Practising Spiritual Disciplines

When you become a Christian, when you make a decision to follow Jesus, something supernatural

happens.

The presence of the Holy Spirit enters you.

Becoming a Christian, growing as a Christian is not some obscure, esoteric spiritual experience.

It's a simple but profound knowledge of God's presence.

And the Holy Spirit who takes occupancy in your life when you follow Jesus, that is the

same Spirit that raises Jesus from the dead and who will raise us from the dead.

It's a Spirit whose knowledge is unique.

It is the Spirit who reveals the wisdom of God to you.

It is the Holy Spirit who will inspire you and motivate you to serve others.

And it is the same Holy Spirit who will give you the mind of Christ.

So if we're really serious about all this and we genuinely want to grow in all of this,

we've got to tend to that relationship.

It doesn't just happen.

And that's where spiritual discipline, and perhaps that might sound like a bit of a harsh

term, but it's where it's so important.

I'm going to unpack that a little bit this morning as to why it's important.

Make some allusion to some of the disciplines, but more want to think about what it means

to have that posture of being disciplined.

And I think it's a really helpful quotation from Eugene Peterson.

I'm going to bring it up on the screens now.

I want you to really soak this up.

Eugene Peterson said,

Worship is the strategy by which we interrupt our preoccupation with ourselves

and attend to the presence of God.

He went on to say that if we don't interrupt ourselves regularly,

we have no chance of attending to God at all,

at all other times and at all other places.

In 2007, the Washington Post carried out a social experiment.

One Friday morning in January during rush hour,

a violin player came out to busk in a subway in Washington.

Nothing that unusual about that.

What was different about this particular busker is his name is Joshua Bell,

considered by many to be one of the greatest violinists on the planet.

Several nights before, he was playing in the same city to an auditorium

packed with people paying hundreds of dollars to hear him play.

But in this experiment, he just turned up unannounced,

on the subway, wearing jeans, sweatshirt and a baseball cap.

Oh, and a $3.5 million Strativarius violin.

There were hidden cameras tucked away,

and he stood there and played for 45 minutes.

Afterwards, the footage was analysed.

1,097 people walked past.

You could count on one hand the number of people

who stood for a moment to listen.

He had a few dollars thrown into his violin case.

There was the odd one or two

who stood and lingered for a while.

One individual who really did seem to pay attention.

And one toddler who seemed to be tugging on his mum,

desperately wanting to stop.

But other than that,

they just passed by.

What happened in that experiment?

Well, it's difficult to prove empirically,

but it's reckoned, it's theorised.

The big difference was simply context.

You don't expect it.

In the same way,

there was a work of art,

a painting,

I can't remember who it was by now,

but it was worth,

it was valued at tens of millions of dollars

on display in a gallery.

The staff took the painting off the wall,

which people flocked to see.

They took it off the wall,

and during one lunchtime,

they carefully took it out from its frame,

and they hung it on the wall

at the cafe of the museum,

where this work of art is usually on display.

They put it on the wall

with a price tag of $50.

Nobody inquired.

It's context.

You don't expect

that extraordinary thing to happen.

Which raises the question,

why don't we expect it?

Well, because our senses are dulled

by the ordinariness of life.

We become, to use Eugene Peterson's word again,

preoccupied with the self.

With those things that weigh us down,

with our circumstances,

with the things that bring us worry,

or anxiety, or fear.

Whether it's over the past,

or over the future,

or what we're going through right now.

But because these things take over,

and because we become preoccupied by them,

we need to interrupt that.

We need to stop and listen,

and pay attention

to that music that is playing.

We need to stand and watch,

and soak up that great work of art

that is before us.

But most importantly,

we need to pay attention

to the presence of the living God,

who is present within us.

The living Holy Spirit,

who raises Jesus from the dead.

The same Holy Spirit,

who will raise you and I from the dead

for all eternity.

The Holy Spirit,

who brought us into existence,

and sustains the life of the universe.

That Holy Spirit,

who promises,

is not just with you,

and around you,

but inside you.

That's what discipline is about.

Not a clip round the ear.

