This is the third sermon it the “Renewal of the Church” series. We need to cooperate with the Father God, so that the church might bear much fruit.
John 15:1-2 NIV “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
The day of the church is not over! We need renewal but the day of the church is not over!
Today the church must choose its direction, either the world’s plan or God’s plan, the mold of the world or the mind of God. This is what renewal is, because when the church yields to God’s plan, it is renewed spiritually.
The prayer to “Renew my church,”, which is the title of this series, is a prayer to “Renew our personal walk.” It is God’s plan that the church be renewed in mind, ministry, faith, and walk to a life that is disciplined by Jesus Christ.
A renewed walk involves a disciplined life. I want us to look at two aspects of a disciplined life today.
First the roots of a disciplined life
And then the fruits of a disciplined life
Scripture Reading:
Romans 12:1-2 NIV Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform 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.
1 John 2:1-6 NIV My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did
Text:
Romans 12:2 NIV Do not conform 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.
1 John 2:6 NIV Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
Introduction
I've started my last two sermons by saying that the church is in trouble and needs to be renewed by each one of us being renewed. Today I start with this statement. The day of the church is not over! We need renewal but the day of the church is not over!
Matthew 16:17-19 NIV Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
The church belongs to Christ. He is the Head; the church is His body.
Colossians 1:15-18 NIV The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
The life of Christ is the life of the church, and that life can be renewed by Him who is our life.
John 1:1-5 NIV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Today the church must choose its direction, either the world’s plan or God’s plan, the mold of the world or the mind of God. This is what renewal is, because when the church yields to God’s plan, it is renewed spiritually.
The prayer to “Renew my church,”, which is the title of this series, is a prayer to “Renew our personal walk.” It is God’s plan that the church be renewed in mind, ministry, faith, and walk to a life that is disciplined by Jesus Christ.
A renewed walk involves a disciplined life. I want us to look at two aspects of a disciplined life today.
First the roots of a disciplined life
And then the fruits of a disciplined life
I. First the roots of a disciplined life.
A. A disciplined life is a living sacrifice.
Romans 12:1-2 NIV Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform 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.
The words “living sacrifice” describe the Christian life as a disciplined life in the daily walk. The background of this statement of Paul is found in the sacrificial system in the temple. The word “present” is a technical term for presenting the sacrifice which had to be presented by a priest and it required an altar and a perfect a sacrificial animal.
Today we are not required to offer an animal; we are to present ourselves. As we learned two weeks ago, all believers are priests to God;
1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10 NIV As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 9-10 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
That means that every believer now has direct access to God, we have our altar, Jesus Christ; and our lives are the sacrifice. We present ourselves in death; that is, we die to ourselves, our goals, and our conformity to the world.
Luke 9:23-26 NIV Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
That means death to our sinful way of life. Have you built an altar in your life? Have you put yourself on it? Have you put all that you have on it? The disciplined life does just that!
B. A disciplined life is a living sacrifice and a disciplined life thinks soberly.
Romans 12:3 NIV For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
The word “sober” is translated as “self-controlled,” or “disciplined.” A disciplined mind so governs all passions and desires so that the believer becomes conformed to the mind of Christ.
Romans 12:2 NIV Do not conform 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.
We are to think disciplined thoughts about ourselves and not think more highly of ourselves than we ought. We are not to be proud or self-absorbed but sober and disciplined. We are to exhibit a humble, surrendered attitude.
Matthew 5:5 MSG “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
2 Timothy 1:7 NIV For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline
This is the kind of life we as believers are to live.
C. A disciplined life is also a yoked life.
Matthew 11:28-30 NIV “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Disciples are those who learn from their teacher and they believe in and follow the teacher and their teachings. So disciples of Jesus are those who learn from Jesus. They believe in and follow Him and His teachings. They are yoked to Jesus.
A yoke is a symbol of submission; it includes taking on burdens and responsibilities therefore a disciplined life is one submissive to the authority of Jesus Christ. Three words are involved in this kind of submission, control, consent, and completeness.
1. Control. The disciplined life is under Christ’s control. The disciplined person has a meek spirit. The word “meek” is pictured as the taming of a wild horse. When a horse is tamed, it is “broken” by its rider, it's brought under the rider’s control. A disciplined life is controlled by Christ.
