Growing in
Grace involves Spiritual Nourishment
The Habit of
Pursuing God
I Peter 2:2
We are studying how to “GROW IN GRACE,” how to move from where
we are on our spiritual continuum to the goal of spiritual maturity. Our objective is to daily become more like the
Lord Jesus Christ in thought, word, and
deed.
We have already seen that it is
God’s intention to conform us to the image of his son, the Lord Jesus (Romans
8:29). When a person accepts Jesus
Christ as his personal Savior, that person is born spiritually into the family
of God. He becomes a child of God. He is born as a spiritual infant. He is spiritually immature and needs to grow
to spiritual maturity.
In Second Peter 3:18 believers
are commanded to “grow in grace, and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Spiritual growth is neither accidental
nor automatic. It doesn’t just
happen. It is INTENTIONAL and is the
result of the habits and spiritual disciplines we build into our lives.
Spiritual disciplines are simply
habits we develop in our lives. They are
routines we follow on a regular basis.
First Timothy 4:7 says: “EXERCISE
thyself unto godliness.”
The word “exercise” is the word for “gymnasium.” It speaks of developing disciplined
routines that result in a godly lifestyle.
The habits you develop will determine your character. You are what you do, and you do what you are. Developing godly habits will result in godly
character.
Habits are determined by the
CHOICES we make (Romans 6:16) and by the level of COMMITMENT we give to
them. In Romans 6:19 the Apostle Paul
says this to the believers of his day:
“For as ye have yielded your
members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; EVEN SO NOW
yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.”
In other words, be as committed
to developing godly habits as you were to practicing the ungodly habits that
formerly characterized your life. Serve
Christ with the same passion and determination as you used to serve sin.
In Ephesians 4:22 we are taught
that we are to “put off” the former
conversation of the “old man.” It carries the idea of taking off a garment
and laying it aside. The “former conversation” refers to the
habits and the lifestyle that
characterized our lives before we trusted Christ as Savior. We are to BREAK those habits, to STOP
engaging in the practices that governed our lives before we came to Christ.
In verse 24 we are told to “put on” the “new man which after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness.” Here, the idea is to put
on a replacement garment. Having taken
off the old, we are to replace it with the new.
Having broken the sinful habits that governed our lives before we came
to Christ we are now to develop new habits that will enable us to grow
spiritually and to become like Christ.
There are at least SEVEN habits
every believer should develop in his life which will enable him to grow
spiritually in his relationship with God.
The first one is the habit of PURSUING GOD. This involves learning to nourish ourselves
spiritually as we explore God’s Word, the Bible, on a regular basis.
In First Peter 2:2 we read:
“As newborn babes, desire the
sincere MILK OF THE WORD, that ye may GROW thereby.”
Just as a human baby needs
nourishment in order to grow physically, so the believer needs spiritual
nourishment in order to grow spiritually.
That spiritual nourishment comes from the Word of God. There are six routines (steps, exercises,
practices) a believer needs to implement in his life in order to develop the
habit of PURSUING GOD and nourishing himself spiritually.
1st Routine: HEAR the Word of God
Hearing involves Listening
Romans 10:17 tells us:
“So then faith cometh by HEARING,
and hearing by the Word of God.”
Just as milk provides a baby with
the nourishment it needs to grow, so the Word of God contains the spiritual
nourishment believers need in order to mature.
We grow spiritually as we expose ourselves to God’s Word on a regular
basis.
There are a number of avenues
available to us for “hearing” the
Word of God including attending the preaching services of a local church,
listening to sermon tapes and cd’s, participating in small group Bible studies,
reading recommended books, and by listening to good Christian radio programs.
The Bible repeatedly admonishes
us to “hear” what God says. Eight
times in the gospels Jesus said, “He that hath ears to hear, let him
hear" (Matthew
11:15;13:9;13:43; Mark 4:9;4:23;7:16; Luke 8:8;14:35).
In James
1:19 we are told to "be swift to hear." Over
and over in the book of Revelation we read: “If any man have an ear, let him
hear” (Revelation 2:7;2:11;2:17;2:29;3:6;3:13;3:22;13:9).
So, the first step is to expose ourselves to the
Word of God as it is read, taught or proclaimed through a variety of media.
