Implementing Christian Discipline Series

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,