Kang’s book belongs in the genre of the recent Spiritual Disciplines literature (Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Adele Calhoun etc.) In fact, Foster and Kang have worked closely together in Korea and the United States where Kang is currently pastoring the Oriental Mission Church in Los Angeles. But the book is written differently than most of the western-authored books in this field. The book is not a comprehensive “how-to” manual of various spiritual disciplines but a collection of a pastor’s mini-sermons on the topic. Kang’s book is a series of brief meditations on aspects of the deeper life. Each chapter is only 3 pages - which works out to one main thought per chapter.
The value in the format is that the reader has time to meditate and digest one thought at a time, rather than deal with the multiple complexities of thought usually found in longer chaptered Western-authored books. Kang’s format leads to redundancy, however, as the author tries to connect the main themes from chapter to chapter. That redundancy detracts from the book’s readability. The book is also a translation of the original book published in Korean in 2006 and some stiffness in English language usage is notable.
There is value to the book, however, just in the very fact of its Asian authorship. The Korean church has become a global model of deep prayer, discipline and sacrifice for the last quarter century and this author is writing from that place of strength and experience. Every so often he uses phrases and brings forth concepts that are new to the western mind. This is both refreshing and thought provoking. Some of his ”deep-rooted” thoughts are in the brief summary.
- M.L.
Codman-Wilson, Ph.D., 12/8/2011
Excerpts:
”Human beings live in 2 worlds at once – the conscious
world and the unconscious world...In the unconscious world some of the most
severe problems lie…The inner life is where we live…But sometimes the root is
sick. By maintaining healthy spiritual
disciplines we identify the source of our problems. Then we cooperate with a
God who solves them through the power of the Holy Spirit...Life’s problems
begin in the root system of the soul. They must be solved there, as we care for
our souls. The medicine we need is spiritual discipline” (31,33).
”Real energy comes from a strong inner life…Pay attention
to what is welling up in your inner world…The powerful presence of the Holy
Spirit should bring dramatic change to our inner world. Spiritual formation
isn’t a matter of outward change…Spiritual formation means cultivating the
heart” (40,41, 43). “Spiritual discipline
is all about practicing the will that God puts in our hearts (70).
“Seeking a deeper spiritual life means laying a deep
foundation in Christ…Deep people have close relationships with God. This is the
nature of the inner world. The Holy Spirit ministers there. The Word penetrates
us there…The Holy Spirit offers us the utmost intimate knowledge of God and of
our inward thoughts…Unless we abide in the Word and under the power of the Holy
Spirit, we cannot know the depths God intends for us. We must become like deep
wells. We must become like living fountains” (38,47,
49). Out of a deep relationship
with God we serve others.
“Worldly wisdom …doesn’t make us better people. At best
it produces better informed sinners.
They may look impressive but their inner world is unclean….Godly wisdom…makes
us more like Jesus Christ, helping us to live not just naturally but
supernaturally – as spiritual beings” (57).
”Mature Christian faith involves the marriage of belief
and wisdom…Serious thinkers must rigorously train their minds…We must not have
lazy thinking…Great thoughts come as a result of disciplined thinking [which comes through] constant
study and reading.” (62-64). But God’s
grace is essential. “Storing up knowledge of God is directly linked to
receiving God’s grace” (58).
”We need to be both lions and lambs. Before God we need to be like lambs [needing a shepherd]. In our relationship to other believers we must act with sacrificial love. But against sin, the world and Satan we need to be valiant lions. God gave Jesus power to rule in heaven and earth. In our lives we also share this divine authority” (69).
"The Holy Spirit is the one who empowers us for
discipline. He guides us through the disciplines of prayer, fasting,
meditation, solitude and self-control. Followers of Jesus Christ are supposed
to be disciplined people. They’re
supposed to discipline themselves under the grace of God” (70).
”God takes his people into the wilderness to train them
to trust only in God. The school of solitude is lonely. A.W. Tozer said ‘Most
of the world’s greatest souls have been lonely…Loneliness seems to be the price
a saint must pay for his saintliness’.
Solitude is being alone with God [so we learn to] move only on God’s
timeline, respond only to God’s voice (78-80).
