September 16, 2007

Sacred Rhythms

A Summary of Summer Growth

“Designing Your Sacred Rhythm”

Romans 8:5-17

 5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

 9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

 12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

 

          This summer time has given to us, a family of faith, opportunities for spiritual growth.

·        Mission trips have pushed many to experience God’s calling for active compassion and caring among people in need; God’s calling for us to use our resources to answer the prayers of other.

·        Also this summer, formal and informal fellowship times have given us opportunities to enter one another’s lives; to share joys and sorrows, to offer support and love along the journey.

·        This summer has also afforded us opportunities to be changed as we grew closer to God; not only through corporate worship, but through examining disciplines of the faith; some familiar and some brand new.

 

This summer we have considered the main spiritual disciplines discussed in Ruth Haley Barton’s book, Sacred Rhythms, and were invited week after week to explore the potential they all have in drawing us closer to God as our lives are transformed. As we read earlier in

 

Romans 8:5-6

 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; ….

 

          This summer we explored the potential of numerous spiritual disciplines that offer our minds “life” and “peace”.  Now I say “potential” because all spiritual growth is a gift from God. These disciplines were not a part of some “spiritual self-help program” that is full of human effort. Rather, these disciplines are simply avenues revealed to us in God Word through which His Holy Spirit can act to transform our lives and draw us closer to Him.

          The work of spiritual growth is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. When we open ourselves up to the disciplines of the faith, we are simply choosing whether or not we will give God our attention and time to do what He wants to do, that which we so desperately need for Him to do.

 

          When I began this series of messages ten weeks ago, I knew that that while summertime would allot us the extra time to explore new faith disciplines; I also knew that it would fragment this series with vacation weeks and weekend excursions. SS: So this Sunday, I want to offer a quick review of some of the avenues by which the Holy Spirit can draw us closer to God, and then conclude with a challange for those wishing to walk closer to God while being transformed by His Holy Spirit.

 

Week #1 - Longing

Our summer journey began on the first Sunday in July, and the message revolved around desire; your desire… my desire to be transformed, to allow the Holy Spirit to remove those things from our lives which block us from our Holy God, and to transform us into the children of God known by the love we have for one another and the mercy and forgiveness we show to others. Is this what we want to be? And, do we recognize that this transformation can only come about as we give ourselves fully and honestly to God?

          We considered from Mark’s Gospel the story of blind Bartimaeus crying out for Jesus’ mercy, and then hearing Jesus respond:

Mark 10:51

"What do you want me to do for you?"

 

Jesus stands ready to accomplish God’s work in us, but is that what we want for our lives, or are we too busy praying for non-Kingdom… ungodly… non-eternal things?

          On that Communion Sunday in July we recognized that just as God comes to us in the bread and cup of our Lord’s Supper, just as God meets us in the holy sacrament of Baptism; God also calls us meet Him in spiritual disciplines where His Holy Spirit is give opportunity to transform us from those who live according to their sinful nature into those who joyfully live by the Spirit.

          During our first Sunday of this journey we affirmed that:

 

An awareness of need, of human vulnerability, and of God’s sufficiency is the beginning and the motivation for spiritual transformation.

          Spiritual disciplines are based on a trust in God, that

We may not always get what we long for,                                                  but God will give us what we need.

 

Do you desire God’s transforming power throughout your life? Do you see your need for it today? (If not, then you had no use for the next seven messages.)

 

 

Week #2 - Solitude

          It was during our second week that I encouraged us all to consider the importance of “time outs” in our lives; that while we grow up with the concept of “times out” as punishment, they are at their core opportunities to transform our ungodly thoughts and behaviors.

          Do you, amid the demands you have placed on your life, take that time to come to God in silence and solitude to hear his voice and be replenished?

          The story of Elijah guided this lesson as we say how God initially ministered to his physical needs of exhaustion and worry before giving Him guidance and hope for the future.

          These days, particularly in our culture, “noise” and busyness define our lives to the extent that silence and solitude seem almost foreign and threatening. “If I just keep going.. keep busy”, we say to ourselves, “I’ll never have time to reflect, evaluate, critique what I’m doing or who I am.”

           And yet amid those very moments, if we make the time, the “still small voice” ….the “gentle whisper” of God, guides us and fills us with hope in Him.

          Do you have a place of solitude and silence in your life, where you too can hear God’s voice? While we give God all the sovereignty to speak or not to speak, if we fail to give God opportunity to transform us, then we miss out on the blessings of taking a “time out”. Like a child who fails to reflect upon bad behavior when sent to his room, that behavior will continue to the detriment of the child and the world in which he or she lives.

          But maybe you want something different. Maybe you are willing to face the imbalances in your life, and trust in a God who promises us shalom. If so, then maybe you like King David will pray to God:

Psalm 139:23-24

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
       test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
       and lead me in the way everlasting.

For again, as the Psalmist writes:

(Psalm 62:1 NASV)

"My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation"

Do you practice the spiritual disciple of solitude?

