Can we?
Can we ever hope to minister effectively in ministry and in obedience if we have not mastered the spiritual disciplines? Could this be part of the problem in America?
What would the church look like if all Christ followers mastered the "inward" and "outward" spiritual disciplines?
What would happen if all pastor/leaders mastered these disciplines? If you think they have, you might be surprised to know how many have not. In my opinion, no ministry student in college or seminary should be allowed to graduate without a track record of discipline mastery.
Let me take it further now that I'm hanging out there! No one will be able to lead a successful disciple (making) driven movement without engaging and mastery over the disciplines. Disciples cannot become mature without the mastery of the disciplines. Here they are:
inward disciplines that benefit us:
Prayer - communicating with God.
Bible Study - understanding the Word of God.
Fasting - deliberately choosing to abstain from something to build spiritual strength and discipline.
Meditation - going deeply into passages of Scripture and memorization.
Journaling - recording your thoughts and events.
outward disciplines that benefit others:
Evangelism - sharing your faith with another person or group.
Stewardship - surrendering my possessions to the Lord.
Serving - having a ministry.
Giving - intentionally giving tithes and offerings.
Living by Faith – walking in the Spirit.
Bible Study - understanding the Word of God.
Fasting - deliberately choosing to abstain from something to build spiritual strength and discipline.
Meditation - going deeply into passages of Scripture and memorization.
Journaling - recording your thoughts and events.
outward disciplines that benefit others:
Evangelism - sharing your faith with another person or group.
Stewardship - surrendering my possessions to the Lord.
Serving - having a ministry.
Giving - intentionally giving tithes and offerings.
Living by Faith – walking in the Spirit.
I'd like to thank Terry Goodwin for helping me see the disciplines in a whole new and fresh light. He compiled the list you see above and helped me distinguish the difference between inward and outward spiritual disciples (some for us and some for others).
Give me your thoughts or ideas if you have the time.
posted by Bob Carder @ 5:38 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
Bob – I take this just a step further by saying that each of these groups has one dominant discipline that I think is completely misunderstood. They are also dependent upon each other and must all be practiced together. Here is what I mean.
The inward disciplines:
Fasting – This is the key to mastering the inward disciplines. Fasting builds Spiritual strength over the flesh. Mastering fasting will help you stay on track with the others.
Prayer and Meditation go together, as do Bible Study and Journaling. Actually all four of these work together to some degree.
The outward disciplines:
Living by Faith – This is the key to the outward disciplines. Learning to live by faith gives you the ability to look beyond yourself, which leads to giving, and serving. Giving is the foundation to good stewardship and serving gives opportunity for evangelism.
The problem I find for many people is inconsistent spiritual disciplines. They equate Bible study and prayer to being “the” spiritual disciplines and neglect the others. I believe if all Christians would embrace the spiritual disciplines like their lives depend on it that the church would see the greatest spiritual awakening in history.
I like this. It would be seductive but dangerous to live a spiritual life without these or similar disciplines.
On fasting, though, I want to point out that the ancient practise is not only about self-mastery. There certainly is that aspect and it is a good one, but there is another aspect, having to do with the communion of saints. Fasting not only builds one up as a spiritually disciplined man, but it also brings God's blessing upon the whole communion: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col 1:24).
If we can pray for others, and fasting is "the prayer of the body", then our fasting, by grace of God, can merit his grace on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ's body. This is the greater reality behind fasting, though again the discipline aspect is also important.
Slatts
Terry, I know this is going to come as complete surprise to you...or maybe not...but for the first time I think I might understand the need for fasting. I guess I've always known it was something we should do, but I just didn't have a clear handle on the particulars of it all. When you said that fasting builds Spirtitual strength over the flesh, i got a fresh picture of it value...and purpose. God has been "discussing" this with me since before Christmas. He first moved my heart to understand Daniel"s "pursosed of heart" decision to not defile himself with the food of the king. Then He spoke to me about Jesus saying that some spirits can only be cast out with prayer and fasting. Now He has made it clearer with your encouragement with fasting as an inward discipline that builds Spiritual strength. I'm not sure I'm making sense but things are being revealed to me.
I think I have my feet grounded in all the other spiritual disciplines ....except one. Will this surprise you? I'm not sure. But I am a little embarrassed and have kept it to myself for a while. The other that I'm extrememly lacking in is evangelism...not a small one either. I find that I have spent most of my Christian life cacooned in a Christian world. I can count the number of times I have shared the gospel (don't gasp) on my hand (notice that it is a singular hand). That truly bothers me. Noe I know the time has arrived for that to change. I will admit that it scares me. My fear is not far from that the man who hid his one talent in the ground. And I'll admit that I'm almost afraid to ask God to bring someone to me that I can share Him with. I'm sure He will do it. Will I fail? The age old problem I know. So now it's out in the open...I guess I'm probably going to have to share this at our next meeting...
I'm really rambling I know. I'm gonna go and think about this some more...any words of wisdom is appreciated. Judy
Slatts - isn't grace unmeritted favor?
Judy - This is exciting. God is at work in our lives.
I cannot wait to see the results, Speaking of results, we must leave the responsibility for the results to God. In order to give God all the Glory we must give Him full responsibility for the results. Our responsibility is to be obedient. If you are obedient in what God is telling you to do and when He tells you to sharem then you cannot fail.
When we count success by visible results we bring the results down to mans level. Our job is to be obedient, God's responsible for the results. Only when we mix up the two can we possibly fail.
I will pray for your strength and encouragement in this area.
Terry, grace is umerited you are correct, and the grace to merit is also unmerited. I made sure to say that we can merit, "by the grace of God", because even in Catholic teaching there is no strict merit, "all is grace". But the grace to be true instrumental causes of God's grace is the aspect of fasting forgotten in Protestantism since the reformation (Luther's fasting was strictly about self-control).
