Transformative Study: Embracing God's Presence in Our Lives

 

Summary

In the fellowship of our Heavenly Father, we are invited to embrace the easy yoke of Jesus, a life not burdened by constant striving but one of grace-filled transformation. This journey involves arranging our lives around the practices that Jesus himself engaged in, allowing us to be continually at home with God and empowered by His presence. Today, we focus on the practice of study, a fundamental discipline of engagement that complements the disciplines of abstinence like solitude and silence. Study is not about acquiring knowledge for its own sake or becoming a Bible trivia expert; rather, it is about renewing our minds and transforming our inner lives.

The spiritual discipline of study involves immersing ourselves in the written and spoken Word of God. It is the primary discipline of engagement, just as solitude is the primary discipline of abstinence. Our relationship with God, like any relationship, requires effort and engagement, primarily through our minds. Study is not merely an intellectual exercise but a means to transform our mental maps, aligning them with the reality of God's presence and truth. This transformation allows us to live out our beliefs authentically, as our behavior reflects our true convictions.

The goal of study is to renew our minds, enabling us to navigate life with an awareness of God's presence. It involves not only reading and understanding scripture but also observing how God's truth is at work in the lives of others and in the world around us. By meditating on scripture, we allow God's Word to shape our thoughts and actions, leading to a life of love and service. Study is about filling our minds with thoughts of goodness, beauty, and hope, rather than outsourcing our mental space to the distractions of the world.

Key Takeaways:

- Embracing the easy yoke of Jesus involves arranging our lives around spiritual practices that empower us to be at home with God. This is not about striving harder but about creating space for God's presence in our lives. [00:25]

- The discipline of study is about engaging our minds with the Word of God, not for the sake of knowledge alone, but for the transformation of our inner lives. It is about renewing our minds to align with God's truth. [02:20]

- Our behavior reflects our true beliefs. Study helps us change our mental maps, allowing us to live authentically according to the reality of God's presence and truth. [06:24]

- Meditation on scripture is a powerful practice that transforms our thoughts and actions. By focusing on God's Word, we fill our minds with thoughts of goodness, beauty, and hope. [09:52]

- We must be deliberate about what we put into our minds, just as we are careful about what we put into our bodies. Study is about intentionally filling our minds with God's truth and beauty. [11:31]

Youtube Chapters:

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:25] - Embracing Jesus's Easy Yoke
[00:36] - Arranging Our Lives Around Practices
[01:08] - Practices of Abstinence
[01:39] - Making Space in Our Lives
[02:20] - The Discipline of Study
[03:04] - Engaging Our Minds with God
[04:02] - The Aim of Study: Love, Not Knowledge
[05:09] - Renewing Our Minds
[06:24] - Living Out Our Beliefs
[07:00] - Changing Our Mental Maps
[08:08] - Engaging with Scripture
[09:19] - Meditation and Transformation
[10:38] - Filling Our Minds with Goodness
[11:49] - Conclusion and Reflection

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Romans 12:1-2 - "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 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." [04:30]

2. Psalm 23:1 - "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing." [05:52]

3. Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." [10:08]

Observation Questions:
1. According to the sermon, what is the primary purpose of the spiritual discipline of study? [02:20]
2. How does the sermon describe the relationship between study and the renewal of our minds? [05:09]
3. What examples from the sermon illustrate how our behavior reflects our true beliefs? [06:24]
4. How does the sermon suggest we should engage with scripture to transform our thoughts and actions? [09:52]

Interpretation Questions:
1. In Romans 12:1-2, Paul talks about offering our bodies as a living sacrifice. How does this relate to the practice of study as described in the sermon? [04:30]
2. The sermon mentions that study is not about acquiring knowledge for its own sake. How does this align with the idea that "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up"? [04:02]
3. How does the concept of "changing our mental maps" help us live authentically according to God's presence and truth? [06:24]
4. What does it mean to "fill our minds with thoughts of goodness, beauty, and hope," and how can this practice impact our daily lives? [10:08]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your current spiritual practices. How can you arrange your life to embrace the easy yoke of Jesus and create space for God's presence? [00:25]
2. Consider your approach to studying scripture. How can you shift your focus from acquiring knowledge to transforming your inner life? [02:20]
3. Identify a belief you hold that may not align with your actions. What steps can you take to ensure your behavior reflects your true convictions? [06:24]
4. Think about a time when you felt disconnected from God's presence. How might engaging in the practice of study help you renew your mind and reconnect with God? [05:09]
5. What are some distractions in your life that prevent you from filling your mind with thoughts of goodness, beauty, and hope? How can you minimize these distractions this week? [10:08]
6. Choose a passage of scripture to meditate on this week. How can you incorporate this practice into your daily routine to transform your thoughts and actions? [09:52]
7. Reflect on the idea of being deliberate about what you put into your mind. What specific changes can you make to ensure your mental space is filled with God's truth and beauty? [11:31]

Devotional

Day 1: Embracing Jesus's Easy Yoke
In the fellowship of our Heavenly Father, we are invited to embrace the easy yoke of Jesus, a life not burdened by constant striving but one of grace-filled transformation. This journey involves arranging our lives around the practices that Jesus himself engaged in, allowing us to be continually at home with God and empowered by His presence. Embracing Jesus's easy yoke is not about striving harder but about creating space for God's presence in our lives. It is about letting go of the burdens we carry and trusting in the gentle guidance of Jesus, who invites us to find rest in Him. [00:25]

Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV): "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Reflection: What burdens are you carrying today that you can release to Jesus, trusting in His promise of rest and guidance?


