Home Page   Contact Us    Service Times   Sermons   Are You Going To Heaven?

NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!

THE DISCIPLINES OF GODLY PEOPLE–PART 2

Introduction

Turn to 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.

I believe one of the main things that’s at the heart of most of our societal woes is that too many people lack discipline in their lives today.

We began to look last week at the matter of Godly disciplines that need to be in our lives as Christians.

If we have an undisciplined lifestyle and live an undisciplined life, we are asking for and will have great heartache in our life. Because when an undisciplined life is sown it usually reaps a family full of undisciplined living.

God’s laws of sowing and reaping come into play.

1.            We always reap what we sow.

2.            We always reap more than we sow.

3.            We always reap later than we sow.

Discipline is our very lifeline! It is something that we must learn to embrace and thank God for as we grow in Him.

And we need to understand that when we fail to discipline ourselves, our loving Heavenly Father brings chastening or discipline into our lives. He loves us too much to leave us in an undisciplined life!

The Apostle Paul linked the idea of discipline with the spiritual life in 1 Timothy 4:7, where he said, “Exercise thyself rather for godliness”

In the physical realm, we know that exercise is a workout that tones the muscles of the body!

In the spiritual realm we find things are much the same way. This “exercising for godliness” that Paul refers to is a spiritual workout or spiritual routines that tone our spiritual life and help us develop healthy spiritual lives (i.e. they help us to develop godliness).

Paul went on to say 1 Timothy 4:8 that “godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”

We said that since that is true, then we should be doing all we can, to make sure that we are exercising ourselves to godliness?

(i.e. doing the things that develop godliness in our lives.)

Our lives as Christians are to be about bringing our wills and every area of our lives under submission to God’s will. That is what godly discipline is!

We began to look at this subject of exercising ourselves unto godliness by looking at some disciplines that ought to be in every man and woman’s life to bring about godliness in our lives.

To the extent that these disciplines are in our lives, there will be godliness in our lives. To the extent that these disciplines are missing from our lives, there will be something vital missing from our spiritual lives.

We looked at the first 5 of these disciplines last week:

I.            WE NEED THE DISCIPLINE OF THE GOSPEL!

               The Gospel is the very source of godliness in our lives!

To be Godly, we must not only know what this Gospel is, but we must accept it personally and believe it with all our heart, embrace it, and make it the very center of our life!

II.           WE NEED THE DISCIPLINE OF SUBMISSION!

Bringing our lives into submission to God’s will in everything is the key to being a godly person! And it is the key to joy and the abundant life!

III.          WE NEED THE DISCIPLINE OF PRAYER!

               Prayer is the lifeline of godliness in our lives!

Prayer is our source of power for growth and perseverance in our spiritual lives. It bends our wills to God’s will, which is what submitting our lives to God is all about.

IV.          WE NEED THE DISCIPLINE OF WORSHIP!

True worship is a matter of consecration! Dedicating ourselves; setting ourselves apart to God for His purposes; devoting ourselves to Him!

True worship has two aspects that are both important:

               1.          The Aspect Of Personal Worship. 

               2.          The Aspect Of Corporal Worship.

V.           WE NEED THE DISCIPLINE OF OUR HEARTS AND MINDS! 

We need the mind of Christ so we will think like a Christian rather than like the world. That only comes from a constant dwelling in the Holy Scriptures, training our hearts and minds by the Word of God!

Let’s look at some more of these disciplines that are needed in our lives:

VI.         WE NEED THE DISCIPLINE OF CONTENTMENT!

In Philippians 4:11, Paul wrote these words from a Roman prison:

               “for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

Did you get that. Paul said that he had “learned” the matter of contentment. So we need to understand that there is hope for all of us who face discontentment in our lives!

The opposite of contentment is discontentment, but it could also be said to include covetousness. If we are not content with what God has given us, then it is likely that our lives will be filled with covetousness for things that God never intended for us to have.

This goes back to our having the mind of Christ. Knowing God along with applying that knowledge of God to our circumstances is the key to contentment.

Contentment will be ours when all that God is and all that he has done in Christ fills our heart.

We may find that we lack many things in this world from a human standpoint, but as Godly people we must work to develop the discipline of contentment.

VII.        WE NEED THE DISCIPLINE OF VIRTUE OR INTEGRITY!

               Virtue or integrity speak of our character.

               Our character is who we are when no one else is around.

               Our character is who God knows us to be!

               We live in a world that has skewed the matter of ethics.

But, Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:5–“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue. . .”

