Renewing Strength Through Sanctifying Grace and Spiritual Health

Devotional

Day 1: Sanctifying Grace as a Transformative Journey

Sanctifying grace is the sustaining power that transforms us into the likeness of Christ. It requires us to make time for God, nurturing our relationship with Him to access this grace. In doing so, we find the strength to persevere through life's challenges. This grace is not a one-time event but a continuous journey of transformation. By consistently showing up for our relationship with God, we allow His grace to work within us, molding us into His image. This transformation is a testament to the power of grace in our lives, enabling us to face trials with renewed strength and hope. [03:11]

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor." (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, ESV)

Reflection: What specific time can you set aside daily to nurture your relationship with God, allowing His grace to transform you?

Day 2: The Perils of Unchecked Productivity

Our society's obsession with productivity can lead to spiritual depletion. Like Jason Siegel's experience, we may achieve success yet feel unfulfilled if we neglect to invest in our spiritual well-being. We must balance our output with spiritual input to avoid burnout. The constant drive to produce can leave us feeling empty and disconnected from our spiritual roots. By prioritizing spiritual practices, we can replenish our souls and find true fulfillment beyond worldly achievements. [11:34]

"Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind." (Ecclesiastes 4:6, ESV)

Reflection: Identify one area in your life where productivity has overshadowed your spiritual well-being. How can you create space for spiritual renewal today?

Day 3: Restoring the Soul Through Spiritual Practices

Just as a lumberjack must sharpen his axe, we must take time to rest and renew our spirits. This involves more than physical rest; it requires engaging in spiritual practices that replenish our souls and deepen our relationship with God. By setting aside time for prayer, scripture reading, and community worship, we can sharpen our spiritual axes and face life's challenges with renewed vigor. These practices are essential for maintaining a healthy spiritual life and ensuring that we are equipped to handle the demands of our daily lives. [14:24]

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29, ESV)

Reflection: What spiritual practice can you incorporate into your daily routine to ensure your soul is continually renewed and strengthened?

Day 4: Confronting Inner Struggles with Grace

Sanctifying grace addresses deeper struggles of loneliness, depression, and loss. It calls us to engage in spiritual practices that renew our souls, offering hope and joy that go beyond temporary fixes like vacations or naps. By turning to God in our times of need, we can find solace and strength to overcome these challenges. This grace provides a foundation of hope and joy that sustains us through life's darkest moments, reminding us that we are never alone in our struggles. [15:40]

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18, ESV)

Reflection: What is one inner struggle you are currently facing, and how can you invite God's grace into this area of your life for healing and renewal?

Day 5: Prioritizing Spiritual Health for True Renewal

We often neglect our spiritual health, focusing on physical and mental well-being. True renewal comes from engaging with God, allowing His grace to refresh us. We must prioritize our relationship with God, especially in times of exhaustion and disconnection. By doing so, we open ourselves to the abundant grace that God offers, enabling us to live fully and joyfully. This prioritization of spiritual health is crucial for maintaining a balanced and fulfilling life, ensuring that we are equipped to handle whatever comes our way. [20:46]

"Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul." (3 John 1:2, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you prioritize your spiritual health today, ensuring that your soul is as well cared for as your body and mind?

Sermon Summary

Today, we conclude our series on grace, focusing on sanctifying grace, the sustaining grace that empowers us to persevere and transforms us into the likeness of Christ. Rooted in John 1, we have explored the multifaceted nature of grace, understanding it as a journey and a relationship with God. Sanctifying grace is about showing up for this relationship, making time for God amidst the busyness of life. Isaiah 40 reminds us that God is the everlasting source of strength, reviving the exhausted and empowering those who hope in Him.

In our fast-paced world, we often find ourselves exhausted, constantly producing without replenishing our spiritual reserves. Like Jason Siegel's reflection on his career, we may achieve success yet feel unfulfilled because we neglect to invest in our spiritual well-being. Our society prioritizes short-term gains, leading to anxiety and burnout. We must learn to sharpen our spiritual axes, taking time to rest and renew our spirits through sanctifying grace.

Sanctifying grace is not just about rest; it addresses deeper struggles of loneliness, depression, and loss. It calls us to engage in spiritual practices that renew our souls, such as prayer, scripture reading, and community worship. We often neglect our spiritual health, focusing on physical and mental well-being, but true renewal comes from engaging with God. When we face challenges, we must turn toward God, not away, seeking His sustaining grace.