Day 2: The Transformative Power of Study
The discipline of study is about engaging our minds with the Word of God, not for the sake of knowledge alone, but for the transformation of our inner lives. It is about renewing our minds to align with God's truth. Study is not merely an intellectual exercise but a means to transform our mental maps, aligning them with the reality of God's presence and truth. This transformation allows us to live out our beliefs authentically, as our behavior reflects our true convictions. [02:20]

Romans 12:2 (ESV): "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Reflection: How can you intentionally engage with God's Word today to allow it to transform your thoughts and actions?


Day 3: Authentic Living Through Renewed Minds
Our behavior reflects our true beliefs. Study helps us change our mental maps, allowing us to live authentically according to the reality of God's presence and truth. By immersing ourselves in the written and spoken Word of God, we align our thoughts and actions with His truth. This alignment leads to a life that genuinely reflects our faith and convictions, enabling us to navigate life with an awareness of God's presence. [06:24]

Colossians 3:10 (ESV): "And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator."

Reflection: In what ways can you align your daily actions with the truths you have learned from God's Word?


Day 4: Meditation as a Path to Transformation
Meditation on scripture is a powerful practice that transforms our thoughts and actions. By focusing on God's Word, we fill our minds with thoughts of goodness, beauty, and hope. This practice allows us to observe how God's truth is at work in the lives of others and in the world around us, leading to a life of love and service. Meditation is about intentionally filling our minds with God's truth and beauty, rather than outsourcing our mental space to the distractions of the world. [09:52]

Psalm 1:2-3 (ESV): "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."

Reflection: How can you incorporate meditation on scripture into your daily routine to cultivate a mind filled with God's goodness and hope?


Day 5: Intentional Mindfulness of God's Truth
We must be deliberate about what we put into our minds, just as we are careful about what we put into our bodies. Study is about intentionally filling our minds with God's truth and beauty. By doing so, we create a mental environment that is conducive to spiritual growth and transformation. This intentional mindfulness helps us to resist the distractions of the world and focus on the things that truly matter, leading to a life that reflects God's love and truth. [11:31]

Philippians 4:8 (ESV): "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

Reflection: What steps can you take today to ensure that your mind is filled with thoughts that are true, honorable, and aligned with God's truth?

Quotes


In the spiritual discipline of study, we engage ourselves above all with the written and spoken word of God that is scripture. Here is the chief positive counterpart of solitude as Solitude is the primary discipline of abstinence for the early part of spiritual life so study is the primary discipline of Engagement. [00:02:30]

We engage ourselves above all with the written and spoken word of God. Our early experience may be selfful that we neglect study, but relationship with God is with any person soon requires a contribution from us which will largely consist of study because when we're with anybody it mostly involves something we do with our minds. [00:02:55]

The aim of study is not knowledge; it's love. So I'm not trying to show people now how well I know the Bible or how smart I am, hopefully I'm not trying to do that. I'll always have to battle that temptation. We do this so that our minds can be renewed. [00:04:10]

Don't be conformed to the patterns of this world, don't just go on autopilot doing all the stuff that the people in the culture around me say to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That's the goal of study, to have your mind renewed. [00:05:00]

When I engage in the act of study, what I'm trying to do is change my mental map about how things are. We all, Dallas would often say, live at the mercy of our ideas. Sometimes in life you will hear people say you ought to live up to your beliefs. The reality is you do live up to your beliefs. [00:06:04]

In study, I'm seeking to change that mental map so that I navigate reality in the awareness of God's presence. Now part of what that means with study then is it is Never Enough simply to know about something, to know the words. I must actually seek to do the things that Jesus said to do. [00:07:03]

Saving faith is not the minimum amount of stuff that you have to profess or say that you believe so that you get into heaven when you die. Saving faith is when my map becomes the same as Jesus's map because then I see reality the way that he did. [00:07:36]

We also strive to see the word of God at work in the lives of others. We become, we study people. This is not just a bookish name. In the church, in history, in current events, I look at the world around me and I see how the truth of God and the presence of God is at work in people who choose well and wisely and in people who do not. [00:08:25]

I meditate on scripture. Now meditation is a strange or spooky word for some folks, doesn't have to be. If you can worry, you can meditate. When you worry, your mind is just recycling a thought over and over and over again, only it's spiraling downward. It's the same process, it's that same process only meditating on a choice word like the Lord is my shepherd. [00:09:26]

Taking a passage like that and memorizing it is a wonderful thing to do, not because God will put a little gold star on your behavior modification chart in heaven. We don't do these practices in order to impress or please God or earn anything but because a mind that is filled with thoughts that are available to me at any moment is a better more flourishing gift to have. [00:10:23]

Why is it that we can be so careful about what we put into our cars and so careful about what we put into our bodies and so careless about what we put into our minds? So in study we are deliberate about putting into our minds thoughts of goodness and beauty and Hope. [00:11:27]

The Great challenge of life is managing that unceasing flow of thoughts and feelings and desires and intentions that are always going on inside me and if I try to follow Jesus behaviorally by doing the right things and saying the wrong right things and avoiding the wrong things without changing that inner flow within me, that's the hard way. [00:05:14]

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Transcript
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