From Intention to Transformation | Under New Management | Full Experience

We're so glad that you're here. If you're able to, would you stand to your feet and worship with us? We're gonna sing together, so we'd love to invite you to join your voices with ours, and let's reflect and remember the goodness and the faithfulness of God together as we sing. Come on. ♪ I feel you in the sunrise, the heat upon my skin ♪ ♪ I feel you in the sunrise, the heat upon my skin ♪ ♪ I see you in the night sky when the stars are glowing in ♪ ♪ And I hear you when the wind blows, the leaves are rustling ♪ ♪ I feel you in the sunrise, the heat upon my skin ♪ ♪ I feel you in the sunrise, the heat upon my skin ♪ ♪ There's nowhere that I could go that you haven't been ♪ ♪ You alone are worthy, yes, and I can't help but believe it ♪ ♪ I take a look around, look at all you've done ♪ ♪ It's just a glimpse of what's to come, holy, holy, holy ♪ ♪ But if this was it, then that's enough ♪ ♪ If this was it, then that's enough ♪ ♪ I find you in the details of everything I pray ♪ ♪ In the presence of a father that's closer than a friend ♪ ♪ In the crying of a baby, the laughter of a kid ♪ ♪ There's nothing that I could find, you aren't already it ♪ ♪ There's nothing that I could find, you aren't already it ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, I can't help but to sing it ♪ ♪ You alone are worthy, yes, and I can't help but believe it ♪ ♪ I take a look around, look at all you've done ♪ ♪ It's just a glimpse of what's to come ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, yes, but if this was it, then that's enough ♪

♪ You are more than enough, Lord ♪ ♪ And it's enough, cause you're enough ♪ ♪ If seeing was believing, I've seen enough ♪ ♪ And it's enough, cause you're enough ♪ ♪ I'm living in the promise of what's to come ♪ ♪ And it's enough, cause you're enough, if seeing was believing ♪ ♪ I've seen enough, and it's enough, cause you're enough ♪ ♪ I'm living in the promise of what's to come ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, yeah, I can't help but sing it ♪ Come on. ♪ You alone are worthy, and I can't help but believe it ♪ ♪ And I can't help but believe it, I take a look around ♪ ♪ Look at all you've done, it's just a glimpse of what's to come ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, holy, yeah, but if this was it, then that's enough ♪ Hey! ♪ But if this was it, then that's enough, yes, we believe in love ♪ ♪ But if this was it, then that's enough ♪ ... The Lord is my shepherd and He is everything I need So I will not worry I will not fear the enemy He said that He loves me He said that He's with me even though I walk through the valley of shadow and death and still I know He has good plans

He has good plans for me So I will take heart in deserts and gardens He has good plans He has good plans for me If I know my Father I know my Father has good plans Oh Declare it today, come on The Lord is my Savior So why should I doubt my victory? Why would I question the rod and the staff that comforts me? He quiets the waters He quiets the storm inside of me So what could be better than walking with Him when I believe He has good plans He has good plans for me So I will take heart in deserts and gardens He has good plans He has good plans for me If I know my Father

I know my Father has good plans We believe that today in His prayer of justice to prosper us to not to harm us to give us a hope and a future Sing this out, come on Surely Your goodness and mercy will follow after me So fear well not find me Cause I'll be dwelling in the house of God Surely Your goodness and mercy will follow after me So fear well not find me Cause I'll be dwelling in the house of God Surely Your goodness and mercy will follow after me So fear well

not find me Cause I'll be dwelling in the house of God Surely Your goodness and mercy will follow after me So fear well not find me Cause I'll be dwelling in the house of God He has good plans He has good plans for me So I will take heart in deserts and gardens He has good plans He has good plans for me If I know my Father I know my Father has good plans Oh yes He does good plans If I know my Father I know my Father has He has good plans Yeah A cry with creation Responding in worship

♪ A fresh revelation ♪ ♪ The rhythm of heaven ♪ Would you sing holy with us? ♪ Holy are you Lord ♪ ♪ Holy are you Lord ♪ ♪ I'll spend all my days ♪ ♪ Finding every way to sing holy are you Lord ♪ ♪ Acquired with creation ♪ ♪ We're responding in worship ♪ ♪ It's a fresh revelation ♪ ♪ The rhythm of heaven ♪ Would you sing holy? ♪ Holy are you Lord ♪ ♪ Holy are you Lord ♪ ♪ I'll spend all my days ♪ ♪ Finding every way to sing holy are you Lord ♪ He's so worthy. ♪ Worthy are you Lord yes ♪ ♪ Worthy are you Lord ♪ ♪ Heaven's throne belongs to you alone ♪ ♪ Worthy are you Lord so worthy ♪ ♪ No one higher no one greater than you Jesus ♪ ♪ No one higher no one greater than you Jesus ♪ ♪ Our worship is yours our attention is yours God ♪ ♪ We adore you Lord we adore thee we adore thee ♪ ♪ Yes we adore thee we adore you Lord ♪ ♪ We adore thee yes we adore thee we adore you Lord ♪ ♪ Yes we adore thee we adore you Lord ♪ Sing holy Lord come on sing holy are you Lord ♪ Holy are you Lord I'll spend all my days ♪

