Category: 2012 Sermons

Sermon: Spiritual Disciplines – Contemplative Prayer
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Psalm 27
Duration: 32:33
Size: 14.9 MB

Spiritual Disciplines
Contemplative Prayer
Psalm 27

Most of us realize that we cannot grow the fruit of the Spirit, or weed out the sins of our lives by sheer will power alone.

How do we develop a relationship with our maker?

PRAYER!

Often times our prayers are the same way, we are running around in our lives and we stop for a second and say, “Oh, God, I need you.”

We must pray not just to speak to God, but also, to hear from Him what we are to speak.

Real prayer is something we learn.

Begin With Scripture
Meditate on Scripture before you pray.

Listen Before You Speak
Spend time in silence before God, wait to see what he says.

As we learn to listen to each other, we can apply that skill to God in our prayers.

Imagination
God may not speak to you in words audible or inaudible. He may speak to you in pictures, images, feelings, sensations, dreams, and visions.

Speak
Prayer is about relationship, and although we should not make it one-sided by doing all the talking, we should also not make it one-sided by doing all the listening!

Having a spiritual friend or soul-friend is like having a training buddy.

Pray
We need to dig the well deeper, so that it won’t go dry during the hard times, and we need to develop our relationship with God so that we can enjoy the good times with Him.

Sermon: Spiritual Disciplines – Fasting
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Matthew 6:16-18
Duration: 32:16
Size: 14.7 MB

Spiritual Disciplines
Fasting
Matthew 6:16-18

Simply put, fasting is the voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes.

When Jesus taught on fasting, he would say “when you fast”, not “if you fast”.

Fasting reminds us that we can get by without most things in our lives for a time, but we cannot get by without God.

Fasting is voluntarily turning up the heat in our lives.

It is both physical and spiritual and it builds our faith muscles so that we can withstand the bigger contests that come our way.

Our hunger pangs also remind us to lift our voice up to God.

When we fast in our repentance, it is not an attempt to punish ourselves for our past sin, but as a commitment and preparation for our future righteousness.

Determine the purpose of the fast. Is it to seek God, to seek direction, to pray for others?

There is so much potential power in seeking God in this way that Satan will do whatever necessary to derail your plan.

Remember that your fast is about you and God, not about impressing others, or even yourself.

Remember that we are not twisting God’s arm, we are trying to draw closer to Him.

The goal is spiritual not physical. If you want to loose weight, find a way to eat healthier, if you want to draw closer to God, try fasting.

Why Fast?

• Fasting increases our hunger for God.
• Fasting can train our passions.
• Fasting can be an earnest prayer.
• Fasting can help us humble ourselves.
• Fasting can be a sign of Repentance.

How to Fast.

• Start small.
• Determine the purpose of the fast.
• Determine the nature of the fast.
• Determine the length of the fast.
• Get people praying for you.

Pitfalls of Fasting.

• Pride
• Coercion of God
• Penance
• Dieting

If you’re satisfied with the status quo of your spiritual life, then just go ahead and ignore everything I’ve said today.

If you’re ready to move on to another level, and you’re not fasting as a part of your walk with Christ already, then I’d say, start right away.