 

Week #3 – God’s Word

          During week three we considered the spiritual discipline of receiving God’s Word through the Bible, the Holy Scriptures.

          This was not a difficult message for me to bring to you, for indeed we place God’s Word at the very center of our lives together; declaring it to be the “only perfect rule for faith doctrine and conduct”. Being a non-creedal church, we believe that all our discussions about faith should take us back to the inspired Word of God and not to some human summation of theology.

          But having said that, I called to question our reading of God’s Word. For as wonderful and awesome is the though that God Almighty has spoke over the centuries and allowed His Words to be shared and ultimately recorded for our benefit; as awesome as that it, do you avail yourself of God’s Word on a daily basis? Do you have a set time where you will read a few verses, a passage, a chapter; even a whole book, letter or Gospel? Also, when you do read, is it simply to gain knowledge; to be aware of the stories, or to memorize a verse?

          Or, is the Bible a living document, transforming your life today?

 

During week three we did something very different; for over half of the morning message time we practiced an ancient form of Bible reading known as “Lectio Divina” (divine reading”) where we read over and over and over again Ezekiel’s vision of a valley full of dry bones; bones which would come back to life by God’s Word and Spirit. And after each reading that morning I asked you specific questions about how God’s Spirit was guiding your hearing of God’s Word.

          My guess is that the majority who were here that Sunday left a bit disorientated by my message. But the lesson was simple:

Hebrews 4:12
…. the word of God is living and active.

 

          We should neither become so accustomed to hearing God’s Word, nor so confident in our knowledge of the Bible’s stories and lessons, that we ever forget that God’s Word is alive and actively transforming the lives of those who read it on a regular basis.

          I don’t care if you can recite the Bible back to me word for word if you don’t recognize that God desires to use His words to meet you and change you.

          Are you reading God’s Word regularly so that the Holy Spirit can meet you in those Words, transform you as He draws you closer to Himself? That was the challenge offered in week #3.

 

Week #4 – Prayer

          In week #4 we consider another common spiritual discipline; prayer.

          Do you know that every week Kelsie & Vera come before church to pray for you and to pray for me, and to pray for this very service? Do you know that you too are invited to join them if you can… if you have faith in the power God has given us through the spiritual discipline of prayer?

          Do you know that about 20 Christians from the Metrowest area gather here every Friday morning for hours of prayer for churches and their pastors?  All these people know the blessed gift God has given us in prayer; the gift of drawing nearer to Him, and to see His transforming power not only in their lives, but also in the lives of those for whom they intercede.

          During week #4 I challenged you to keep a Prayer Journal, to record your prayers throughout the day, and then to note how God met you in those prayers. Did you use that journal to help you exercise this spiritual discipline?

That week I also challenged us to recognize any barriers we might have in our lives which keep us from this blessed spiritual discipline of prayer:

-         A fear if intimacy that requires us to be vulnerable and transparent before God

-         A spirit of independence or self-sufficiency that makes us think we can do life without God’s help, or

-         A sense of fatalism which fails to recognize God’s invitation for us to influence the working out of His plans.

 

You may remember my confession that Sunday morning, how I find pray very difficult, for I too wrestle with some of those barriers. And yet, like Kelsie & Vera I believe in the power of prayer so I keep at it. There have been times of prayer when God’s presence has overwhelmed me. With tears filling my eyes I knew that God heard me, and that He loves me.

          Has prayer led you to that place? Are you giving God that opportunity on a regular basis by making prayer a discipline in your life?

 

Week #5 – Honoring our Bodies

          Following a Sunday in August where we worshiped and played together at the Covenant Camp in NH, we gathered here again for message #5 , and considered something we might not have recognized before as a “spiritual discipline”; the way in which we care for our bodies so that we can honor God through our physical beings.

 I remember being deliberate about stating my main message, that…Our relationship with God has as much to do with our physical being as it does with our spiritual being, for God desires our whole selves devoted totally to Him. God created us as both spiritual and physical beings. We were declared “good” by the God of Creation, and His Word tells us that when “all is said and done”, like Jesus we will live in a new heaven and earth as both physical and spiritual beings.  Our bodies matter to God.

The Apostle Paul stated it clearly in his letter to Christians in Rome:

Romans 12:1  ……, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Unlike those who care for their bodies from a purely worldly standpoint, we are called to strive for health and fitness not for selfish gain, but rather to serve God to the best of our abilities.

This means that one of the ways we allow God’s Spirit to transform us, is that we are open to always improving;

-         Our eating habits,

-         Our sleeping habits,

-         Our exercise habits, and

-         Our social habits as they relate to our physical well-being.

 

Do you recognize your care for, and the use of your body as a spiritual discipline? Have you discovered the motivation needed for changing some of your bad habits; the motivation found as you give the Holy Spirit opportunity to empower you change your body for God’s glory?

