Spiritual Disciplines Ep. 1

Intro

Hey welcome into the REVO Church Podcast! In this new season we are going to be looking at Spiritual Disciplines, seeking to understand what they are, why they are important, and why we should be striving to be disciplined

When I was in High School my favorite thing to do was wrestle. Most kids choose sports that will make them popular, will make their peers impressed with them. For me I choose wrestling for one reason: I wanted to prove I was better than someone else.

Most sports force you to play on a team, but wrestling is unique – you have a team, but when you’re on the mat its just you versus your opponent. I used to wake up every morning early to run so I was in shape. I dieted hard so I could maintain my weight class. I worked out and lifted weights every day, sometimes multiple times a day, so that I would be strong. I even practiced multiple times a day either in a sanctioned practice, or by my self shadow wrestling.

I did every day for 4 years because I loved the sport and wanted to be the best at it. I never considered myself disciplined – I just loved the sport and wanted to be the best. It wasn’t until my Junior year that one of my coaches came to me and said if I continue to stay disciplined I had a shot at going to college for wrestling. And that was the first time I considered myself disciplined – not because I was disciplined but because I loved the sport.

Spiritual disciplines are the exact same thing!

I believe we so often hear the phrase Spiritual Disciplines and get scared off because they will require us to sacrifice and be disciplined.

And while yes they will require you to be disciplined, it’s not about the action, it’s about the what

Athletes don’t train for the training but instead for the sport, so must we as Christians train, not for the training, but for the love of the one who died to save us

Remember the words of Paul in Gal.

Galatians 2:20 NET

20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Christ died for us and we are to live our life in respect and reverence of who He is

So when we are talking about Spiritual Disciplines what we mean is this:

Spiritual Disciplines are actions that will grow us closer to God and promote spiritual maturity

Spiritual disciplines are meant to bring us closer to God and make us mature believers

Spiritual disciplines are what helps us move from immature believers who can only drink spiritual milk, to fully formed believers who can eat the meat of the Gospel — as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 3:2

1 Corinthians 3:2 NET

I fed you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready. In fact, you are still not ready,

The eight Spiritual Disciplines we will be looking at over the next two months are:

Bible Reading

Bible Study

Prayer

Fasting

Giving

Serving

Worship

Rest

Each one of these is meant to promote in us a spirit of maturity that will bring us closer to God and help us move from milk to meat.

Each one of these is meant to help us fulfill what Peter tells us:

1 Peter 1:15–16 NET

15 but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct, 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.”

They are meant to make us holy like Christ is Holy

The produce in us fruit that Paul describes as leading to Eternal Life

The important thing to remember at Spiritual Disciplines is this: they are not the ends but simply the means

They are not the ends that we are meant to follow, but simply the pathway to get to God and grow in maturity

If we fail to see these disciplines and habits as responses to divine grace, we will slip into the trap of thinking that they have value in themselves. Those who think this way suppose that when they pray or fast, they are spiritually superior to those who do not.

Their disciplines become external, self-energized, and law-driven. They are tempted to quantify spirituality by reducing it to a set of external practices rather than an internal, grace-drawn process of transformation.

Instead, we must see the disciplines as external practices that reflect and reinforce internal aspirations.

Spiritual growth is inside out, not outside in; our focus should be more on the process of inner transformation than on outward routines.

This understanding will free us from thinking that the disciplines we practice are magical in themselves. Spiritual disciplines are good servants but poor masters; they are useful means but inadequate ends.

The thing to remember about Spiritual Disciplines is that it isn’t about the disciplines themselves, but instead about the God they are meant to bring you closer to

I’m excited to see how God works over the next two months as we dive into Spiritual Disciplines!

This has been the REVO Church Podcast thanks so much for listening!