Striving for Spiritual Discipline
Pastor Erickson teaches from Psalm 42 and Jesus' words on giving, prayer and fasting in Matthew 6, saying spiritual disciplines must come from the right motive and never be a performance for others. He calls the church to give quietly, fast whatever controls them most, use the Lord's Prayer as an outline for real conversation with God, and spend time alone with him every morning.
The message in 6 points
As the deer pants for the water
He reads Psalm 42 and Luke 11:1, where a disciple asks Jesus to teach them to pray. His topic is striving for spiritual discipline, because you cannot worship a God you do not talk to.
33:27Why prayer is so hard
Prayer is hard because it is warfare, and everything seems to break loose the moment we set time to pray. Every Christian, new or mature, finds the daily disciplines the hardest thing, and the word disciple comes from the same root as discipline.
37:32Built up before being corrected
The Sermon on the Mount was for Jesus' closest followers, and it opens with blessings before it confronts. He tells how his Bible college president built him up and then corrected him, a moment that helped him decide to become what God called him to be.
41:36Do not make theater of your good
In Matthew 6 Jesus warns against doing good to be seen, making a public image that differs from our private reality. He wants to worship God in his prayer closet the way he does at church, because motive is everything, and he ties giving, fasting and prayer to 1 John 2:16.
50:44Giving, fasting and prayer
Giving quietly conquers the lust of the eyes and the spirit of entitlement. Fasting conquers the lust of the flesh, so he advises fasting whatever controls you most. Prayer conquers the pride of life that says I am in charge.
1:00:55How to pray
Jesus teaches how not to pray first: not to be seen and not with vain repetitions, but talking to God like a friend. He walks through the Lord's Prayer as an outline: praise, God's will on earth, daily bread, forgiving as we are forgiven, deliverance from temptation, and his kingdom and power, then urges ten minutes alone with God each morning.
1:13:29
In his words
“Every Christian, whether you're a new Christian or if you're a mature Christian, you're going to face the very same thing. You're going to face the daily disciplines are the hardest thing that you'll ever do.”
“Jesus is identifying the most common temptation in the area of spiritual disciplines, the temptation to craft a public image. Listen to me, that is very different than your private reality.”
“Let me just give you just, just give you some friendly advice: fast whatever controls you the most, because that's what's going to hurt the most.”
Taken word for word from the video, with punctuation added.
Scripture
He reads
Psalms 42:1-2
1As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
King James Version.
Luke 11:1
1And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
King James Version.
Matthew 5:1
1And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
King James Version.
Matthew 6:1-13
1Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 5And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
King James Version.
1 John 2:16
16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
King James Version.
Matthew 6:16-18
16Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
King James Version.
Mark 9:29
29And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
King James Version.
Genesis 1:26
26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
King James Version.
Psalms 115:16
16The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
King James Version.
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