Breaking Spiritual Inertia: Embracing Growth Through Discipline

 

Summary

In our journey of faith, we often encounter the concept of spiritual inertia, akin to the physical law of inertia. This principle suggests that it is easier to continue in our established patterns, whether they are beneficial or detrimental, than to change them. This inertia can manifest in various aspects of our lives, such as our financial habits, relationships, or even our spiritual practices. The more we engage in a particular behavior, the more natural it becomes, whether it is hoarding money, withdrawing in anger, or engaging in positive actions like showing concern for others.

Our desires can enslave our will, leading us into a state of selective insanity where we rationalize our actions, no matter how illogical they may seem. This is evident in the way we justify harmful behaviors or hold onto resentment, often at the cost of our relationships and spiritual growth. To break free from this cycle, we must confront our duplicity and make a conscious decision to align our will with God's will.

Spiritual disciplines play a crucial role in this process. Practices like solitude, fasting, worship, and service help surface the hidden duplicity and malice within us, allowing us to address them. These disciplines are not about earning favor with God but about creating space for the Holy Spirit to work within us, revealing the truth of our inner selves. As we engage in these practices, we may encounter uncomfortable truths about our desires and thoughts, but this is a necessary step in our spiritual growth.

Ultimately, the goal is to allow God to prune us, removing the parts of our lives that hinder our spiritual fruitfulness. This pruning process, though painful, prepares us for a season of growth and abundance. As we continue this journey, we must remain vigilant, guarding our hearts and seeking God's guidance in every aspect of our lives.

Key Takeaways:

1. Spiritual Inertia: Just as physical inertia keeps an object in motion, spiritual inertia keeps us in our habitual patterns, whether good or bad. Recognizing this can help us understand why change is difficult and why we must be intentional in our spiritual practices. [03:19]

2. Desire and Will: Our desires can enslave our will, leading us to justify irrational actions. This selective insanity can damage relationships and hinder spiritual growth. We must confront and realign our desires with God's will. [05:06]

3. Role of Spiritual Disciplines: Spiritual disciplines like solitude, fasting, and worship are not about earning God's favor but about revealing and addressing the hidden duplicity within us. They create space for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. [08:33]

4. Facing Uncomfortable Truths: Engaging in spiritual practices may bring uncomfortable truths about our desires and thoughts to the surface. This is a necessary step in our spiritual growth, allowing us to offer these areas to God for transformation. [10:25]

5. Pruning for Growth: Allowing God to prune our lives, removing hindrances to spiritual fruitfulness, prepares us for a season of growth and abundance. This process, though painful, is essential for our spiritual development. [11:21]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [03:19] - Understanding Spiritual Inertia
- [03:43] - The Power of Habitual Actions
- [04:37] - Desire and Hypnotic States
- [05:20] - Selective Insanity and Rationalization
- [06:12] - Resentment and Relationship Strain
- [07:09] - Overcoming Duplicity
- [08:17] - Intention to Obey God
- [08:33] - The Service of Spiritual Disciplines
- [09:11] - Revealing Hidden Duplicity
- [10:00] - Subtle and Shameless Mind
- [10:25] - Space for Truth in Prayer
- [11:04] - Offering Our Minds to God
- [11:21] - Pruning for Spiritual Growth
- [11:50] - Conclusion and Next Steps

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Romans 12:2 - "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
2. John 15:2 - "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

Observation Questions:
1. How does the concept of spiritual inertia relate to the idea of conforming to the patterns of this world as mentioned in Romans 12:2? [03:19]
2. What examples of spiritual inertia were given in the sermon, and how do they illustrate the difficulty of breaking habitual patterns? [03:43]
3. In what ways do spiritual disciplines help reveal the hidden duplicity within us, according to the sermon? [08:33]
4. How does the sermon describe the process of pruning in our spiritual lives, and what is its intended outcome? [11:21]

Interpretation Questions:
1. How might the renewing of our minds, as mentioned in Romans 12:2, help us overcome spiritual inertia and align our desires with God's will? [05:06]
2. What role do spiritual disciplines play in confronting and addressing the duplicity and malice within us, as discussed in the sermon? [08:33]
3. How does the concept of selective insanity, as described in the sermon, affect our relationships and spiritual growth? [06:12]
4. In what ways does the pruning process, as mentioned in John 15:2, prepare us for spiritual growth and abundance? [11:21]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a habitual pattern in your life that may be hindering your spiritual growth. What steps can you take this week to begin breaking free from this pattern? [03:19]
2. Consider a desire in your life that may be enslaving your will. How can you realign this desire with God's will, and what practical steps can you take to do so? [05:06]
3. Identify a spiritual discipline you have not yet practiced regularly. How can you incorporate this discipline into your routine to create space for the Holy Spirit to work in your life? [08:33]
4. Think about a truth about yourself that you have been avoiding. How can you confront this truth and offer it to God for transformation? [10:25]
5. Reflect on an area of your life that may need pruning. What specific actions can you take to allow God to remove hindrances to your spiritual fruitfulness? [11:21]
6. How can you remain vigilant in guarding your heart and seeking God's guidance in your daily decisions and interactions? [11:50]
7. Consider a relationship in your life that may be strained due to selective insanity. What steps can you take to restore this relationship and align it with God's will? [06:12]

Devotional

Day 1: Recognizing Spiritual Inertia
In our spiritual journey, we often find ourselves stuck in habitual patterns, much like the concept of inertia in physics. This spiritual inertia can keep us in both positive and negative routines, making change difficult. Recognizing this inertia is the first step towards intentional spiritual growth. By understanding that our spiritual habits, whether beneficial or detrimental, have a momentum of their own, we can begin to take deliberate steps to alter them. This awareness helps us to be more intentional in our spiritual practices, ensuring that we are not merely coasting through our faith journey but actively engaging with it. [03:19]

"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." — Hebrews 12:11 (ESV)

Reflection: Identify a spiritual habit that has become routine for you. How can you intentionally change or enhance this habit to foster deeper spiritual growth?


