CHRISTIAN DISCIPLINE
“DECIDE TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN”
RO 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer 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.
INTRODUCTION
1. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, do you know who you are? You are a child of the King of Kings. You have been bought with a price, the price is the death of the Son of God. His blood was shed for you.
2. The question that we should be asking ourselves, is “now what“?
So what does that mean for us. What are we doing with our lives, now that we have been saved.
3. Are we passionate about who we are, and who we serve. We are on this earth to bust open the gates of Hell, so that they will never prevail against us. We are not standing here looking pretty, we need to be getting down and dirty, fighting and striving in this battle that Jesus has already won for us.
4. No army ever won a battle sitting in the barracks, and yet that is what we do. We need to get out there and take the fight to the enemy.
5. Like any army however, we need to be trained, and especially, we need to be disciplined. Any army that is undisciplined will have a problem in the field, and they will not succeed.
6. Do you want to serve the King of Kings? If you do, then let us get off our pride and “I can’t” attitude, and let us say that we can and then let us by the power of the Holy Spirit go and do. What do you say?
I. WHY SHOULD WE LIVE A DISCIPLINED CHRISTIAN LIFE?
A. God Is Holy.
LEV 11:44 I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be
holy, because I am holy.
1. The definition of Holy is.. Complete, without sin, unbroken.
a. Belonging to, derived from, or associated with a divine power; sacred.
b. Regarded with or worthy of worship or veneration; revered: a holy book.
c. Living according to a strict or highly moral religious or spiritual system; saintly: a holy person.
d. Specified or set apart for a religious purpose: a holy place. (Webster’s dictionary)
2. As God is the Creator of everything, He decides what is holy and what is not holy. The truth is the truth. God is the master of holiness, only He is qualified to state what is unblemished and what is not. 1PE 1:15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
3. Because God is Holy and cannot be in the presence of sin. It is the sin of man that separates the creation from the Creator. God keeps his distance from unholy man, because man will die in the presence of God. LEV 15:31 " `You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, which is among them.’ "
B. Undisciplined Lives Lead To Un-holiness.
1. We, as Christians have hope however. We are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, through Grace, but now need to live a life of holiness in Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. RO 6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
2. The flesh, if it is not crucified and subjected to the will of the Holy Spirit, will continue on its path of destruction, as it is unholy and constantly driven toward evil. It desires to be the god of your soul, occupying your very being. Without discipline, this god will continue to grow in importance to you, until it has choked out the will of the Holy Spirit. This is the hardening of the heart as talked about in the Scriptures.
3. The body needs to be disciplined and denied that which it screams out for. If the flesh is given in to, it will become a spoiled brat. It will throw a temper tantrum until it gets what it wants. Addiction is very powerful. Why do you get cranky, when you try too fast? Better to destroy a part, than give in to it and go to hell. MK 9:43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,
C. The Temple Is Holy.
1. We are called to be holy, just as God is Holy. Christians are to be Holy.
1CO 1:2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ--their Lord and ours:
COL 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
1TH 4:4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable
2TI 1: 9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.
HEB 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
2. The saddest tragedy that I have seen in the Churches today, is that people think that they can repeat a few words after a preacher and then they are in, without any change in life. Being a Christian, means to be like Christ, and that is with no sin.
3. This creates a problematic relationship between God and the sinful Christian. You see, Christians are the Temple of God the Holy Spirit. 1CO 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
4. This is problematic, as God cannot live in a sinful, dirty temple. It needs to be pure and holy. Remember that whatever situation you take yourself into, you take the Holy Spirit with you.
II. WHAT IS A DISCIPLINED CHRISTIAN LIFE?
A. Knowing God’s Laws.
1. Firstly, we need to know what is expected of a soldier of the cross. Like any soldier, we need to memorize and totally familiarize ourselves with the fighting manual, that is The Word of God. We need to be in the Word of God constantly. Every day, perhaps twice or three times a day.