 

Week #6 – Self-Examination

          Another spiritual discipline not recognized by some, and deliberately avoided by others, is the discipline of self-examination.  For while many people assume that an examination of their lives will reveal a brokenness which will push them farther away from a Holy God, Christians who have come to know the meaning of the cross of Christ know that self-examination actually draws us closer. In a similar way, there are people in our neighborhoods who are aware of their brokenness, and who feel that that brokenness disqualifies them from attending church. They don’t know (but you can tell them) that their brokenness actually qualifies them to be members in our family of faith…. for indeed we are a gathering of the broken, saved only by the grace of God made evident on the cross.

          When we discipline ourselves through self-examination, we create an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to reveal a God who unconditionally loves us (knows us completely and loves us completely), a God who has blessed us with many wonderful attributes, but also a God who hears our confessions and forgives us our sins, and gives us fresh opportunity to live for Him every morning (Great is Your faithful O God!).

 

Week #7 – Discernment

          As we came close to the end our summer journey, we considered the spiritual discipline of discernment. You may remember me giving our children pennies to flip when they need help making some decisions in life, but then going on to talk about God’s desire for us to seek His will in making those important decisions throughout life. That week we recognized that not everything “spiritual” is of God, and that we need to cultivate a discipline which helps us discern right from wrong, godly from ungodly.

          Through prayer, reflection of our lives, and through the reading of God’s Word the Holy Spirit will train us to discern His will.

And yet, how often do we find ourselves making life-changing decisions without prayer, reflection and God’s Word to inform those decisions?

          Do you regularly exercise the discipline of discernment when you consider a move or a job change; when you choose a college or university to attend, when you what friends to hang with, or when you define your role in the church? For me it is scary, if not dangerous, to be making such decisions on your own without finding out if God would offer you His direction.

Week #8 – Sabbath

          Finally, week #8 brought us to the Labor Day weekend, and the recognition that one of the great spiritual disciplines that transforms us as it draws us closer to God, is the observance of the Sabbath.

In observing a Sabbath day of rest we are called to do more than simply gather for a worship service and fellowship. We are also called to do those things which balance the productivity of six days of work with the perspective and refreshment we gain as we celebrate the many gifts of God in our lives.

I believe that we as Christians can definitely grow in our observance of the Sabbath to claim the promise given us through the Prophet Isaiah, that

                       Isaiah 58:13-14                   13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
       and from doing as you please on my holy day,
       if you call the Sabbath a delight
       and the LORD's holy day honorable,
       and if you honor it by not going your own way
       and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,…..

 

          While I pray that this review has caused you to hear God’s Word either for the first time or simply more clearly than before, a message about spiritual disciplines would be incomplete with a challenge.

          So today I am challenging all of us to consider the place of these and other spiritual disciplines in our lives. I challenge you to take your planning for spiritual growth as seriously as you already take your financial or social planning.

          Over the centuries, many Christians have set up what has been called “A Rule of Life”, which Ruth Haley Barton prefers to call “Sacred Rhythms”. Basically, we are taking about a deliberate plan of openness in which one invites the Holy Spirit to work.

Many people have made it a habit of reading the Bible, or praying before going to bed or when first up in the morning. As spiritual disciplines, both these actions create opportunity for the Holy Spirit to transform us and draw us closer to Him. Is that similar to your “rule of life”… your “sacred rhythm” that keeps you spiritually growing?

          Keep in mind that there are a number of factors which will affect your “sacred rhythm”. Indeed, every person is unique and will have a unique “rhythm”. Some of these factors which will cause variation include:

1.    How much time you can free up. Some disciplines require much more time than others.

2.    An awareness of that which you want the Holy Spirit to remove from your life, or your desire to cultivate a particular fruit of the Spirit in yourself. Certain disciplines are needed to accomplish specific goals.

3.    A realistic assessment of your stage in life and what you can and cannot accomplish given the demands of that particular stage.

4.    The presence of a desire to push yourself beyond those disciplines that come easier to you, to wrestle with those which are more difficult.

         

Today I want you to make a decision about your spiritual growth, I want you to identify your present “sacred rhythm” and define your goals for the near future (where do you want to push yourself) using the grid at the end of your message insert. What opportunities are you presently giving, and what opportunities will you create for the Holy Spirit to be a work in your life?

          Be realistic as you consider your present time commitments, but push yourself as you assess your specific situations and your need for spiritual healing and growth. AMEN

 

My Sacred Rhythms

Spiritual Disciplines Present                     Near Future

Solitude                                               [  ]                                   [  ]

God’s Word                                         [  ]                                   [  ]

Prayer                                                  [  ]                                   [  ]

Honoring your Body                         [  ]                                   [  ]

Self-Examination                               [  ]                                   [  ]

Discernment                                       [  ]                                   [  ]

Sabbath                                               [  ]                                   [  ]

Other: __________                            [  ]                                   [  ]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION

©.Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

 Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.