Slides: Training for Godliness: Spiritual Disciplines

Train yourself for godliness. (1 Timothy 4:7)

Spiritual disciplines

• Can actors succeed in a play without memorizing and rehearsing?
• Can athletes succeed in sports without exercise and practice?
• Can soldiers succeed in warfare without drills and training?
• Can students succeed in career without education and study?
• Can a disciple succeed in godliness without spiritual disciplines?

1 Timothy 4:6-16

⁶ If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.

⁷ Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; ⁸ for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

⁹ The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. ¹⁰ For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

¹¹ Command and teach these things. ¹² Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

¹⁴ Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. ¹⁵ Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. ¹⁶ Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Training for godliness

Train yourself for godliness... godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Tim 4:7-8)

The goal: godliness = Christ in you

• Growing closer to Christ in experience
• Growing like Christ in holy character
• Growing like Christ in eternal impact

Trained by constant practice

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Heb 5:14)

Every athlete exercises self-control in all things... I discipline my body and keep it under control (1 Cor 9:25,27).

Some Spiritual Disciplines

• Bible Intake
• Prayer
• Worship
• Rest
• Silence/Solitude
• Fasting
• Celebration
• Journaling
• Serving
• Learning
• Confession
• Accountability
• Simplicity
• Submission
• Evangelism
• Stewardship
• Sacrifice
• Watching/vigil

Newness of life

• The message of Jesus himself and of the early disciples was not just one of the forgiveness of sins, but rather was one of newness of life. (Dallas Willard)
• The Spiritual Disciplines are the God-given means we are to use in the Spirit-filled pursuit of Godliness. I've never known a man or woman who came to spiritual maturity except through discipline. (Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life)

What did Jesus do?

• Prayer, silence, solitude, worship
• And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:35)
• Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while. (Mark 6:31)
• After he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. (Mark 6:46)
• Fasting: After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. (Matthew 4:2)
• Bible intake: But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” (Matthew 4:4)
• Bible intake: hearing, reading, study, memorization, meditation, application

Memorization Transformation

As a pastor, teacher, and counselor I have repeatedly seen the transformation of inner and outer life that comes simply from memorization and meditation upon Scripture. Personally, I would never undertake to pastor a church or guide a program of Christian education that did not involve a continuous program of memorization of the choicest passages of Scripture for people of all ages. (Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines)

Dangers of disciplines

1. Saving yourself: ignoring God's grace
   
2. Body bashing: despising created gifts
3. Showing off: polishing public image
4. Feeling superior: despising others
5. Trivial pursuit: majoring in minors

Saving yourself

Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism ... and not holding fast to the Head... These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. (Colossians 2:18-23)

Body bashing

... teachings of demons ... liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. (1 Tim 4:1-5)

Showing off

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others... And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. (Matt 6:5,16)

Feeling superior

God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. (Matthew 18:11-12)

Trivial pursuit

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (Matthew 23:23)

Healthy disciplines

1. Not saving myself, but developing my born-again self to greater maturity.
2. Not body bashing, but training body to submit to God's Spirit and my spirit.
3. Not showing off, but cultivating real character that impacts others.
4. Not feeling superior, but being daily humbled in God's holy presence.
5. Not trivial pursuit, but love for God and for other people.

What holds you back?

1. Overreaction against dangers
2. Lack of teaching: ignorance
3. Lack of drive: laziness
4. Lack of desire: deadness

Mature in Christ

...asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy...Christ in you, the hope of glory...that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:9-11,27-28)

Beholding and becoming

We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor 3:18).

1. Are you beholding Jesus' glory?
2. Are you becoming more like Jesus in your character and impact on others?
3. Will you practice disciplines to do so?