Live A Spiritually Disciplined Life
Written by Ed Allen
Sunday, 15 May 2005 08:15
Sermon Notes
So far in this series, we have learned several key points about living spiritually resilient lives. Spiritually resilient people:
- do the right thing over the long run;
- live with the end in mind;
- keep in mind the big picture of who God is calling them to be;
- live with a robust reliance on God's grace.
While we certainly must rely on God's grace to grow spiritually, we have to avoid the opposite danger. We cannot think that there is nothing we can do to grow spiritually. We are a part of that process, which brings us to today's key point:
Spritually resilient people live spiritually disciplined lives.
The discipline of the spiritual life allows us to place ourselves before God, so that He can transform us.
Hebrews 12:1-2
"1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." [underlines added for emphasis]
Notice the action words. We are to throw off, to run, to fix our eyes...
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul uses two sports analogies that would have been very familiar to those in Corinth, where they frequently held the Greek Olympic games. He says that the athletes go into strict training in order to win an earthly prize. In the same way, we should go into "strict training" so that we will get "a crown that lasts forever."
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.In Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline, he talks about three types of disciplines. God calls us to exercise these types of disciplines in our lives.
- Inward: meditation, prayer, fasting, study
- Outward: simplicity, solitude, submission, service
- Corporate: confession, worship, guidance, celebration
So why is there a need to exercise spiritual discipline?
As Hebrews 12 tells us, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus Christ. We need to spend time away from other distractions and focused completely on Christ.
Secondaly, as in any relationship, we must invest in our relationship with Christ in order for our relationship (and us) to grow.