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

Similar Posts

  • Change always comes through prayer! III

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    During the past few days we have been talking about the idea of a person being the main initiator of the miracles he needs in his life. In order for God to be able to do something supernatural in the individual’s life this individual must create the natural platform or foundation for this miracle. When you mix your distress with prayer, then the miracle will surely happen and you will have true and undisputable proof of God’s miracle and His supernatural intervention.

    During the past few days we have been talking about the idea of a person being the main initiator of the miracles...

  • Please stop finding fault and shifting blame

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 2 minutes
    Other people might be responsible for where you are in life, but nobody is responsible for your continuing to stay where you are. Until you stop finding fault and shifting blame, you will not rise up and take responsibility for your advancement in life. Here is what God want you to do from today on: Don’t blame the devil, resist him (James 4: 7); Don’t blame God, obey Him (Genesis 3: 12-13); Don’t blame your challenges and predicaments; fight your way through them by faith (Number chapter 12-14).

    Other people might be responsible for where you are in life, but nobody is responsible for your continuing to...

  • Wrong motivation

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    Spirit of competition . Some people are moved by the desire to prove to others what they can do. Those that are moved by this spirit can’t be still if they see someone else doing better than them. These people continually try to prove something to others, because they compare themselves to others all the time. They live according to someone else’s schedule since they do not have their own. The word of God said this is a wrong attitude:

    Spirit of competition . Some people are moved by the desire to prove to others what they can do. Those that are...

  • God’s Word is spiritual food

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    God wants us to be strong and healthy not only physically, but also spiritually. We do not need ‘spiritual fasts’. We can have physical fasts in order to gain spiritual power. But in order to become spiritually strong, we should daily feed on the Word. If you do not do it, you get weaker as a believer; you get weaker in your judgments and in your faith. When we get weaker we must ‘eat’ spiritually; that is what God’s Word is there for: «…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby» (1 Peter, 2:2).

    God wants us to be strong and healthy not only physically, but also spiritually. We do not need ‘spiritual...

  • How Prophet Elisha accomplished his goal in life

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 6 minutes
    Elijah was the spiritual father of Elisha. After Elisha closely observed the life of this man of God in his life and saw all the miracles that God performed through Elijah, he understood that the key to Elijah’s success was his love and total commitment to God. So Elisha desired and became hungry for the same anointing and lifestyle of Elijah his mentor. But more interestingly is the fact that Elisha wasn’t satisfied to do just what Elijah did; he craved for the double portion of Elijah’s his anointing.

    Elijah was the spiritual father of Elisha. After Elisha closely observed the life of this man of God in his life...

  • On what does your destiny depend? II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    «My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life» (Proverbs, 4:20-23). Based on this Scripture, we can argue that the course of your life, my destiny or yours should not depend on somebody else but on ourselves. You must take charge of your life and destiny!

    «My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep...