Becoming Spiritual and Disciplined

Spiritually Disciplined • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

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Big Image - A toolbelt with tools ‌ Big Idea - Spiritual Disciplines are the tools that God uses to draw us near to him and to shape our lives.

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Transcript

[Come out strutting and posing, showing off the tool belt]

When someone puts on a tool belt, something magical happens. Confidence swells. Even now, as I wear it, I wonder if any of you need me to build you a house. Although I have no training whatsoever and very little skill, I feel like my tool belt and I could figure it out. And it’s not just the wearer that changes. Friends look at you different, as if you have somehow become competent in life. And as I look at the back of the room at my wife, I see desire in her eyes - a desire that I might actually get something done around the house.

Well, let’s see what’s in this belt (pull out tools and identify).

As fun and informative as this is, you may be wondering what this has to do with the Christian faith.

There’s a verse in the Bible, written by the Apostle Paul, which, if you’ve been around church for a while, is probably very familiar to you.

Galatians 5:22–23 NLT

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

These are things that every single person wants more of. I mean, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want a bit more love or joy in their lives. How many of you, by show of hands, think “I have enough patience for the situations and people in my life”? Exactly, no one. We all want to experience and live out these virtues in ever-increasing amounts.

Too often, though, this verse in Galatians often gets misconstrued. Because we want to experience more of these virtues, we think of them as a “to-do list” - that we have to be more loving, kinder, gentler, or have more self-control. But God, through Paul, tells us that these virtues are produced in us by the Holy Spirit, not by our own efforts. This is a challenge to allow the Holy Spirit chisel and shape us until the virtues shine out of us. The great renaissance artist Michaelangelo (not the ninja turtle), who famously sculpted the statue of David, once said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

God is in the business of freeing us from the marble rock of sin and selfishness that we encase ourselves in. But we humans are more complex than sculptures. A single tool like a chisel isn’t enough. God uses a variety of tools in order to shape us into being more like Jesus. Some of those tools, like conflicts or circumstances are outside of us - we passively experience them and then choose how to process them. And some of the tools that God uses are practices that you and I can do.

We call these practices “Spiritual Disciplines.” Richard Foster, in his brilliant book “Celebration of Discipline” (which we will refer to often in this series), says, “The Disciplines are God’s way of getting us into the ground; they put us where he can work within us and transform us. By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done.”

Watch here what this hammer can do (place hammer beside a board with a nail in it on the table and wait). See, the hammer can’t do anything on its own. But when I use it as a tool, I can accomplish my goal (hit the nail). And what is my goal as a follower of Jesus? It’s to become more like Jesus.

Ephesians 5:1–2 NLT

1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

Jesus perfectly lived out the virtues in the fruit of the Spirit that we mentioned earlier. And he was able to do that, not because he is God, but because he allowed the Holy Spirit to shape him as he practiced the spiritual disciplines throughout his life and ministry. Jesus did these practices and since we are supposed to become like Jesus, maybe we should practice them as well.

In each teaching time over the next six weeks, we are going to look at two of the disciplines that Richard Foster writes about in his book, “Celebration of Discipline.”

We are going to look at Simplicity and Service, Submission and Guidance, Bible Reading and Meditation, Contemplation and Celebration, Worship and Spiritual Formation, and Silence and Prayer

These disciplines might not look like they are related - in some cases, they may look like opposites, but we are going to show you how, like a hammer and chisel, they work together to help shape us. And we are going to look at how Jesus practiced those disciplines.

It’s also important to note that the list of disciplines that we are going to look at is not exhaustive, and they are not all meant to be practiced every day. Some practices work for some people but not for others. Some practices are helpful for a certain season, but not for another season. Just as I don’t use a screwdriver to hammer a nail, or a tape measure to turn a screw, we need the right tools for the job. Our goal is not to give you a huge “to-do list.” It’s to help you know what some of the tools are in the tool belt that God has given to help shape you.

Now, at this point, you may be thinking, “Well, these are all well and good pastor, but why should I bother with these? My life is busy enough.” And I would say that’s a fair question. Very few of us have much capacity to add much more to our lives. But just as a lumberjack will stop to rest his body and sharpen his ax so he can be effective in his work, if we make space to be with Jesus and practice the disciplines we become sharper and more effective as followers of Jesus.

In fact, here are three reasons why we all should incorporate the spiritual disciplines in our lives:

1. Practicing the Disciplines will deepen your relationship with God

We live in a world of superficiality. And many of us Christians have a superficial faith - a faith that is propped up by knowing two or three of the most basic bible verses like John 3:16 or “Jesus wept” and ideas such as going to church on Sundays is enough spirituality for me, or praying at supper time counts as time spent with God. This has led to a shallow faith that, when trials or oppositions come, lead too many to walk away from the faith or bury their head in the sand.

Just like how some of the homebuilding shows reveal bad workmanship hidden behind the pretty outsides, God’s concern is what’s beneath the surface. He wants to pull off our pretty facades, and with the tools of spiritual disciplines, work on our inner person.

