Life of Self Discipline

1. Life of Self Discipline

2. Freedom • What is freedom? • What is the opposite of freedom? • Why would a slave want to be free? • They are mistreated by their master • They feel they can make better decisions for themselves or would have better opportunities, etc • In all known cases of slavery, the master has their own best interest in mind, and not the slaves

3. Freedom • Leviticus 26:13I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright. • But what if the master does not mistreat the servant and has his best interests in mind? • What if the master gives up his life for the servant?

4. Freedom • Does the servant still think he can do better on his own? • Prodigal son • Is freedom an absolute good? • Legalized abortion • Legalized homosexual unions and marriage • Children disobeying parents and suing them • Right to divorce for any reason

5. Freedom • “No man in this world attains to freedom from any slavery except by entrance into some higher servitude. There is no such thing as an entirely free man conceivable.” - Philip Brooks

6. Slaves of Righteousness • Romans 6:16-22Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

7. Slaves of Righteousness • The world sees freedom as “freedom to sin” and God’s commands as restrictive • Christianity sees freedom as “freedom from the power of sin” and God’s commands as liberating

8. Self Discipline • Choosing to discipline our bodies in obedience to God’s commandments • Spiritual not earthly discipline • Colossians 2:20-23Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

9. Example in Children • “The essence of emotional self-regulation is the ability to delay impulse in the service of a goal. The importance of this trait to success was shown in an experiment begun in the 1960s by psychologist Walter Mischel at a preschool on the Stanford University campus. Children were told that they could have a single treat, such as a marshmallow, right now. However, if they would wait while the experimenter ran an errand, they could have two marshmallows. Some preschoolers grabbed the marshmallow immediately, but others were able to wait what, for them, must have seemed an endless 20 minutes. To sustain themselves in their struggle, they covered their eyes so they wouldn’t see the temptation, rested their heads on their arms, talked to themselves, sang, even tried to sleep. These plucky kids got the two-marshmallow reward. The interesting part of this experiment came in the follow-up. The children who as 4-year-olds had been able to wait for the two marshmallows were, as adolescents, still able to delay gratification in pursuing their goals. They were more socially competent and self-assertive, and better able to cope with life’s frustrations. In contrast, the kids who grabbed the one marshmallow were, as adolescents, more likely to be stubborn, indecisive, and stressed.”

10. Self Discipline • Proverbs 25:28 Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls. • Food/Appetite • Tongue/Speech • Senses • Material Possessions • Spiritual Life

11. Food/Appetite • Commonly overlooked as a spiritual form of self-discipline • Seen more as a means to maintain weight or health • Food is used for comfort, to relieve stress, or for entertainment to alleviate boredom • The reality is that what we eat and how much we eat plays a huge role in our spiritual life • Philippians 3:19whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.

12. Food/Appetite • Overeating causes us to be tired, lazy, sleepy, not energetic • It is hard to pray and read, but very easy to sleep • Proverbs 25:16Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, Lest you be filled with it and vomit. • Anyone who has tried to control their eating knows how difficult it is. • This is why our church places such an importance on fasting. By denying our body, we allow our spirit to grow and thrive. • The world advertises unlimited food and low prices. We see such advertisements all the time on TV and the media. • How able are we to control our appetites? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUjz_eiIX8k

13. Food/Appetite • By gorging ourselves with food, we become so focused on the needs of our bodies that we forget about God and have no energy to seek after Him. • Matthew 4:4But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

14. Tongue/Speech • The words we say we say have a big impact on us and those around us • James 3:6And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. • With our tongues we reveal all our sinful thoughts and weaknesses to the world.

15. Tongue/Speech • There are so many ways to sin with our tongues • Cursing/hateful words • Flattery • Gossip • Blasphemy • Lying • Pride • Merely declaring a statement with our words makes them stick in our minds even more

16. Senses • Luke 11:34The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. • What our eyes look at and our ears hear have a direct impact on us. • Sadly we many times feel that we can go unaffected by what we allow our eyes to see and ears to hear because we see no immediate change • Over the course of time, what we experience does have a dramatic and profound effect on our spiritual lives. • Today the media plays a huge role in our view of the world, the people in it, and what is important • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOvw12EsoD8

17. Media • They have millions of dollars in research invested to designing every form of media to get us to buy their product. • If we allow ourselves to be exposed to it, we will fall. It is only a matter of time. • 2 Timothy 2:22Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

18. Pornography • 12% of websites contain pornography • As of 2003, 260 million pages of porn • 13,588 hardcore porn movies released in 2005 in the US alone • 25 % of search engine requests are related to pornography • 28,000 internet users are viewing porn every second • On average there were 75 million monthly unique visitors to adult websites between 2005 and 2008 • 43% of all internet users view pornographic material online • More than 70% of people from 18-34 visit a porn site at least once a month • 1 out of every 3 pornography users is female • 266 new pornographic websites appear online every day • $97 billion total worldwide revenue generated by pornography annually, as of 2006

19. Pornography • The website where I found these stats was advocating more government action to limit the spread of pornography. • 13 people posted comments, but only 2 people agreed that pornography is a problem. The others either saw no problem with it or didn’t believe it should be regulated: • “People need to get over it. View what you want and avoid what you don't. I don't aggree with the porn. My husband spends hours viewing it daily instead of taking care of his own business, distroying our marriage, but soon with all the advocates out here we won't have any freedoms and everything will be dictated to us. I don't want anyone telling me what I can and cannot view in the privacy of my own home on my computer, or other wise. Lets teach out children better and stop making excuses for them. Instead of hiding behind the government.”

20. Senses • 1 John 2:16For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. • What about other popular shows that we watch on prime time TV, that we know have inappropriate material or sensual images, etc? Do we think it’s ok to watch these because we are “adults” or “mature”? • These shows are harmful in more subtle ways, but very damaging nonetheless. • Ungodly, sensual, and blasphemous music is just as harmful to our spirits • How can we claim to love God, if we then fill our minds with music that promotes everything he hates?

21. Career/Material Possessions • 1 Timothy 6:9-10But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. • How much work is too much? Why has work and studying become such an important aspect of our lives, even more than church and the time we spend with God every day? • Money is now the driving factor in so many of our decisions…the choice of career, how much time we are willing to work, etc. • Do we compare ourselves to other people?

22. Spiritual Life • Matthew 6:6But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. • How consistent is our prayer life? • What circumstances cause us to skip our prayers? • Fatigue • Other Plans • Boredom/Not in the mood • Too busy with work

23. Spiritual Life • Why do I feel that I don’t need prayer? Because society offer me a solution to every problem in a different seemingly more logical, clear cut way. • How often do we read the Word of God? When we do read it, are we thirsting for the knowledge of God?? • How will I grow unless I am nourished? The world tells us that we are already mature, and thus can partake of all kinds of defiling activities because we are “adults” and have freedom to choose

24. Spiritual Life • Matthew 7:13-14“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

25. Conclusion • World sends the wrong message about freedom • Danger of unchecked freedom • Food/Appetite • Tongue/Speech • Senses • Material Possessions • Spiritual Life • John 8:36Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.