all its statutes and rules, you shall keep it. Okay. And then it goes down and it tells you everything that they're to do and all the, the purpose for it. Okay. So here, we're told the purpose of why they do this. That's, that's what makes this a routine. It's because they have the purpose. Now, of course, this can turn into a ritual. Right. So if, if they just do this and say, well, because my dad did it, well, why'd your dad do it? Well, because his dad did it. Well, what his dad did? I don't know. He actually was telling me, he said yesterday, he was walking me through this and he said, if your wife takes a hand and she cuts off the two ends, she puts in a pen and she cooks it and asks her, why'd you do that? And she said, I don't know. My mom did it that way. So I go and the ask her mom and she says, I don't know. My mom did it that way. So you go and you ask grandma and grandma says, well, it didn't fit in the pen. Well, that's why grandma did it. That's grandma's routine. Your routine's just because it did it. You don't know why. You don't have a clear purpose beyond your fulfilling your tradition or a requirement. Right. That's just what's been done. So that's why you do it. And so as we know the history of the Israelite people and the Jews, right, their Passover to some of them has turned into a ritual. Right. Well, it's just the requirement or, well, it's a tradition we've always held. And so we have to look in our lives, you know, and we have to figure out what is the purpose we do the things we do. Right. And then we have another one and you engage your heart and your mind. I'm sorry. Those were all of the characteristics. I'm on a different page of my head. So then we have to engage our heart and our mind. Right. And in order to do this, or I guess for lack of better terms, when we do this, we're turning rituals into routines because if you have the ritual of waking up every morning and praying out your window, right, how do you turn that into a routine? Well, you already do it. So I'm not even going to tell you do it more than once because you already do. So you have to engage your heart and your mind. If you go to Romans chapter 12 and verse two with me, Romans chapter 12 and verse two says, do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing, you made a certain with the will of what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable, and perfect. So it says be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Right. That's what it says here. So in order to turn your rituals or to transform your rituals into routines, you have to renew your mind, which means you have to engage your mind. Okay. So how you do this is you approach your practices. Oof. I said that very loud. You approach your practices with a fresh mindset or a perspective, right, a different perspective of, well, I'm not just waking up and doing this because I always wake up and do this. I'm waking up and I'm doing this because I want to thank the Lord. Right. And so you seek to understand the significance of your actions. Well, this isn't the only way you turn a ritual into a routine. This is just the start because next you need to seek a personal connection with God. Go to James chapter four. James chapter four, read with me verse eight, it says, draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Clean your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded. So what does it say? It says come near to God. So whenever you get up and you do your prayer, right, don't don't pray while you're brushing your teeth. Right. Don't pray while you're watching the news. Say, Oh, well, I hope this doesn't happen. Lord, please don't let this happen. No, no, come near to God. Get down on your knees. If that's how you're going to humble yourself, humble yourself before him and come near. Right. So to use a routine to draw near to God, you must focus on and build strength in your scripture. If you're going to read and your knowledge, instead of just fulfilling duties, if we go back to our praying, right, we have to draw near, which means we have to focus. Right. We have to focus on our prayer. And then whenever you focus on that prayer, however you want to do that, however you're going to humble yourself to do that. So you can put all of your effort into that, not a half minded. I'm thinking about breakfast and I'm just praying to God because I have to pray to God, it is putting everything you have into it. Right. That's what it is. You're seeking that personal connection. And then you also have to be open to following the Bible and in Galatians chapter five and verse 25, Galatians chapter five and verse 25, it says, if we live by the spirit, let us also keep in step with the spirit. Right. So it's this keep in step of the spirit. And you might say, what does that have anything to do with the Bible? Well, it says this, says, allow the words of the Bible, which was written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That's who the spirit is, the Holy Spirit to guide and shape your routines, or the routines you make. And this makes them more dynamic or inspiring, not only for you, but for others