But when we practice the spiritual disciplines our relationship with God gets deeper. God uses the tools in the belt to help us become godly.

2 Corinthians 3:17–18 NIV

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Through the disciplines, we learn how to hear his voice in silence. We experience more transformation as we reflect on our lives, our actions and our thoughts and filter them through the lens of Holy Scripture. Our faith in Jesus deepens when we release our praise from the shackles of Sunday and let it loose every day of the week. Within our accountability relationships and mentoring, God will speak to us, drawing us deeper into himself.

Practicing the disciplines will deepen or relation with God. The second reason to incorporate the disciplines into your life is that...

2. Practicing the Disciplines will fortify you against spiritual attacks

The apostle Paul, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, gives us a dire warning and challenge.

Ephesians 6:10–18 NLT

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

The warning is that, as followers of Jesus, we are all engaged in a spiritual battle. It’s not a battle for a christian culture, but a battle in the soul against the devil, who seeks to weaken your relationship with God and render you useless in the kingdom. And his tools for doing so are both sneaky and prevalent: his tools include discouragement, disunity, and despair among others.

But there is hope. We may have to battle the devil in the spiritual realm but we can do so with confidence because our God has already defeated him. When Jesus died on the cross, he rendered Satan’s defeat certain. But until it finally plays out, we remain in the battle, trying to dodge his death throes that come our way and stand our ground.

The challenge for us is to take up the armor of God. But look at the words used to describe the armor - truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God and prayer. These are all intertwined within the spiritual disciplines. To practice the spiritual disciplines IS to take up the armor of God and engage in spiritual warfare against the attacks of the enemy.

You will find that when you begin regularly getting into the Bible with an ear to hear God, when you pray, when you listen to spiritual mentors and leaders and when you get accountability in your life you will have greater and greater success in your battles against the enemy. These tools that God gives us to shape us are infinitely more powerful than the tools the devil uses to try and trip you up. Practicing the disciplines helps fortify you against the attacks of the enemy.

The third reason to practice the disciplines is that...

3. Practicing the Disciplines will open your eyes to opportunities

Jesus once said to his disciples:

John 15:5 NLT

5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

The word Jesus uses that we translate “remain” in that verse means to stay with or to live with. It brings the idea of being roommates together, or a guest in someone’s house. Jesus says that we are to live in him and he will live in us and when we are in that beautiful, mutually abiding relationship, something amazing happens - we produce fruit - or, in other words - we will become impactful to others.

Now, I need to be very clear here. The spiritual disciplines are not how we enter into this mutually abiding relationship. We do that by faith in the person and work of Jesus alone. We are saved by our faith. The spiritual disciplines are simply the means by which we develop and deepen this mutually abiding relationship. Like how a date night with my wife might be a tool I use to deepen our relationship, so the spiritual disciplines work to deepen this relationship.

But as the relationship deepens and gets healthier, so does the amount of fruit that is produced in our lives. The deeper with Jesus we go, the more opportunities God gives us to make meaningful impact in other people’s lives.

The more time you spend learning to hear God’s voice in silence, the more you may hear him telling you to go and pray for this person or that person.

The more time you spend in the truth of God’s word, the more you will see the falsehoods that are all around us in the world.

The more time you spend in contemplation, the more your character will develop and people will want you to disciple them.

The more time you spend utilizing the tools of spiritual disciplines, the more fruit God will produce in you. He will open your eyes to the opportunities he is providing to impact others with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

When you are trying to build something, sometimes you look around and you don’t have the tool you need around. At this point you have to make a choice. You can either pause the project, go to the hardware store and buy the tool or you can just make do.

Let’s say I want to use this piece of baseboard in two different areas. So I need this one piece to become two. Without a saw, I can to do this (break it into two pieces) but what’s happened? Yes, I have two pieces, but neither one is helpful for my baseboard project. But if I pull out the saw, I can precisely and cleanly cut the piece to the exact size I need to make it look good.

In order to build what I want, I need to use the tools at my disposal.

When it comes to following Jesus - growing closer with him and living out his character and mission - God has given us some tools to help shape us - the spiritual disciplines.

Think about those two words for a moment. Spiritual Disciplines.

Being a follower of Jesus means that we are to be spiritual. More than just attending church services, we believe that Jesus is present with us in a full and literal way - leading us, whispering words of encouragement and challenge into our hearts and filling our souls with life. We are spiritual people and the more we press into our spirituality through the practice of the disciplines - the more we utilize the tools in our tool belt - the richer and stronger our Christian lives will be.

We are also to be disciplined people. People who regularly and consistently set aside time to connect with Jesus through the disciplines because we know they will deepen our relationship with Him, they will fortify us against spiritual attacks and God will use them to open us up to opportunities where we bear fruit for Him.

The disciplines are tools that God wants to use to shape us. The more we practice them, the deeper we will know Jesus and the better we will be able to reflect him to the world.