Practice Makes Perfect Try And Try Again It Takes 10,000 Hours To Master A Skill

Hello and welcome to Social Media Ministries. My name is Spencer Coffman. Thank you so much for spending your time with us today. We appreciate it. Our mission is that social media is the place to reach more people, to bring the Gospel to more places.

And so that’s what Social Media Ministries is. We are founded on the belief of the Bible. We preach from the Bible, and so we want to use social media to spread that to as many people as possible.

So, the whole point of saying that is, if you could help us with that, by using the share icons below on any of our sermons, or any of our videos, to reach more people, we would appreciate the assistance.

So today, we have a good message for you. Now you’ve no doubt heard the saying “Practice makes perfect,” and that’s what we’re talking about today – “Practice makes perfect.” So, Malcolm Gladwell, had a belief or a notion, an idea, that for you to become good at something, to master a skill, you had to do it for 10,000 hours.

So 10,000 hours working on something made you master this skill. Bill Gates has talked about it a lot. He had 10,000 hours of coding, and he became a master of coding. It enabled him to create one of the greatest companies, revolutionary companies of today, obviously Microsoft. So, 10,000 hours, that is a lot of hours.

Let’s talk about 10,000 hours for a second here on this. So, for me to become a master of preaching sermons to you guys, to become excellent at it, to become good at it, I would need to preach for 10,000 hours.

Now, are we talking about preaching or just speaking, because public speaking for 10,000 hours could be achieved faster? Or is it preaching sermons for 10,000 hours? Well, if I wanna be good at preaching sermons I will have to preach for 10,000 hours.

Let’s think about this. The average sermon on this channel, on Social Media Ministries, and even of other preachers and speakers today, is about 20 minutes long. So, if you do 20 minutes – that’s three sermons for every hour – that would be 30,000 sermons before we would become a master of preaching sermons.

Now, in the same token, if it’s a master of the Bible, it’s 30,000 hours of reading and studying and meditating on the Scripture. That’s a lot of reading and studying and meditating on the Scripture for 30,000 hours.

If there are 24 hours in a day, multiply that out. How many hours in a year? I’m not that quick at math, and I don’t have a calculator right here, but you could figure that out, and think how many hours in a year, and how many years 10,000 hours would be.

There are 168 hours in a week. Multiply that by 100 weeks. That would be two years, roughly. It would be 10,000 hours or a little under two years. So, that’s a lot of time dedicated to something, especially when you’re only awake for two-thirds of that year. You would need to do, like, three solid years of all your working hours to hit 10,000 hours.

So, this isn’t achieved lightly. This time of mastering a skill could take you anywhere from five to seven years before you master a skill. So, what does that mean? It means you need to be patient. If you’re working on something, the plan is five to seven years.

This is a great entrepreneurial message. You’re starting a business: in five to seven years. You gotta master it. You’re practicing a new skill, you wanna learn a sport, you wanna learn to play an instrument, you’re trying to learn a language, five to seven years; 10,000 hours you need to get in, to master that skill, that language, that instrument, whatever it may be.

Ten thousand hours. That’s a lot. What is the point of these 10,000 hours? Well, as Christians, we are called to go out into the world and preach the Gospel and grow the Kingdom of God, the body of Christ. That means practice makes perfect.

If you want to be good at preaching, and winning others to Christ, or bringing other people to Christ, you have to practice. How much do you have to practice? Ten thousand hours. Have you done 10,000 hours of sharing Jesus? Probably not. I don’t even think I have. That’s a lot. That’s a lot of talking about Jesus with other people – 10,000 hours.

Mark 16:15, “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.’” That’s your command, your commandment. You have other callings and other purposes, but that is our highest purpose.

Then you have a calling on your life and a life’s purpose. We’ve talked about how you have a purpose. That’s in another video, another sermon. So, if you haven’t watched that, you can check it out in a card up here, otherwise navigate to our YouTube channel and you can find that.

So, this is the command. The command to lead others to Christ is mentioned several times throughout the Bible, and that is what you need to be practicing. Practice makes perfect. So, don’t worry.

You might feel like you’re not very good at leading other people to Christ, or you’re not good at talking about the Bible, or you’re not good at talking about Jesus, or about what you believe. Practice makes perfect.

You might not be good at it until you hit 10,000 hours, in five years, but still practice. Do it, don’t be afraid. The Lord will teach you what to say. We are going to come to that later. The command to lead others to Christ, as I said, is mentioned throughout the Bible.

The most popular, or most known passage is the great commission, that is Matthew 28:19-20. We are going to read that. It is also the verse that we kind of stand by here at Social Media Ministries. We want to do this. We want to preach it everywhere.

Matthew 28:19-20 – the great commission – says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

There is a lot right here in this verse. So it is saying…right before this, “All authority under Heaven and Earth has been given to me.” So, this is Jesus talking, so he has all authority. He’s telling us, go and make disciples of all nations – all nations – don’t leave anyone out.