There is no harm in re-examining fasting as "prayer of the body" in conjunction with the communion of saints. To regard fasting as a prayer of repentence "for our sins and those of the whole world". What does it mean to be a priest if not to offer spiritual sacrifice on behalf of others?
Slatts, Tell me again if you will, the meaning and practice of fasting in your life. This will help me see more fully where you are going with this.
Fasting for me brings my inner and outer life under the control of God's Spirit. If I can be disciplined to give up food (others have to give up other stuff) God will help me bring my flesh or self-centered heart and often consumerism under His control.
God has led me to fast at different times. I do not do it just to do it, I follow the leading of God's Spirit.
Also, God is using the example of Pastor Terry to engage fasting more often and to listen to God when He calls me to this. I'm afraid I have not always listened when God prodded me to fast. It was me personally and my ministry to God that suffers when I do not listen.
JUDY, you bless me again with your comments above. WOW! You are right. I need the Christ community and we need each other to help and hold each other accountable. The more you talk and write the more you sound like one of those who followed or actually stepped into the footprints of Jesus. Actually not just in the past tense, but I see your footprints over the footprints of Jesus today. Sounds very New Testament to me.
I'm attending district conference but look forward to our gathering on Saturday. See you then.
Bob, I want to affirm everything you said about what fasting is in your life. It is the same for me also; it helps to contextualize my life with reference to God.
I also want to promote an important aspect that I believe has been lost. We all believe our sins are vicariously atoned for by Christ's sacrifice, and that we become members of Christ's body through baptism (whether sacramental in the Catholic view, or metaphorical in the Protestant one). But the idea that is forsaken is that as members of Christ's body, we have been graced with His mission and empowered by His Spirit to enter into redemptive suffering. We take up our crosses and follow him not as individuals, but as a communion of Christ's body, and as such, our sufferings and penances have redemptive value for the whole body.
I have often fasted begging God's mercy or action in the life of someone I love. Taken into the priestly ministry of Jesus, I made spiritual sacrifice, "filled up what is lacking the sufferings of Christ", for the sake of His body the Church.
It will be noticed that none of this can be done on my own. I cannot merit anything myself, but with God's grace, I can merit in Him.
Well, it didn't go so well...2 things come to light for me...first of all my own words...I said (ha ha)..."fasting builds spiritual strength over the flesh" (well in reality I was just repeating what you said, but in any case..) what I learned was you can't fast IN the flesh. By that i mean I should't fast just because I want to. Then you, Bob, said "I do not do it just to do it, I feel the leading of God's Spirit". And that confirmed my morning quiet time discussing with God why I had been unable to "complete", if you will, the task I (and I emphasize the I part)set before myself. Perhaps God is opening my heart to what fasting is because a time is approaching that He will call me to it.
I'm just struggling with this right now, trying to figure it out. Thanks, Terry for your encouragement, reminding me that God is responsible for the outcome...you may have been refering to evangelism, but I can also apply it to my training ground of all spiritual disciplines.
I look to those of you who have practiced this spiritual discipline for words of guidance and wisdom. Please support me in your prayers as I sift through God's word and the motivations of my own heart. My goal is to please Him and be more like Him.
Judy
Judy, These are great comments! I appreciate your comments more than you know because they will help so many, I believe.
When I speak of mastery over the flesh I am speaking of becoming disciplined to go with God instead of going with the temptation. We still sin but our denial of self does improve. God calls us into a fast for His reasons as He sees things in our lives that need to come under the control of His Spirit.
It is God who calls us into a fast. We shouldn't use this as an excuse (which you are not) we must listen to the Spirit of God and His promptings.
Last year when I was at Keystone our Midwest leadership team decided to fast (at the suggestion of one of my pastoral brothers) for a period of time. I told them I would not be fasting because I did not feel the prompting of the Spirit to do so. I rarely fast when someone suggest that I do. This is between God and us and it is done in in private. I do not tell people when I am fasting. Everyone else agreed to fast and they did, but I felt like a sinner but I was true to what I strongly believe. We do not determine the fast, others do not determine the fast for us, it is only God who calls us to fast. And when He does, there is a purpose or reason for our good.
Several years ago I found that I was abusing the fast. When I was a teen I was fasting and I felt so holy I came into the church and told my pastor, "I'm fasting today!" He confronted me and rebuked me because fasting is done privately unless there are circumstances as to why people need to know. Like my wife, when she cooks me a meal and I cannot eat it because of a God-called fast, she needs to know not to cook the meal. My man driven fasts have been harmful to my spiritual walk because my motives were self fulfilling. When God calls a fast, it is not self-fulfilling, it is a sacrifice of obedience. I fasted for personal and selfish reasons instead of for the purposes God had for me at His leading. So for me to randomly fast because someone else dictates it, it is very wrong, at least for me.
You must be free from the pressure to fast by any other means other than from God He often calls us slowly into the discipline and rarely in a extended fast at first. I strongly recommend that you do not fast for extended periods until you understand the health concerns and safe ways to fast so you will fast in a healthy God honoring way.
SO relax in the presence of God and wait for His promptings. He knows when you are ready and He will call you slowly with baby fasting steps.
You are free from the forced burden, now rest in Jesus!
This longer sermon, will help others so I thank you for the absolute vulnerability in this manner.
WHY can't I give a short answer. One can take the preaching out of the church (location)but never the pastor out of preaching to the Church. :)
SLATTS, these are wise comments. The discipline of fasting is a God prompted disciple and when God calls we must obey because He has His reasons for calling us and those reasons often benefit our personal spiritual journey.
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