“In the wilderness, like Jesus, we learn to pray. We also
experience God’s breaking of us…because self-confidence is a stumbling block to
one who desires to serve God…In the wilderness is the discipline of self-denial…We
are trained to serve in small matters…The difficulty of the desert life is
meant to lead us to an attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude. [Yet] the school
of wilderness, as owned and operated by the Holy Spirit, has never been a
comforting place. We all face suffering,
confusion, shattering failures and self-abandonment. But that’s where servants of God are made.
They all go through transformation and on the other side find themselves
persons of prayer, the Word and the Holy Spirit. We need to thank God for
giving us the wilderness” (74, 88-98).
10.”Take time off to look at one’s inner life, to care for one’s soul…We need to quiet “our inner noise that stems from worry about worldly things…The discipline of silence can still the noise of the world. In silence we can meditate on the Word and let it take hold in our lives; we can tend to the care and purity of our hearts. This will keep us from hypocrisy (102, 106-7) and keep our lives balanced.
10.”Take time off to look at one’s inner life, to care for one’s soul…We need to quiet “our inner noise that stems from worry about worldly things…The discipline of silence can still the noise of the world. In silence we can meditate on the Word and let it take hold in our lives; we can tend to the care and purity of our hearts. This will keep us from hypocrisy (102, 106-7) and keep our lives balanced.
”God didn’t tell us to become beautiful flowers. Instead
he commanded us to bear fruit,…to multiply, to make things grow, to give
life….The secret of bearing fruit is to die to our self life and come down from
our high places to serve others. We are to shatter the outer walls of self that
limit the life within. At the same time
we are to take the time to develop a close friendship with Jesus” (117-118, 124, 126).
“It is crucial that His power flows through us. Therefore, we must keep our hearts pure. God uses suffering to purify our hearts and cause us to rely on God alone. We are to seek the discipline of holiness for its influence on others…Jesus is the supreme example. He overturns the common view that wealth, political power, sexual dominance and high learning have the greatest impact. Instead, he shows us that lowliness and holiness and spiritual blessing are what really move the world” (135).
“It is crucial that His power flows through us. Therefore, we must keep our hearts pure. God uses suffering to purify our hearts and cause us to rely on God alone. We are to seek the discipline of holiness for its influence on others…Jesus is the supreme example. He overturns the common view that wealth, political power, sexual dominance and high learning have the greatest impact. Instead, he shows us that lowliness and holiness and spiritual blessing are what really move the world” (135).
“Discipline in righteousness is life long…God does not
give us a short cut…Once God decides to give a person greater ministry, he
allots preparation time” (Moses 40 years in the desert, Joseph 13 years as a
slave and prisoner, David 15 years on the run before he was made king) (142).
14.”Those with deep spirituality have a strong conviction about their sinful nature. With vision blurred by original sin, we can deal only with our gross sinful nature. But a person who has a deep spiritual life easily sees even the smaller sins and imperfections” (147-8) and understands God wants purity (129).
14.”Those with deep spirituality have a strong conviction about their sinful nature. With vision blurred by original sin, we can deal only with our gross sinful nature. But a person who has a deep spiritual life easily sees even the smaller sins and imperfections” (147-8) and understands God wants purity (129).
“For those who want to engage in deeper spiritual disciplines,
patience is a prerequisite. Patience is a sign of spiritual maturity. Though we
accept persons as they are, we also expect them to change for the better. True
patience hopes for the better and envisions the best. This envisioning is full
of love and power.” (150).
“Self-control is the height of spiritual discipline…Self-control
comes about through all the spiritual disciplines. They strengthen us; they
help us acquire holy habits. They make soldiers of us in the perpetual battle
against self” (152-3).
“Mature servants of God are content with what they have.
If we are dissatisfied with those around us, then our lives aren’t filled to
the brim with the Lord Himself…Those who have been seized by the love of Jesus
will be content with what they have” (157).
"We are to have a heart like Jesus…That means we are
gracious towards those who are different from us…A vibrant community has warmth
and tenderness. It’s flexible, generous and has a heart to embrace everyone…As
we grow deeper in spiritual disciplines, we will no longer criticize,
discriminate and condemn. Like Jesus we will have a meek, open, warm heart for
everyone…Jesus calls us from our comfort zones and lifestyles to live in his
abundant life by fulfilling the will of God – that’s a life of mission, a life
that serves others…with Jesus’ love, continually giving His Word out to others”
(161-162,168).