Spiritual Disciplines: What the Bible Actually Says About Feeling Stuck in Your Faith
At The Vine Church in Fairfield we hear this all the time: “I love God. I show up. I know my Bible. So why does it feel like nothing is actually changing in me?” If that is you, Matthew 11 has something for you — and it starts with a hard word from Jesus himself.
Watch the full message from Pastor Amos Sikele — preached Sunday, August 9, 2026 at The Vine Church in Fairfield, CA.
The short version
- The three cities Jesus rebukes had no information problem — they had seen the miracles and heard him teach in person.
- Exposure is not the same as transformation. What was missing was repentance: an actual change of direction.
- Jesus gives three invitations, and the order matters — come to me, take my yoke, learn of me. Grace first, then surrender, then daily apprenticeship.
- Spiritual practices do not earn God’s love. They train us to abide in Jesus so his Spirit can do the changing.
- You are not formed by what you intend. You are formed by what you repeat.
What Matthew 11 actually says
Before the comfort of verse 28, there is a rebuke. In Matthew 11:20–24 Jesus turns on three cities — Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum — and the reason is worth sitting with, because it is not the reason we would expect.
“Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”
These were not cities that had never heard. They had seen his miracles firsthand. They had heard him teach in person. Whatever else was wrong, it was not a shortage of information. The problem was that all of that exposure never led to repentance — never led to an actual change of direction.
Knowing the right answers is not the same thing as being changed by them.
That is a pointed word for anyone who has been in church a long time. It is possible to accumulate a great deal of exposure to Jesus — sermons, studies, verses you could quote from memory — and still find that nothing has moved.
Three invitations, in this order
Then, in one of the most familiar passages in all of Scripture, Jesus pivots. Having just named the failure of mere exposure, he does not respond with a demand. He responds with an invitation.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
There are three invitations here, and they arrive in a deliberate order.
- Come to me — grace first, before anything is fixed or cleaned up.
- Take my yoke — surrender, the willing exchange of one burden for another.
- Learn of me — daily apprenticeship, the slow work of being taught by him.
Grace, then surrender, then apprenticeship. Not the other way around. Most of the exhaustion in the Christian life comes from reversing that sequence — trying to learn hard enough and surrender well enough to finally earn the coming.
Spiritual practices do not earn God’s love. They train us to abide in Jesus so that his Spirit can transform us.
What this means Monday through Saturday
Here is the sentence to take home: you are not formed by what you intend. You are formed by what you repeat. That is true whether you are intentional about it or not — repetition is doing its work either way.
So the question this week is not “what do I believe?” It is “what is actually shaping my daily habits?” Hurry, comparison, and the need for approval can quietly become yokes we carry every single day, even as well-meaning, faithful churchgoers. They are not neutral. They are forming us.
Jesus offers a different yoke — lighter, and actually his. But notice where he starts. Not with a fix. With an invitation to come. So this week, before you try to repair anything, start where he starts: come as you are.
What is actually shaping your daily habits right now?
One thing to carry into this week
Name the yoke you are actually carrying — hurry, approval, control, whatever it is — and bring it to Jesus before you try to fix it yourself.
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This week’s sermon notes
Want to sit with this more? Grab the free Learn of Me sermon notes and take this message into a group, a family dinner, or your own week.
Questions about this message
- What are spiritual disciplines, and do they earn God’s love?
- No — and that distinction is the heart of this message. Spiritual practices are not a way to earn God’s love or prove your seriousness. They are training. They put you in a position to abide in Jesus so that his Spirit can do the actual transforming. Jesus invites us to come first, and only then to take his yoke and learn of him.
- Why does Jesus rebuke Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum in Matthew 11?
- Not for ignorance. Those cities had seen his miracles firsthand and heard him teach in person, so their problem was never a lack of information. Jesus rebukes them because all that exposure never produced repentance — never produced an actual change of direction.
- What does “take my yoke upon you” mean in Matthew 11:29?
- A yoke is what you are harnessed to and formed by. The message here is that everyone is already carrying one — hurry, comparison, control, the need for approval — whether they chose it or not. Jesus is not adding a burden to a life that has none; he is offering to exchange the one you are already carrying for his, which he says is easy and light.
- I feel stuck in my faith. Where do I start?
- Start where Jesus starts, which is not with fixing anything. Name the yoke you are actually carrying this week, and bring it to him before you try to repair it yourself. Then pay attention to repetition rather than intention — you are formed by what you repeat, so the practical question is what your daily habits are quietly shaping you into.
- Where can I watch the Learn of Me sermon?
- The full message is embedded on this page, and you can also watch Learn of Me on YouTube or browse every past message on The Vine Church’s YouTube channel. We gather Sundays at 11am at 600 Gregory Ln in Fairfield, CA — join us in person, watch the Sunday live stream, or see what else is coming up at The Vine.
Join us this Sunday
The Vine Church gathers Sundays at 11am at 600 Gregory Ln in Fairfield, CA — in person or on the live stream — with midweek groups on Wednesdays at 6:30pm.