Spiritual Discipline

1. Spiritual Disciplines
St. Mark’s Cathedral
Sunday School
Seniors 3
Bangalore, 17th May, 2020

2. What do you observe?
On April 3, 2018, Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo
scored an outrageous bicycle-kick goal against Juventus
in the Champions League quarter-final.
Tom Landry, Coach, Dallas Cowboys FC
John Wooden, Coach, UCLA,
10 titles-in a row

3. Discipline: Time Management

4. Background
• Barna Research, the largest religious polling agency in the U.S. found that the
overwhelming percentage of those who are saved have experienced salvation
before reaching their 14th birthday.
• Nearly half of all Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their savior do so
before reaching the age of 13 (43%)
• Two out of three born again Christians (64%) made that commitment to Christ
before their 18th birthday.
• One out of eight born again people (13%) made their profession of faith while
18 to 21 years old
• Less than one out of every four born again Christians (23%) embraced Christ
after their twenty-first birthday. These figures are consistent with similar
studies conducted during the past twenty years.
• Richard Halverson: “The rapidity with which a man grows spiritually and the extent
to which he grows, depends upon his discipline”.

5. Spiritual Disciplines
• Purpose is Godliness; Goal is Christ-likeness; to achieve Christian
maturity
• Practices found in Scripture that promote spiritual growth among believers
– they are activities not attitudes
• Should be Biblical – they are means, not ends
• Can be
• Outside in – thru’ people and circumstances - Proverbs 27:17: As iron
sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
• Inside out – our discipline - Colossians 1:28-29: As God works in me, I
also discipline myself
• 1 Timothy 4:7 : Train yourself to be godly.
• Hebrews 5:13,14: Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted
with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by
constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

6. Spiritual Disciplines
Spiritual
Disciplines
Hearing /
Listening to
God’s Word
Reading God’s
Word
Memorising
God’s Word
Studying
God’s Word
Meditating on
God’s Word
Prayer Worship
Evangelism
Serving
Stewardship
Fasting
Silence
&
Solitude
Journaling

7. Hearing God’s Word
• 1 Thessalonians 2:13 - When you received the word of God, you accepted it not as a
human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you
who believe.
• Luke 8:18 - consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more
• Effective listening – Stages
1. Communication
2. Comprehension
3. Confidence
4. Change
To effectively listen to God
1. We need spiritual preparation
a) Conviction of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:17)
b) There needs to be an open heart – Self-examination (Psalm 119:18)
c) Active Participation (James 1:25) - not forgetting what they have heard
d) We need biblical kind of participation (Acts 17:11) - great eagerness
2. We need physical preparation
a) Shut off distractions
b) Enough sleep / rest the night before / during the day
How you hear? Luke 8:5-18 – those who think they have heard, but have not heard

8. Reading God’s Word…1
• Survey of USA Today among Born Again Christians
• Everyday 18%
• Never 23%
• Now and then 59%
• 2 Timothy 3:16 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness
• Matthew 4:4 - It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word
that comes from the mouth of God
• How often should we read?
• How often do we often face problems, temptations and pressure? EVERYDAY
• Then how often do we need instruction, guidance and greater
encouragement? EVERYDAY
• Rules for effective reading
• Read REGULARLY – Persistence
• Read ANALYTICALLY - To understand - not to just complete
• Read COMPLETELY - Read entire Bible – Genesis to Revelation – 1189 chapters
• Read REVERENTLY - It should not degrade into a mere routine
• Read EXPECTANTLY

9. Reading God’s Word…2
Practical suggestions for consistent Bible reading
1. Find the time – make the time; fixed time set-apart, scheduled, calendared
a) You can read the entire Bible in 71 hours
b) To read the entire Bible in a year, take 15 minutes a day
c) To read the entire Bible in 3 year, take 5 minutes a day
d) Discipline yourself to find the time.
e) It should not be just before you go to sleep b’cos you will retain very little when
you are tired
“You will never find time for anything; if you want time you must make it”– Charles Buxton
2. Find a Bible Reading Plan
a) 3 chapters everyday & 5 on Sundays – thru’ the Bible in 1 year’s time
b) Favourite – 3 places in the Bible – starting in Genesis, Job, Matthew
respectively – in parallel
3. Find atleast 1 word, phrase to meditate on each time you read- e.g. “forgiveness”
a) It will help you to remember what you have read
b) That verse will become the bookmark
Can you discipline yourself to read the entire Bible ?

10. Memorising God’s Word
1. Memorisation supplies spiritual power
a) Psalm 119:11 - I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you
b) Ephesians 6:17 - Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God
c) Matthew 4:7,10 – Jesus uses Scripture to counter Satan falsely using Word
2. Memorisation strengthens faith
a) Proverbs 22:18,19 - or it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of
them ready on your lips. So that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even
you
3. Memorisation prepares us for witnessing an counselling
1. Acts 2:14-40 - Peter on the day of Pentecost
4. Memorisation provides a means of God’s guidance
1. Psalm 119:24 - Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors
5. Memorisation stimulates meditation
1. Psalm 119:97 - Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long
Dawson Trotman: (Navigators; memorised 1 verse/day while driving a truck for 3 years)
For me – His Word the first word?
CAN I MEMORISE 1 VERSE PER DAY?

11. Other Disciplines
4. Studying God’s Word: “Reading gives us breadth, but study gives us depth” – Jerry Bridges
5. Meditating on God’s Word: Our mind is like a cup of hot water and the tea bag represents
the intake of Scripture - deep thinking of the truths and spiritual realities revealed in the
Scripture (Duet 6:6); absorption of the Scripture
6. Prayer: Is a walkie-talkie for warfare, not a domestic intercom for increasing our conveniences
John Piper– continuous communication
7. Worship: focusing on & responding to God; Where feelings for God are dead, worship is
dead – John Piper
8. Serving: Helping others / ourselves to overcome in some aspects of our life which may be
limiting spiritual growth
9. Evangelism: success e.g., postal dept is successful when the post is delivered
10.Stewardship: is the care and management of that which belongs to another.
11.Fasting: (77) is mentioned in Scripture more times even than baptism (75); from food, People,
Media – social media, TV, internet, Sports, Hobbies - gardening, cinema, eating out; Talking,
Sleep; Sex
12.Journaling : document the works and ways of God in our life; insights, thoughts, prayer
requests, track spiritual progress, reflections; count your blessings
13.Learning
14.Silence and Solitude

12. GOD BLESS