Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is

set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb. 12:1-2

Sanctification

Two parts: Mortification and Vivification

Mortification is the putting to death those things which rob us of our affections for Christ

Vivification is the filling of ourselves with those things which stir our affections for Him.

"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.“

Matt.12:43-45

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit

Eph. 5:18 

wine

Spirit Fruit of the Spirit

Drunkenness/debauchery

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The Pursuit of Joy through a Disciplined Life

 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Luke 12:34

Christian Hedonism

 

 “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased!”

- C.S. Lewis

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There is something better.

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 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Matt. 13:44

 The chief end of man is to glorify GodAnd enjoy Him forever.

The Westminster Catechism states:

The chief end of man is to glorify God

by enjoying Him forever.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you;my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Ps. 63:1

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Phil. 3:8-11

We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for the knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out. 

Traditional Step 11

Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.

Celebrate Recovery Principle 7:

MeditationMay my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.

Ps. 104:34

Bible Reading

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;

Ps. 19:7-8

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Deut. 8:3

Spiritual Disciplines

• Bible Reading• Meditation

Spiritual Disciplines

• Bible Reading• Meditation• Prayer

Prayer "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as

the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6:5-8

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Matt. 6:9-13

 It was not easy for Mr. Taylor, in his changeful life, to make time for prayer and Bible study, but he knew that it was vital. Well do the writers remember traveling with him month after month in northern China, by cart and wheelbarrow with the poorest inns at night. Often with only one large room for coolies and travelers alike, they would screen off a corner for their father and another for themselves, with curtains of some sort; and then, after sleep at last had brought a measure of quiet, they would hear a match struck and see the flicker of candlelight which told that Mr. Taylor, however weary, was pouring over the little Bible in two volumes always at hand. From two to four A.M. was the time he usually gave to prayer; the time he could most sure of being undisturbed to wait upon God.

Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor’s book, Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret.

Spiritual Disciplines

• Bible Reading• Meditation• Prayer• Fasting

Spiritual Disciplines• Bible Reading• Meditation• Prayer• Fasting• Solitude• Confession• Silence• Worship• Fellowship• Service

Spiritual Disciplines

"a means of receiving God's grace… [They] allow us to place ourselves before God so he can transform us.“

Richard Foster – Celebration of Disciplines

The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to relieve the distressed, I might in other ways seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in this world; and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit.

- George Muller

Mankind’s greatest tragedy is lost relationship with God. His presence, being Creator and the source of all good things, is what is missing most from our lives. In giving our hearts to fully worship Him, we find the fullness of what it means to be human image bearers. In Him we find ultimate joy, peace and pleasure. Therefore, we seek to know Him and fill ourselves with those things that stir our affections for Him. We practice spiritual disciplines so that our hearts, so prone to wander, might come in rhythm with His.

Redeeming Truth of Step 11

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

Ps. 42:1-2