Sermon Tone Analysis

Come and See

38 "When Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?”

They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 "“Come and you’ll see,” he replied.

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day.

It was about four in the afternoon.”

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“I must take care above all that I cultivate communion with Christ, for though that can never be the basis of my peace—mark that—yet it will be the channel of it.”

Final Thought…

Consider the people who will work hard at learning to play an instrument, knowing that it takes years to acquire the skills, who will practice hard to lower their golf score or to improve their sports performance, knowing it takes years to become proficient, who will discipline themselves throughout their career because they know it takes sacrifice to succeed.

These same people will give up quickly when they find the Spiritual Disciplines don’t come easily, as though becoming like Jesus was not supposed to take much effort.

The gold of Godliness isn’t found on the surface of Christianity.

It has to be dug from the depths with the tools of the Disciplines.

But for those who persevere, the treasures are more than worth the troubles.

Welcome to the gathering of the

First Baptist Church of

Roselawn

📷📷 📷

Relationship with God.

Relationships with Relationships with

other Christians.

the world.

By God’s Grace & For God’s Glory!!!

Spiritual Disciplines: Introduction...

What are we going to be like?

Let’s look up the following verses and discover what we are going to be?

:29_____________________________________________________

:2______________________________________________________

We are not merely to wait for holiness, we are we to do? :14____________________________________________________

So how can we pursue Christ-likeness?

How do we pursue holiness?

What phrase do we find in ?

_________________________________________________________

So we are going to look at some practices that God’s (ancient) people have always practiced called spiritual disciplines.

These are the means, the path way that takes us from where we are in our godliness to greater and greater Christ-likeness.

These disciplines are both personal and corporate disciplines that promote spiritual growth.

They are the habits of devotion and experiential Christianity that have been practiced by the people of God since biblical times.

Some of the things we’ll talk about together over the next few months are:

The Hunger of the Heart

• Bible intake

• prayer

• worship

• evangelism

• service

• stewardship

• fasting

• silence and solitude

• journaling

• and learning

Whatever discipline we are talking about, the most important feature is its PURPOSE.

Just as there is little value in practicing the scales on a guitar or piano apart from the purpose of playing music, there is little value in practicing spiritual disciplines apart from the single purpose that unites them.

Look up the following (negative and positive) and write down how each verse or passage relates to your PURPOSE in the Christian walk...

_________________________________________________________

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The purpose is godliness.

So we are told in to train (discipline) ourselves “for the purpose of godliness” The Spiritual Disciplines are the God-given means we are to use in the Spirit-filled pursuit of Godliness.

Godly people are disciplined people.

What means does God use to change us?

1. Read .

God uses this to sharpen us to Christ-like living.

_______________

2. Read .

What does God work together for good?

_________________.

Then God uses the spiritual disciplines, which God works from the inside out.

The God uses people and circumstances the process works from the outside in.

God has given us the Spiritual Disciplines as a means of receiving His grace and growing in Godliness.

By them we place ourselves before God for Him to work in us.

Let me illustrate this as we think through the role of the spiritual disciplines.

Let’s read & .

Think of the Spiritual Disciplines as ways we can place ourselves in the path of God’s grace and seek Him much as Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus placed themselves in Jesus’ path and sought Him.

As with these two seekers, we will find Him willing to have mercy on us and to have communion with us.

And in the course of time we will be transformed by Him from one level of Christlikeness to another.

“We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

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The Spiritual Disciplines then are also like channels of God’s transforming grace.

Let’s think for a moment how hard it is to begin some things.

Books.

For me it’s hard to begin a book but once I do, I have a hard time setting it down.

Especially if it’s a theological book.

Job.

It’s tough to begin a new job.

There’s a fair bit of anxiety that goes on in making the effort of that initial plunge.

When Jesus of Nazareth embarked on his ministry in the spring of A.D. 27, He faced an awesome, complex challenge.

Where and how does one begin the work of saving the world from total destruction,

rescuing a humanity that, for the most part,

does not believe it needs help?

The Messiah-to-be made his first major move in an unlikely place,

a dusty desert, and

in an unlikely manner, submitting himself to baptism by an disciplined, self-denying prophet named John.

And yet the decision to go to John there in the desert was perfectly logical and appropriate,

for John was the wilderness herald for the coming Deliverer—the Christ.

It was no mistake that John ministered in the wilderness, for the wilderness historically represented the barrenness of Israel’s spiritual life.

The people of Israel had not heard from God in four hundred years.

Thus they were progressively eager to have their messianic expectations met throughout this period of severe silence.

The spiritual heart of Israel was parched, dry, and empty, much like the desolation of the wilderness.

Thus when the Jewish people heard of this rugged young prophet trumpeting forth the words of the revered Isaiah,

they trudged thirty miles out into the barren countryside to know more of his message.

John was the pioneer who preceded the Messiah, calling out to Israel, “Repent!

Be prepared to encounter God!”

Indeed, as Jesus walked toward him there in the wilderness and what does John point out?

(1:29,36) ______________________________________________

At this statement, two of John’s disciples were immediately compelled to follow Jesus,

without much thought for who or what they were leaving behind.

Why did these men follow Jesus?

Well, why indeed did you decide to follow Jesus?

Hunger.

Certainly curiosity is part of the motivation, but the hunger of the heart is the compelling force.

This kind of hunger had been quickened in these men through the ministry of John.

He had created in them a hunger for the Messiah—what he was and what he offered to Israel.

As a result, these two men were drawn to the person of Jesus just as hungry animals are attracted to a source of food.

Throughout the past two millennia, many people have taken the same action as these two disciples of John, following Jesus to see who he is.