Power And Discipline  PRO

POWER AND DISCIPLINE

Over here is a wall socket. There is power in that socket.

Because of that power, I can plug lamps, fans, microwaves and phone chargers into it and magically empower those devises. I can even plug a car charger into a wall socket and revive a dead car battery (like I’ve had to do the past 2 Saturdays after my son borrowed the van).

Now, if you go down to the hospital you’ll find all kinds of devises plugged into wall sockets. They plug in devices that can monitor your health as well as devices that could save your life. So, you could say that the power offered in those wall sockets can add pleasure to your life. And they can add years to your life.

Now, I have in my hands a butter knife. (pause a moment to let this sink in) What would happen if I were to plug this knife into that socket? (wait for audience to reply).

That’s right! At the very least it’ll burn my hand and frizz my hair. But it also might cause my heart to stop.

So, in that wall socket there is POWER and that power can bring me life… or it can bring me death. If I am wise, and I have a proper fear for that power, I’ll add years to my life. But, if I don’t ... I won’t.

Now, I've never put a knife into a wall socket. Why not? For the same reason I've never put my tongue on a frozen pipe!

I’m afraid of what will happen if I do! I don’t have to experience these things to be afraid of them.

You see, when I fear God, I realize there are certain things He hates. If He hates something, I don’t want to go there. I don’t want to do that. Because if God hates something ... that’s good enough for me. What makes God angry about sin is that it hurts me. Or, if it doesn't hurt me, it will hurt someone else around me. I don’t have to understand how my sin hurts people any more than I have to understand how electricity hurts people. I just have to know God hates something, therefore I should be afraid to go there.

Let’s say I see little child trying to put this butter knife into a wall socket. Am I going to sit down with him and try to explain the theory of electricity? Of course not! He would never understand that. What I’d probably do is take the knife away and swat his butt.

But now, if that child repeatedly tries to put that knife or some other item into that wall socket I may have to decide to put a little of the fear of God into him. He...