as well, because if you pray before every meal, and you're praying as a routine and not a ritual, and somebody comes up and says, Hey, why do you do that? And you have an answer. Right. Because I'm giving thanks to God, because God is the one that provides me this food or God is the one that has given me the opportunity to sit down and study with these people or whatever answer you have, right, whatever meaning you have to pray before you eat, as long as that's a routine, you can inspire others because others can see that in you. Right. That that's what this is, is you're inspiring others. That's that's the difference in a ritual routine is you can inspire others that helps you build. So how do we develop meaningful routines? Right. Now we know how to turn a ritual under a routine. Well, how is it meaningful? Well, you must set a clear intention. Right. You have to say, This is what I'm going to do. And this is what I'm going to do. Right. So you have to define where you're going to engage in a particular practice or activity, and what you hope to achieve. What what are you achieving by saying down and praying every morning? Why do you want to do it? It doesn't mean you have to do it. And if you don't if you look into your life and you're like, Well, I kind of just do it. It's just a ritual for me. Then stop. Because you're not actually doing anything. You're not achieving anything other than a checkmark on a list. Right. Well, then you're going to create a schedule. Okay. So now we have intention on why we're going to do something. So let's schedule it. Let's make a point in time. So we're going to set specific times for prayer, for our Bible studies, for our fellowship with the brethren in order to build consistency. Right. Brother Steve every day, or I'm sure every day he studies his Bible and reads books. But every Monday, he has a conference call. Right. I know a lot of creatures that have conference calls on Mondays, and then turn around and do the same thing Tuesday, and then go to services Wednesday and then build their lesson Thursday, Friday, Saturday, give it Sunday and repeat the process. Right. That's their schedule. That's their routine. Now I can't I don't look in their hearts. I don't know why they do what they do, but they do. Right. So you have to set yourself a schedule. And then you have to incorporate variety, because if you don't incorporate variety, it's very easy for this to turn right back into a ritual. Well, I'm just checking off a box now. Right. So you have to change up your routine occasionally. Now, whether that mean you have a different routine every day, right? Well, one day I'm going to wake up, I'm going to read a chapter of the Bible, and I'm going to move on my day. And the next day I'm going to wake up, I'm going to pray to God, and I'm going to move on my day. Right. I don't care what what your routine is, but if it's different every day, or let's say you change it up every month, this can also help to keep you fresh, you engaged, right? And help you keep growing. Right. So whenever we are developing these routines, we also have to reflect regularly. Because if you're not reflecting, once again, you're back to why am I doing this? I don't know. I've done it every day. Right. This is where rituals and routines truly differ. I don't care about any of the other stuff. This is actually where it takes difference. Because if you take the time to turn and reflect on your practices and the impact on your growth, whether that be spiritual or not, right, if you take that time and you adjust as necessary to maintain their meaning and effectiveness to you, then you're going to just keep growing. You're going to just keep moving. Right. So how we turn our rituals into our routines is just that clear intention to create a schedule to incorporate variety and to reflect regularly. Now if you're not careful with this, if you skip any of these steps, that's fine. You can put whatever one of these steps in whatever order you want. Right. But you have to be careful because these routines that you might have now can turn into a ritual in the future. Right. You might do something because you do something. And then your kid sees that and says, well, we have to do it that way. Right. Now, here's the question. We have an invitation song. Actually, it is, I have decided to follow Jesus as our invitation song. Now as we stand and sing this song, you have to ask yourself the question. I didn't sit up here and give you a steps of salvation lesson. I didn't sit up here until you'd be baptized. So why do we give an invitation? Right. Is that the kind of ritual or routine for us? Now, the reason we give an invitation today is the reason I'm going to tell you we can give an invitation today is because if any of you feel like you sitting in this pew has become a ritual for you, just something to check off the box. Now, I look good. Now, people like me. If you'd like to ask for help for that or any of your other rituals help to turn back into your routine, if you come forward as we stand and sing the song that has been selected. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus.