Palm Sunday April 1, 2007

More than a Feeling – The Spiritual Disciplines
Psalm 19:7-12

I. Introduction

“When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with
her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately.’… 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the
road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him
and that followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ 10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who
is this?’ 11 The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’”
(Matthew 21:1-11, NRSV)

But now let us look at another scene only one week later:

“Then they all shouted out together, "Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!" 19 (This was a man
who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) 20 Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; 21 but they kept shouting, "Crucify, crucify him!" 22 A third time he said
to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore
have him flogged and then release him." 23 But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.” (Luke 23:18-25, NRSV)

When Luke says here, “they all shouted together,” who is he speaking of? They are the same crowds that only a week before were expressing their deepest adoration for Jesus. True, they were being stirred up by the chief priests, but they are the same crowds nonetheless.

What made the crowds so fickle? They lived on emotions.

Now I need to clearly state that emotions are a gift from God – the problem is when our emotions control us more than the Spirit does.

Unfortunately, I see this in many who seek to live for God today.

What are we to do? What can help us from being a slave to our emotions?

I believe that the consistent (daily) practice of the spiritual disciplines will help empower us to live our lives according to the Spirit and not to be a slave to the sinful nature (which often influences our emotions).

Returning briefly to the example of marriage – I must practice the marriage disciplines whether I feel like it or not.

I need to express acts of love towards Sara and my kids, for that matter, whether I feel like it or not.

This is a huge issue in our culture today and it crosses over into our relationship with God.

I believe a huge part of spiritual maturity is learning to understand your emotions while at the same time not letting them dictate to you how you live your life or how you think your relationship with God is at any given moment.

One final word before I introduce the first spiritual discipline:

We practice the spiritual disciplines for one reason – to spend time with God, and as a result grow in our relationship
with Him.

If you practice them for any other reason you are going to become frustrated and discouraged. What are some of the wrong reasons to practice the disciplines?

So God will love me more. In order to have victory over my sin. Other ideas?

II. Discipline #1 – Bible Reading

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5, NRSV)

God has revealed Himself as, AND through, the logos.

It is through the Word of God (the Bible) that we see and learn about God.

Through the law we understand His moral requirements.

Through the historical writings we see people with the same problems we have and how they interacted with God.

Through the Psalms we learn how to pray and through Proverbs we gain wisdom for daily living.

Through the prophets we hear God calling His people to return to Him and we grow in our understanding of God’s heart
for the poor.

Through the Gospels we learn about Jesus and see even more clearly the heart of the Father.

Through Acts we understand the purpose of the church for today.

Through the letters we are given instructions for daily living and gain further insight into what God has done through Jesus Christ. We also see the early church wrestling with many of the same issues we are confronting today.

In Revelation we see the final victory of God over all things.
The awesome Word of God!

No wonder the psalmist wrote:

“The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the
right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on
the eyes…God's Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You'll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries. There's more: God's Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool?”
(Psalm 19:7-12, The Message)

III. Application

How do you go about reading the Bible?

I don’t want to just talk about Bible reading, I would like us to practice it.

Bible reading (Romans 6:1-14 – in light of Good Friday and Easter).