♪ I'll spend all my days finding every way to sing holy ♪ ♪ Holy are you Lord worthy worthy worthy ♪ ♪ Worthy are you Lord yeah worthy are you Lord ♪ ♪ Worthy are you Lord heaven's throne belongs to you Lord ♪ ♪ Worthy are you Lord holy are you Lord ♪ ♪ Worthy are you Lord holy are you Lord ♪ So holy Lord. Amen, amen. Let's continue to carry that same spirit and posture of reverence and adoration as we continue our time of worship and service today. You can go ahead and take a seat. Well, CCB it is so good to declare those truths together in worship. My name is Leah and I serve on our students team. And I just want to welcome you to CCB. Whether you're joining us online or you're here with us in person, we're so glad that you're spending part of your weekend here with us. Well, I don't know about you, but I happen to have a few important messages for you. So I want to start with a prayer for all of you. rational fears, and I happened to discover a new one. You see, my family and I, we moved into a new home over the winter months, and you know, in the first little bit, I discovered my Arizona worst nightmare in the garage, a scorpion. And I was doing fine at first, but a couple weeks passed, and then there was another one.

Now, at that point, I just dove down the rabbit hole, and I started researching what I could do about this, and I found out that if you have a black light, they glow in the dark, and so I quickly ordered a couple and a mallet, and I decided I was just gonna kill them all. Do we have any scorpion hunters in the room? Okay, you get me. Well, this became a whole thing. It would get dark, and then I would rally my entire family, and we would go outside, and I would inspect the concrete brick walls, and I would make my husband go to the really scary, dark part around the pool equipment, and then my kids would look around all the garbage cans, and we would end up in the garage, and every single time we hunted, we found something. So I've decided we're moving. But the reality is, that threat, it was there all along. But once I had the black light to illuminate it, then I had the means to address it. And every single week, we pause for this special time in our service where we do something similar to that, and we take communion, and it's in this moment that we reflect, and we think about some of those things we'd rather keep hidden in the dark, but we shine a light on them, and we bring them to Jesus, and we allow him to address it with his grace and his mercy. You know, David has this really great prayer that we can use as an example. It comes from Psalm 139, starting in verse 23.

It says, search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me, and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. So we're just gonna take a few moments, just slow down, to remember what Jesus did for us on the cross, how he claimed victory over sin and death. And we acknowledge our need for him as a savior, our need for him to uncover those things that we just would rather keep hidden, but for him to just show us his grace and his mercy. Let's pray. God, thank you for allowing us to have a personal relationship with you. God, I just pray that we would accept the grace that you give us, and we're just so grateful that you don't meet us with judgment, but with love and adoration. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, if you've been around CCV for even a short amount of time, you know that we place a high value on our next-gen ministry. And we're always looking for ways to better support our kids and our students in building their relationship with God and others. And we know with the school year coming to a close, some of you are going to experience some big changes this fall. Some of you have kids that will go into kindergarten, some will go to junior high, and some are going to make the leap into high school. And we want that transition to be really smooth. So next week at all of our CCV campuses, it's going to be Level Up Weekend. And this is where every student and child will go up a grade, and they'll start attending the experience of the grade that they'll be in the fall. Now I know some of you might be thinking, this seems a little early. And you're right, it is. But that's on purpose. And that's because we want for your kids and your students to have the opportunity to build relationships with their coaches, with the staff, to build some Christ-centered community before they head into a new school in the fall. And if your child or your student is participating in a CCV camp, we want this to be a time where you can get really connected to those teams before then. Now here's what that will look like here at the Peoria campus. If you have a child going into kindergarten, they're now going to meet in the upstairs of the kids' building. Students going into seventh grade will meet on Saturdays at 4 p.m. Students going into eighth grade will meet Saturdays at 5.30 p.m. And those going into ninth grade will now join our high school experience on Sunday