Day 2: Confronting Desires and Will
Our desires can often enslave our will, leading us to justify irrational actions and decisions. This selective insanity can damage our relationships and hinder our spiritual growth. To overcome this, we must confront our desires and realign them with God's will. This requires a conscious effort to examine the motivations behind our actions and to seek God's guidance in transforming our desires. By doing so, we can break free from the cycle of rationalization and move towards a more authentic and fulfilling spiritual life. [05:06]

"For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice." — James 3:16 (ESV)

Reflection: Reflect on a recent decision you made that was driven by desire rather than God's will. How can you realign your desires with God's purpose for your life today?


Day 3: Embracing Spiritual Disciplines
Spiritual disciplines such as solitude, fasting, and worship are not about earning God's favor but about creating space for the Holy Spirit to work within us. These practices help reveal and address the hidden duplicity and malice within us, allowing us to confront and transform these areas. By engaging in spiritual disciplines, we open ourselves to the truth of our inner selves and invite God to work in our lives. This process may be uncomfortable, but it is essential for our spiritual growth and development. [08:33]

"Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." — 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (ESV)

Reflection: Choose one spiritual discipline to practice this week. How can this discipline help you create space for the Holy Spirit to reveal and transform hidden areas of your life?


Day 4: Facing Uncomfortable Truths
Engaging in spiritual practices often brings uncomfortable truths about our desires and thoughts to the surface. This is a necessary step in our spiritual growth, as it allows us to offer these areas to God for transformation. By facing these truths, we can begin to understand the underlying motivations and fears that drive our actions. This awareness is crucial for genuine spiritual growth, as it enables us to surrender these areas to God and seek His guidance in transforming them. [10:25]

"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" — Psalm 139:23-24 (ESV)

Reflection: What uncomfortable truth about yourself has been revealed through your spiritual practices? How can you offer this area to God for transformation today?


Day 5: Pruning for Spiritual Growth
Allowing God to prune our lives, removing hindrances to spiritual fruitfulness, prepares us for a season of growth and abundance. This pruning process, though painful, is essential for our spiritual development. By surrendering to God's pruning, we allow Him to remove the parts of our lives that hinder our spiritual growth, making room for new growth and abundance. This process requires trust and faith in God's plan for our lives, knowing that He is preparing us for greater spiritual fruitfulness. [11:21]

"Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit." — John 15:2 (ESV)

Reflection: What area of your life is God calling you to allow Him to prune? How can you trust Him in this process and prepare for the growth and abundance He has planned for you?

Quotes


In the realm of the will, there is something like the power of inertia in the physical realm. It is easier to do what you have done than what you have not, and especially then what goes contrary to what you have done. You tend to keep on doing what you have done, and the more so, the more you have done it. [00:03:06]

As I more habitually hoard my money, it gets easier to do that. The more that I give it on the positive side, the more that that can happen. The more I withdraw, I can use withdraw as my weapon of choice when I'm angry, and eventually, it overwhelms me. [00:03:39]

Dallas says we may come to identify our will with our desire, and a powerful desire may throw us into something like a hypnotic state in order to achieve its satisfaction, often in horrible deeds. In addition, when the will is enslaved to a desire, it will in turn enslave the mind to justify itself in satisfying the desire. [00:04:47]

The will enlists the intellect to provide rationalizations, frequently so bizarre that they amount to selective insanity. Now there's another phrase: spiritual inertia, now selective insanity. Then, of course, the individual in question doesn't say things that make no sense to anyone. They are hypnotized by their evil desires. [00:05:16]

Our primary aim in stepping free from the entanglements must be to overcome duplicity. To overcome it, we must be conscious of it, confront it, take appropriate steps to forsake it, and the primary plan here is to intend to do what God has said that God wills. [00:07:10]

A major service of spiritual disciplines like solitude, being alone with God for long periods of time, fasting, learning freedom from food and how God directly nourishes us, worship, adoration of God, service, doing good for others with no thought of ourselves, is to cause the duplicity and malice that is buried in our will and character to surface and be dealt with. [00:08:20]

These disciplines make room for the word and spirit to work in us, and they permit destructive feelings, feelings usually veiled by standard practices and circumstances and rationalizations, to be perceived and dealt with for what they are, our will, not God's will. [00:09:02]

Your mind will talk to you, Dallas says, when you begin to deny fulfillment to your desires, and you will find how subtle and shameless it is. And then Dallas writes, I know this from experience. That's the phrase that I loved reading in this book. Your mind is subtle and shameless to an extent you cannot imagine. [00:09:38]

What happens when we engage in spiritual practices is not that we're earning brownie points with God or showing how spiritual we are. Quite the opposite. We are making space for the truth that is within us to come up. So, for example, this morning, I make space to pray. [00:10:12]

While I'm doing that, my mind begins to have this thought of people who I really deeply resent and dislike, and I imagine, I fantasize how I might write about them in a public way to discredit them and how I could even write something about myself that isn't true that would gain me more credibility with the larger public and make them look even worse. [00:10:32]

Dallas says it's doing what spiritual disciplines need to do, and that is bring to the surface how subtle and shameless my silly little mind is, so I can offer it to God, and then comes the weeping of the virus. Oh God, prune me. Where do you need to be pruned? [00:11:04]

Let God prune so that when the spring comes, there will be the weeping of the vine and more fruit. [00:11:37]

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Transcript
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