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[- I imagine many of
you follow the Olympics on TV every couple of years.
- Every time the
Olympics come around I am absolutely amazed at the pure athleticism that
is displayed at the different events.
- One competitor
after another line up, and demonstrates a level of skill that is far
beyond what any of us would be capable of doing.
- We are able to
witness the muscles that have been developed for a specific sport, the
focus of people who know exactly what they are there for, and the poise
of a determined athlete.
- What we are
watching is the end result of many years of training that comes from a
person who is so disciplined that they have laid everything on the line
to become the best they can possibly be in their particular event.]
- While I would
venture to guess that none of us have the physical discipline of an
Olympic athlete, we are called to a discipline that in the grand scheme
of things that is much more important.
- …Spend your time
and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical
exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more
important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next.
– 1 Timothy 4:7b-8
- This morning, as we
continue our series on Pondering Proverbs, I want us to focus on what
Proverbs tells us about personal discipline.
**Bugs Bunny Clip
#1**
- And while the
principles we look at can apply to any area of our lives, I especially
want to focus on the spiritual disciplines – things like prayer, Bible
reading, worshipping, and this type of thing.
- What I am talking
about is becoming more fine-tuned, and a more disciplined person, when
it comes to developing yourself into the person God wants you to become.
-We have said it here
before…If we get this right (Vertical), then this will be right
(Horizontal).
- Os Hillman
said…”Satan's strategy is to keep us distracted with the urgency of the
moment versus the importance of eternity.”
- Just like an
athlete needs to work out his/her body in a certain way to be able to
compete physically, we need to work our spirits in such a way that makes
us more attuned to God and His direction for our lives.
-So first.
1. To become more
personally disciplined you must…RAISE YOUR STANDARDS HIGHER
- What expectations
do you have for yourself when it comes to your relationship with God?
What do you expect in regard to your prayer life? What do you expect in
regard to your time in God’s Word?
- If your
expectations are low, most likely you will achieve very little.
- The fact is that
most people have very low standards in these areas.
- Consider the Bible
– the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to human kind, but sadly,
even most Christians are highly illiterate when it comes to God’s Word.
But they could tell you what is happening on their favorite show.
[-"Americans revere the Bible - but, by and large, they don't read it. And because they don't read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates." - George Gallup and Jim Castelli]
[- Consider these results from recent surveys by George Barna:
*Fewer than half of all adults can name the four gospels.
*Many professing Christians cannot identify more than two or three of the disciples.
*60% of Americans can't name even five of the Ten Commandments.
*82% of Americans believe God helps those who help themselves is a Bible verse.
*12% of adults believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife.
*A survey of graduating high school seniors revealed that over 50% thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife.
*A considerable number of respondents to one poll indicated that the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham.
- "Increasingly, America is biblically illiterate." - George Barna]
-Maybe this world would have fewer problems, if it valued God’s Word.
-How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. - Psalm 119:9
-I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. -Psalm 119:11
- Obviously, we have some big problems to overcome, and it starts with us as individuals raising the standard of personal expectation.
- At some level, you
can usually gauge how much spiritual success you will attain, by what
your expectations are going in.
- In my experience
most of us set our expectations way too low and those low expectations
lead to a life that is not lived in the fullness of God.
- So my question to
you today is this – do you really want to draw closer to God? Do you
really desire to be in a dynamic relationship with Him?
- If so, then you
need to raise your personal standard – how much time are you willing to
devote to your time with God?
- If its five minutes
per day, then don’t expect to grow very much, if it is one hour, then
you can expect much more.
- It isn’t as if time
spent with God is the only factor, but I’m using that as an example of
how our personal dedication to God will be reflected in how much more
knowledgeable about Him we will grow, and how much closer to Him we will
be.
- We have to dedicate
ourselves to cherish every moment we have with God’s Word, and every
minute we spend with Him in prayer.
- Only when we raise
that standard of expectation will we be ready to acquire the discipline
necessary.
- To acquire
wisdom is to love oneself; people who cherish understanding will
prosper. – Proverbs 19:8
- The most important
understanding that we will ever have is our understanding of God, our
relationship with Him, and our place in this world. We have said it
before, life without God just doesn’t make sense.
-You were created by
God for a purpose. And until you get serious about God you will never
find your Purpose.
- And what I am
asking you to do today is to dedicate yourself to raising the bar of
expectation in your spiritual life.
-If you don’t know
Him and have not accepted Him into your life, which is the first step.
He is reaching out to you, right now. You can sense it. I will tell
you have you can ask Him into your life later.
-And furthermore we
raise the bar of expectation by…
- If right now you
are spending zero time with God in prayer, raise the bar to 10 minutes
or 20 minutes per day – If you’re spending 20 minutes it, raise it to
30.
- If you are reading
none of the Bible right now, why not read 2 chapters a day?
- If you’re reading 2
chapters now, why not bump it up to 4 or 5?
- Begin searching for
ways to increase the time you spend with God, as well as the quality of
that time, just like you would in building a relationship with your
spouse.
- Also, are you
taking advantage of the opportunities we offer here for growth?
- Are you attending a
small group, or coming to our Wednesday night service?
- All of these are
designed to help you raise the standard in your spiritual life.
- Intelligent
people are always open to new ideas. In fact, they look for them.
– Proverbs 18:15
- What ideas have you
been open to in raising the bar in your time with God?
- If you haven’t been
open, don’t worry about what you haven’t done in the past; instead,
start planning now on how you will raise the bar in the future.
2. To become more
personally disciplined you must…ACCEPT DELAYED GRATIFICATION
- Now what I’m about
to tell you is probably going to go against your nature, because we live
in a society that expects, and receives, instant gratification in almost
every area of life.
[- We have microwave
popcorn, online banking, downloadable books, MP3 music files, e-mail,
plastic surgery, pay-per-view movies, and the list goes on and on.
- We are used to
having almost every desire in our lives satisfied within seconds.]
- But the truth of
the matter is, the best things in life are the things that we have to
work toward, and wait for.
- Hope deferred
makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true, there is life and joy.
– Proverbs 13:12
- The fact of the
matter is, you might raise your personal standard, and start spending
more and better time with God, and not notice a huge difference right
away.
- And some people get
real disappointed because they don’t think things are happening fast
enough, so they just give up and go back to their old habits.
- The sad thing is,
they might have been a few days or weeks away from a spiritual
breakthrough that they never experienced, because they didn’t understand
the blessing of delayed gratification.
-The Christians that
came before us called it “praying through”.
- We have to be
disciplined enough that we are willing to wait for the blessings to come
our way and do the day-to-day things that are necessary for that to
happen.
- You don’t become an
Olympic athlete overnight – it takes daily discipline in conditioning,
diet, personal training, and so forth.
- And you don’t
become a spiritual giant over night – it is the daily routine of prayer,
Bible reading, and thinking upon the things of God that will eventually
lead you to a position of spiritual strength and vitality.
- And the truth of
the matter is, sometimes it’s hard and you don’t feel like doing it.
-It is just like the
discipline of physical exercise.
-I go to the gym and
work out for 15 minutes and then look in the mirror to see if that did
the trick. Whoa, big surprise, “belly not gone yet”!
-I once shed 60
pounds over a period of months not minutes.
-The same applies to
our inner man. Growth comes through strain and sometimes pain.
-Have you ever gone
to a gym and seen people actually enjoying themselves? They are
committed to the discipline of exercise, they are working hard, and
seeing results.
-Then there is a
person at the gym miserable and hating it. They are not committed to
the idea.
-Many times I look
around church and see the same type of people.
-Those committed to
the idea of growing in God, enjoy the things of God, they healthy and
becoming more healthy because they are committed to spiritual exercise.
-And there are those
who feel uncomfortable at church and can’t wait to leave, because they
are spiritually out of shape, or unhealthy and becoming more unhealthy.
- No discipline is
enjoyable while it is happening—it is painful! But afterward there will
be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
– Hebrews 12:11
-In what group do you
find yourself in this morning?
-The healthy
spiritually growing crowd or the unhealthy can’t wait to leave crowd.
- If you are willing
to change, commit, and wait for the blessing, you will be well on your
way to being a personally disciplined individual.
3. To become more
personally disciplined you must…FOCUS ON YOUR HEART, MIND,
and ACTIONS
- There are many
areas of our lives where we need to be disciplined, but these are the
most important – once we have this down, the rest will be much easier.
- The heart is the
seat of your emotions, the mind is the seat of your intellect, and your
actions are reflective of what you believe in your heart and mind.
- If you want your
life to take a positive turn, you must focus your efforts at personal
discipline in these three areas.
**Bugs Bunny Clip
#2**
- The writer of
Proverbs was talking, as he often does, about being receptive to God’s
wisdom – he then gives us this promise:
- Then you will
understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will know how to find
the right course of action every time. For wisdom will enter your
heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise
planning will watch over you. Understanding will keep you
safe. – Proverbs 2:9-11
- This covers the
three areas of focus that are necessary.