As we reflect on our spiritual health, we must ask ourselves, "How is it with your soul?" This question goes beyond surface-level concerns, probing the state of our inner being. God's grace is abundant and available, but we must show up to receive it. In times of exhaustion and disconnection, we must prioritize our relationship with God, allowing His grace to renew and refresh us. Let us remember that God, the creator of the ends of the earth, does not grow tired or weary. Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, soaring on wings like eagles, running without fatigue, and walking without weariness.

Key Takeaways

1. being. We must balance our output with spiritual input to avoid burnout. [11:34]
3. Sharpening the Spiritual Axe: Just as a lumberjack must sharpen his axe, we must take time to rest and renew our spirits. This involves more than physical rest; it requires engaging in spiritual practices that replenish our souls and deepen our relationship with God.

4. Addressing Deeper Struggles: Sanctifying grace addresses deeper struggles of loneliness, depression, and loss. It calls us to engage in spiritual practices that renew our souls, offering hope and joy that go beyond temporary fixes like vacations or naps.

5. Prioritizing Spiritual Health: We often neglect our spiritual health, focusing on physical and mental well-being. True renewal comes from engaging with God, allowing His grace to refresh us. We must prioritize our relationship with God, especially in times of exhaustion and disconnection.

** [11:34]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[03:11] - Understanding Sanctifying Grace
[04:27] - The Importance of Showing Up
[06:56] - The Exhaustion of Constant Production
[11:34] - Balancing Output with Spiritual Input
[14:24] - Sharpening the Spiritual Axe
[15:40] - Addressing Deeper Struggles
[18:08] - The Question of the Soul
[19:04] - Turning Toward God in Hard Times
[20:46] - Prioritizing Spiritual Health
[23:55] - Renewing Strength Through Hope in the Lord

Bible Study Guide

Observation Questions

What does John 1:16-17 tell us about the nature of grace and its relationship to the law? How does this relate to the concept of sanctifying grace discussed in the sermon? [03:11]
According to Isaiah 40:28-31, what are the characteristics of God, and how do they provide comfort to those who are weary? [23:55]
In the sermon, how is the concept of "showing up" for our relationship with God described? What are some practical ways mentioned to do this? [04:27]
How does the sermon illustrate the dangers of constant production and neglecting spiritual well-being through the example of Jason Siegel? [11:34]

Interpretation Questions

How does the idea of sanctifying grace as a sustaining power challenge or affirm your current understanding of grace? [03:11]
What might it mean to "sharpen your spiritual axe," and how does this metaphor relate to the practice of spiritual disciplines? [14:24]
How does the sermon suggest we address deeper struggles like loneliness and depression through sanctifying grace? [15:40]
In what ways does the sermon encourage prioritizing spiritual health over physical and mental well-being? How can this be practically applied in daily life? [20:46]

Application Questions

Reflect on your current spiritual practices. Are there areas where you feel you are not "showing up" for your relationship with God? What steps can you take to change this? [04:27]
Consider the balance between productivity and spiritual input in your life. Are you at risk of burnout due to constant production? How can you incorporate more spiritual input into your routine? [11:34]
Identify a specific spiritual discipline (e.g., prayer, scripture reading, community worship) that you can commit to this week to "sharpen your spiritual axe." How will you hold yourself accountable? [14:24]
Think about a time when you felt lonely or depressed. How did you address these feelings? How might engaging with sanctifying grace offer a different approach? [15:40]
How is it with your soul today? Take a moment to honestly assess your spiritual health. What is one action you can take this week to prioritize your spiritual well-being? [18:08]
When faced with exhaustion or disconnection, do you tend to turn toward God or away from Him? What can you do to ensure you turn toward God in these moments? [19:04]
Reflect on the statement, "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." How can you actively place your hope in the Lord this week, especially in challenging situations? [23:55]

Sermon Clips

Today we're talking about sanctifying grace, the sustaining grace, the grace that picks you up when you're exhausted and keeps you going, the grace that transforms us into the likeness of Christ over a lifetime, the grace that empowers us to put our faith into practice. [00:03:11]

