Develop a Rule of Life, 5 June 2016
Go the Next Step to Develop a “Rule of Life”
Series: Go Deeper—Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
Acts 2:42-47
Series Theme “Emotional health and contemplative spirituality, when interwoven together, offer nothing short of a spiritual revolution, transforming the hidden places deep beneath the surface of our lives,” says author and pastor Pete Scazzero in his book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. This series is based upon the biblical themes of Scazzero’s book in an effort to help us better understand ourselves in order to better love God and others.
The Big Idea
The seventh pathway to emotionally healthy spirituality is to develop a “Rule of Life.”
Introduction
We conclude our series Go Deeper. We’ve said like an iceberg, many of us have so much hidden that others don’t really know us. Sometimes we don’t really know ourselves, or at least we hide our past, guilt, shame, addictions, and struggles…but they can never be hidden from God.
The problem with hiding is you can only hide for so long. Like a beach ball at the bottom of a swimming pool, the more we bury, the greater the burst when you can no longer stuff the embarrassment or pain.
Perhaps another way to say Go Deeper is to Get Real! Of course that’s easier said than done, yet many churchgoers are the worst when it comes to living in denial, wearing masks, and overspiritualizing the challenges of life.
As a review, we’ve looked at
The 7 Pathways
1. Know Yourself that You May Know God (David & Goliath)
2. Going Back in Order to Go Forward (Joseph)
3. Journey Through the Wall (Abraham)
4. Enlarge Your Soul Through Grief and Loss (Jesus)
5. Discover the Rhythms of the Daily Office and Sabbath (Daniel)
6. Grow into an Emotionally Mature Adult (Good Samaritan)
Today I want to share with you some tools for living a radical, passionate life in the footsteps of Jesus and
7. Take the Next Step to Develop a “Rule of Life.”
We live in a narcissistic world. Have you noticed? The message of the culture is, “It’s all about you!” Consumerism is so prevalent that we often “go to church” in order to receive, yet we call it a worship service. We use prayer to get God to serve us. We expect God to be a cosmic genie, doing whatever we want…and we get upset when He doesn’t. I’ve got some disturbing news for you: it’s not all about you! In fact, it’s all about God.
I’ve got some exciting news for you: you and I have been invited to participate in God’s mission on our planet, in our city. It’s not that God’s Church has a mission, it’s that God’s mission has a Church. That’s us! We’re called to follow Jesus. We’re called to radically obey the sacred scriptures.
For too long the church has focused on orthodoxy—right thinking. I’m all about good theology. I leave tonight for my final doctorate class at Northern Seminary before working on my dissertation. I love the Bible and theology, but there’s something even more important than orthodoxy: orthopraxy. I know, that’s a fancy word. It simply means right practice, right behavior.
People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
People don’t care what you believe until they know how you you live your life.
But how? How do we look and act like Jesus instead of the sitcom characters? How do we remain pure in a polluted society? How do we love when we’re surrounded by hate?
Three weeks ago we talked about spiritual disciplines or habits. Like brushing your teeth or jogging, the goal is not the disciplines themselves. That’s legalism. The goal is to develop your relationship with God in order to…love God and love others, our subject last week. Focusing on God throughout the day—the Daily Office—is one helpful discipline. Whether it’s at morning and night, three times a day, five times a day, or more, spend focused time with God. It can be brief. It may be a short prayer, meditating on a Bible verse, or singing a song. It could be journaling—writing out your prayers. It might involve appreciating God’s creation, being still and asking God to speak, or doing an act of kindness in the name of Jesus. There are many ways throughout our day we can “pray without ceasing” and avoid the temptation of becoming Christian atheists, Christians who truly live as if God isn’t with us.
We also talked about Sabbath, a daily 24-hour period of rest and renewal. It can be Sunday, Saturday, or any day, but scheduling time to be unproductive in the eyes of the world and center yourself on God, His Word, and appreciating His world.
The third anchor that can help us focus our lives on God is called a Rule of Life.
“RULE” of LIFE
- from the Greek word “trellis”
- a tool to help you grow upward and outward
- a framework or structure to help enable us continually pay attention to God and keep Him the center of our lives
Throughout history, people gathered together in communities around a rule of life. Some were as large as 5000 people in the Egyptian desert.
At this moment, around the world, people are gathering in churches. Why? There are a variety of answers to that question, but hopefully they—and you—are seeking to know and become like Jesus.
As we noted last week, maturity and growth don’t just happen. In fact, I’m told the only thing that will naturally grow as I age is my nose and ears (and probably my gut!).
Going deeper is not about simply filling your head with more information. Throughout history there have been religious leaders who could ace any Bible knowledge test…but they didn’t look like Jesus. In fact, some of them killed Jesus!
What is your plan for spiritual growth?
Many of you have plans for physical growth. You count calories. You work out in the gym. You run marathons. Whether it began as a new year’s resolution or through some other event you have a goal…and you’re working toward it.
Next Sunday we will honor those whose plans for mental and academic growth have been fulfilled…or at least reached a milestone we call graduation. They had a plan to take classes, write papers, complete exams…and their mission has been accomplished.
Perhaps you have plans related to your work. Sales goals, bonuses, or standards of excellence. These typically have a plan with action steps.
What is your plan for spiritual growth?
Acts 2:42-47 shows us the trellis or framework for the early church.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
“Devoted” to
1. Apostle’s Teaching
We’re a school of the LORD’s service. We are under the Scriptures.
2. Fellowship (Greek: “sharing”)
A new family/community is formed. Following Jesus is not an individual experience.
3. Breaking of Bread
They did it corporately and at home.
4. Prayer
a. Talking to God
b. Listening to God
c. Being with God
Intentionality
The early church was intentional. It was difficult. It required sacrifice. Many became martyrs. Their entire lives were God. They were breaking away from the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Just as the one thing that occurs naturally in nature is weeds, the one thing that occurs naturally within us is sin.
This is about resetting your entire life. David wrote:
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. (Psalms 27:4)
I’d like to show you a a sample Rule of Life:
PRAYER
a. Scripture (through the Bible in a year; memorization)
b. Silence and Solitude
c. Daily Office (Psalms, personal prayer, writing out your prayers)
d. Study (reading, learning, exploring)
REST
e. Sabbath
f. Simplicity
g. Play and Recreation (fun!)
ACTIVITY
h. Service and Mission
i. Care for the Physical Body
RELATIONSHIPS
j. Emotional Health
k. Family
l. Community (Companions for your journey)
Here are some other ideas:
Prayer
- Live in truth, asking the hard questions.
- Bridge racial, cultural, economic and gender barriers for Christ.
Work/Activity
It must be a heart thing, not a to-do list. The goal is not to check things off. The goal is to take intentional steps to know and become like Jesus. None of us is perfect, but we can help encourage one another to become more like Jesus. We can be disciples and make disciples. That’s our mandate.
“Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way. The love of Christ must come before all else.” -Benedict
Luke 18:9-14 is a very sobering passage for me, especially as a “religious leader.”
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ (Luke 18:9-12)
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ (Luke 18:13)
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)
Are you growing in your love for your enemies?
The goal of a rule of life is a heart transformation, not self-righteous behavior. It’s a journey, not a destination.
What is your trellis? What is your plan to follow Jesus? What are your next steps?
Credits and Stuff
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.
Series outline and ideas from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero (Thomas Nelson, 2006).
Some study questions from Lyman Coleman (The Serendipity Bible and The Serendipity Student Bible). Used with permission from the author.
Other study questions from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Workbook by Peter Scazzero (Center for Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, 2007).
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
Series: Go Deeper—Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
Acts 2:42-47
The Big Idea
The seventh pathway to emotionally healthy spirituality is to develop a “Rule of Life.”