But that loving invitation

from the Lord who loves us,

just wants us to know,

desperately,

that he's there.

The strategy by which we interrupt

our preoccupation with ourselves,

and attend to that presence

of God.

So what might be

some of those disciplines,

then,

in practice?

Well,

there is no

biblical definitive list.

We can,

obviously,

we derive these things

from scripture,

but

there's no set list,

and neither in classic theology.

There have been many,

many tomes

that have been written

about what the disciplines are.

John Mark Comer's book,

which we've been using

as the basis

for our current series,

he mentions nine,

but there's no definitive list.

I just want to draw on

four examples.

Prayer,

reading the Bible,

solitude,

and community.

not to unpack them

in any depth and detail,

because we can't do that

in just a few minutes,

but it's helpful

for us just to revisit

those as examples,

just to give us a bit of an idea,

a focus as to what we're

talking about here

when we talk about

interrupting our preoccupation

with ourselves

and tending to the presence

of God.

Let's take prayer

as an example.

Prayer,

we so often,

we've had this said

billions of times,

haven't we,

but we think of prayer

as asking God

for things,

and it is that,

but that's not fundamentally

what it's about.

It's about relationship,

it's about connection,

it's about listening to God

in any relationship

with anybody.

That relationship

means nothing

if it's just asking

that other for things.

Most fundamentally,

it's a state of being.

And it's about listening,

and listening to God

is something that

doesn't perhaps

always come naturally

or easily,

and so it may mean

that we have to actually

set aside a time

and discipline ourselves.

Say,

I'm going to do this.

I'm going to do this.

I'm going to listen.

And there's no sort of

formulaic way of doing that,

other than

perhaps getting ourselves

into a physical posture

that is intentional,

in other words,

without other things

running around,

putting all electronic devices

out of the way.

Maybe closing our eyes.

Don't have to.

Just simply waiting

for a few minutes, Lord.

I'm listening.

I'm all yours.

The point is,

it's not just to focus

that at one point,

but if we can get into

the habit of doing that

on a regular basis,

so it opens up the soul

for the whole of the rest

of the day

to see God

when we're not expecting

him to turn up

in those conversations

and in those situations,

to cultivate that nurture

of expectancy

and readiness

to hear him speak.

Bible reading

is really closely

connected with that.

And I've said before,

you know,

Bible reading,

I think we miss the point

if we think

it's something we've got to do

and speed read

in order to do it.

We need to kind of

get through as much

as possible as we can

in shorter time

as possible.

Because if we put the emphasis

on quantity there,

then we're missing it.

You see,

when we read the Bible,

when we read Scripture,

we're not just reading

an old book.

We're reading God's

living word.

And that same Holy Spirit

that inspired the word of God

as it was written

all of those years ago,

it's the same Holy Spirit

that can take those words

and speak to us

and speak into us today.

And I would always

encourage people

that it's far better

to actually keep

less is more

and actually to keep

the focus on

a few verses

but to really

open up to God

in those moments

to speak to us

through Scripture.

Personally,

although we're all different,

I find this

particularly helpful

early on in the day.

I find it a helpful thing

to start the day

before all of those,

as C.S. Lewis put it,

all those words,

all those other thoughts

come crashing at us

like a herd of wild animals.

And I also,

and I don't know

where this came from

but I came across it

not that long ago

where somebody said

Scripture before screens.

Before you grab your phone

or your iPad

or whatever it is

that's going to

bombard you with messages

and tell you all the things

that have got to happen,

don't let that start your day.

So we've got Scripture

as well as listening.

But then two other things,

two other examples

perhaps of, you know,

interrupting our preoccupation

with ourselves.

One is solitude.

Taking some time

to actually put yourself

on your own

away from others.

Now,

depending on our personality type,

some of us will find that

actually the sort of place

that gives us a warm glow

just thinking about.

Others will be terrified

of the thought of solitude.

And perhaps it becomes

more of a discipline

the harder it cuts

against what is

our natural inclinations.

But it's an important thing

to get that time

with God on our own

and to listen

and to still ourselves.

But at the same time,

this is why it's worth

mentioning hand in hand

with solitude,

is community.

