Spiritual Endeavors Part 1

Today, I want to talk about Spiritual Disciplines. Its kind of difficult because when most Americans hear "Discipline" its immediately negative, painful and hard to do. Actually its nothing more than actions of correction. They can be negative, but they can also be positive. For example, prayer. Prayer is always positive. Unless you are a Roman Catholic and Hail Mary's, Our Fathers, and the Jesus Prayer is what you say for self punishment (Penance) . The problem with our culture is that we're taught in every way to avoid self control. Even the Public School system encourages the lack of it. It does so by avoiding asserting external discipline when a child misbehaves, and when handing out free condoms to students. All of the arguments they use defeat any effort they weakly expend at teaching a kid to discipline himself in any other effort. I could easily say, "They're not going to do homework anyway, so we shouldn't assign it." Isn't that the EXACT logic they use for Condoms? "They're going to do it anyway, so we should teach them to be safe at it." Instead of standing up, and asserting self control, they cave in and destroy it, and the efforts of every parent who has diligently tried to build it into their children's lives. The same with Churches. We Preach that person should read their Bible, Pray, Fast, and be faithful to attend the worship services, and yet Church after Church will put a person into a position of service who is unfaithful, doesn't really read their Bible, or pray, and hasn't fasted in years, if ever. It defeats the message we're trying to preach. Every Sunday School Teacher, Deacon, Treasurer, Song Leader, and especially the Pastor, should be faithful in every one of the disciplines that I'm going to cover. If they are, God has promised blessings upon their lives, and upon the Church they serve. Look at Joseph. He was faithful to do what was right, and God blessed him, and the places and people he served were blessed as well.
So, the question is, are we going to work together to bring about revival, or are we going to blindly keep allowing the world to go to Hell by the millions because of our laziness? I say we get off our butts, and get on our knees in prayer and repentance, and do what it takes to correct our ungodly nature, or at least keep it in Check.

Now, we need a little Scriptural basis for this endeavor. I mean a valid question is "Why, on earth, would I want to live a life of self denial and self control?" I say its valid because God provides answers, and God doesn't give answers to useless and troubling questions.
First. We need to recognize the base nature of man. There are many who believe man is basically good, and that "given the opportunity" he'll choose to do right. Bologna, or Bull, which ever you like. God's Word says that men are altogether bad, and that given the choice they'll go their own way, and that is the way of sin. Read Romans 1 - 3 when you get a chance. Romans 3:10 - 18 sums it up nicely:

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
17 And the way of peace have they not known:
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

So, as you can see you are a wretch, yes you (and me unfortunately). In Jeremiah 17:9 God says of the human heart, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" What this means is that if you think your heart doesn't need discipline, you've been deceived. That's why the next verse in Jeremiah says, "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." What this means is that what you think of yourself is not accurate, what your mom thinks of you is not accurate, what your wife, brother(s), sister(s), dad, children, and friend(s) think of you is not accurate. Only God can accurately judge. And He says, you need discipline.

Actually if you are NOT SAVED by the grace of God through faith in Christ, you need salvation! You need to repent of your sin, and your sins (they are different). Jesus died on the cross to redeem you from sin, was buried, and rose again the third day for your justification. Thanks to His work on the cross we can now find Grace, Mercy and Forgiveness with God! email me if you want to know any more.

Second, We need to understand Spiritual Disciplines, or Exercises in relationship to that Deceitful heart. You see we have a base sinful nature, (yes all of us), and left to itself it'll lead us down a path of sin (any of them you pick). Spiritual Disciplines are a way to correct the child in us that is bound up in foolishness. And, according to Proverbs 29:15, "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame." That's why Paul said in First Corinthians chapter 9 verse 27 (written normally as 9:27) "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." You see we must, as Christians, practice these things in order to keep ourselves in line, or allow God to get us in line. Its just like maintaining a fire. Just because you got it started doesn't mean its going to burn there all night. Some one is going to have to keep wood on it. The same is true with human hearts as is true with wind up clocks. Every know and then they have to be maintained.

Third, we need to be Disciplined in order to serve God. Romans 12:1 - 2 tells us:

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The only way to "Be transformed" is to work at it. Much of it God does, but even He expects us to "put our hands to the plow" and not look back (Luke 9:62). In Haggai we find that God required the people to get up and get at it BEFORE He blessed. Now, understand this is in relationship to SAVED people, the work God requires of those who are NOT SAVED is different, and NO amount of spiritual disciplines are going to get you saved. They only help you act more like you are saved. You cannot "earn" salvation, it is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast, but we are HIS workmanship, created in Christ Jesus UNTO GOOD WORKS (see Ephesians 2:8 - 10). So, we need to be transformed, and we need to be workers to the field, but we need to be disciplined in order to complete the picture. God tells Timothy through Paul in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." What that means is that we must be diligent to behave in a way that is pleasing to God, diligent to know the Word of God, and diligent to be about the work of God. Diligence, by the way, is another way of saying "through self control you pay close attention to."

This is by NO MEANS an exhaustive study of the need for Spiritual Disciplines. However, it should give you enough information to understand the need for them. As we go through in the coming days, or weeks, studying them or talking about them, I hope to explain how they relate to countering some base part of our nature, like giving counters selfishness, Fasting counters self indulgence, praying counters self sufficiency and pride, worship counters rebelliousness, Bible Study counters ignorance and sin, service counters laziness, and Witnessing counters apathy and spiritual death. Now, that's not an exhaustive, or exclusive list, because praying also counters selfishness for example.

Now, in another post, I'm going to tell you about my Kubuntu 7.04 upgrades (NICE OS).