nights at 5 p.m. There are more ways that you can get more information on that by scanning the QR code on the screen, and you can get more details. Well, we know some of you might feel a little bit nervous about that. But just know we are really excited about this next chapter in your kids' or your students' lives, and we're here with you every step of the way. Well, at this time, I invite you to pull out your CCV mobile app or whatever it is that you take notes on as we welcome our senior pastor, Ashley Woldridge, and we continue on in our current series under new management. Have you ever noticed that almost every single one of us, we have similar goals, but we experience drastically different results? I mean, just think about your health for a minute. There's no one here that says, you know what my goal is? I want to get overweight. I want to have high cholesterol. I want to have diabetes and die at 50, right? Nobody says that. What do we all want? We want to get better in shape. We want to eat better. We want to start using that gym membership. When it comes to your finances, there's nobody that says, I want to be in debt up to my eyeballs. I want to fight with my spouse for the rest of my life about money. No, we all want to be able to get our finances under God's blessing. We want to have financial freedom. When it comes to your marriage, nobody says, I want to last at least three years and then split up and be done, maybe do that over again. All of us say, we want our marriages to go the distance. We want to not just have a lasting marriage, we want to have a happy marriage. And of course, spiritually, I mean, we're all here in church, right?

I mean, nobody says, I want to grow further and further away from Jesus until I drop out of my faith. Like, we want to get closer to Jesus. So what? We have the same goals, but drastically different results, don't we? Why is that? Is it luck? Are some of us just lucky, others not? Is it talent? Is it maybe we're just victims of our circumstances? Victims? No, no, and no. I want to tell you exactly why some of us here today, by the end of this year, we will have amazing breakthroughs in so many areas of our lives, especially spiritually. And some of us are going to stay stuck. And here's why. It's a quote that I've quoted probably more times in the past five years than any other quote. It's by James Clear. He says this, you don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems. In other words, all of us have the similar goals. Like, we all want to make progress in areas of our lives, but do we have the systems that are going to lead to the breakthroughs that allow us to accomplish our goals? You know that's true, let me put it this way. Goals set the direction, they're incredibly important. Don't discount goals. But systems drive the results. And you might say, what is a system? A system is very simply this.

A system is how you accomplish the what. And of course your systems drive the results in your life. Because systems create habits, habits shape behavior, and behavior drives results. So of course you have to have the right systems. Now, someone's thinking this right now. Why are we talking about systems in church? This doesn't sound very spiritual. This sounds very business-like to talk about systems in church. I mean, God doesn't care about systems. I'm spiritual, right? I mean, does God care about systems? I'm glad you asked. Let's think about God very deeply for a minute. When God created the earth and the universe, right? From the very, very beginning, before he ever created us, I want you to say the blank out loud with me so we can get this in our minds today. God created a solar, say it out loud. Oh, wait a second. The whole entire universe operates off of a system. And then when God created you, did you know he created you and you, your whole body's a system? I mean, say it out loud with me, right? You have a digestive system. You have a nervous system. You have a immune system.

You have a circulatory system. Wait a second. Your heart. Your heart is a system. And when the system's off, your whole entire body feels it. God created your whole entire body as a system. Do you know the only reason you can go to a doctor and have any confidence that doctor knows what they're talking about and can fix your problem is because your body's a system? Without that, no doctor can fix anything. It's just a system. Everything's a system. In fact, all growth, like things about agriculture, like plants, trees, the grass in your backyard, it only grows because you have to have a what? A watering system. And yet, sometimes it's like everything about our growth requires a system, and yet what happens is when we talk about systems spiritually, I see Christians like poo-poo systems. They're like, I'm spiritual. I'm just like, I just kinda go with the flow, you know? I just, I'm spiritual. And I like nature, and if I feel it, I do it. But systems feel like they put me in a box, so I'm spiritual. Oh, that's great. But that's not how God works. God is a God of systems, and if you want to grow,

you must have spiritual systems or spiritual habits in your life, and that's why I'm crazy excited about the message today, because God is gonna give someone a spiritual breakthrough today. You didn't realize it, but under new management, under the CEO of Jesus, he wants to change how you live your life, including, right, when a new CEO comes in, he doesn't give you new values. There's new systems as well. We do things differently throughout our day, right? And you need the same thing in your life, and you can't just wing it. That's like watering your yard when you feel like it and realizing the grass is dying. And some of us are dying spiritually because we don't have systems that support the growth God wants for our lives. And I'll say it this way, spiritual habits, maybe the most spiritual thing you can do today to grow is to create better spiritual systems. Do you know that? It's maybe the most spiritual thing you could do to grow is to create better spiritual systems. Now, before we move on, I wanna make something clear. Systems do not save us. When we talk about systems, and there's so many spiritual habits and spiritual disciplines, those don't save us. We are saved not by what we do, I say this all the time,

but what Jesus has already done, amen? Like we are saved by grace through faith, period. So when we talk about systems today, we're not talking about salvation, we're talking about how do you grow in your faith. After you're saved, right? Put it this way, spiritual habits aren't about earning God's love, they're about growing in it. And God brought someone today because he wants you to grow. And systems are not designed to be exhausting. Like you're not supposed to be worn down by this. It's the thing that God wants to do to actually bring the growth you want. Listen to how Jesus put it in Matthew chapter 11. He said this, starting in verse 28. He said, are you tired? Are you worn out? Are you burned out on religion? Like come to me, get away with me, and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. How? Now watch the language. Walk with me. Work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and learn to live freely and lightly. Do you see the language Jesus is using?

