Devotion 2.0

What are we trying to do?

Find and implement hyper practical ways of improving our devotional life over the next 4 weeks.

Understanding devotion

Most of us have a negative view of our devotional life. What does a positive view look like? How do we change from a negative view to a positive one?

What is the purpose of a devotional life?
To genuinely connect with God and know him more and more
To let that connection impact every aspect of our lives

Need to see devotional life as:
An invitation - God is more eager than you are
Pointed at the Future - this progresses into the future, eternity.

What is a devotional?
3 focuses: read, pray, & reflect

Reflection: contemplation of God, His character, His past actions, and a honest application of the gospel to our selves

Vision for Devotional Life this year

How do we actually improve our devotional life?
Start with a vision for where we want to end up.

What kind of life with God do you want? What energizes you? How do you want to connect with God? Set aside what we ought to do and consider what we want to do.

Here's a possible vision: being salt and light to our world.

To be a person and a church whose words and actions are "saltier and brighter once a day, each day by 2020"

We going to:

1. Find our starting point
2. Find our destination
3. Charting our course

1. Spotty reading, praying, and contemplation
2. Focus on contemplating God's grace, patience, and faithfulness every evening in order reflect this to my children/family and to be less anxious about work/identity

Finding bright spots
What days/time of day/moments are most likely to success?
When you read/pray/reflect, what helps you do those things?

Shrink the change
     5 minute plan.
Set a timer.
Do one of the RPR steps.
Stop when the time goes off.
Take advantage of spare moments. Instead of grabbing your phone, do the five minutes of your change.

     Do less and be more present
Instead of tracking your Facebook, Twitter, or other social feed... Turn off data and do your devotion.
Let your down moments be unspoken for.

Specific tools

Reading
  Don't read cover to cover in order
  Pick small chucks and read repetitively
Prayer
  Lord's prayer
  Thanksgiving & praise
  Confession, repentance & forgiveness
  The local and global church
Contemplation
  Confessions & Catechisms
    Westminster shorter, Heidelberg, Belgic Confession
  Preparation for/Ensuring suffering
  Who God is (Father, Redeemer, King) and what it means for your life/circumstances & our world/circumstances
  "Morning and evening" by Charles Surgeon

Plan: I will read the morning and evening devotional by spurgeon twice a day (with Megan) in order to be more patient, gracious, and less anxious with family and work.

Sermon on the Mount: The Beatitudes

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.  "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.  "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.  "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
- Matthew 5:1-12 ESV

Rev. Charles Han

Upside down kingdom

Blessed starts every verse in Jesus' sermon. This means that they are favored and happy. What do we think of when we hear the word blessed? Jesus defines some very odd people as blessed. The meek, those who mourn... Why are these people considered blessed? Jesus came from heaven... He had the authority to speak of who is blessed, he came from heaven after all. Why does Jesus repeat this so many times? Jesus is trying to get through to a deaf world.

Everyone seeks out happiness. Some may go to war; others avoid it. It is to this same end that drives both behaviors. Some even look to suicide. But not all these paths will end in happiness, many will end with misery and cursing. This path is the path to true happiness and fulfillment. These are all the qualifications for a true citizen of heaven. We are not fully embodying these qualities, but these are present and growing in a Christian's life and heart. To have these qualifications requires more than simply a religious life.

Inside out kingdom

The true kingdom citizen is spiritually poor. We acknowledge that we are spiritually bankrupt. We are humbled to the dust. How does this differ from your typical person? Most people consider themselves spiritually middle class. Not great, but not in need of help, in need of salvation. This is not something a Christian can hold in their heart. They need to know that they have no spiritual worth outside of the saving work of Jesus. They know of no other way to salvation other than utter dependence upon God.

Christians mourn over their sin. They see the darkness of their heart and the destructive results of their sin... And they mourn.

This is turn drives us into meekness. Not weakness, but meekness. It takes away our drive to glorify ourselves. We have an inner quietness because we know of our spiritual brokenness. But not only that, we are aware and secure of our standing before God. But this is not a coddled security. It makes us zealous for the kingdom of God.

Once we are accepted and adopted into God's kingdom, we want to extend and expand this great kingdom. We have a growing desire for personal piety. We have a heart for mercy. We do not emphasize one over the other.

The forward-back kingdom

How do we live this out? With the world constantly pushing back, trials, suffering, and even persecution... There is a coming kingdom. It will come and suddenly, the proud will be humbled. Those who are comfortable with their sin and evil, will find themselves in mourning. And those who mourn now over their sin, will be comforted. Persecution and reviling over this way of living is something that a Christian will rejoice in. It is a confirmation of our future destination. This is an attitude that cannot be counterfeited.

God's blueprint for His Church

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.- Titus 1:1-2:14 ESV

Rev. Charles Han

This is one of Paul's letters to Titus. Titus was one of Paul's proteges. Titus was to stay with the churches Paul had founded in Crete. He was to continue Paul's with there.

The gospel is vital for all peoples

Whether Christian or not, we all need the gospel of God. The gospel is of first importance. The message of the Gospel is life giving and life changing. It changes lawless, immoral people into upright, loving, and people zealous for God. Not only that, but for those who believe, the gospel is still vital. The gospel is still working in our lives to renounce ungodliness and add to our zeal for Jesus.

The church is vital for the gospel

For the gospel to come in fullness, we need a group of believers, i.e. the church. Missionaries are not sent out to bring some people to salvation. It is to plant a local church. The church is where older believers model and guide younger believers. It is where spiritual growth happens. We need a community of believers, a body of people investing in each other.

Make it your intention, your goal, this year to shape and invest in one younger believer. Or be shaped by an older believer. Maybe that's someone in your community group or that we minister alongside.

Elders are vital for the church

Elders must know sound doctrine in order to defend the church against false teaching. They must be above reproach. They must be trustworthy. They must be full of grace and full of truth.