That’s why we are on social media. We want to reach the whole world. So, we can do that through social media. If you help us, by sharing the content, we can reach them. Ok, “All nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Now this is more than simply sharing the Gospel with them, but that’s the first step. Then we can baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, so they too can receive, and then go share. Then, He says, “Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Now, that’s what we’re doing here; we’re teaching. So, we want these shared all over. We want people to come to Jesus because of it, and then we also want them to learn through it. We can only do that through more and more people sharing it.

And so then, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” What does that part mean? Well, it means if you don’t feel very confident in sharing Jesus, or in clicking a share button below this video, you can know He is with you. He’s not going to let you fail. He is with you.

What does He want? He wants more people to come to Him. He wants to have everyone go to Heaven. He’s not going to leave you out alone. So, you can trust that He is with you, in that moment. All you need to do is take that step, that leap of faith, and start sharing Jesus.

So, He spent His whole life teaching others and preaching the Gospel. Even when He was a little kid, His parents went out, they left, and they thought He was with the caravan. About three days later, they’re like, “Whoa whoa, where is Jesus?” They’re asking their relatives, they’re asking their friends, they’re asking everybody.

“Hey, have you seen Jesus? Have you seen Jesus?” The worst fear of a parent is that their kid is gone, and they have no idea where He is. Their worst fear had come true. Now back then, compared to today – if it happened today, I mean we think the worst. “Serial killers, pedophiles, someone got the kid, and the kid’s gone.”

Back then, in that type of world, it was a little safer. They knew He couldn’t have gone far. What they did was, they said, “Alright, we have been journeying for three days. Let’s just go back.” So, they took three more days. They went back. Six days later, they find Him.

Where did they find Him? In the temple. And what did He tell them? “You should have known I’d be here tending to my father’s business.” They didn’t understand what that meant. They’re like, “No. This is your father, right here.” What’s going on here? No, He had a higher purpose.

He spent His whole life sharing Himself. Sharing salvation with other people. Doing His Father’s business. Be like Jesus, and do the same. Spread the Word, and share the Gospel. Yes, it’s hard, it is not easy. There’s nothing easy about it.

Most people, say, like at family gatherings, you don’t talk about religion, you don’t talk about politics. Well, good thing, this isn’t religion – this is truth. We aren’t talking about a man-made religion here. We are talking about Jesus Christ, a man who came to save. You can talk about that.

Don’t worry. It’s hard, yes, but it can become easy. It starts simply, “Hey, what do you believe?” Let them start, and then they may ask you, “Okay yeah, I believe this, this, and this. What about you?” If they don’t say, “What about you,” well, then that is your cue to not go there. Be like Jesus and do the same.

You may feel like it’s never the right time, but bring it up anyway. Remember, simply ask. You might be at the drive – maybe not even the drive-thru – but maybe you’re waiting in line with someone for your coffee, or for your McDonald’s, or your Subway – or wherever you are – and you’re striking up a conversation with this guy.

“Hey, great day today,” and then you guys start talking. Then, after a couple of minutes, “So, what do you believe?” If the person says, “I don’t want to talk about that.” “Okay, hey, no problem, man. I just thought I’d ask. Ya know? It’s something that interests me about people,” and then maybe, they’d open up. If you have time, then you could share with them. You just have to start.

Have faith that God will steer that conversation in the way it will go. And if they ask you, that’s your cue. That’s what you can remember. It rhymes. Write it down – if they ask you, that’s your cue. If they don’t ask you, then don’t force it on them. That’s why people say “Not to talk about it” because so many people out there are trying to shove it down their throats, that they just can’t handle it. Don’t be like that.

Jesus didn’t try to force this on anyone. He simply showed people. And how did He win people over? He did it with love. He didn’t do it by fire and brimstone on the street corner, with a megaphone, shouting at people. He did it by healing their sick, praying for them, asking God to heal them, casting out demons, and solving their worldly problems so that they would follow Him.

Now you can do that. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. God has all authority under Heaven given to Him. He can give it to you, just like He gave it to those disciples. He breathed on them the Holy Spirit, and then they went out all over, casting out demons, prophesying, healing people – raising the dead even, and people believed.

Why don’t we have that today? We don’t have faith. You want faith. Start. You want to have that, start. Ask, and you will receive. Start showing God that you’re worthy to receive that power, and it will happen. You will receive it.

Practice makes perfect. Get your 10,000 hours in. You no doubt will be filled with the Holy Spirit. All you have to do is start talking, and God will do the rest. We do have the Holy Spirit within us, we just don’t have that awesome power, well, maybe not all of us – some of us do – we don’t have that awesome power yet that Jesus breathed on the disciples – that He gave to them. We do have the Holy Spirit within us.

He’s just simply dormant, or silent because we are not listening to Him. You need to listen to Him, and culture that gift. Bring it up, and allow yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit. Stop being in your way. Stop trying to lead your life your way, but trust the Holy Spirit. Follow the Holy Spirit, as He leads you closer and closer to Christ.

Luke 12:12 says, “For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Get the context of that Verse. It’s about how preaching the Gospel might not always be easy. You may not know what to say, but the Holy Spirit, at that time, not beforehand – it’s not like the Holy Spirit’s gonna talk to you and say, “Alright, you’re gonna say this, You’re gonna meet this person, at this time, and this is what you’re gonna say to them. Then, this is gonna happen.”

