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Spiritual Disciplines

Spiritual Disciplines. The Pursuit of Godliness. What is “Discipline?”. Today’s definitions: “training to act in accordance with rules” “activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill” In Biblical context:

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Spiritual Disciplines

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  1. Spiritual Disciplines The Pursuit of Godliness

  2. What is “Discipline?” Today’s definitions: • “training to act in accordance with rules” • “activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill” In Biblical context: “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7) • Soundness of mind, moderation, self-control

  3. What are “Spiritual Disciplines?” • Lifestyle choices that should characterize a child of God • Choices about how we spend our time, our money, our energy, and our abilities • The discipline of “Pursuing Godliness” is foundational to other, more specific disciplines, that will be considered in the weeks to follow

  4. The Pursuit of Godliness • What does it mean to be “godly?” • Why is pursuing godliness important? • What is involved in this discipline? What does it look like? • What obstacles and challenges may be encountered in this pursuit?

  5. What does it mean to be “manly?” doing and being everything a man is supposed to do and be Being “godly” involves behaving in a way the imitates and pleases God pleasing Him in our way of life obeying His instructions living in a way that is consistent with His truths and with who He has revealed Himself to be What does being “godly” mean?

  6. Is being godly that important? 2 Peter 1:2-8 • God wants us to be like Him in our lives • in verse 3, “life and godliness” seem to go together • in verse 4, He’s given us His promises to allow us to “partake of the divine nature” If God wants it, that should be all the motivation we need, but there’s more…

  7. Is being godly that important? 2 Peter 1:2-8 • Godliness is part of the key to not being useless or unfruitful • in verse 6 & 7, godliness is part of the progression of growth • verse 8 tells us what we will guard against

  8. Is being godly that important? 1 Timothy 4:7-9 “…discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance.”

  9. How can we pursue godliness? • It has to start in our hearts • Ezra (Ezra 7:10), Daniel (Daniel 1:8), and Josiah (2 Kings 23:25) all made heart decisions about God’s importance in their lives • We need to decide that pleasing God with our lives is more important than anything else, and choose to pursue godliness above all else

  10. How can we pursue godliness? • We need to get to know Him • different than getting to know about Him • Philippians 3:10 –this was Paul’s ambition • We may find out that He isn’t the God we thought He was • just like what happens when we really get to know each other

  11. How can we pursue godliness? • We have to make choices that allow us to spend quality time with Him • Psalm 27:4 – “one thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek.” • Philippians 3:7-10 – counting some of our previous interests as “rubbish,” in pursuing Him • 1 Timothy 4:7 – shun worldly fables to be able to pursue godliness

  12. How can we pursue godliness? • We need to learn what He was said, what His instructions are • this is where the importance of other disciplines (like Bible study) will be seen • We need to commit to being obedient, trusting His heart of love for us • We need to remember that He only wants what is for our best (Romans 8:28-32)

  13. What will this look like? Think about those in the Bible who lived this way: • Jesus’ disciples • Abraham • Moses Are there others like this in our lives today?

  14. Will there be any obstacles? • distractions, that keep us from making this pursuit the priority it should be • we won’t just find the time – we will need to make the time • opposition from others, possibly in the form of persecution • 2 Timothy 3:12 – all who desire to live godly will be persecuted

  15. Will there be any obstacles? • discouragement, when we aren’t able to “flip a switch” in our lives • this is a struggle that all have experienced, and will continue to experience • even Paul, in Romans 7, talks about this • We need to remember that He will be there to help us • Philippians 1:6 & 2:13

  16. In Conclusion • Spiritual Disciplines will allow us to please God with our lives • Fundamentally, God wants us to pursue a life that pleases Him • That happens when we decide in our hearts to make choices that allow us to get to know Him, and then allow the truth about Him to change our lives

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