Living Hope Church
30 August 2026

      • John 1:5NIV2011

      • Bible Trivia
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      • Bible Trivia
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      • 1 Kings 19NIV2011

      • Psalm 13NIV2011

  • Our God Reigns Forever
  • My God Reigns
  • At Calvary
  • Moving Forward
  • I Have Decided To Follow Jesus
  • King Of Glory (Feat. Shana Wilson-Williams)
  • Say The Name
  • Majesty
  • Majesty

      • John 1:5NIV2011

  • Introduction
    Hey guys, let’s open in prayer (Ask pastor to pray). 
    I was on the treadmill the other day, and I thought to myself, “I’m not actually going anywhere.
    The screen shows me I’m moving, but I am literally walking in place, and I don’t feel like I’m building any muscle or anything, because I’m not going anywhere.” 
    Have any of y’all struggled with forward motion? 
    You know that feeling that no matter what you do, you aren’t getting anywhere? 
    Glad I’m not the only one. 
    Have you ever felt like you’ve been walking in place, but not actually getting anywhere in your walk with God? 
    Where it doesn’t matter how long you pray, or how many bible verses you memorize, your relationship with God doesn’t feel any closer or deeper? 
    Well, I thought of a few reasons why we may feel like we aren’t getting anywhere in our spiritual walk. 

    Reasons We don’t Progress

    I- We Don’t Progress, Due to Bad Form

    We might be moving but not progressing due to bad form. 
    Can somebody read Psalm 139:23-24? 
    Psalm 139:23–24 NKJV
    23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
    Can someone else read James 1:5-7?  
    James 1:5–7 NKJV
    5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
    In exercise, whether running on a treadmill, lifting weights, or doing something else—we have to check our form.
    If we have bad form, we’re more likely to hurt ourselves than build muscle.
    If you walk like a drunk person on a treadmill, you’re going to fall off.  
    In our walk with God, we must check our form. 
    When we pray, are we talking to Him, or talking at Him? 
    When we read His word, are we learning the will of the Father, or learning to follow rules?
    Are we applying what we learn to ourselves, or just the people around us?
    Are we doing what He called us to do, or what we want to do, just in His name? 
    Are we trusting in Him, or are we doubting Him? 
    Are we renouncing the desires of the flesh, or are we sinning and being unrepentant? 
    We need to ask God to search us, and know us.
    To reveal to us what we need to change so that we don’t become spiritually hurt.
    Because if we aren’t keeping good form, our relationship with God won’t grow; 
    our spiritual muscles will not grow; 
    they’ll just stretch and stretch,
    and eventually, they’ll tear,
    and we’ll end up stumbling in our walk with Him. 
    God will give us the wisdom we need, but only if we ask Him. 
    And keeping good spiritual form is not about following a formula or a get-spiritually-fit manual. 
    It’s about checking and aligning our hearts with Him. 
    That’s why He gave us the Lord’s prayer. 
    It’s a guide, not an instruction manual. 
    It shows us how to communicate with the Father, rather than what to communicate to Him. 
    It teaches us to speak to Him, rather than at Him. 
    In the same way, we read the Bible to show us the will of the Father, not to tell us how to steer clear of the eternal oven.  

    II- We Don’t Progress, Because We Are Doing It Our Way

    We might not be moving within the parameters God has given us. 
    Would someone please read Galatians 5:25? 
    Galatians 5:25 NKJV
    25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
    Sometimes we have trouble building muscle because we’re using too much weight and not enough reps, or vice versa—or we’ve set too much incline at the wrong speed.
    Ask yourself, “Am I giving myself more or less than God is giving me?”
    God knows exactly what we need to grow.
    We should also check to make sure we aren’t “moving faster than God.”
    If we don’t wait on His timing and we move too fast, we’ll miss what He is showing us. 
    By walking in the Spirit, we surrender what we think is best, for what He knows is best. 

    III- We Don’t Progress, Because We Lose Heart

     Would someone like to read Galatians 6:9?
    Galatians 6:9 NKJV
    9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
    Do you see the calories burning and the muscle building while you run? I hope not—
    if so, that’s cool, but you might want to get that checked out.
    We can’t see the calories burn, but that doesn’t mean we stop running or lifting.
    We keep going, because one day we’ll look in the mirror and see the change.
    In the same way,
    we don’t stop praying.
    We don’t stop spending time with God.
    We don’t stop reading His Word.
    We don’t stop doing what He called us to do.
    Because one day, we will see what God has done in us and through us. 
    So we don’t lose heart; we keep going because in due season, we shall reap what God has prepared for us. 
    So when we feel like we aren’t moving forward or going deeper in our walk with God, like we aren’t getting any forward motion,
    we should check to make sure we don’t have bad form,
    that we aren’t going through the motions with hearts far from God like those in Matthew 15:8 “8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.” , or doing our own thing, but using His name to convince ourselves that it’s for the kingdom. 
    We need to ask God to search us and show us where we have sin in our lives or doubt in our hearts. 
    We need to make sure we are moving in God’s timing, and take on what He has called us to take on.
    And we need to trust that God knows what He is doing, even when we can’t see the results.  
    Like my mother always says, God loves you, God has a plan for you, and His plan for you is good. So don’t lose heart. 
    I would like to invite Pastor Adriana to come and close out this message.

      • Psalm 139:23–24NIV2011

      • James 1:5–7NIV2011

      • Galatians 5:25NIV2011

      • Galatians 6:9NIV2011

      • John 1:5NIV2011

Living Hope Church
pastor@livinghopecogop.org
325-500-4763
http://livinghopecogop.org
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