Introduction
We conclude our series Go Deeper. We’ve said like an iceberg, many of us have so much hidden that others don’t really know us. Sometimes we don’t really know ourselves, or at least we hide our past, guilt, shame, addictions, and struggles…but they can never be hidden from God.
The problem with hiding is you can only hide for so long. Like a beach ball at the bottom of a swimming pool, the more we bury, the greater the burst when you can no longer stuff the embarrassment or pain.
Perhaps another way to say Go Deeper is to Get Real! Of course that’s easier said than done, yet many churchgoers are the worst when it comes to living in denial, wearing masks, and overspiritualizing the challenges of life.
As a review, we’ve looked at
The 7 Pathways
1. Know Yourself that You May Know God (David & Goliath)
2. Going Back in Order to Go Forward (Joseph)
3. Journey Through the Wall (Abraham)
4. Enlarge Your Soul Through Grief and Loss (Jesus)
5. Discover the Rhythms of the Daily Office and Sabbath (Daniel)
6. Grow into an Emotionally Mature Adult (Good Samaritan)
Today I want to share with you some tools for living a radical, passionate life in the footsteps of Jesus and
7. Take the Next Step to Develop a “Rule of Life.”
We live in a narcissistic world. Have you noticed? The message of the culture is, “It’s all about you!” Consumerism is so prevalent that we often “go to church” in order to receive, yet we call it a worship service. We use prayer to get God to serve us. We expect God to be a cosmic genie, doing whatever we want…and we get upset when He doesn’t. I’ve got some disturbing news for you: it’s not all about you! In fact, it’s all about God.
I’ve got some exciting news for you: you and I have been invited to participate in God’s mission on our planet, in our city. It’s not that God’s Church has a mission, it’s that God’s mission has a Church. That’s us! We’re called to follow Jesus. We’re called to radically obey the sacred scriptures.
For too long the church has focused on orthodoxy—right thinking. I’m all about good theology. I leave tonight for my final doctorate class at Northern Seminary before working on my dissertation. I love the Bible and theology, but there’s something even more important than orthodoxy: orthopraxy. I know, that’s a fancy word. It simply means right practice, right behavior.
People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
People don’t care what you believe until they know how you you live your life.
But how? How do we look and act like Jesus instead of the sitcom characters? How do we remain pure in a polluted society? How do we love when we’re surrounded by hate?
Three weeks ago we talked about spiritual disciplines or habits. Like brushing your teeth or jogging, the goal is not the disciplines themselves. That’s legalism. The goal is to develop your relationship with God in order to…love God and love others, our subject last week. Focusing on God throughout the day—the Daily Office—is one helpful discipline. Whether it’s at morning and night, three times a day, five times a day, or more, spend focused time with God. It can be brief. It may be a short prayer, meditating on a Bible verse, or singing a song. It could be journaling—writing out your prayers. It might involve appreciating God’s creation, being still and asking God to speak, or doing an act of kindness in the name of Jesus. There are many ways throughout our day we can “pray without ceasing” and avoid the temptation of becoming Christian atheists, Christians who truly live as if God isn’t with us.
We also talked about Sabbath, a daily 24-hour period of rest and renewal. It can be Sunday, Saturday, or any day, but scheduling time to be unproductive in the eyes of the world and center yourself on God, His Word, and appreciating His world.
The third anchor that can help us focus our lives on God is called a Rule of Life.
“RULE” of LIFE
- from the Greek word “trellis”
- a tool to help you grow upward and outward
- a framework or structure to help enable us continually pay attention to God and keep Him the center of our lives
Throughout history, people gathered together in communities around a rule of life. Some were as large as 5000 people in the Egyptian desert.
At this moment, around the world, people are gathering in churches. Why? There are a variety of answers to that question, but hopefully they—and you—are seeking to know and become like Jesus.
