Spiritual Disciplines are the Indicators of How Strong we are Spiritually

Introduction

Bodily exercise profits a little but spiritual exercise profits all things.
Godliness has all the value you can imagine.

There are certain things/ disciplines that Jesus practiced and we should not depart from them.

In Vs7b, the apostle asks that we exercise godliness.

Indicators:

1. The study of the Word of God.

As young children attending Sunday school, we were all taught to read our Bibles and pray everyday. It is your responsibility to read your Bible everyday. It will surprise you how much you don’t know.
Jesus knew the word. Luke 4.1-13- Jesus memorized the word.
Jesus read the word, He memorized the word and constantly quoted the word. (Matthew 5.21, Mark 10.5-9)
Let us crave for the Word of God like we crave for food.

Today’s Bible is divided in paragraphs making it easier to read. Make a point of reading atleast a scripture or a paragraph everyday.

2. Prayer.

Hebrews 4.16
We are encouraged to draw near to God through prayer.
Prayer is not about advertising ourselves to be seen when we are praying. Matthew 6.5-6
Jesus loved prayer and He taught people how to pray. It is very important that we give ourselves to prayer.
God is like a benevolent father who loves to give His children what they ask from Him.
Luke 11. 9-13
Let us befriend prayer.
Godly exercise is profitable in all things. 1 Timothy 4.8a. It profits much.

3. Fasting is a godly exercise.

It must be a deliberate move to deny yourself food in order to pray.
Mark 9.29 Jesus had a conversation on prayer and fasting between Himself and His disciples.
2 Corinthians 11.17 – apostle Paul emphasizes on the importance of fasting.
Acts 13.2 The early church would fast and pray.

4. Fellowship

Acts 2.42
Fellowship helps the church maintain its level of maturity.
There are certain things you cannot do for yourself. We nourish others and we are also nourished.
1 John 1. 6-7
Matthew 10.1 Jesus was also in fellowship.

5. Praise and worship

When you come to church, one of the opportunities you are able to get is the opportunity to praise and worship God.
When we come to God’s house, we want to raise a powerful worship to God.
Let us always come to the house of God and with a purpose. Come and sing and worship the Lord.
By so doing we exercise our godliness.

6. Survitude- Serving

Jesus came to serve and not to be served. The Bible is full of paradoxes. We are told to do something even if we know that doing so will not be of any help. Let us find ourselves serving in one way or another.

Conclusion

As long as we are in the house of the Lord we need to be actively involved in different ministries.