Jesus is our example. His life was perfectly disciplined. He was always under his Father’s control.
John 5:19-21 NIV Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.
John 8:28-29 NIV So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”
And as Jesus was to his Father, so are we to him! We are to be under his control constantly, our will trained to his will. We must strive to be consistent, disciplined,and trained.
The yoked life is one of Christ’s control over us.
2. A submitted life is one we consent to. We become disciplined when we consent. We agree to be disciplined.
Back to;
Romans 12:1 NIV Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
We present ourselves as a living sacrifice by coming to Jesus and we take his yoke and learn more about him. No one forces us to do these things. If we are to walk as he walked, we must yield ourselves to him.
3. Our submission must be complete. This word involves all of life under Christ’s control. It is the total discipline he demands.
We are to bring all our thoughts into the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
We are to give thanks in all circumstances not for all but in all circumstances.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
So all of life is to be under Christ’s control. He is to be the center of all our goals, our single focus.
As Paul wrote.
Philippians 3:12-14 NIV Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
II. OK we talked about the roots of a disciplined life which is a living sacrifice, it is a life that thinks soberly, and it is a life that is yoked or submitted. Now let’s talk about the fruits of a disciplined life.
The roots of a disciplined life will be evidenced in the fruits of such a life. Ask yourself these questions.
A. How disciplined is your attitude toward yourself, God, and others? Do you have love for the Lord and for your neighbor?
Matthew 22:34-40 NIV Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
B. How disciplined are your words?
Proverbs 18:21 NIV The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Psalms 19:14 NIV May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
C. How disciplined are your morals?
Philippians 4:8-9 NIV Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Ephesians 5:3-5 NIV But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Mark 7:20-23 NIV He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
We are to seek the most thorough moral purity.
1 Peter 1:13-16 NIV Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
D. How disciplined is your worship?
John 4:23-24 NIV Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
Psalms 100:4-5 NIV Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
E. How disciplined are you in the grace of giving?
Is giving a grace that you experience or a task that you endure? I am not talking about money right now I’m talking about forgiveness which is what Jesus was talking about in
Luke 6:37-38 NIV “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
F. How disciplined are you in your devotional life? There is no mastery in the Christian life apart from a disciplined devotional life of Bible reading and prayer.
Disciplined prayer is personal, honest, specific, and consistent.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
We are to read the Bible expectantly, submissively, and regularly.
Psalms 119:105 NIV Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Read the entire 119th Psalm it is all about the Word of God.
G. One Final question. How disciplined are you in your ministry? God has given a ministry to every believer. Two weeks ago we talked about tnat. What we said was that every believer has been given gifts and abilities and has a ministry. Our individual ministry is both a privilege and a responsibility.
Conclusion
I want to end with a man named Jehoshaphat. You can read about him in 2 Chronicles 18-20. Jehoshaphat was one of Judah’s good kings and he was both disciplined and devoted.
2 Chronicles 17:6 NIV His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.
What is the difference between devotion and discipline? Is one more valuable than the other?
Discipline is the ability to stay focused on the task at hand. It finishes the assignment or completes the course. A disciplined person trains to improve their strength and self-control. They are religious at carrying out routines, fulfilling checklists, and getting things done. Discipline is designed to grow your faith with regular readings from God’s Word and engaging prayers of praise, thanksgiving, confession, and repentance.
Devotion is an overriding commitment to Christ and His way of doing things. It engages the heart and mind in learning the ways of the Lord and then applying them.
Devotion must be the driving force behind a disciple’s faith for them to persevere in Christ’s call on their life. Your devotion to God dictates how you will live your life.
Make sure your discipline is driven by your devotion, or you may become judgmental and insensitive. Devotion to Christ first keeps your heart of faith full of grace and truth. Discipline without devotion is like a cloud that gives no refreshing rain. It can become so rigid in its rules that it causes decent and devoted people to flee.
Romans 12:10-13 NIV Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Your devotion to Christ determines your discipline over the long term. Keep devotion as your motivation, and discipline will follow. A heart devoted to the Lord’s ways does not stray.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray my devotion to Christ precedes and energizes my discipline to walk with You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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