As we noted last week, maturity and growth don’t just happen. In fact, I’m told the only thing that will naturally grow as I age is my nose and ears (and probably my gut!).
Going deeper is not about simply filling your head with more information. Throughout history there have been religious leaders who could ace any Bible knowledge test…but they didn’t look like Jesus. In fact, some of them killed Jesus!
What is your plan for spiritual growth?
Many of you have plans for physical growth. You count calories. You work out in the gym. You run marathons. Whether it began as a new year’s resolution or through some other event you have a goal…and you’re working toward it.
Next Sunday we will honor those whose plans for mental and academic growth have been fulfilled…or at least reached a milestone we call graduation. They had a plan to take classes, write papers, complete exams…and their mission has been accomplished.
Perhaps you have plans related to your work. Sales goals, bonuses, or standards of excellence. These typically have a plan with action steps.
What is your plan for spiritual growth?
Acts 2:42-47 shows us the trellis or framework for the early church.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
“Devoted” to
1. Apostle’s Teaching
We’re a school of the LORD’s service. We are under the Scriptures.
2. Fellowship (Greek: “sharing”)
A new family/community is formed. Following Jesus is not an individual experience.
3. Breaking of Bread
They did it corporately and at home.
4. Prayer
a. Talking to God
b. Listening to God
c. Being with God
Intentionality
The early church was intentional. It was difficult. It required sacrifice. Many became martyrs. Their entire lives were God. They were breaking away from the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Just as the one thing that occurs naturally in nature is weeds, the one thing that occurs naturally within us is sin.
This is about resetting your entire life. David wrote:
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. (Psalms 27:4)
I’d like to show you a a sample Rule of Life:
PRAYER
a. Scripture (through the Bible in a year; memorization)
b. Silence and Solitude
c. Daily Office (Psalms, personal prayer, writing out your prayers)
d. Study (reading, learning, exploring)
REST
e. Sabbath
f. Simplicity
g. Play and Recreation (fun!)
ACTIVITY
h. Service and Mission
i. Care for the Physical Body
RELATIONSHIPS
j. Emotional Health
k. Family
l. Community (Companions for your journey)
Here are some other ideas:
Prayer
- - Be a lover of God, seeking to live in the love of Christ above all else.
- - Befriend silence.
- - Allow Holy Scripture to shape and form Christ in me.
- - Value my own dignity as a human being made in God's image through self-respect and self-care.
- - Ruthlessly eliminate hurry.
- - Remember God’s history of faithfulness with each new challenge.
- - Receive God’s limits as a gift.
- - Love my neighbor as I love myself— embracing my singleness as I bond with others,
- - Walk in community while respecting each person’s uniqueness.
- - Apply emotionally healthy practices in order to love well.
- - Listen more than I speak.
- - Point others to a deep, personal relationship with Jesus.
- - Savor the sacred in all I do—at work, rest or play.
- - Remember the poor and marginalized.
- - Share my gifts, talents and resources, in and beyond our community.
It must be a heart thing, not a to-do list. The goal is not to check things off. The goal is to take intentional steps to know and become like Jesus. None of us is perfect, but we can help encourage one another to become more like Jesus. We can be disciples and make disciples. That’s our mandate.
“Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way. The love of Christ must come before all else.” -Benedict
Luke 18:9-14 is a very sobering passage for me, especially as a “religious leader.”
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ (Luke 18:9-12)
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ (Luke 18:13)
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)
Are you growing in your love for your enemies?
The goal of a rule of life is a heart transformation, not self-righteous behavior. It’s a journey, not a destination.
What is your trellis? What is your plan to follow Jesus? What are your next steps?
Credits and Stuff
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.
Series outline and ideas from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero (Thomas Nelson, 2006).
Some study questions from Lyman Coleman (The Serendipity Bible and The Serendipity Student Bible). Used with permission from the author.
Other study questions from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Workbook by Peter Scazzero (Center for Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, 2007).