Through the conversations that I have had with many Christians in the past, one of the most frequent subjects, when it pertains to faith, is the hardships surrounding living life as a Christian. It can be overwhelming at times to see our shortcomings - to live in our failures and sin. By struggling through tough times, and even living in the good ones, our faith may seem like it is not backed by a sense of passion and fervor that - deep down - we know should be there.
As Christians - We know that Christ lived as an example, died as a sacrifice, and rose as our savior; but somehow, it just doesn't feel like this message is truly affecting our lives. If we're found in a state like this, our faith may seem completely dry, combined with a feeling of apathy, or indifference.
We've all been there before - Or if we haven't, it's safe to say that we will experience these feelings at some point in time in our spiritual walk (most likely).
So what causes this spiritual deadness? What makes us feel like our faith is unproductive, stagnant, and dry?
Answer: The absence of spiritual discipline(s).
Spiritual disciplines are things that correct, mold, grow, and support us; enabling us to become more like Jesus Christ (sanctification). If any of these disciplines are lacking, it can severely hinder our growth as Christians, and our testimony to non-Christians.
Spiritual Disciplines
Chances are, if your faith feels stagnant and dry in some way, your life is probably lacking in one of these eight areas. I would encourage all of you, as Christians, to examine your life in regards to this list. In what areas are you strong? In what disciplines do you need to focus on improving? How will you go about making these improvement?
Mark Driscoll, co-founder of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA, captures the importance of spiritual disciplines as a necessary part of the Christian life in a recent sermon of his entitled "How to Kindle Spirit-Fired Passion". He uses a detailed analogy of living a passionate Christian life with others as being a well kindled fire, and goes on to explain each part and its symbolism.
The following video of his message is about 7.5 minutes long and definitely worth the time spent watching it. For further study, the text version of "How to Kindle Spirit-Fired Passion" is found here.
Your turn: What stood out to you from Mark Driscoll's sermon? How does your faith feel dry and unproductive at times? What are some actions you're taking to live your life more passionately for Christ?
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We've all been there before - Or if we haven't, it's safe to say that we will experience these feelings at some point in time in our spiritual walk (most likely).
So what causes this spiritual deadness? What makes us feel like our faith is unproductive, stagnant, and dry?
Answer: The absence of spiritual discipline(s).
Spiritual disciplines are things that correct, mold, grow, and support us; enabling us to become more like Jesus Christ (sanctification). If any of these disciplines are lacking, it can severely hinder our growth as Christians, and our testimony to non-Christians.
Spiritual Disciplines
- 1) Community - Support and encouragement from other Christians
- (a church body).
- 2) Scripture - Reading the Bible and seeking necessary interpretation.
- 3) Prayer - Talking to God, humble submission.
- 4) Worship - Not only in church by singing, but as an active lifestyle.
- 5) Giving - Of your resources that God has entrusted to your care.
- 6) Serving - Assistance and help for others: "Who can I help?
- What can I do?"
- 7) Obedience - "Doing what God said even when you don’t feel like it."
- 8) Evangelism - Investing in non-Christians by talking, building
- relationships, loving, and serving them.
Chances are, if your faith feels stagnant and dry in some way, your life is probably lacking in one of these eight areas. I would encourage all of you, as Christians, to examine your life in regards to this list. In what areas are you strong? In what disciplines do you need to focus on improving? How will you go about making these improvement?
Mark Driscoll, co-founder of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA, captures the importance of spiritual disciplines as a necessary part of the Christian life in a recent sermon of his entitled "How to Kindle Spirit-Fired Passion". He uses a detailed analogy of living a passionate Christian life with others as being a well kindled fire, and goes on to explain each part and its symbolism.
The following video of his message is about 7.5 minutes long and definitely worth the time spent watching it. For further study, the text version of "How to Kindle Spirit-Fired Passion" is found here.
Your turn: What stood out to you from Mark Driscoll's sermon? How does your faith feel dry and unproductive at times? What are some actions you're taking to live your life more passionately for Christ?
What stood out to me most from Pastor Mark's sermon was the detailed description about what happens to a log when it is removed from the "community" of the fire. I think that there are certain times in our lives when we are more vulnerable to being distracted from community or removing ourselves from community, and it is exactly those times when we must focus all the more on connecting with our brothers & sisters in Christ!
Sometimes I feel dry/unproductive when I don't see the time that I put into ministry giving tangible payouts. I volunteer actively in youth ministry, but it can be tough a lot of the time because often you won't be able to see the fruits of your labor for months or years down the road. I think at those times we must just trust that God/the Holy Spirit are at work and trust him for the true heart change!
I agree that the discipline of going to church, contributing on a daily basis, working continually to evangelize --- and then not seeing our labors bear fruit is a grind and leads to an erosion of faith. I do think it is important to step back occasionally and take a break to see the "big picture" and how we are fitting into it---recharge our batteries and plunge back in to the fray. Often, taking a break can lead to thinking of better strategies for our work. Great post.
Great word from Pastor Mark. I really liked the analogy of a fire. It brings great perspective to the issue of spiritual disciplines. One thing this video made me think about is the impact of our personal disciplines on the rest of the church. As the logs burn off one another they fuel each other, if they cannot burn off one another the fire will not be as great. Consider the story of Achan in Joshua 7. Achan's sin not only affected himself but the entire people of Israel.
Does our practice of spiritual disciplines have a similar affect on the body but in a positive way? Will the church shine as a greater light if each member of the body is practicing spiritual disciplines?
Ah OK...Yes!
We love to see results. We love to make lists, to meet goals and agendas. But our task, "job" if you will, is to obey in what we know. God didn't say we'd always see the fruit. Take for instance
1 Cor. 3:6-8
"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor."
We , yes, need to obey even when we don't feel like it and EVEN WHEN we don't see immediate results. We won't see the whole picture until we get to heaven. Guess that's where the faith comes in!
Good point, that is definitely where faith comes into play! We've just got to answer God's call and then expect him to yield the results in his time.