Spiritual discipline

Greetings to you, dear friends! Grace and peace to you from Father God and our Lord Jesus Christ! Today we’ll finish our discourse on the importance of spiritual discipline in the life of a believer. There are many verses in the Bible that describe spiritual discipline in the lives of Jesus and His apostles. They were all written for us to help us become successful in our ministry just as the Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples were successful. We discussed the spiritual habits of Jesus, particularly fasting , solitude, vigilance, prayer, intense study of God’s Word,meditation on the Word of God and His ways. Today too many Christians lack discipline, so they are not many spiritual fruit and expressions of spiritual authority. The paradox is that most Christians, who discipline themselves in other areas of their life in order to be successful – like job or carrier, do not believe they need to be disciplined in the area of godliness. We are talking about good Christians who are faithful members of the Church of the Living God. These are people who love God’s Word and often are very enthusiastic about the work of God. But because of the lack of discipline they do not reach their potential in God’s Kingdom. It is not enough to have breadth in God; it is important also that we have depth. If you do not possess strong spiritual habits in the area of fellowship with God, then it means you lack spiritual discipline. Superficial attitude towards life is the curse of our time. The doctrine of immediate satisfaction is one of the main spiritual problems of our generation. If you do not pay attention to this problem in the church, then the church can lose her power and influence in the world. When we underestimate spiritual discipline and its different facets mentioned above, we are in great danger. By neglecting spiritual discipline we are not able to produce or bring to God any commendable fruit. In conclusion of this series I want to show you that all aspects of spiritual discipline can be divided into two categories: I Spiritual disciplines that are connected to abstaining from something: a.       Abstaining from food for the sake of godliness – fasting. b.      Abstaining from social interaction for the sake of godliness – solitude. c.       Abstaining from sleep for the sake of godliness – night vigilance. d.      Abstaining from luxury for the sake of godliness — sacrificial living. Through these types of discipline we exercise our spiritual muscles in order to overcome our flesh and its desires. It is like weightlifting. By itself it may look like something silly, but it prepares a person for serious physical trials in the future. In the same way, the things we abstain from are not evil, but our abstinence from them is for the sake of godliness in order to prepare ourselves for real difficulties that we may face in the future. These types of discipline give us deep understanding of the struggle that goes on inside of us, which is the struggle between flesh and spirit. There are some crucial lessons we are able to learn only through practising of these spiritual disciplines and in no other way. I think it will be interesting for you to find out what tricks your flesh is ready to play after you say ‘no’ to it. The spiritual practices above will help you to know how strong the hold of the flesh is over you. The second category of spiritual discipline is: II  Disciplines that involve us in certain activities. a.       Prayer. You need to set apart some time for the purpose of prayer and fellowship with God. b.      Reading and studying of the Bible. In order to change you need not only to read but you also need to study the Bible; you need to become a student of the Word. c.       Meditation on the Word. d.      Witnessing. e.       Worship. It is a spiritual direction that requires of us to continually thank and praise God and it also takes some time and effort. f.        Christian fellowship. It requires having the right people around to encourage the fellowship and growth in God. I hope this give you something to think and meditate upon today and the grounds to evaluate your life. Learn to love these spiritual disciplines and start applying them in your life on a continual basis, – and your life will change drastically and you will be able to truly effective in God’s Kingdom!  May God bless you today abundantly! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye