Means of Learning About God

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Learning about God to Truly Know Him

God wants us to get to know Him … not just cognitively but relationally. It’s why He sent Jesus (Jn. 14:6-11; Heb. 1:1-3; 1 Jn. 5:20). While we will never fully know God, because He’s God, we can learn more about Him. The more we get to know Him, the more we’ll come to love the Lord with all of who we are (Matt. 22:37-38) and trust Him with all of our heart (Prov. 3:5-6).

6 Ways We Can Learn About God

God uses a variety of means to help us know Him better.

  1. God’s Word

The Bible is the ultimate and primary source for understanding God and His ways. All else we do to learn about Him should be filtered through His Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Ps. 19:7-11). God’s Word leads to faith and spiritual growth as it is studied and applied to life (Rom. 10:17; Heb. 5:12-6:1).

  1. Life Circumstances

God uses our circumstances to teach us as we have opportunity to see His Word at work; God fulfilling the promises in it and leading us to righteousness and conformity to His Son through both the good and bad of life (Deut. 4:35; Rom. 8:28-29; 2 Cor. 1:3-5; Heb. 12:3-11; James 1:2-4).

  1. Nature

God’s wonders in nature teach us about the glory of God, leaving us without excuse for not believing in and honoring God as the One of whom there is no greater (Ps. 19:1-6; Rom. 1:18-21).

  1. Music

Music, usually viewed as a vehicle of praise, is also a way to instruct and build each other up in the Lord (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).

  1. One Another

God uses relationships with other believers to teach us about Himself and equip us as we exercise our spiritual gifts in serving one another (Eph. 4:11-16; Col. 3:16; 2 Tim. 2:2). This can happen face-to-face, through the printed page, the Internet, or even through fun and games together.

  1. Spiritual Disciplines

Just as engaging in physical activities strengthens our muscles, so purposefully and intentionally engaging in spiritual activities can do the same for our spiritual muscles (1 Tim. 4:7). The stronger we become in Him, the greater our understanding of who He is grows. Check out this helpful resource: Getting Spiritually Fit Discipleship Tool

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Motivation to Grow in Our Walk with the Lord

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Perhaps you know Christians, maybe even yourself, who don’t seem to be growing in their walk with the Lord. Sadly, some don’t even seem to want to grow. They lack motivation so they rarely read the Bible, pray, engage with fellow believers, etc. Yet, God’s Word encourages us to grow.

Motivation to Grow in Our Walk with the Lord
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. (2 Pet. 3:18)

Though none of us will ever arrive at full spiritual maturity in this life and we will err along the way, we should at least “want to” grow. Read Philippians 3:10-14 for the Apostle Paul’s example where he says “I want to know Christ. … Not that I have already obtained all this, … but I press on … I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on …”

Questions to Ask of Ourselves and Others Lacking Motivation to Grow

1) Do we/they truly know the Lord?

We shouldn’t assume everyone who attends our church or Sunday School class is a true believer. It’s possible to talk the talk and appear to walk the walk but not have a personal relationship with the Lord. If not a true believer, then the Holy Spirit doesn’t dwell within to provide the motivation and power to live the Christian life.

2) Do we/they have an adequate understanding of God’s grace?

There’s a reason 2 Peter 3:18, quoted above, says to grow in both knowledge and grace. — “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” (Titus 2:11-12)

Don’t expect that simply knowing what to do will motivate us enough to do it, or that knowing about God will motivate us to want to know Him better. Grace is God doing for us what we can’t do for ourselves. If we don’t have a good sense of how much we need God at the root of all we do, guiding and empowering us, we’ll undoubtedly lack motivation to press on in our walk. Sensing the difficulty of striving to consistently live righteously both on the inside and outwardly, will tend to make us grow weary and give up.

What Are We Doing as a Church to Help People Want to Grow?

God designed the Body of Christ in such a way that we have a part in one another’s growth. — Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Eph. 4:15-16)

We’re to spur one another on and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord (Heb. 10:24-25; 1 Thess. 5:11). We dispense God’s grace, a vital component to growth, as we serve one another (1 Pet. 4:10). When we get real with one another about where we are spiritually, we can pray for and with one another in such a way that it has a healing effect (James 5:16).

While structuring programs to accomplish some of this can be helpful, we must keep the focus on people over programs. Both large and small group gatherings can be useful but it may also take one-on-one interaction in non-formal settings. Are we willing to invest into people’s lives in such a way that it affects their motivation to know the Lord?

For Help: Getting Spiritually Fit Discipleship Tool

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Biblical Spirituality Tied into Who We are in Christ

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Biblical Spirituality Tied into who we are in Christ JesusBiblical spirituality is about living in the reality of who we are in Christ who is …

  • our spiritual rock upon which we stand, our firm foundation (1 Cor. 10:3-4)
  • our spiritual drink who alone, as Living Water, can quench the thirst within us for something more, something better (1 Cor. 10:3-4; Jn. 4:13-14)
  • our spiritual food who alone, as the Bread of Life, can nurture and sustain us (1 Cor. 10:3-4; Jn. 6:32)

Who We Are in Christ Grows Out of What We Have in Christ

In Christ Jesus we have been given EVERY spiritual blessing.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Eph. 1:3)

Those blessings include, but are undoubtedly not limited to what we find as we read on in Ephesians 1:3-14.

  • chosen in Him … our relationship with Him is not an accident
  • adoption … we belong to His family
  • acceptance … being reconciled to Him we are no longer considered unworthy
  • redemption … don’t have to strive to be accepted as He made it possible
  • forgiveness … our sin isn’t held against us
  • riches of His grace … freely given all we need to live in Him
  • knowledge of the mystery of His will … able to come to a better understanding of who we are and what we have in Him
  • inheritance … a future which gives us perspective now and hope for more to come
  • sealing of the Spirit … security

The more we grasp who we are and what we have in Christ, the more our spiritual fervor will increase (Rom. 12:11) and the more willingly we’ll make spiritual sacrifices (1 Pet. 2:5; Ps. 51:16-17; Rom. 12:1).

Attaining Biblical Spirituality

Biblical spirituality isn’t some mystical experience but rather grows out of our knowledge of the Lord. Simply put, to attain Biblical spirituality, we start by getting to know the One who makes it possible. Start with spiritual milk, the basic, elementary truths of God’s Word and life in Christ (1 Pet. 2:2; Heb. 5:12) and then move on to the more solid food of His Word. Not sure where to begin? Check out: New to Bible Reading Discipleship Tool

In addition to reading and studying God’s Word, there are a number of other ways to continue learning and growing. Check out: Getting Spiritually Fit – Engaging in Spiritual Disciplines

Then, who we are in Christ will affect us from the inside out so that all we do with our time and resources reflects our spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.

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Reward from Engaging in Spiritual Disciplines

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Engaging in Spiritual Disciplines
(Click to enlarge image in Pinterest & repin.)

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus talked about three practices we call spiritual disciplines — giving, praying, and fasting (Matt. 6:1-18). He not only told us the right way to engage in spiritual disciplines but also how that way yields the right kind of reward.

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. (Matt. 6:1)

Think about the kind of reward you want for engaging in the spiritual disciplines.

Do you want the short-lived, shallow, and subjective applause of others for what you have done or the eternal, worthwhile reward from God?

The Getting Spiritually Fit Discipleship Tool briefly considers how there is no better reward than what we get from Him when we take the right approach to spiritual disciplines.

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When You Engage in Spiritual Disciplines

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In part of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:1-18), Jesus mentioned three activities that could be considered spiritual disciplines — giving, praying, and fasting.

Jesus Assumed His Followers Will Engage in Spiritual Disciplines

To Jesus it wasn’t a matter of “if” you should engage in these activities but when. Notice how each section begins:

Giving: “So when you give to the needy …” (Matt. 6:2-4)

Praying: “And when you pray …” (Matt.6:5-15)

Fasting: “When you fast …” (Matt. 6:16-18)

The Right Way to Engage in Spiritual Disciplines

Engaging in Spiritual Disciplines
(Click to enlarge image in Pinterest & repin.)

Before getting into these three practices, Jesus first provided an overriding principle that could apply to these and probably any other spiritual discipline:

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. (Matt. 6:1)

Then within the sections for each of these activities, He re-emphasized the right way to engage in these disciplines as opposed to the wrong way.

The Getting Spiritually Fit Discipleship Tool briefly looks at what Jesus said about the right approach as opposed to the wrong way. It also gives other examples of spiritual disciplines in addition to addressing our motivation for engaging in the disciplines and how to be more consistent in them.

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How to Engage in Spiritual Disciplines More Consistently

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We’ve defined what spiritual disciplines are. We’ve determined the purpose for them. We’ve given examples. That’s helpful but are we practicing them consistently?

How do we get to the point where we consistently engage in the spiritual disciplines?

First, we need to understand the spiritual battle behind a struggle to engage in the spiritual disciplines.

Second, we need to understand how natural tendencies, like our personalities, can affect our practice of the spiritual disciplines.

Third, we need to grab hold of God’s resources that will enable us to engage in spiritual disciplines.  — Don’t take the spiritual out of the spiritual disciplines because then all you are left with are disciplines.

Getting Spiritually Fit by Consistently Engaging in Spiritual DisciplinesThe Getting Spiritually Fit Discipleship Tool briefly expounds on each of the above points along with some helpful Scripture. It also challenges you to think through what might be keeping you from consistently engaging in spiritual disciplines.

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