2. We then need to make that Word an integral part of our lives. Soldiers will react to any situation, because they know the manual and have made it’s teachings their very core. As Christian soldiers, we meditate on every Word of the Lord, and we make them our own, an integral part of our life, so that we are ready when that time comes.
3. Another thing, as good soldiers of the cross, that we need to do, is to be a receptor to the direction of the Holy Spirit in your life. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us throughout every situation in life.
B. Resisting Temptation and Sin.
1. The good soldier understands the way of the enemy, and we too recognize the ways of the enemies of Jesus. We need to understand that as followers of Christ, we are going to be hated by the world. The enemy is the father of lies, and he will spout lies like “the Father doesn’t care whether you are disciplined or not.” He will tell you that you can never stop sinning. These are lies. Don’t listen to them.
2. We need to understand that the evil one, will put temptation in our way, and through his lies will make us think that we cannot do without something. Our flesh then takes over and the next thing you know, you are losing the battle, as lies have infiltrated your defenses. Beloved, the best form of defense, is to keep the enemy and his weapons as far as possible from your positions. Don’t let him get any where near you. This is where knowing the Word of God comes in, as the devil and sin cannot stand before The Word. 3. Beloved the Bible tells us that we should flee from temptation. Don’t even go near it, or it will suck you in. Run away from Temptation. 2TI 2:22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
3. Christian, the one thing that we need to do, is keep our mind pure and holy. The Bible tells us to do two things.
a. 2CO 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
b. PHP 4:8 Finally, brothers, 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.
C. Striving To Do What Is Right.
1. The one thing that many professing Christians of today, do not want to speak about, is Repentance. Repentance is stopping doing what the flesh wants us to do, and always make the decision to follow God’s path of what is righteous.
2. This is a mindset that we need to adopt. “We will not compromise our position.” We need to keep a lock on our emotions. It is the emotions that get us into trouble, especially in the department of the tongue and the mind.
3. The best way to overcome the flesh and it’s desires, is to keep the mindset of Christ. That is to decide before you even are faced with the challenge what you are going to do, and make the decision to do what God wants us to do.
III. HOW DO WE GET A DISCIPLINED CHRISTIAN LIFE?
A. Striving To Please Our Creator.
1. What is important in your life, is it the Creator, or is it me. What is the priority of your life?
2. In order for us to want to make God the priority, we need to fall in love with God. It is how we view God. Is He the eternal policeman, or is He the lover of my soul.
3. If we love God, then we will do everything we can to make Him pleased with us.
B. Make The Decision Daily, To Do What Is Holy
1. Decide that you will live a holy life, one that is pleasing to Jesus.
2. Each and every day, as you get up, decide that you are going to be holy.
3. If you slip and fall, confess your sins and receive forgiveness.
3. A life that is reactive, and dependant upon emotions, or the whim of the moment, is a life that falls into sin.
C. Stay Away From The Undisciplined.
1. Undisciplined acquaintances will lead you astray.
2. Undisciplined situations will tempt you to fail. Do not go down the same paths that you slipped and fell on last time, or guess what. Make a change.
3. Refrain from letting your guard slip when you get tired. Too much effort. Never give up.
CONCLUSION
1. Firstly, know what a Christian is supposed to be, and then secondly go after it whole heartedly, not turning to the left or the right.
2. Decide in your heart now that your relationship with Jesus Christ, is going to be the priority, and then go after it, not allowing anything to get in the way. Only these who work out their salvation with fear and trembling, will see Christ.
3. Beloved, do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? If not, then what is stopping you from coming to know Him. He is waiting for you.
4. What is holding you back. Search your soul and honestly share with yourself what that barrier is, that is stealing your eternal salvation away from you.
5. Jesus wants you to be His, and He wants to be yours. Will you make the good confession of faith.
6. Will you pray to Jesus, asking Him to become the Lord of your life. Perhaps you have once known Him and have turned away from Him, seeking destructive pleasure rather than righteous goodness. Come back now, repent, ask for forgiveness and He will lift you up.
7. Will you make the decision to take a stand now, and gain that pure, holy relationship with Jesus?