Walk with me, rhythms, learn how I do it. In the first century, Jesus used the word yoke and yoke was a tool that was used to pull two things together so they could walk side by side and go further together. In other words, systems are how we keep step with Jesus. And when you keep step with Jesus, that's how you grow, which means systems aren't burdens. They free you to actually become the person God wants you to become. Let me give you an example from scripture. When I read scripture, one of the things I've learned is when I see a man or woman in scripture who's having massive spiritual breakthroughs, like God's doing amazing things in their life, and they're staying strong in the midst of all the craziness around them, I'm like, I've stopped kinda reading just what's happening, like what's the breakthrough. I wanna know, is there something practical underneath it? Is there a how, not just the what? Is there some systems underneath that? Because then I can look at my life and say, the things I need to put in my life that can lead to the same spiritual breakthroughs. A great example in scripture is Daniel. We've studied the whole entire book of Daniel here at CCD in the past, but if you know anything about Daniel, you know that this guy stood strong in the face of lions.

How do you stand strong facing a lion's den? And you have your own lion's den that you're facing in your life. And then after God saved Daniel because he stood strong, how did Daniel rise to be the second most important leader in the world? And yet as he rose in leadership, he stayed humble. He didn't let pride take over his life that so many leaders can do. How did Daniel do it? Were there any systems that led to the spiritual breakthroughs? Well, watch this in Daniel chapter six, verse 10. It says, now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day, he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God. Say that bold out loud with me at the end. Just as he had done before. Say it one more time. Just as he had done before. What did Daniel have? He had a system. He had a system of prayer. Daniel didn't pray when he was desperate looking at the lions. He had been praying systematically, which is why he stood strong and he continued to do it.

And I just wonder, when you look at your life, what spiritual systems, not just prayer, but what spiritual systems or disciplines do you have so that daily, weekly, you can stand strong no matter what is thrown at you? Very honestly, when I was putting this message together, I was struggling with how many spiritual systems do I cover? Like, how many spiritual systems do I cover? Because there's so many I could talk about, right? I mean, there's a spiritual habit and discipline of taking a Sabbath, which is a system. One day a week, God asks you to take off. No work, focus on him. And God promises if you would take that one day off systematically, he will bless the other six days. And some of you don't do it and you wonder why you're burned out, anxious, and don't know what's happening in your life. I could talk about the system of tithing. Do you know tithing is a system? God put a system in place spiritually where every time you get paid, you bring the first back to him. And God says, when you do that, I will bless the rest of your finances. And many of us do not tithe, or we do it whenever we feel like it. And you wonder why your finances are a mess. I could talk about the spiritual discipline of being consistent in church.

Not when you feel like it, but every week, no excuses. The discipline of prayer, of studying God's word, of confession, of fasting. I mean, I could do so many things. But what I'm gonna do today is at the end of the message, I'm gonna give you one system that will absolutely transform your life. In fact, the divorce rate goes to single digits if you do this one thing, systematically. You're like, what is it? Gotta wait till the end of the message. But what I wanna do for the next few minutes is I wanna lean in with you, because some of you get so overwhelmed, like how would I put something new in place? If Jesus is my CEO, he wants new things to happen in my day, and I have a hard time changing my day, because I'm so routine, and I've just created my own little life. And so I'm gonna teach you how to create a new system. And it may surprise you, but I think these are very biblical principles. So if you're taking notes today, how to create a new system. system, here's the first thing you must do, and it's gonna sound counterintuitive, you start small. You start small. The thing that kills some of us when we create new systems in our life is we get overzealous. I mean, look at what you read in Daniel.