Each week we've kind of looked at the key to each grace, what's really the crux of it. And for provenient grace, there is no key. There's nothing for us to do, it just is. God loves before we even know it. [00:03:28]

Making time in our lives for God. When we as United Methodists talk about being a Christian, we usually use words like journey or covenant or relationship. That's what we talk about. What does it mean to be a Christian? Well, it's a journey. It's a relationship that we have with God. [00:04:28]

If we aren't reading scripture regularly, coming to church to sing the hymns, to recite the liturgy, to hear those familiar words, they escape us when we need them the most. When we're in those dark times, if we haven't sung those hymns in a long time, if we haven't been in the word of God, it's not that it's not there for us, it's that we can't remember it because we've neglected that relationship. [00:05:20]

Isaiah says that everyone feels this way. Even youths will become tired and weary, and young men will stumble and fall. This isn't reserved for just a midlife crisis. [00:06:37]

We see the impact of isolation through the pandemic, social media, the way our culture is changing. We see young people's rates of depression and anxiety rising year after year. It's not just reserved for a midlife crisis or certain instances of life. It happens for all of us, young and old, rich and poor. [00:06:49]

He was unhappy because of the pace of life that he chose. It's my favorite thing that he said in the entire interview. He said I wasn't putting anything in I was just working I wasn't putting anything in I was just working I was just producing and how many of us are doing the same thing we work and we give and we race from one thing to the next. [00:11:34]

We sacrifice long-term sustainability for short-term goals. Sometimes we get anxiety just looking at the things we have to do. I make a to-do list every week because I have to to keep organized. And recently it's grown so long, I started color coding it and putting things in red and highlighting them so I knew what I needed to do first. [00:12:04]

I love that metaphor you have to sharpen your axe you have to take a break so that you can do more and I love that he says you have to take vacations but I want to say a word about vacations because there's a difference between a vacation and a trip I've learned this myself not all trips are vacations. [00:12:47]

And when we got home, I was 10 times more tired than I was when I left. But that's okay, because it wasn't a vacation for us. It wasn't meant to be restful. It's a trip that I will treasure and remember forever. It's the same kind of trip we're going to take with our other two children when they become that age, because the point of it wasn't to rest. [00:15:17]

Sabbath is a huge part of our faith, taking time to just be and to rest. But that sanctifying grace goes deeper. It's more than that. Because while many of us struggle with being busy, that's not the struggle for all of us. Not everyone struggles with being busy. Many of us struggle with the opposite. We're bored. We're isolated. We're lonely. [00:15:31]

We've lost things. We've lost loved ones. We've lost our health. We've lost status. We've lost jobs. We've lost purpose. We don't know how to find hope or how to find joy anymore. And that's something that a vacation, a nap can't fix. Those things run deeper. [00:16:03]

How is it with your soul? Someone once told me that a good litmus test to see if a relationship between two people is strong or not is whether or not you turn toward each other when times get tough or away from each other. When times are hard, when things are a struggle, when you're going through a rough patch, do you turn toward each other to try to solve that or do you turn away? [00:19:04]

Do you start to blame one another? Do you get on each other's nerves? Do you keep score? Do you go to bed angry and wake up and drift farther apart? Do you turn toward each other or away from each other? And I think the same is true in faith. When times get hard, when we're busy and exhausted, do we turn toward God? [00:19:42]

The Lord is the giver of life why would we avoid the source of sustaining grace when we need it the most those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength that's what Isaiah says those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength Isaiah doesn't say those who take a nap will renew their strength or those who go on vacation or those who go and see a therapist. [00:23:22]

Now are those things good yes we should all be taking naps we should all be taking vacations we should all be in therapy those are good things those are great things we should all be doing we have to take care of our physical health our mental health our emotional health but mental health is not the same as spiritual health and many of us have confused those two or we just think we need one or the other right. [00:24:06]

Friends, God's grace is free and abundant, and it will renew and refresh you, but we have to show up for it. [00:24:53]

When times get tough, many of us put God on the back burner, and then we wonder why we feel so disconnected and run down. [00:25:00]

The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn't grow tired or weary. His understanding is beyond human reach, giving power to the tired and reviving the exhausted. For even youths will become tired and weary, and young men will certainly stumble and fall. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. [00:25:06]

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