And BAM you just walk right in there and say to the guy. “Hey, how’s it going? Oh good. You’re a follower of Christ now. Let’s go on to the next one.” It’s not that easy, not for everyone, anyway. “For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say,” and even how to say it.

What do you need to do then? You need to get to that time. The only way you can get to that time is by starting the conversation. You can’t just expect that “Oh well God if you want me to share You with this person in line, he’ll bring it up to me.” They’re not going to bring it up to you. Most people do not go around seeking something and bringing it up to a stranger in line.

I mean, if they do, then that’s a great opportunity, and you better not miss it. But, for most people, you need to bring it up. You need to get to that time. How do you do that? You start the conversation.

You need to have 10 seconds of courage. There’s a popular movie, it’s a great movie, that says, “10 seconds of courage.” That’s what it does. If you have 10 seconds of courage, everything else falls into place. You just have to have that 10 seconds – and it is only 10 seconds. How long does it take?

“Hey, what do you believe?” Three seconds. So, you got seven more to keep going with your courage, and then, pretty soon, they’ll start talking. They’ll open it up, and then, at that time, God tells you what you’re gonna say. Ten seconds of courage and start talking. The more you speak of God’s Word, the easier it will become.

Now you can’t simply start going up to people and talking, not knowing what’s in the Bible. You need to do the work. You need to meet God halfway. That’s a very popular saying, a very popular mentality. If you want to be able to tell others about Jesus and the Bible, how can you tell others about them if you don’t know yourself? How do you know yourself? You start reading.

Read your Bible. Get a plan. Buy one of those chronological Bibles that has all the dates, and read it every single day. Buy a Bible-in-a-year program and read it every single day for a year. Read your Bible. Learn more about Jesus.

Watching this is a great start. Go to church, learn, and then, when you start bringing it up in conversation, to get to that time, you will know what to say because it’s within you. It’s within you. It’s in your mind.

You may not know it consciously, but it’s there because you’ve been reading it. God will bring it out for you. He will tell you, at that time, what you should say. So, the more you speak of Him, the easier it’ll become. After a few times of sharing the Gospel, it will become like second nature.

Why? Why is this? It’s because you were made to be like Jesus. We were created in the image of God, in His image. Jesus looked just like us. We were created in the image of God. We were made to be like God. That’s how we were made. That’s who you were made to be. So start doing that.

Jesus was the best at sharing the Gospel; the best. You were made to be like Him, so start being like Him. You can be just like that. So, if you practice, you will be on your way to perfection. We can never achieve perfection. Jesus was perfect – we can practice, and it makes perfect. We should say “Practice makes almost perfect,” because we can never be perfect.

But you put in those 10,000 hours, and you try, and you feed your mind with the Bible and with the Scripture and meditate on it day and night and learn and study. Then go out and start talking and the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what to say, because He’ll serve it up from you, from inside. Things you didn’t even know you knew will start coming out. Why? Because you’re letting the Holy Spirit speak for you.

Practice makes it almost perfect. You can be like Jesus if you practice. You’ll be on your way to perfection. You’ll become very, very good at leading others to Christ. So don’t give up. Have that 10 seconds of courage, and get out there and share.

Now, whether that starts with simply clicking a button below, and then waiting for someone to comment on your Facebook post, or for someone to say, “Hey, why are you sharing this guy’s sermons on your Facebook all the time?” Then you can say, “Because it is my calling.”

If you’re embarrassed or ashamed of the Gospel, then that’s not good either. Now, I am not saying that to guilt you into sharing these sermons. I am saying it because you should never be ashamed to do what’s right, or to share the Bible, or to share Jesus with other people. “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel.” It’s in Timothy;

2 Timothy. You do not want to be ashamed. Matthew 10:32 says, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in Heaven.” Not Matthew, but Jesus is saying that in Matthew, in the Book of Matthew.

You want God to acknowledge you. You want Jesus to acknowledge you before His Father in Heaven, so don’t be afraid to share Him here on Earth. That’s why you were made. You were made to be like Jesus. So start that conversation.

Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, please help every one of us to be more like you. Encourage us and inspire us. Give us that 10 seconds of courage to start the conversation. And Lord, give us the groundwork, the preparation. Inspire us and keep us disciplined enough to read the Bible, study your Word, listen to sermons, watch sermons, to share with other people.

Give us that inspiration to start the conversation. If it’s something as simple as, “Wow, the snowflakes look great today. Imagine what God created,” or “I saw this great message last week. Let me tell you about it,” or “What do you believe?” or any of that.

Just please inspire them to start the conversation. And Lord, I ask that once they start that conversation, the other person would allow them to share You and that they would come through and share You well. That You would speak through them.

That the Holy Spirit would come alive within them, and that they would start to recognize Him. And then Lord, help them get that 10,000 hours in so that they can become closer to perfection, and be more and more like you every day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Thanks so much for tuning in today. This was an important message, and I hope that you found it important and also inspiring. That you would be inspired to get out there and start the conversation. God bless.