You're like, Daniel prayed three times a day. I will pray three times a day, and I will do it one hour each, three hours a day. How many of us are gonna be successful with that system? If you're Mother Teresa, maybe, I don't know. Most of us, I mean, me, that would be tough for me. So it sounds counterintuitive, but you must start small. Why? Because small things done consistently trump big things done occasionally. How does all life change happen? We think it's some big leap. I'm gonna leap, you know? Let me show you how change happens. It's not a big jump. Change happens like this. One small step at a time. Every day, just moving in the same direction. And some days may feel like one step back, but I'm gonna keep moving forward. That's how change happens. And we don't like it that way, because we want some big, just one event. Like, we wanna change our kids. We're gonna go one big vacation. No, what changes your kids is what you do every day. The small, small things, consistently. Your marriage is the exact same way. Everything is, spiritually. The way you change is you do something small,

consistently, not something big, occasionally. And that's why you start small. You might say with prayer, like, what if you started just praying three minutes a day, every day? You'd be like, three minutes? What could that change? Everything. In fact, Zechariah chapter four, verse 10 says, God says, do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. Small changes done repeatedly are where you get the breakthroughs, not big things done every once in a while. Let me give you an example from my life. And there's so many places where I'm inconsistent, you guys. I mean, I could tell you where I need new systems. I mean, I need new systems eating candy and snacks. Okay, that's like my nemesis. I mean, I'm like, so this year, I'll just tell you a new system I'm trying to put in place. I try to not eat anything after 8 p.m., because that's when it all goes downhill for me. You know, there's like a bowl of ice cream at like 9 p.m., there's nothing better, you know? So I'm trying to get new systems, but there's so many times I've failed, but when I see the results, it's just like small changes I put in place. I'll give you an example physically,

because a lot of us want some physical change. It was years ago that three of us, and I've given you this example once before, but three of us on staff, Dustin Tappan, Travis Brown, and myself, we made this goal that in January, by the end of the year, we would do a 10-minute plank. Now, if you've never planked before, a 10-minute plank, that's a massive goal. That's big, right? So, and you're like, what's a plank? Can I just show you what a plank is? It's like you, a plank is where you get on all fours. You can do it standing up, but you can also do it like this, and you're just, it's all core, right? And you're just like this, and so it's difficult. When we started in January, did we start with a 10-minute plank? Not even close, all right? In fact, we started with 60 seconds, and at 60 seconds, I am shaking. I feel like I'm getting ready to die. 60-second plank, and we decided let's do it every single day, every single day. So, in the month of January, 60 seconds every day. It's so small, and I'm shaking so much, I'm like, there is no possible way we're getting to 10 minutes. And then February, we went up to 90 seconds.

And then March, we went up to two minutes. And then every month, we just added, what did we do? Small, small steps in the direction we wanted to go. How many of you think by the end of the year, we got to a 10-minute plank? You think I'd be telling you this story if we didn't hit the 10-minute plank, y'all? Maybe I would, but here's a picture. In December 31st, there's the three of us just shaking our brains out that we hit a 10-minute plank. Now, listen, how'd it happen? How'd it happen? Small steps done repeatedly, that's how change happens. So, small things done consistently, they trump big things done occasionally. So, one, start small. Number two, don't overcomplicate it. The death blow for so many systems is you create all sorts of complexity and complexity is the enemy of growth. Think from a business standpoint. Why is, in the business world, why is Amazon so successful? One-click shopping and easy returns. system that works. Why is Apple one of the best companies in the world? Because everything about Apple's operating system is designed to be intuitive and easy and to have such a great experience. It's simplicity that matters. Why is Costco one of the best companies in the world?

They don't overcomplicate it. They limit what they even sell in the store and everything about Costco is uncomplicated. Everything. Why is In-N-Out, why are you addicted? Burgers, fries, shakes, that's it. It's not complicated and yet when it comes to our spiritual systems, we think that God likes complexity and so you start, let's just say you wanted to put together a spiritual system to stay in God's word every single day. Well, you could put together a system and some of you, this is what you'd wanna do. I mean, I'm like, let me have some fun, okay? You'd be like, well, here's gonna be my system. I'm gonna wake up at 4 a.m., I'm gonna hike a half a mile to a remote location, I'm gonna have a backpack with five different Bible translations and a Bible dictionary. It's gonna be awesome. I'm gonna get out my Bible, I'm gonna read six chapters a day and I'm gonna bring five highlighters with me and the highlighters, here's what I'm gonna do. The yellow is I'm gonna underline God's promises. Every time I see a promise of God. Blue, God's commands. Green, God's blessings. Orange, God's warning. Clear, places that God said he loved, cats, right? It's a clear and the reason it's clear

is because it's not there, all right? But you may be just in case. And then you're like, I'm gonna get a journal, not just one journal, I'm gonna get three journals and one journal is to do the observations I see, one is the application and three is my prayer journal I'm gonna write in cursive so God knows I'm serious. And that could be your system, right? Now, how many of you would be successful at that system? Some of you would be. Like you're that nerdy. Like you're that brilliant. I mean, some of you, and this is the problem when we think about systems is we sometimes look at someone else's system and what they're doing and it actually is a little complex and we think that complexity is a good thing and that's what we should do in our lives. Let me give you a warning. Smart people are uniquely vulnerable to mistaking complexity for insight. The smartest people will make the most complex systems and think that's a good thing and it's not. Complexity is the enemy of growth. In fact, some of you are gonna be able to take this preaching lesson today and you're gonna be able to apply it to your workplace on Monday morning. You're gonna walk in and go, guys, our issue isn't goals, our issue is our systems and we are way too complex and you'd probably be right.

