Controlled Burn

One of the primary functions of the US Forrest Service is to conduct what are called Controlled Burns.

The national geographic says -

Controlled burning, also known as prescribed burning, involves setting planned fires to maintain the health of a forest. These burns are scheduled for a time when the fire will not pose a threat to the public or to fire managers. In addition, forest conditions should call for a controlled burn and weather conditions should be right to allow burning but not enable a fire to spread out of control. Materials burned in a planned fire include dead grass, fallen tree branches, dead trees, and thick undergrowth.

Controlled burns are lit for a number of reasons. By ridding a forest of dead leaves, tree limbs, and other debris, a prescribed burn can help prevent a destructive wildfire. Controlled burns can also reduce insect populations and destroy invasive plants. In addition, fire can be rejuvenating. It returns nutrients to the soil in the ashes of vegetation that could otherwise take years to decompose. And after a fire, the additional sunlight and open space in a forest can help young trees and other plants start to grow.

Some plants, such as certain pine species, require fire before the cones or fruits containing the seeds can release them. These cones or fruits need fire to melt a resin that holds the seeds inside. As a result, without fire these species cannot reproduce.

Controlled burns serve a number of purposes.

Without controlled burns…

Fires still exist.

They are far more destructive.

They are far less helpful

Instead of causing ecosystems to thrive, the destroy not only ecosystems but economies as well - they take out cities and people.

When those fires are suppressed - when they are immediately put out, because we live there flammable materials accumulate, insect infestations increase, forests become more crowded with trees and underbrush, and invasive plant species move in.

There are a number of tools that are used to create controlled burns - the coolest being a drone that shoots balls full of chemicals that self ignite when they hit the ground.

The point of all of this though, is that everything that is done is very specific, very planned, very controlled. And the benefits are enormous. With out that kind of disciplined control, there is chaos.

This morning we are one week into the new year. Each new year brings us to a point of renewal in every aspect of our lives - this is when the diets start, the book reading plans start - we are going to be something new.

As Christians - it is a great time for us to start new by adding spiritual disciplines into our daily lives.

Some of us - say we believe in Jesus, we go to church, but our at home life is totally vacant of any effort to grow closer to him.

Some of us make a small amount of effort, we read the verse of the day, we pray once in a while.

Still some of us have it figured out - you’re praying all day long, you’ve got your radio on LiftFM so you can worship, You’re running back door small groups in your basement and teaching people about Jesus.

All of us can benefit from some controlled burning.

Some discipline.

Some training.

Some increase in righteousness.

Our claim to be christian designates us as Disciples of Christ, meaning that we discipline ourselves to be like him.

Tomorrow as a church we start 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. A season of discipline. A controlled fire, that changes everything.

If you want to see your life change - start some controlled fire in your life.

If you want to hear the lord more clearly - start some controlled fire in your life.

If you want this year to be different - start some controlled fire in your life.

Don Whitney - author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life says this

Spiritual disciplines are practices found in Scripture that promote spiritual growth among believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are habits of devotion, habits of experiential Christianity that have been practiced by God’s people since biblical times.

There are four passages of scripture that I want to read this morning before I go any further, because I will be referencing those often throughout the rest of my message....

1 Timothy 4:7 CSB

But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness.

Hebrews 12:11 CSB

No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

1 Corinthians 9:24–27 CSB

Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Spiritual disciplines are things that we do - to grow. They are controlled fires that we set in different areas of our life - so that we can flourish. Spiritual disciplines are:

Fires that we set.

Fires set on purpose.

Fires set for purpose.

Fires that we set

The first thing we need to know about disciplines, that we see in those passages is that they are something that we do.

In fact, that is something to know about a lot of things in scripture.

If there is an instruction in scripture - a passage that says “do this” or “do it this way” that is something that we have an active part in the actual doing of the thing.

Sounds crazy, I know. Christianity is not the matrix. We don’t plug in a floppy disc and suddenly know spiritual kung-fu.

We train ourselves. That’s what it says in each of those passages. Have nothing to do with silly myths, but train yourself.

Spiritual disciplines are activities; they are not attitudes. Disciplines are practices. Spiritual disciplines are things you do. They are not character qualities. They are not graces. They are not the fruit of the Spirit. They are things you do.

So you read the Bible. That is something you do. That is a spiritual discipline. You meditate on Scripture. Your pray, fast, worship, serve, learn, and so forth. These are activities that we do.

John Henry Newman

Fires set on purpose.

Spiritual disciplines are not accidental. We do not wake up in the morning and suddenly say - you know what, today I am going to read the bible and meditate on what I read, and then do that every day accidentally.

It is a fire that we set on purpose. We make a plan, we lay out the fields of our lives and say okay, this is an area that I really need to grow in, I need discipline here.

It is also not just doing whatever you want and calling it a spiritual discipline.

Video games, aren’t spiritual disciplines.

Gardening is a spiritual discipline.

Cooking is not a spiritual discipline.

There are specific things, outlined in scripture that we are given and shown that cause the increase that we know that we need.

The reality is - you don’t know what is best for you.

God set out a fire plan for your life, he gave you a set of points to really dive into that he knows will cause righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 CSB

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

So whatever else a person might claim regarding the spiritual benefits of some practice that is not in the Bible — something that maybe is promoted by some other spiritual cause or spiritual group or some spiritual leader, that if you will do this or you will do this or that, you will experience God, and it will be very meaningful — well, regardless of whatever benefit someone may claim accrues to them from that practice, at the very least we can say it isn’t necessary.

The manufacturer gave us some instructions. He knows us best.

When you go to your doctor and say hey doc, I really need to do something about my back. It has been in a lot of pain, causing me a lot of issues. And they tell you to do some specific stretches, take some specific medicine, and there might be a surgery, what do you do? You do the things that you were instructed to do because you know they will help.

You don’t invent your own treatment.

Hey doc, backs all better. All it took was a bandaid on my thumb. You don’t do that.

Two of those passages, Timothy and Corinthians describe some worthless endeavors that we might pursue instead of true discipline - like punching the air, silly myths.

Things that waste our time.

Spiritual disciplines are the fires that we set on purpose, following the instructions that we are given.

Fires we set for purpose.

1 tim 4:7 again tells us that we are training ourselves for the purpose of Godliness.

We do not set fires just because we think it would be a fun thing to do.

Hebrews 12:11 CSB

No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

We aren’t training just to train. We aren’t setting fires just to set fires.

There is a specific end in mind. Righteousness.

Closeness with Jesus.

Godliness.

And so we are not godly just because we practice the spiritual disciplines. That was the great error of the Pharisees. They felt by doing these things they were godly. No, they are means to godliness. Rightly motivated, they are the means to godliness.

We set fires because we know the benefit of them. The allow us to be closer to Jesus. They allow us to understand the gospel better. They allow us to grow.

These are things that we do - so that we can do the other things.

You lift heavy things so that you can lift heavy things.

Hebrews 5:14 CSB

But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.

Paul writes in that passage in 1 Corinthians that everyone is running - but not everyone is running to win. I want to run to win.

Winning is being the best that I can be. Winning is going home to Jesus and knowing him well - and him being proud of me.

I want the prize.

Hebrews 12:11 CSB

No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Amen?

Conclusion...

It’s a new year.

There are some things that we want to work on and grown in.

We want to be closer to Jesus. The bible says to be disciplined.

So let’s set some fires. Let’s have a controlled burn.

Fires we set.

Fires we set on purpose.

Fires we set for purpose.