Spiritual discipline

ByPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
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

Support us so we can do more

We’ll get right to the point: we’re asking you to help us support our Church online minisry. We’re a nonprofit that relies on support from people like you. If everyone reading this gives €12 monthly, Spirit and Truth city Church can continue to thrive for years.

Similar Posts

  • Habit is a compilation of knowledge, skills and willingness III

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    If we want to have fruitful prayer life, then prayer must become a habit. In order for that to happen we must gain some skills in the area of prayer. Skill means how we do something. When you know what you need to do and why you need to do it, the next step is HOW to do it. If you don’t know how, this activity can’t become a habit. But you won’t be able to learn how, unless you actually start doing it. I won’t know how to pray, unless I start praying. I am sure we already know very much about prayer. You can put to practice this knowledge that you have. Thus you obtain skills. Skills are developed by putting knowledge to practice.

  • The blessedness or beauty of serving others! II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    Isaiah saw three important things that totally changed his life. Isaiah saw God. He saw God’s greatness and holiness. When you draw near to God, God reveals Himself to you more and more. When we see God we also see ourselves, because we are created in His image and according to His likeness. In His light we see light.Isaiah saw himself. God desires for us to see ourselves clearly. For this very reason He allows different things to happen to us so that our eyes would be open about what we are like inside.

  • The blessedness or beauty of serving others!

    AutorsMācītājs Rufus Adžiboije Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Ministry is a widespread concept among believers. In essence, ministry is giving of all things: giving of one’s talents and gifts, one’s knowledge and time, one’s heart and resources. The Kingdom of God is built through such giving. Your church is built by your giving and ministry. It says in the Bible that it is more blessed to give than to receive. God blesses those who serve, so if you want to get to the top of God’s blessedness learn to serve God and people.

  • The blessedness or beauty of serving others! III

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    Ministry and giving determines the measure of one’s spiritual growth and maturity. It also determines how much I bear a resemblance to Jesus Christ. God wants us to grow spiritually. One of the indications of one’s spiritual growth is how he or she fulfils the needs of others. Such a person not only takes and receives, but also gives. Giving and ministry is one and the same word that determines how much of resemblance to Jesus Christ I bear.It says in the Bible that Jesus came to this earth to serve and not to be served. He is the example of a minister. Many of us want others to serve us. God says that we should minister and serve others. He wants us to be like Jesus.

  • The level of our faith depends on our ability to hear from God

    AutorsMācītājs Rufus Adžiboije Reading Time: 6 minutes
    When we hear the Lord’s voice it strengthens us and takes disorder and confusion out of our lives. When we hear the Lord’s voice it awakens in us the spirit of faith and raises us up into God’s dimension.Let’s look at some verses of Scripture that tell us about the benefits of hearing God’s voice and being led by the Spirit.

  • Life without prayer is a road to nowhere II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    1. Set apart some time for prayer and commit to it.2. Plan where you will pray.It does not have to be at home, but you also do not need to turn prayer into some religious ritual. Be creative when you choose the place for prayer. For instance, there was a time in my life when I made walking into prayer time. I called it “a prayer walk”. I went out in the street for the purpose of prayer.