Intro to Christian Discipline

The Life Abundant

an introduction to spiritual discipline

I have tasted God's love, tasted the closeness of walking with Christ and I want more. I am tired of trying to be a good Christian. God wants more for me than that, wants me to be free to be like Jesus, to have the life abundant.

John 10:7-10.

The Life Abundant. That is why Christ came. He said so, right there. I spend most of my time trying to do the right thing, to be good. I want so bad to be good, to be lovely and so I strive for these things. And I fail. And I give up. This is not abundant life. It's barely life at all. I have come to believe that God has more for me, that my straining and failing and worrying about the failing is not pleasing to Him any more than it is fun for me. I believe there is another way.

I think part of the problem is one of definition. C. S. Lewis would say that the word Christian is so over used and wrongly used that it bears re-invention. I don't want to argue the point of essentials for salvation. What I want to know is this: what is a good Christian? What makes a Mother Teresa or D.L. Moody? Let's start somewhere else and come back.

What makes a good basketball player?

Author?

Guitar player?

Paul compares the Christian walk to the athletes of his day in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Let's read that.

Look at our list of things that make a good athlete. Physical ability. Training. Practice. Skill. Love of the game/sport. Good attitude. Good coach. (etc). I cannot be a Jeff Saturday, though I may have the build for it, because I have not trained my body to do that. I did, in high school. I was coached to run and block and tackle and was miserable each year when triples (three practices a day) until my senior year. You see, the summer between my junior and senior year I began to run on my own, up to three miles, and work on the things I struggled with. I knew the plays, but I got winded easily, so I spent much of the summer conditioning. Now, I was not a Tiger Woods, hours each day kind of guy, but I wanted to be good and I worked at it. Triples my senior year were a breeze, almost fun, and I could run with the backs, could outrun most of the guys that played my position. I had trained myself and then the game was easy and fun, even practice. I had a good attitude because I was having fun. I could hear my coaches because I wasn't focused on my misery. I was no longer trying to be a football player. I was free to play the game, to help my team win football games.

I don't think that a good basketball player is one with a great shot or rebounding skills (though these things may be present). Rather he is one that can win basketball games, through his teammates and coach and skills and all the other things on our list. A author is not a person that writes ten hours each day, but a person that produces a story that captivates. A guitar master is one that can make the guitar sing, make you forget what he is doing and get lost in the lullaby.

A good Christian is not one that reads through the Bible each year or prays holes in his jeans (though it wouldn't hurt). I would argue that a good Christian is someone who knows Christ, knows God through Christ, is like Christ the way old friends and couples become alike. Mother Teressa may have not been a great theologian, but she knew God. D.L. Moody may not have spent years in silence and solitude (I really don't know this), but he knew God. Running three miles at my house was not fun, but that year football was so I kept going because I could see the prize.

Paul says this in Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”1

For the prize. It is on Paul's mind. And what is this prize? I've heard some theories, I believe it is Christ, it is the chance to be with God through the blood of His son, Jesus the Christ.

See, I don't want Christian disciplines to be the answer. Jesus is the answer. Christian discipline is a way to get to know the answer. St. Paul said that Jesus came to save sinners, the worst of which was him. Now, I've heard that Paul said this because he used to persecute Christians, but, if you ask me, I think he just knew how far he was from God because he knew God better than most people. Just read a little of Romans or the letters to Corinth. As you sit and scratch your head, you will begin to see the extent of Paul's knowledge. He knew more about God than many people do today, and he knew God personally, served Him, loved Him. He knew the grace that he was incredibly unworthy of. I have experienced this, the more I know God and His ways the more I see how far off I really am. Discipleship will do this, if done right. It is not a tool to make us better (though that may be the outcome in some way) but to get us to know God through Christ, His son. Discipleship will humble us if it is done with the right motive, in the right spirit. It will bring us to our knees:

I don’t think you’re there yet. I’m not either, most days, but when you realize it you will be on your face, thanking God for his gift. I should be on my face each day. I should start each day flat out, being full of gratitude for what Christ did for me. I was angry here and short with someone there and lusted after this and neglected that. And I can still be His son. He still loves me. You’ll see it, when you get there. Tell me when you do, I’ll join you on the carpet.

When you think of Jesus, what do you think?

Good, now think of the times when Jesus seemed short with people, when He got angry. When were they? (money changers, hypocrites, woe to unbelieving cities, and ?)

Read Matthew 23:25-28 and Luke 16:15.

Hypocrisy. Self righteousness/importance. I think this attitude got under Christ's skin more than anything while He was on the earth. I don't really have proof, it just seems to be a reoccurring theme:

“Why do you eat with them?”

“The sick need a doctor.”

“Who will be the greatest?”

“You must be the least first.”

“Look at us working for God in His house.”

“How dare you turn my Father's house into a den of thieves.”

“Watch me, listen to me, I am too smart for your foolishness.”

“Woe to you, for you have had a greater chance than many and you throw it away.”

Christian discipline is not about us, ultimately. If it is done right, discipleship is about Christ. It's about knowing Him and introducing Him to to others. It's about helping Him, being Him to those around.

Think of this: which person could you better go into their home and fix a meal for, a woman you just met, or you mother?

Your mom, right? You know what she likes without having to ask. You know what she expects. You know where she keeps the pots and pans and the spices. You know her and can, therefore, serve her to a fuller extent. The same is true with God. You may know Him through Jesus. The more you taste of His love, the more you will want to serve Him. The better you know Him the better you can serve Him and on, growing closer to Him and feasting on His love.

I want you to know something. You, as a Christian, have tasted the love of God. It may have been a while, but you have felt His hand on your life. You have answered His call and, be it a prayer on the side of the road, a walk to the front of a church, or a conversation with a friend, you asked Him into you life. You acknowledged the fact that you cannot atone for your sins, that you cannot live up to God's law (not even the short list of ten) and you need His blood to cover you.

I want you to think back to that time. How did it feel?

You see, you have tasted the love of God. You have heard His call and answered. You have been wrapped in His love.

Are there other times that you have experienced this? What were they? When were they?

I have felt them, too, and I have come to a conclusion. They all seem to happen when I get out of the way of God. When I forget about what I want, what I am doing, and focus on Him. That is the purpose of the disciplines. They get us out of God's way. Like learning and practicing scales helps the musician play without thinking, so the disciplines of Bible intake, prayer and fasting, worship, service, sacrifice, stewardship, evangelism, silence, solitude, confession and others train us to better know God and His will. This sounds strange, training to know someone, but it's true.

Try thinking of it this way. If you want to get to know a person, what do you do?

You talk to then, take then out to a meal and have a conversation. You get to know their past, their story. You tell them about yourself. You give time, energy, and monetary gifts to them (ie treat them to a meal or a movie or a cup of coffee).

Once you begin to know this person and you like them, what comes naturally?

You want to spend even more time with them. You talk about them to other people. You invest more of yourself in them.

Next?

You tell them your secrets. You ask them for help with your problems and want to help with theirs.

It is the same in knowing Christ. This is what the disciplines are used for. They are nothing by themselves, but when employed to know God and His Son through His Spirit, they are a vital part of our lives as Christians. With them we can quit trying and start training. We can know the life abundant that is knowing Christ.

Let's finish these thoughts in John. John 10:11-15. I know my sheep and my sheep know me, for I came to give them the life abundant.