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Don’t you WANT to have God out front leading & guiding your life? I do. The ONLY way is to have a Word-Filled Life! Paul says we are to discipline our selves towards godliness. What are the disciplines that encourage a godly life? Today we start on that study, The Disciplines of a Godly Life. The 1st and foremost discipline is the Discipline of the Scriptures.
The Great Necessity
Time alone with God in His Word, the Scriptures, is the great necessity of our spiritual lives. We need to be alone with God daily! We need to find times to get away alone. E. Stanley Jones once described time in the Scriptures as a “time exposure to God.” He used the analogy of his life being like a photographic plate which, when exposed to God, progressively bore the image of God in keeping with the length of exposure.
Please open with me to the center of your Bibles and find Psalm 16.11.
Psalm 16:11
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
This morning let me start with the conclusion of my challenge to you from God’s Word. This verse thrills my heart because in these few words God says so much. He offers us three incredible and priceless benefits from the discipline of Scripture.
The Benefits of a Super Guide
Now with that conclusion in mind, let me explain in an earthly way, what a life arranged by the Lord can be like. It all started in the fall of 1978. I was doing hospital visitation as a ministerial student in Greenville, SC. As I sped down one floor of the hospital to share Scripture and pray with a sick friend I glanced in the room next door. For that instant, I caught sight of one of the most forlorn faces I’d ever seen in a hospital bed. After my visit, I purposed to stop in and see if there was anything I could do to cheer that sad man next door. I slipped in, stood by his bed, read Scripture and prayed. I found he was one of the loneliest Christians I’d ever met. So since it was Thanksgiving time I said, “What can I do to encourage you?” To my surprise, he brightened up and said “If you would bring me a Wendy’s, ¾-pound, “triple” burger it would mean so much to me for my Thanksgiving Dinner.”
Well, I did it. And an hour later I was back on my way to my apartment after my sharing a bit of Christ’s love to cheer that man up. He asked me for my name and address so we could keep in touch. I never knew how much that visit was going to end up impacting my life.
To make a long story short that man was a very wealthy heir to a Texas oil field family. He was along and away from family and the Lord sent me to his room at a moment he desperately needed comfort and hope.
Two weeks later I got a call from him asking when we could go out to dinner. When he arrived it was in an extended limo. We went to a place that had no prices on the menu, and our meal was prepared at our table. That evening he asked if I would join him for a week with his friends on a little trip. Being young and un-entangled in many responsibilities I said sure. That was the start of one of the amazing 10 days of my life as Carl and two friends (both are now pastors of churches) went on a whirlwind trip to England, Holland, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy – all expenses paid.
The point of the story is that Carl made all the arrangements. I never had been to the places he took me. He had, and he arranged everything. We were picked up and chauffeured to sites, museums, restaurants, and plays. It was an unbelievable experience of the world the way the rich and famous travel. But more than that, it was a lesson for me that someone with greater resources, experience, and knowledge can do a better job at arranging events than I could.
Check Out All The Sermons In The Series
You can find all the sermons and short clips from this series, Biblical Exercises for Spiritual Health & Fitness here.
Looking To Study The Bible Like Dr. Barnett?
Dr. Barnett has curated an Amazon page with a large collection of resources he uses in his study of God’s Word. You can check it out here.
John you are the best