Hearing involves Heeding
“Hearing” involves more than listening.
It includes taking heed to what we hear.
In Luke 8:18 Jesus said we should “take
heed” not only to what we hear, but to HOW we hear. We should listen with an eager mind to learn
and with a ready attitude to do what we hear.
There should be a willingness to comply with whatever we hear taught
from the Word of God.
As you listen, take notes, write
down key points so you can remember them and consult them in the future. Hebrews 2:1 tells us to “give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at
any time we should let them slip.” Most
of what we hear is forgotten within a matter of days and is lost, so write it
down. Bring a small spiral notebook to
church with you and jot down the things you want to remember. Take notes on each sermon and Bible lesson
you hear.
“Hearing” is the simplest and easiest routine to practice. That is why it is placed first in the series
of steps that lead to the habit of spiritually nourishing yourself.
2nd Routine: READ the Word of God
There are a number of passages in
which we are encouraged to read the Word of God. In First Thessalonians 5:2 Paul wrote this
admonition to the Thessalonian believers.
He said: “I charge you by the Lord
that this epistle be READ unto all the holy brethren.” In First Timothy 4:13 he instructed
Timothy to “give attention to READING
Develop a Reading
Establish a regular routine for
reading your Bible. Develop the habit of
reading your Bible every day.
Deuteronomy 17:19 gives us this
instruction when it says: “And it shall
be with him, and he shall READ therein ALL THE DAYS of his life.”
Set aside a specific place and
time when you can read without being distracted or interrupted. Keep a notebook handy to jot down ideas and
key passages you find. Underline or
highlight important verses you want to find again. Read systematically all the way through a
book rather than jumping around from place to place.
Set the goal of reading all the
way through the Bible in a year’s time.
It only takes about fifteen minutes a day to do that. Choose a reading plan and stick with it. Read out loud to yourself or with your spouse
so your mind doesn’t wander. As you read
look for a promise to claim, a command to obey, an admonition to heed, a
corrective action to take, a temptation to avoid or a sin to confess.
Reading the Bible is Beneficial
Second Timothy 3:16 tells us the
Bible is profitable or beneficial for four things:
·
It is
profitable for doctrine - it tells us what is right;
·
It is
profitable for reproof - it tells us what is not right;
·
It is
profitable for correction - it tells us how to make things right;
·
It is
profitable for instruction in righteousness - it tells us how to keep things
right.
Therefore, it is vitally
important for us to develop the spiritual discipline of reading our Bibles on a
daily basis.
3rd Routine: STUDY the Word of God
Second Timothy 2:15 says that we
should:
“STUDY to shew thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word
of truth.”
Apply Yourself to Studying the
Bible
The word “study” is the word for diligence, for examining something carefully, for applying one’s self to a
task. In Acts 17:11 we are told that the
Bereans “received the word with all
readiness of mind, and SEARCHED the Scriptures daily, whether those things were
so.” They didn’t accept what they
heard until they had searched it out for themselves and determined that it was
true.
Anyone can learn to study if he
wants to, and if he is willing to discipline himself to do so. Someone
has said the difference between reading and studying is that you use a pencil
when you study. Studying is
simply a matter of asking the right questions, questions such as Who? What?
When? Where? Why? and How? and then jotting down the answers.
Acquire resources that will help
you in studying the Bible such as a Thompson
Chain Reference Bible or a Life
Application Bible. Obtain a good
concordance or a Bible word search program for your computer along with a Bible
handbook, a dictionary, and individual study books.
Interpret Scripture within its
Context
As you study always keep the text
within its context. Don’t take a verse
out of its setting and isolate it by itself.
Otherwise, it will become a pretext that does not accurately reflect
what the Bible actually says. Remember
as you study, if the common sense makes good sense, seek no other sense. God gave his Word to ordinary men in
terminology that could be understood by the common man.
Every teacher will tell you they
receive spiritual nourishment from God’s Word as they study it for themselves,
and so will you.
4th Routine: MEMORIZE the Word of God
Psalm 119:11 says:
“Thy word have I hid in mine
heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
In Proverbs 6:21, the son was
told to take the commandments of his father and “bind them continually upon thine heart.” A similar statement is found in Proverbs
7:3 where he is told to “write them upon
the table of thine heart.”