Because there will be

other personality types

that will find

actually the thought

of meeting with others

terrifying.

there will be others

that will feel

actually, you know,

I find actually time alone,

that's what I like.

I find that's my comfort zone.

But the thought

of actually joining together

even with just a small group

of others,

I find that quite difficult.

But again,

it's through others,

not just ourselves

in isolation,

that God can and does

speak to us.

If you're not part

of a home group,

have a conversation.

Carolyn's here,

isn't she?

Carolyn, where are you?

Sorry, I didn't warn you.

Carolyn,

could you stand up?

Carolyn is our home group

coordinator here.

And yeah,

so if you'd like

to join a home group,

if you're not,

no, in fact,

let me rephrase that.

If you don't like

the thought of joining

a home group,

it terrifies you.

But listening to this

right now,

you're thinking,

do you know what though?

I hear what you're saying

and I perhaps need

to break out of my bubble

and meet with some

other people.

We're not talking

big numbers,

that's why we call

them small groups.

But if you're thinking

actually perhaps

that's the time I do that,

have a word with Carolyn.

But the point

with all of these things

is not to sort of

just deliberately

inflict psychological

pain on ourselves.

That's not what

we're talking about

when we use

the word discipline.

Rather,

it is about recognising

that there are

some things

that may not,

we may not feel

like doing.

They don't come naturally.

But we need to do

these things

if we are serious

about tending

to that relationship

with God.

You know,

that's true

again in all relationships

that actually

we need to

do things

from time to time

that we don't

feel like doing.

That in fact

if we don't do

those things

then the relationship

breaks right down.

There are times

when we have to say

sorry in relationships

and we don't feel

like it.

There are times

when we may not

feel or remember

like saying

thank you.

We need to do it.

There are times

that gratitude

is a good example

here because

thankfulness

is really at the

core of the

spirituality that we

see Paul talking

about in the

New Testament.

And he talks

about giving

thanks in all

circumstances.

Not because of

all circumstances

but in all

circumstances.

Which is why

we find him

even writing

from chains

in prison

saying actually

remember to

give thanks

all the time.

His letters

open up so I

give thanks

every time I

think of you.

He's talking

about thanksgiving

all of the time

and yet

here was a man

who was beaten

for his faith

who was persecuted

for his faith

who was put in

prison for his

faith.

Thankfulness

something that

doesn't always

may not feel

like doing

but when we

discipline ourselves

to do it

we find then

that thankfulness

becomes nurtured.

There's a story

about two guys

walking across a

field and

there was a

bull which they

didn't know

when they entered

the field.

But then they

looked across

and they saw

this huge great

big animal

and it was

starting to

come towards

them.

They began to

walk a bit

faster and so

did the bull.

And so they

began to run

and as they

ran so did

the bull and

one of them

said to the

other I

think I know

we don't do

this but we

need to pray

can you say

a prayer out

loud now?

And the other

one is getting

out of breath

running said I

don't pray out

loud.

He said no but

you went to a

Christian school

years ago you

told me that

they used to

force you to

pray out

loud in

assemblies.

He said yeah

that was

years ago.

Well you

must be able

to remember

something.

So he paused

for a moment

and thought the

first prayer he

could remember

and he shouted

out Lord for

what we are

about to

receive make

us truly

grateful.

Circumstances

don't always make

us feel

particularly

thankful.

That's what

discipline is

about.

Even when

everything within

us is resisting

the need,

the urge,

the feeling,

the emotional

state of

thankfulness.

Sometimes we've

got to dig

deep and make

that effort

to work out

that salvation

with trembling

and fear.

Remember it's

not about

earning salvation,

that's already

a gift.

But the

presence of

the living

God that is

already there

that just

calls us

to make

ourselves

aware.

strategy by

which we

interrupt our

preoccupation

of ourselves

and attend

to the

presence of

God.

As we come

to pray in

just a moment

I just want to

draw attention

to a particular

thing we find

in scripture

and you may have

heard me talk

about this before

but I've talked

about it quite a bit

because I think

it's quite important,

very important.