- When we fill our
minds with the things of God, our hearts will be transformed, and our
actions will follow the lead of our heart.
- Don't become so
well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even
thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the
inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly
respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down
to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops
well-formed maturity in you. – Romans 12:2 (MSG)
- Now the way to
begin this process of transformation is to take God’s Word and read it,
and pray through it, and get to know Him better.
- And I don’t want to
just read the Word; I want to experience it, by taking what I have
learned and putting it into practice.
- There is nothing
sadder than a person who has lots of head knowledge about God, but
doesn’t know how to live out the kind of life God’s Word has revealed to
them.
- To actually put
God’s Word into practice I need to be personally disciplined enough that
as I read it, I am constantly evaluating my heart against what God has
revealed.
- For instance, let’s
say I’m reading through Proverbs and I come across this passage – Do
not withhold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to
help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don't say, "Come back
tomorrow, and then I'll help you." – Proverbs 3:27-28
- Now I’m going to
evaluate my life by the Word of God by asking these questions: “Am I
withholding from those whom it is in my power to help? Have I been
stingy and lacking in generosity?”
- If the answer is,
“Yes, I’m not living up to God’s standard” then I need to change that
right away and begin to be a generous person.
- You see the
pattern–I’ve learned something intellectually–“God wants me to help
those I can.”–It’s affected me emotionally–“God wants me to find those
in need” – and it’s effected my actions – “Tomorrow, I’m going to give
$20.00 to my friend.”
- This simple pattern
works for our relationships, our moral and ethical values, and every
possible area of our lives.
- Go to God’s Word,
learn what He says, let it transform your heart, and then apply the
truth that you’ve learned – That’s all there is to it!
4. To become more
personally disciplined you must…DECIDE TO DO THIS RIGHT NOW
[- There is
a fictional story I once read where Satan called to himself the
emissaries of hell and said he wanted to send one of them to earth to
aid women and men in the ruination of their souls.
-
He asked which one would want to go.
-
One creature came forward and said, "I will go."
-
Satan said, "If I send you, what will you tell the children of men?"
-
He said, "I will tell the children of men that there is no heaven."
-
Satan said, "They won’t believe you, for there is a bit of heaven in
every human heart. In the end everyone knows that right and good must
have the victory. You may not go."
-
Then another came forward, darker and fouler than the first.
-
Satan said, "If I send you, what will you tell the children of men?"
-
He said, "I will tell them there is no hell."
-
Satan looked at him and said, "Oh, no; they won’t believe you, for in
every human heart there's a thing called conscience, an inner voice
which testifies to the truth that not only will good be triumphant, but
that evil will be defeated. You may not go."
-
Then one last creature came forward, this one from the darkest place of
all.
-
Satan said to him, "And if I send you, what will you say to women and
men to aid them in the destruction of their souls?"
-
He said, "I will tell them there is no hurry." – Satan said, "Go!"]
-
It’s a fictional story, but the point finds its basis in reality.
- I
have no doubt that there are some here right now thinking, “This
personal discipline thing sounds like just what I need. I’ll start as
soon as…(fill in the blank)
-Yes I know I need to get my life right with God, and I will do that as
soon as…(fill in the blank)
-
And if that is what you’re thinking, you will never get around to this.
-
You need to make a decision right now that you are going to follow
through.
- I
can’t make your decision for you, and you can’t make mine for me.
-
We are each personally responsible for deciding that today is the day
that we are going to get on track and begin following God’s principles
for personal discipline.
-
This is the first step that will take you down the path of spiritual
maturity – but you have to make a conscious decision to do it right now.
CONCLUSION:
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One time during the Winter Olympics my wife and I watched the women’s
skating competition.
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Have you ever thought as you watched… “It’s amazing how physically
disciplined these women are – they’ve trained themselves in every
possible way, every day, for most of their lives, so that they can
compete at this level.”
-
What about us? Are we willing to go into spiritual training? Is what God
wants from us more important than physical training? More important than
the Olympics?
-
Of course it is – now it’s up to each of us to start taking the steps
necessary, right now.
-A
great first step is to get things right between you and God.
-Do
you know Him as Savior this morning?
-If
not pray this prayer.
Or
maybe you are living like the quote I read earlier
- Os Hillman
said…”Satan's strategy is to keep us distracted with the urgency of the
moment versus the importance of eternity.”
-If
not pray this prayer.
-Or maybe you
need more spiritual discipline, ask God for help this morning.
-A few
suggestion to grow spiritually…
Listen to the Bible on CD or MP3, set a timer for prayer
time, fast a night of TV.
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