But when it comes to systems, what's simple gets used, what's complex is eventually ignored. At worst, it's abused. This is why some of you even financially, you can't stay on a budget because your budget's too complex like some of you have a spreadsheet that even Bill Gates doesn't understand and your spouse for sure doesn't understand it. And so you've just over, you've over-engineered the system. And let me say something really clear. The best system, the best system is what? Is the one that works. It's the one that gets used. So you should put a system in place for your life that just keeps you consistent. But don't look at what other people are doing, look at what fits you. Just be consistent with it. And the more I read scripture, the more I'm just struck by how much Jesus loves simplicity. He doesn't over-complicate it, do you understand that? He never over-complicates it. You even look at the early church, things they were wrestling with, they're always trying to like simplify it for people. And let me read the verse for you in Matthew 11, again in the NIV, it says this, Jesus says, for my yoke is easy to bear and my burden I give as light. It's easy, it's light.

You don't over-engineer it, make it simple. So what are we gonna do to start a new system? Number one, we're gonna start small. Number two, don't over-complicate it. And number three, aim for consistency, not perfection. This is big for some of you perfectionists out there. And I'm talking to myself because I've got a little bit of perfectionist nature inside of me. And what happens with some of us that are perfectionists is we aim for perfection, not consistency. And then when we miss or we mess up a little bit, we like are all or nothing, we throw the whole thing out. Can I give you an example from my own life? One of the systems I have that changes everything about my life is every morning I get up, same place, same time, and I get into God's Word. And what I use is I use the YouVersion Bible app. This is what it looks like. It's like if you ever go to the app store and you just search for the Bible app, that's what it'll look like. It has thousands of Bible plans on there. I pick a Bible plan that I'm gonna read, usually for the year, and it keeps me consistent. I still read from a paper Bible. I like that better. Some people don't. Again, whatever system works for you.

But the YouVersion Bible app tells me what to read, and then when I get done reading it, I click this little button, and it tracks that I read, and then it gives me a streak for how many days in a row I've read my Bible. And at first, it's kind of motivating, because you look at the Bible app, you pull it open, and it's like, you've read for 10 days in a row. You've read for 20 days in a row. You've read for 40 days in a row. And then what happens? You miss a day, and your streak goes to zero. Who's been there before on the Bible app? And some of us are like, oh no! And it's like we freak out, and then it's so unmotivating, we like give up. Let me just make it real life, real life. Here's what happened to me this last week. This last week, my daughter lives in Denver with her husband. She's pregnant, delivering our very first grandchild. On Tuesday, we weren't expecting it, she went into labor, Tuesday night. So Wednesday morning, I mean crazy early in the morning, I jump on a flight, fly to Denver, I land, I get a rental car, I drive as fast as I can to the hospital. Jamie had flown in early already, so she's there, and she's giving me updates, and she's like, it's coming, it's coming soon, and I wanna be there

so desperately as I can, a grandpa of my grandchild. And so I drive to the hospital, I park, I sprint in the hospital, I run through the doors, I get to the elevator, I press the button, third floor, run to the room, Jamie's like, hey, there's a spot where we can stand in the corner, there's a curtain, you can't see anything. So I'm in the room with Jamie, and when I walked in the room, three minutes later, my daughter delivered. Three minutes later, is God good? So I'm a, do I look a little older? Yeah. I'm a grandfather at 35, what should I say? I'm a little bit older than that. But on Wednesday, Rory Grace is her name, was born, and Jamie and I have not stopped smiling. You guys, we are smitten with this little girl. But Wednesday, I missed my Bible reading plan. Now, you're thinking like, well, of course. But can I tell you the number of times, listen, I'm not perfect, I'm consistent, but there's so many times that I've missed my Bible reading plan for lame reasons, not the birth of my child. And what happens with some of us is when our goal's perfection, not consistency, when we miss a day or two, we kind of give up, we get demotivated, and that is exactly what Satan would want you to do. Because if your aim is perfection, when you mess up, you'll give up.