Paul in his

letters uses a

pair of phrases

over and over

again in different

places where he

talks about

putting things

on and

putting things

off, taking

things off.

It's an image

we encounter

over and over

again and the

reason I want to

draw attention to

it now is it

has everything to

do with that

theme of

discipline.

When we don't

feel like

praying,

or giving

thanks or

reading scripture

or community

or solitude

or whatever it

is we're talking

about, we don't

feel about it,

it cuts, we

don't feel like

it, then we

are called, well,

to get on and

do it, to put it

on.

And Paul uses

that phrase in

different forms

over and over

again where he

talks about putting

on the new self

and taking off

the old,

Ephesians 4.

And Colossians 3

talks about putting

on love,

clothe yourselves,

clothe yourselves

with compassion

and kindness

and gentleness

and patience.

Things that might

not come instinctively

or naturally

at that moment

in time.

But he says

you've got to

take this on,

you've got to

put it on.

It might not

wear that

comfortably right

now but you've

got to put it

on and take off

some of the

stuff that you

need to take

off.

Putting on

Christian character,

it goes against

our natural

inclinations but

when we do so

we grow.

Again in Ephesians

6 and in

Romans 13

Paul talks about

putting on

the armour of

God.

Armour,

I've never worn

it but I imagine

it's not that

comfortable.

You get used

to it,

you grow into

it.

And that's the

image that we

find in Paul

when he talks

about clothing

the self,

putting on

these things

of God.

It doesn't

come naturally

maybe at first,

sometimes it

does but it

doesn't always.

But it will.

Because when

you practice

discipline,

after a while

it becomes

part of you,

you grow into

it.

And this is

Paul's vision

of what it is

to truly flourish

as a human

being.

God meets you

where you are

but he doesn't

leave you there

because he has

a vision that

you might not

see yet and

might be difficult

to understand or

even believe but

that you can and

you will grow and

grow and grow.

And this is a

lifelong experience

into the Christ

shaped person that

God longs for us

to be.

You can always

tell when it's

early September

in Clevedon.

If you go through

Clevedon,

the middle of

Clevedon,

at about

quarter past

eight to

quarter past

nine in the

morning,

the school's

just starting up.

And you see

all the year

sevens walking

to school,

very enthusiastically

or not,

in their new

blazers,

which generally

come down to

the knee and

beyond,

almost down to

the fingertips.

And you know

that it won't

be that long

before those

blazers,

well,

they won't

shrink.

They'll be

grown into.

Those young

people grow

very quickly

and they grow

into those

things in which

they've been

clothed.

When Paul talks

about clothing

the self,

putting on

these new

things,

he has this

vision that

there are

things of

God,

things of the

Holy Spirit

that we can

and we will

grow into.

But this is a

lifelong process.

It doesn't

matter how

long we've

been followers

of Jesus,

we're still

in that process

of growing

into that

salvation which

is already

ours.

The strategy

by which we

interrupt our

preoccupation with

the self

and attend to

the presence

of God.

God's

love.

Remember,

faith in

Jesus is

not about

doing,

it's about

being.

But when

you tend

to that

being in

him,

you start

doing stuff.

But sometimes

we have to

start doing

stuff in

order for

that being

to grow.

And that's

what we mean

when we're

talking about

spiritual

discipline.

Let's

pray.

Lord,

thank you.

Thank you

that you

love us,

that you

are here

with us,

that you

are among

us.

Thank you

that following

you is not

just something

that we do

with our

heads.

It's not

just a decision

that we're

going to

believe something,

but it's

entering into

a relationship

by which

your Holy

Spirit

enters us.

Lord,

we're sorry

for when we

have not

tended to

that reality,

when we

have just

gone through

preoccupied

with ourselves.

Lord,

forgive us.

Lord,

thank you

that when

we confess

the reality

of our

brokenness

and our

sin,

that you

forgive us,

you are

there

ready,

longing to

restore us.

And we

pray that

right now.

Come,

Holy Spirit.

As we

continue in

conversation

here this

morning,

and when we

leave this

place eventually,

we may

know

that your

Spirit goes

with us,

not just

with us,

but within

us.

Lord,

we thank

you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.