So the first thing we are to add to our faith is this matter of virtue or integrity. Along with virtue and integrity comes some other benefits:

                            1.          Character.

                            2.          A Good And Clear Conscience.

                            3.          Deep intimacy with God.

This is where the discipline of our hearts and minds is important because in order to have virtue or integrity in our lives we must be guided by the Word of God.

               This means that we must be true in both our speech and our actions.

Proverbs 12:22–“Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.”

Ephesians 4:15–“15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”

This also means that we must have the courage to keep our word and to stand up for our convictions.

Psalms 15:4–“4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.”

               Have you heard the saying that goes:

               If we sow an act, we may reap a habit.

               If we sow a habit, we will reap a character,

               If we sow a character, we will reap a destiny.

Oh, may we see how important it is to develop virtue and integrity in our lives!

VIII.      WE NEED THE DISCIPLINE OF PURITY!

Sensuality is one of the biggest obstacles to godliness, especially among Christian men.

We all need to realize that a pure mind is impossible to maintain if we watch TV and movies that are filled with sensuality or if we are involved in reading, viewing, or listening to other things that are filled with sensuality.

Proverbs 6:27–“Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? 28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?”

               Oh how we need to learn from the fall of King David with Bathsheba!

               (2 Samuel 11)

We also need to develop the awareness in our lives that sustained Joseph in the midst of great temptation from Potiphar’s wife.

Genesis 39:9–“9 . . . how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

Again, it goes back to the need to discipline of our heart and minds with the Word of God. Whatever we feed on with our minds is what will have power over us. If we feed on the sensual, we will be sensual! If we feed on the spiritual, we will be spiritual!

If you are struggling in this area let me give you some passages to memorize and meditate on to try to help you.

               1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Ephesians 5:3-7.

Job 31:1–“1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?”

2 Timothy 2:22–“Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

IX.         WE NEED THE DISCIPLINE OF GOOD BEHAVIOR! 

(Philippians 1:27; 3:27-21)

               We need to behave in ways that are appropriate for Christians.

               (i.e. In ways that don’t bring shame to the Gospel and to Christ.)

               Good behavior elevates our words.

               Good behavior elevates our appearance.

               Good behavior elevates our attitudes.

               Paul had a lot to say about Christians and their behavior:

Ephesians 4:1– I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,”

Colossians 1:9-10–“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

1 Thessalonians 2:11-12–“11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, 12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.”

1 Thessalonians 4:1–“1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.”

Peter also had some things to say about Christians and their behavior:

               2 Peter 1:4-9; 3:11, 14

               Good behavior means acting in a way worthy of the Gospel in dress.

Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:9-10– 9–“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; 10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.”

Peter said in 1 Peter 3:3-4–“3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”

Good behavior means acting in a way worthy of the Gospel in our speech and attitude.

Colossians 3:12-14–“12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.”

If our behavior is worthy of the Gospel, the source of that behavior will be a heart authentically bowed in humble submission to Jesus as Lord!

X.           THE DISCIPLINE OF PROPER RELATIONSHIPS.

To be all that God wants us to be, we must put some effort into our relationships!

               Those of us who are married need to live out Ephesians 5:25-31.

               (Both husbands and wives!)

               Those who are fathers need to live out Ephesians 6:4.

               Those who are children need to live out Ephesians 6:1-3.

               Those who are employees need to live out Ephesians 6:5-8.

               Those who are employers need to live out Ephesians 6:9.

               Those who are part of the Church need to live out Hebrews 13:7, 17

               Those who are pastors need to live out 1 Peter 5:1-4.

And on and on we go. Again I say, in order to have this discipline, it is of utmost importance that we develop the discipline of our hearts and minds with the Scripture.

Conclusion

Once again, we come to the close of the message for today, but not to the close of this message.

There are still some other disciplines we need in our lives if we are going to live lives pleasing to the Lord.

May I remind you that it all begins with having the Discipline of the Gospel in your life! (Romans 10:1-3)

Have you submitted yourself to the righteousness of God? His name is Jesus Christ and He gave His life and shed His blood for our sins!

He loves you and wants to be in the very center of your life!

Won’t you come to Him today and give Him your life!

After you are saved, He also wants to bring these other disciplines into your lives so that you can live Godly before Him.

Today we’ve talked about the disciplines of contentment, virtue or integrity, purity, good behavior, and proper relationships.

Dear Christian, what areas do you need to work on?

What has the Holy Spirit of God pricked your heart with today?

Don’t delay! Be obedient to Him today!

Home Page   Contact Us    Service Times   Sermons   Are You Going To Heaven?

NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!