So I'm gonna give you some counterintuitive advice. I want you to plan for failure. You're like, what? Yeah, you're just gonna plan for failure. Here's what I mean by that. Planning to fail doesn't mean you expect to fail, it means you know what to do to get back on track. So let me say, when I missed Wednesday, was I like, oh, I'm out? No, Thursday, I just got right back at it. So here's the thing, when you plan to fail, it's not planning to fail, you're not expecting to fail, you just know what to do to get back on track. So if you're reading your Bible, if you miss a day, you don't miss two. If your goal in 2026 is to be in church every weekend consistently, which is an awesome goal, if you miss a weekend, because you're sick or something happens, you don't miss two. If you wanna pray every day with your kids, if you miss a night, just don't miss two. Don't give up, don't let Satan shame you out of a spiritual system. You put in place, don't do that, because with God, listen, Romans 8.1, therefore there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So with the system, what are we gonna do to create a new system that's gonna spiritually change our life?

Here's what you're gonna do, and someone should take a picture of this. You're gonna start small, you don't overcomplicate it, and you aim for consistency, not perfection. And here's the thing, every single one of you today have a system. You're like, no I don't. Yes you do. Your life is a system either intentionally or accidentally. Here's some of you, your system. Your system is every single day, you've not really made Jesus the CEO of your life, because if you have and you're under new management, something changes in your days. It's not about you, you don't drive it, but some of you, here's your system, you wake up just barely in time to take a shower and get to work. You drive to work, you just barely make it through the day, you get home, you're so exhausted, you eat a terrible meal, you maybe have a couple. and you start binge scrolling on social media, it destroys your mental health. So you think, what am I gonna do before I go to bed? So you get on Netflix or Amazon or YouTube and you watch something until you fall asleep. And then you wake up the next morning and you repeat that system over and over again. Now that's a system. It's a terrible system, but it's a system.

And what God wants to do today is he wants to, as your CEO, because when a new CEO comes in, there's systems that change. He wants you to look at your day and say your day, your systems must change if you ever want to have the spiritual growth you need in your life. And so what I want you to do today is I don't want you to walk out today and go, I hope I get some new systems. Hope isn't a strategy, but a system is. So I'm gonna challenge you today to put one system in place in your life that if you do this one thing daily, it will change everything about your life. And what am I gonna challenge you to do? What's the one system? I want you to get into God's word every single day. You have no idea how this one spiritual system or habit or discipline will change everything. Let me just give you the stats. This is just the data. Years ago, the Institute of Bible Research did a massive study of 300,000 people, and here's what they found about Bible reading. They found that if someone engaged God's word once a week, almost nothing changed. Twice a week, still almost nothing changed in their life. Three times a week, they saw the needle move a little bit. Four times a week or more, everything changed. Everything, why? Because now that's a system,

and a system drives the results. So let me just show you what they found for people that read their Bible four times or more per week, which is a system. They found this. They found that alcohol addiction drops by 60%. They found that pornography use dropped by 60%. They found that gambling addiction drops by 45%. They found that loneliness, depression, anxiety, and self-harm dropped by 30-plus percent. They found that self-esteem rises by 30%. Watch this. Sharing your faith goes up by 228%. Some of you have someone in your life that needs Jesus, and it weighs on you. And this is the one thing that would help you be able to engage them the way God wants you to. And then I could go on and on, but the last thing they found is that all these people were far less likely to report being stagnant in their faith. They were all growing in their faith by just being in God's word. Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Look at that list again. That's an amazing set of goals, isn't it? Like if you looked at your life and you said, there's something on there that you're like, that's an amazing goal for me. But what do we know?

You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. So you must put systems in place to see the spiritual breakthroughs that God wants in your life. And what are we gonna do? To create a new system with Bible reading, we're gonna start small, don't overcomplicate it, and we're gonna aim for consistency, not perfection. Now, what I'm gonna do in a minute is I'm gonna give you a Bible reading plan I want our whole entire church to do together. It is 25 days through the book of John, the writings of John, the book of John in first, second, and third John. It's gonna help develop some consistency with you. But first, let me just say this, because some of you get so overwhelmed with Bible reading, you're like, even if I read like a chapter, I wouldn't even know what to do with it. So here's your system, very simple system, not overcomplicated, it's called SOAP. If you wanna take a picture of this at the end, this would be really helpful. SOAP just stands for scripture. You read a small section of the Bible, maybe like a chapter or so. O is you observe, like what is God saying to me through this? And the plan I'm gonna give you is gonna help you with the observation.

And then A stands for apply. You're gonna just say, how does this apply to me, God? What would this mean for my life and my day today and what I am facing? And then P stands for prayer. You just end by praying and asking God for help. SOAP, scripture, prayer, SOAP, scripture, observation, apply, God, what is this saying to me? And then I pray. It's not complex, you don't overcomplicate it, that's what you do. So I'm gonna show you the plan, but before I do, I wanna show you the real life story of two people in our church that have put systems in place that are changing their lives. Watch this. It was in one of the hardest seasons that I've ever been through, in one of the darkest moments that I've been through, that I remember being taught that there was some wisdom in my Bible. And so for the first time in a long time, I opened up my Bible and I felt relief from the things that I was struggling with. And I wish I could say that after I felt that relief, I just was immediately a Bible freak and was reading it all the time and really disciplined about it. I knew that that relief was out there and I still went back to my old way of life. And so as I continued to navigate through the difficult season, I started to fall back on it a little bit more regularly. What became a one-time thing of reading my Bible became a once a month thing, then every couple of weeks to eventually it becoming something that I've seen so much benefits and I've constantly lived in that relief that now I wouldn't change a thing.

