Men of Honor- Discipline

What do you wanna be when you grow up?

What does it take to become that desired thing?

*Self-discipline

If you plant an orange seed, will you get an apple tree?

*Of course not

The thoughts actions, and habits we develop in life will determine what our futures will be.

Now let me ask you, what is discipline (self-discipline)?

*the ability to control one's feelings and overcome one's weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it:

*making yourself do something whether you want to or not to attain a desired goal.

1 Corinthians 9:24–27 ESV

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

How does Paul say he uses self-control to win the race set before him so that he can live a life pleasing to God.

*Beat my body….

When Paul says “I beat my body and make it my slave,” he is saying that his body is under the dominion and control of his mind, not the other way around.

Now I’m assuming that all of you would desire to become a man of honor, what inhibits us from becoming a man of honor?

Galatians 5:16–23 ESV

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Bible says we have 2 natures. The flesh and the Spirit. The flesh we are born with. Last week, we talked about this with Derek.

Romans 5:12 ESV

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Psalm 51:5 ESV

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

We are born with a sin nature. But God died for our sins so that we could be freed from that sinful nature.

Romans 6:6 ESV

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

So when we get saved, we now have the Spirit of God to help us live a right life. But that doesn’t mean our old life isn’t still there.

Paul one of the greatest followers of God made this statement

Romans 7:15–19 ESV

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

So how do we then obey the Spirit and live a self-disciplined life.

Acknowledge where self-discipline comes from

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

It is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that gives Christians the power and ability to exercise self-control so that we will not be mastered by the “cravings of sinful man.”

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

In our Axiom, we say… there is no greatness.... outside of God.

So we ask the Holy Spirit of God who now lives inside us as Christians to help live righteously and we feed our bodies the right things.

Let me illustrate:

An indian chief once told his son: “I have 2 dogs fighting inside me, one very dark and evil, one very strong and good. The son asked him, “which one wins?” the chief replied, “the one i feed the most!”

How do we feed the flesh....

How do we feed the spirit...

Reading the Bible, praying, being around other believers, the church, giving thanks, working hard, following a more mature believer.

Think of it like a coach… if you wanna be a professional athlete, you get trained by a coach. If you wanna live like a man of honor, you find a man of honor and get trained by them. We call this disciple making. Jesus trained 12 men, his disciples.