Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church

This past summer I began noticing “dead” spots in my backyard lawn. I was scheduled to be gone quite a bit between June and August, and I wasn’t real motivated to try and tackle the problem… I just hoped the lawn would miraculously recover on its own. Didn’t happen. The dead spots kept multiplying. My oldest son (who was home from college) even noticed, “Hey dad, what’s going on with your lawn…gettin’ lazy, huh?”

As I investigated the problem more closely I discovered little bunny droppings all over. My house backs up to an open field and bunnies were dining on my lawn. In the past, I ignored the bunnies because my wife and three year old daughter thought they were so adorable. They were like “Thumper” from Bambi. Can’t mess with the bunnies!

I asked my next door neighbor about the bunny problem and he said his lawn had suffered too, but he let it go and it cost him a lot of money to repair it. He said most people whose homes back up to the field have to jump the fence and lay down chicken wire and rocks to close the holes the bunnies use to get through.

I was not motivated to do all that work! There were thorn bushes, tumbleweeds, snakes and black widow spiders under the rocks I would have to move and pick up to fill the holes in the fence. There had to be an easier way! Next time I saw the bunnies, I tried yelling at them, “Hey bunnies! Get out of here! Go to my neighbor’s yard!” That didn’t work – neighbors had dogs and just chased the bunnies back into my yard! So, I threw little rocks at them, but they came back again. My little daughter noticed and said, “Daddy, why don’t you like the bunnies?” I said, “They’re eating our grass.” To which she said, “Well daddy, that’s what bunnies eat you know, duh.”

One morning as I was having breakfast and watching the bunnies enjoy their breakfast on my lawn…I thought of something! I could shoot them! I wasn’t going to kill them, just sting them a little bit on their cute bunny behinds with my teenager’s “Air Soft Gun.” A little plastic pellet might sting just enough to scare them away for good! So I got out the gun, took aim and shot! The bunnies scattered. I didn’t realize my little daughter was watching her daddy go “Rambo” on the bunnies. She looked at me with an air of disappointment and disgust and pointed a finger at me and said, “Daddy, we don’t shoot the bunnies!”

My wife just shook her head and said in a stern voice, “Climb over that fence and fix the bunny holes today…or else!” Well, that was good enough motivation for me!

Extra motivation required:

Often, there are areas in life that require, “extra motivation.” Things we know we need to handle, but just can’t seem to get to…or want to deal with. Things like: clean and organize the garage, paint the house, exercise, lose weight, finish that homework assignment, finish that degree, prepare for the next business trip, visit that old friend, or deal with a difficult family member.

And sometimes we can approach our faith in a similar way. Tough to get motivated! Can’t we just go to church, sit in our same pew and leave it at that? Seems there are times we just lack motivation to take our relationship with God to the next level of intimacy, commitment and service.

A new year is upon us. It’s a good time to do some evaluation. Some of us are doing great in our relationship with God and we can’t wait for what He has in store for us in 2010. But for others…we’re struggling to find that “extra motivation” to keep going and growing in our faith. Well, if that describes you, you’re in good company! At times, the early church became discouraged and lacked spiritual motivation. The Apostle Peter encouraged the believers to “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).

So as we look forward, I would like to share with you several “motivating factors” -- reasons why we should strive to grow spiritually in the new year.

Motivating Factors for Spiritual Growth

1. Love motivates me.

As we know, love can be a powerful motivating factor. It’s like when you were first dating. Guys, you planned those special dates to impress/make your girl happy because you were falling in love. You ordered special tickets to a concert or show…made dinner reservations at the fancy restaurant with the ocean view…bought her a dozen roses, etc… Now you’ve been married 20 years. You go out when there’s a chicken fried steak special at Denny’s and a 2 for 1 at the movie theater. But think of the things you did out of love: travel long distances to see each other, spend hours talking on the phone (today you text until your thumbs get tired, but it’s the same principle), give little gifts and write love letters. Why did you do all this? Because you were motivated by love! And that’s just the results of the romantic motivation of love.

When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was in all of Scripture He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Because God has shown His unconditional love to me, I am motivated to respond in love to Him: to know Him more intimately, to live for Him more fully and to serve Him more sacrificially. 1 John 4:10-11 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

God showed His unconditional love for me by sending His Son to die in my place. By putting my trust in Him, I receive forgiveness, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal life! Scripture teaches that because God loved us in such a way, this should motivate us to love one another. I can do this in the new year by:

Accepting others – putting aside any prejudice in my heart towards anyone or being exclusive in any way. Accepting others as Christ would, regardless of age, race, sex or economic status.

Showing kindness to difficult people – Any difficult people in your life? If not, you probably don’t have a pulse! We all have certain people in our lives whose sole purpose seems to be to make us miserable and test our otherwise good nature. Love motivates me to be gracious and patient with them, because Christ is gracious and patient with me.

Finally, love motivates me to forgive those who have hurt me. A pastor told a true story of two sisters who attended the church he had recently been called to. Apparently, the sisters hadn’t spoken to each other in years and no one knew why. They would sit on opposite sides of the sanctuary, stand as far apart as possible in the choir loft and the only thing they would share with each other were dirty looks. The pastor decided it was time to take action, so he sat them down and asked them what the cause of the division was…they looked at each other and couldn’t remember! Forgiveness followed. The love of Christ motivates me to love and forgive those who have hurt me. It’s been said, “Forgiveness is the scent a rose gives once it’s been stepped on.” Forgive and don’t take grudges into the new year. Let the love of God motivate you!