And I want to wake up every day reading God's Word and seeking Him first. I usually like to start my day with my devotional time. The first five or so minutes, I like to start with just praying with God. And that's when I'll move to my Bible reading time. Currently, what I've been doing is I've been reading a psalm a day. And I like to do that in the morning as a way for me to just kickstart my whole day. My devotional time doesn't always look the same. A lot of the times I spend it here at my desk. Other times, depending on if it's super hot outside or not, I'll spend it outside. One of the ways that I think I connect with God the most is in nature. And so there have even been times where I'll just go on a hike and just spend time in my Bible because I feel like it helps me connect with God, seeing Him in nature, but also just being able to read His Word and hear His voice in that. And so it doesn't always look the same, but every single day, my time of being in His Word is what stays the same. So for me, as a working mom, my mornings can feel so chaotic, trying to get everybody ready, you know, get ready for school, me get ready to go to work. And then by the time that I come home at the end of the day, I'm like, wow, why was my day off today? And when you really reflect on that, you're like, I wasn't reading my Bible or I didn't read it for a couple of days. And I noticed that a lot just in my overall demeanor. So I ended up starting in the car because one day I just was like, oh, I haven't read my Bible in a couple of days. And I felt myself just being anxious. And so how I started making this a priority was I would drive into work, I would park, I park in the same parking spot every day. I open up the YouVersion app, I open up my plan and I press play. I love listening to the plan that I'm doing that day for the message, but I personally read it at the same time that it's playing to me.

For me, that just works because I retain it better that way. I love reading the spellings and hearing the pronunciations of what they're saying in the message. And then sometimes I write notes and sometimes I don't. I guarantee highlight at least one verse in the app when I'm reading. It's usually no longer than 15 minutes, you know, just keep it as easy and simple as possible. And then like, thank you, Jesus, bless this day. And then off I go. Reading my Bible consistently has taught me to just love better. I think it's just a reminder to love one another. And it's easy to love the person that's easy to love. But when you have to love the person that is hard to love in that moment, for whatever reason life is throwing at you, it's nice to be able to pause and say, okay, I'm just a little bit better at that today because I spent time in God's Word. We thank them. Two different systems. One, he's in the morning and sometimes out in nature. The other, a working mom that does it in her car before work because that's the quiet place she can find. Which system's better? The best system is the one that gets used. And you need to develop a system for you. You must get into God's Word because God's Word is what will transform your life. So you don't just read the Bible. The Bible reads you. And it's amazing how many times I'm in God's Word in the morning, God's just giving me exactly what I need, the conviction I need to go about my day and be strong and grow in my faith. So here's what I want you to do. I want every person to pull out your phone in church.

Just pull it out right now. And what I want to do is, even if you have a Bible reading plan, I'd invite you, as a church, I want us to do one Bible reading plan together for the next 25 days. It's the book of John, writings of John, this QR code that's going to come up on the screen right now. You can simply scan this QR code. Or, if you don't know how to do that, I want to invite you to do a Bible reading with me. To do that, just text the word Bible to 72020. I want to invite you to do a Bible reading with me. If you get hung up, come see our prayer team afterwards, go to our Next Step Center. We will help you in any way we can, but this is gonna take you directly to the Bible app, and it's a plan that I think is a really good plan for the next 25 days. And I'm gonna challenge you. Let God's word transform you. You do not rise to the love of your goals. You fall to the love of your systems. And one of my mentors, John Maxwell, said this. You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine. CCV, let's be a church that is driven that our daily routine is in God's word. And let's watch God change us, amen? Let me pray for us. Father, thank you that you're a God of systems. And some of us realize today that we've had goals and good intentions,

but God, we can't rest on our intentions or even like a good goal. We must have the systems that allow us to see the spiritual breakthroughs in our marriage, with our kids, with our mental health, with our finances, with our work, with just growing to be more like you, Jesus. We can't do that without getting into your word. So would you help all of us to be dedicated for the next 25 days to create a new system, a new habit of being in the one thing that can light our path and just give us the change you want. Thank you for what you're doing in our church. We give you all the glory and we pray this in Jesus' name. And everyone said, amen. We'll see you next week for Under New Management. Thank you.