Memorization Strengthens us
Spiritually
Memorization of God’s Word is one
of the spiritual disciplines that produces spiritual growth in the life of
believers. In Matthew 4 Jesus was able
to defeat Satan’s temptations by quoting Scripture passages he had
memorized. Each time a temptation was
placed in his path he was able to respond with, “It is written,” and then quoted the appropriate verse. Memorizing Scripture, committing it to
memory, helps you grow spiritually and will keep you from sin (Psalm
119:11). Memorizing, however, requires
discipline, effort, and repetition.
How to Memorize Scripture
Begin by picking a verse that speaks to you. Read
the verse aloud several times
and then write it out.
Always include the reference before and after the verse since this is often the most difficult part to
remember. Break the verse down into its natural phrases, and memorize it
section by section. Emphasize key words as you quote the verse.
Write it down
on a piece of paper and erase one
word at a time. Each time your erase a
word, try to repeat the verse filling in the word from memory. Put the verse on a flash card you keep in your pocket or
purse. Display your verses in prominent places. Set them on the window sill in front of the
kitchen sink or tape it to the mirror in the bathroom where you will see it
often. Carry some review cards with you
at all times. Always memorize the verse word perfect.
You may want to get a partner so you can
encourage each other. Start out by
memorizing two verses per
week. Add new ones as you go along, but
review all your verses each week. You
must use them or you will lose them. The three keys to memorizing Scripture are: review, review, review.
5th Routine: MEDITATE on the Word of God
Psalm 1:2 tells us that the
person who wants to be blessed of God “delights
in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he MEDITATE day and night.”
Joshua
1:8 says:
"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou
shall MEDITATE therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according
to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way PROSPEROUS,
and then thou shalt have good SUCCESS."
Focused Thinking
Meditation is simply focused
thinking. Its mulling things over,
reviewing them again and again in your mind.
If you can worry, you can meditate.
Worrying is nothing more than negative meditation. Just as a cow chews her cud by regurgitating
the grass she has eaten, so the believer meditates by bringing back to mind the
things he has heard and read in God’s Word.
He then mulls them over in his mind thinking about what the passages say
and how those verses apply to him personally.
Take Time to Think about
Scripture
In Philippians 4:8 we are told to
“think” (to dwell upon, to be
preoccupied with, to meditate) on those things that are true, honest, just,
pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praise worthy. What you spend your time thinking about
determines who you are and what you will become. Proverbs 23:6 says: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
You meditate by recalling a passage of Scripture or some biblical
truth to mind, and then examining it from every conceivable angle. Personalize it by inserting your name into the
verse. Paraphrase it in your own
words. Emphasize different words as you
repeat it to yourself. Write it out in
your own words. Thinking on the Word of
God enables you to draw out every drop of spiritual nutrition from each tidbit
of Scripture. Thinking biblically helps
you to grow spiritually.
6th Routine: APPLY the Word of God
Personal application is the real
secret of nourishing yourself and growing spiritually. In John 13:17 Jesus said: “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye
DO them.” Most Christians know a lot
more than they practice. They know what
God wants them to do, but they don’t do it.
This hinders their spiritual growth.
Put It into Practice
Jesus’ command was to teach new
believers to “OBSERVE all things
whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). In modern culture, the word “observe” means
to watch or to casually look at something from a distance such as watching a
ball game. But in Jesus’ day the word
“observe” meant to do, to practice or to implement whatever one had been
told. It carried the idea of
participation.
We have no right to call
ourselves Christians if we do not do what Jesus said. In Luke 6:46 he said: “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”
Be A Doer rather than a Hearer
God wants us to be DOERS of the
Word and not just hearers. In James 1:22 we read: "But be ye doers
of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." Jesus
said in Matthew 5:19: "But whosoever shall DO and teach them,
the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
As you read, study, and hear the
Word of God taught, ask yourself, “How does this apply to me? What does God want me to change? How can I implement this in my life?” Then go and do it.
This last step is the hardest
step, but if you practice it regularly it will become a habit that will change
your life. Remember, habits are simply
disciplined routines that we have practiced over and over until they become
automatic responses. They are skills
that enable us to grow spiritually and to become more like Christ as we PURSUE
GOD.
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