2. Purpose motivates me.

Second, purpose motivates me to grow spiritually and live for God in the New Year. Most things in life have a purpose. When they do what they were created to do it’s a beautiful thing! When computers work the way they are supposed to, it’s a beautiful thing. The braces I had put on my daughter’s teeth were created to straighten them and now that they are off, her smile is a beautiful thing. The guitar I bought my son was created to make music and when it’s in tune…it’s a beautiful thing. Cars were made to take us from point “A” to point “B” and when they do what they were created to do, without breaking down, it’s a very beautiful thing!

You and I were created by God with a purpose and when we understand that purpose – we’re on our way to pleasing Him and it’s a very beautiful thing in His eyes! Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “For by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God –not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Notice: we are created to do good works, but we’re not saved by our good works…our salvation is found in God’s grace through our response in faith to Jesus Christ. See, good works are not the root of our salvation; they are the fruit of our salvation! Knowing this motivates me to want to do what God created me to do. It’s about making a difference in the lives of others.

Every fall for the past six years, our high school students have gone down to Mexico to build homes for very poor families living in the worst of conditions. Because of the continued violence and the drug war going on, the parent’s and church leadership thought it best to take a year off. The students were very disappointed. They said, “Well, we’re going to do something, right?” I said, “Of course we’re going to do something, we’re created to do something! How about we minister to the homeless, needy, and forgotten in our own city?” They said, “Bring it on!” That’s what I love about working with teenagers: put a challenge in front of them and they’ll go for it!

This past November we had about 40 students attend our San Diego City Mission Trip. The first night we were scheduled to lead a children’s program at the San Diego Rescue Mission in downtown San Diego. We were led to a small room to minister to about 15 children. There was hardly enough room for the 15 kids, let alone 40 of us! Just then, one of the workers asked us if we could lead a chapel service for their homeless women’s group, since their speaker cancelled at the last minute. Well, the Holy Spirit opened a door, so we walked through!

I quickly divided our group and sent half to work with the children and the other half to help me lead the women’s chapel time. One of my leaders volunteered to give a devotional, a student was willing to share her testimony and another helped me lead the singing. We had such a wonderful time of fellowship with these dear ladies. Some of them were older – their faces marked with deep lines; a result of living on the streets for so many years. There were also young mothers who had their babies with them. They came that night for shelter, a meal, and some encouragement.

After we prayed together, many of the ladies told our students how blessed they were by our smiles, songs and testimonies. With tears in their eyes these homeless women encouraged our students to be grateful for what they had and challenged them to count their blessings and take nothing in life for granted. Talk about a double blessing: our students had met God in that small, cramped room that night.

The next day we were out doing ministry all over downtown! We divided up in to six groups and went throughout Balboa Park handing out warm blankets and sack lunches to homeless people. We visited with very sick and lonely people at a convalescent home, led a children’s program for African refugees in City Heights and partnered with a local church with a homeless ministry. And we will return in the months to come to minister in these places again.

So why give food to a needy family? Buy extra Christmas presents for kids without parents? Why take someone in who needs help? Why volunteer to do home repairs for a single mother? Why visit a troubled friend in prison or a lonely person who is all but forgotten in some convalescent home? For recognition? To soothe a guilty conscience? To gain “spiritual points” with God? No!

The motivation comes out of love and gratitude for all God has done for us and because it fulfills one of our purposes for living in the first place. You and I were created to do good works and that purpose motivates me to serve God in the New Year!

3. Authority motivates me.

Like it or not, authority is a motivating factor in life. Ten years ago I was pastoring a church in San Marcos and I went home to pick up a book I needed in preparing a sermon. I went and got the book and as I was leaving I noticed two or three police cars driving around my neighborhood. It was unusual and I wondered what was going on? As I was driving back to my office, I noticed a police car pull in front of me, then another behind me. Lights went on, sirens went off – I was surrounded! Then I was motioned to pull over. What did I do wrong? Did I run a stop light? Was I speeding? Did I have an overdue library book? What was it? But they were the police, with the authority to pull me over. So I pulled over. They had me step out of the car and sit on the curb and asked to see my I.D. Again, I obeyed. They asked me some questions. I told them I was a mild-mannered pastor on my way to the church office. They apologized for the misunderstanding. They said I fit the description of a thief they were trying to catch in my neighborhood! Apparently I have one of those faces!

There are many sources of authority in our lives: everything from the law of the land to the law of God. There are also parents, teachers, coaches, employers…the list goes on. And in the best of circumstances, we desire to please the authorities in our life, don’t we? What about Jesus…do we have the same desire to please Him?

As a Christian, the authority of Jesus Christ as Lord of my life motivates me to please Him and to grow spiritually in the coming year.

Jesus emphasized His own authority as He shared His final words and commission to His followers in Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

As a “disciple”, the authority of my Master motivates me in many ways. I want to grow in the knowledge of God. I want to grow in obedience to His teachings, I want to experience His transforming love and I want to go and help make disciples of others!

But how do I learn to do this?

Here’s a good place to start: by opening my Bible each day and allowing God to speak to me through what I read. See, God has revealed Himself to us through His written Word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” I want to be equipped for every good work God may have for me in the coming year, so I want to pay attention to the authority of Scripture in my life.

We’ll make hundreds of appointments next year and some of us will write them down in our calendars or schedule them in our phones. Why not schedule a time with God? I was talking with a guy a while back and his phone beeped. He said, “Oh, sorry I’ve got to go. I have an appointment.” I said, “With whom?” He said, “God – we’ve got a Bible study together every day at 4:30.” I looked at his phone. It read: God – 4:30!

As a New Year dawns, “extra motivation” may be required to grow spiritually and take our relationship with God to new levels of knowledge, intimacy and service. His love, His purpose and His authority motivates me …What will your motivation be?