Making the ordinary extraordinary

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3 part series

<Session 1>

Living in Jesus' Name

Goal of this teaching series: to help you spend an ordinary day with Jesus in every part of your day!

The Apostle Paul believed the place to grow close to God is precisely in our EVERYDAY lives.

Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

The heart of spiritual life is to do everything with Jesus, in His name the way He would do it in our place, knowing He is actually present.

If I am going to learn to spend an ordinary day with Jesus, it will have to be this day.

It doesn’t mean doing new things. It means doing things you’re ALREADY doing, but in new ways—in Jesus’ name.

Sleeping
Waking up
Eating
Relationships
Working

Handling conflict
Spending Money
Driving
Doing household chores
Watching TV
Recreational activities

Beginning the Day with Jesus:
According to the Old Testament, the day begins AT NIGHT. There was evening, and there was morning-the first day. Genesis 1:5

"Thinking about night as the beginning of the day reminds us that everything doesn’t depend on us. We go to sleep, but God is working all through the night. So, we don't have to be anxious or rushed. When we wake up, we will simply join Him in His work." Eugene H. Peterson

	Sleep
Sleep is an act of TRUST. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. Psalm 3:5	Sleep is a gift from God. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat- for He grants sleep to those He loves. Psalm 127:2	Get enough sleep. FATIGUE is one of the greatest barriers to prayer and spiritual growth.	Resolve conflicts before going to bed. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry and do not five the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4:26-27

Ask the Lord to MINSTER to you in your sleep.

	Waking Up
Renew your INVITATION to Jesus.	Speak to Jesus about any anxieties or concerns you feel. “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” I Peter 5:7	Acknowledge your DEPENDENCE on Jesus.

Learning to Find God in Each Moment of the Day - We need to develop the skill of identifying God’s presence in our lives.

Reviewing Your Day with God

1. Be still for a moment, and quiet your mind.

2. Acknowledge that Jesus is present. Ask Him to lead you.

3. Recall the beginning of the day when you first woke up. Watch that scene, as if on video. What is your reaction to what you see? Talk to God about that.

4. Continue through the video of you day, going from scene to scene. As you reflect on each one, some scenes may fill you with gratitude, others with regret. Speak directly to God about this. You may also want to pray for some of the people you interacted with during the day.

5. End your review with a prayer of thanksgiving for God's mercy and love. Ask Him to refresh and minister to you as you sleep.

In reviewing your day with God regularly two things will happen:

You will grow tired of your regrets
This will increase your desire to grow and change

You will begin to be awed by God’s presence in the ordinary moments of your life.

God loves you so much that He is interested in everything -even the ordinary things of your daily living!!!

<Session 2>

Spiritual Gauges

The Wrong Gauge

BOUNDARY MARKERS are external, superficial signs or practices that set one group apart from another.

Spirituality wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.--Dallas Willard

What are some wrong ways people in our day gauge spiritual health and maturity?
Do you sometimes use wrong spiritual gauges? What are they?

The Right Gauge

Teacher, which is the greatest commandment of the Law? 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 greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Matthew 22:36-40

The right gauge is LOVE.

"If I have not love- even if I am knowledgeable, even if I do miracles, or give myself up as a martyr- I am nothing." I Cor. 13:1-3

God is not interested in some abstract thing called your spiritual life.
God is just interested in your LIFE. He wants you to be filled with love: love for him, and love for people.

Using the Right Gauge: Training vs. Trying

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes in strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."
I Cor. 9:24-25

Definition of Training:

To train means to ARRANGE my life around activities I can do that will enable me, over time, to do what I cannot do by direct effort alone. --Dallas Willard

"Train yourself to be godly." I Timothy 4:7

"Everyone who if fully trained will be like (their) teacher." Luke 6:40

Training is an indispensable ingredient for pursuing spiritual transformation.

The purpose of such activities is not to demonstrate how spiritual we are.
Training activities exist to help us grow in love for God and other people and to become more like Christ.

Three Ways to Train to Be More Loving

1.	Listen.
	"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." James 1:19
	Use the phrase "Tell me MORE."
2.	Use touch.
3.	Speak words of love.

"Jesus, the Word who became flesh, was full of grace and...truth." John 1:14

Words of grace:	Words of truth:
Comfort Encouragement Care and Concern	Forgiveness Reconciliation Addressing conflict

His Life for Your Life: A Life of Love
"We love because He first loved us."

<Session 3>

Making the ordinary Extraordinary

"Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17

"I am with you always..."
...Jesus Matthew 28:20

Three Issues

1. Belief
You must honestly believe that experiencing the reality of God in your everyday life is a real possibility.	Key question: Do I really believe this is possible for me? "The Kingdom of God is near." Mark 1:15

2. Desire
We must grow in our desire for this kind of life.	Key question: Do I really want Jesus to accompany me through every moment of my day?

3. Decision
There is a big difference between desiring to do something and actually doing it. The difference is a decision.	Key question: What am I willing to do so my desires come to pass?

<printable Daily outline> Making My day with JESUS

Two Things to Keep in Mind
1. Don’t be defeated by "failure."
2. Don’t forget to look for "burning bushes."

Series Summary:

God calls us to the challenge and privilege to do all of life in Jesus’ name.
It’s not a matter of trying harder, but of training to become like Christ.
He invites us to join with him throughout the day.
He invites us to listen to him for leadings, and to spend time alone with him.
He gives each of us at least one unique spiritual way to connect with him.
He calls us to let go of the illusions that someday we’ll have time for him or someday, we’ll have the stuff we need to be happy.
Instead he says now "in our ordinary days" that this is the time and place for us to know and enjoy him.
Remember, there is no failure.

An Ordinary Day with Jesus
Enjoy TODAY with Him! He enjoys you!