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

  • Do You Hear What God Is Saying?

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    God speaks constantly! The question is whether you hear what He says. God created everything by His Word, and He holds everything together by the power of His Word. “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3).

    God speaks constantly! The question is whether you hear what He says. God created everything by His Word, and He...

  • Presence of God V

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    God so desires for us to seek Him early in the morning. He so desires for us to return to Him. He wants to heal us and to bind up our wounds. God so wants to revive and restore us, so that we could live before Him. When we seek the Lord, when we seek to know Him, He comes and immerses us into His presence; He pours out His rain on us and waters the earth. Yesterday we talked about how Moses set up a tabernacle outside the camp for all seekers of the Lord. We also saw that instead of entering the tabernacle and seeking the face of the Lord, Israelites were simply observing how Moses spoke to God and how God answered Moses.

    God so desires for us to seek Him early in the morning. He so desires for us to return to Him. He wants to heal...

  • How to enter your ministry?

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    Yesterday we started discussing how we can enter our ministry. We established that, first; we need a strong desire to serve. This desire is tied to our understanding of God’s will and the purpose of our salvation. As we talked about, ministry helps us to reveal our potential. Ministry helps us to find out about ourselves, our calling in the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth and doing the works that are pleasing to God. God has predestined for us to do particular good works. God desires for us to be fruitful and glorify Him on earth. Through our ministry God wants to fill this earth with the knowledge of Him and His Kingdom. He wants us to establish His principles in every sphere of life and win people for Him by the ministry we do on earth.

    Yesterday we started discussing how we can enter our ministry. We established that, first; we need a strong...

  • What is a breakthrough? II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Breakthrough always changes a person’s status and position. Today, I want to draw your attention to the fact that in this story, not only the crippled man experienced a breakthrough but also Peter and John, the Apostles. Not only the cripples need a breakthrough. Every person needs a breakthrough! Along with the crippled man, also Peter and John, the Apostles, experienced a breakthrough, because miracles that had not happened beforein through their ministry took place exactly on that day. Ever since then, different miracles never ceased in their lives and ministries. Even the shadow of Peter who started healing the sick as he passed by them. Imagine what will happen to you when you begin to experience a continual breakthrough in every sphere of your life.

    Breakthrough always changes a person’s status and position. Today, I want to draw your attention to the fact that...

  • It is extremely important for us to grow in God’s character and nature so that we can effectively function on earth

    AutorsMācītājs Rufus Adžiboije Reading Time: 4 minutes
    «It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established by righteousness» . In order for a throne or a reign or government to be established, it must be done by righteousness or truth. As we’ve said before, in Paul’s Epistle to Romans we are told that we rule on earth by the gift of righteousness (see Rom.5: 17). The Power, authority and wisdom to rule on earth come into our lives through our uncompromising stance against sin and unrighteousness. If we choose righteousness and total submission to God and His commandments as our lifestyle, then God can channel His authority into our lives; our life will be filled with God’s authority, and God will grant us the right to rule and reign on earth.

    «It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established by righteousness» . In order...

  • Searching for the meaning of life III

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    We have been talking about search for the meaning of life. We are using the life of Solomon, the son of David as our example. Solomon was the wisest person on earth. We saw that in the beginning of his life Solomon obtained wisdom and riches, because he loved God and knew Him. But there came a time in his life, when he forsook God and followed other gods. At that time Solomon tried to satisfy his soul with different things; he looked for happiness in different places. Eventually, Solomon realized that it is impossible to be happy and satisfied in this life without God.

    We have been talking about search for the meaning of life. We are using the life of Solomon, the son of David as...