Acts 2:42- 47 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Last Thursday, we talked about the 4 dimensions of discipleship: Seeking, Learning, Influencing, and Investing. Today, I want to focus on the Seeker dimension.
Acts 2 said the disciples were “filled with awe.” They saw “many wonders and miraculous signs.” True disciples are passionate pursuers who live in constant awe of God. Some of these folks had been walking with Jesus for 3 years. They had heard his teaching, witnessed his miracles, and seen him post-resurrection. And yet they were still in awe of the work of God in their midst.
During the Christmas season, I think of that popular statement we see on so many cards: Wise Men Still Seek Him. It may sound cheesy, but it’s true. Seeking is the spiritual dimension of discipleship, and Seekers practice spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines are pathways to experiencing God; they create an environment in which God can work in our lives. Practicing the disciplines is not an end in of itself. Rather, they are ways for us to explore different dimensions of God’s character and allow us to relate to him in different ways. Spiritual disciplines are given to us for exploration, not for rote repetition. The disciplines are opportunities, not obligations.
True disciples practice spiritual disciplines but are “outside the box” believers. They have rituals, but their spiritual life is anything but routine. Like the early Celtic Christians, they are led by the “Wild Goose.” They are self-starters, risk-takers, and creative thinkers who love God and crave his presence.
Seekers are worshipers and intercessors. They seek God with all their “heart and soul and mind and strength” (Matthew 22:37-38) and are constantly praising God. They are spirit-filled believers who experience many wonders and miracles.
How are you growing as a Seeker? Is prayer an activity or a lifestyle? Is worship an event on Sunday morning or something that bubbles out of you all the time because you cannot contain it? Are you exploring spiritual disciplines such as fasting and meditation? Are you experimenting with different types of prayer? Are you constantly being filled with the Holy Spirit?
The Journey of discipleship involves the adventure of Seeking, and we should strive to seek God with everything we have. If you would like to read more about this topic, check out the following books:
Celebration of Discipline (Richard Foster)
The Life You’ve Always Wanted (John Ortberg)
The Sacred Way (Tony Jones)
The Spirit of the Disciplines (Dallas Willard)
An Ordinary Day With Jesus (John Ortberg)
Great post, Heather! I love what you said about spiritual disciplines being “opportunities” instead of obligations. I have heard several people express how frustrated they get with themselves when they cannot stick to certain spiritual discpline “goals” they set for themselves (e.g., reading through the Bible in a year, praying an hour each day). Their guilt robs them of the joy of simply being in God’s presence and coming to know Him. The disciplines are designed to help us achieve communion with God, not set us up for failure. Thanks for underscoring this!
Sarah O.
December 8th, 2005
[...] For me, it was a big win to complete another core discipleship group/curriculum. Spiritual Experiments is the Port City for the Seeker Island of the discipleship map, which means it is a group that we believe every NCCer should experience and we will offer it at least once a year. I feel good about getting one under our belt, and now we can tweak it and re-engineer it to make the group a better experience next year. [...]
The Zone Gathering » Blog Archive » Friday Scorecard
July 28th, 2006