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Have you ever noticed how some people seem to succeed at everything they attempt? One common denominator is at work — discipline. Lest you think this is nothing more than a motivational speech, look at the root word of discipline — disciple. Luke 14:25-28 tell us how difficult it is to become a disciple of Christ. It’s easy to become a Christian, but becoming a disciple requires the carrying of the cross.

1. Discipline is one of today’s most endangered character qualities. What is it? It may be defined as “delayed gratification.” Scott Peck defines it thusly: discipline is “the process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by experiencing the pain first and getting it over with.” Some classic examples of this would include the way one might eat a piece of pie — the good stuff first, saving the crust for last; or the way one would eat Neapolitan ice cream — eating your favorite flavor first. In the Christian life, we show a lack of discipline when we only worship when we “feel the Spirit move”, rather than stepping out in faith and praising God whether we feel like it or not. Another example is wanting a blessed life without paying the price in prayer.

2. Develop a “David” philosophy, according to Psalm 30:5. Also Psalm 126:5 says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap with joy”. God doesn’t always pay on Friday, but He always pays on time.

3. The three-word key to a disciplined life is “advanced decision making”. The time to decide that you will be disciplined is not when it’s tough, but make the decision when you’re excited about it, and don’t let anything deter you from that decision. Innocent exceptions are some of the most dangerous things we’ll ever have to deal with.

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1 Corinthians 13 is known as the great “love chapter”, which is actually a rather unfortunate designation, because those who do not tend to be sentimental or “mushy” miss the power in this chapter, which was written to help correct abuses in the administration of spiritual gifts!  This chapter speaks of love as an activity and a behavior, not just an inner feeling or emotion.  True love is not very romantic, because it goes beyond romance.  Love is a command and a choice.

I.  Love is patient — the opposite of anger (hasty retaliation and prompt punishment).  Patient love is associated with mercy, which is the kind of love that God has for us.

II.  Love is kind — it is “creatively helpful”.  Love looks for ways of being constructive, and does not tear down.

III.  Love does not envy.  To envy is to be “moved with jealousy”. Love is not insecure.

IV.  Love does not boast, nor is it proud.  Pride lifts me up; love lifts you up.

V.  Love is not rude, or “unmannerly”.  Love treats people with respect, and this hits home, because we tend to be more disrespectful to those that we love, but this ought not be.

VI.  Love is not self-seeking.  According to the Living Bible, is does not “demand its own way.”  Love does not insist on its rights, but always seeks what is best for the other person.

VII.  Love is not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs.  The Living Bible says, “Love is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and hardly even notices when others do it wrong.”  We tend to catch people doing things wrong; love catches people doing things right!

VIII.  Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.  Again, The Living Bible says, “Love is never glad about injustice.”  Love is always honest and fair; love doesn’t keep secrets, love isn’t devious, love doesn’t play favorites.

IX.  Love always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres.  To protect means to fend off what threatens.  If you are in a relationship that is in trouble, don’t give up — fight for it; fend off what threatens it.  To trust means to rely on, not just give credence to.  To hope means to place confidence in.  To persevere means to bear up courageously.  This is the the kind of love you need in the “worse” part of “for better or for worse”,  in the “poorer” part of “for richer for poorer”, in the “sickness” part of “in sickness and in health”.

In short, “love never fails.”  That means a lot to me, because God loves me!  And He loves you, and His love will never fail.  Our love, on the other hand…..well, it fails.  But His love is big enough and strong enough to supplement our love.  Do you love God?  You do you love your neighbor?  Do you love your enemy?  Do you love your spouse?  If you are deficient, or find it difficult to rely on the love you have in your heart, God is our great Source of love!

Galatians 5:16-25

Contrary to what you may have believed, coming to Christ does not do away with the sinful nature. But does that mean we keep on sinning?  According to Romans 6, “absolutely not!”  So many, especially with addictions, struggle trying to get victory over their sin, but too often, our focus is on the sin, and not on the fruit that needs to be developing in our lives.  Take a look at this fruit, and see if ALL of it is developing properly:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Now that we’ve identified the fruit that needs to be growing, let’s talk about how to get it growing!  First, you need to kill what will destroy your fruit, according to verse 24, and Colossians 3:3-9.  Coming to Christ is only the first step.  Just as in a garden you must constantly pull the weeds that would choke out the fruit, you must constantly crucify the sinful nature.  This is a battle that is fought in your mind (Romans 6 says, “Count yourselves dead to sin”.)  Instead of confessing that you have an addiction, for example, start claiming the victory over it, in Jesus’ name!

Second, you need to cultivate your fruit, according to verse 25a, as well as Colossians 3:1,2,10,12. You are a new creation inside, but you need to feed the “new creation”, and stop feeding the sinful nature.  The reason why we lose our struggle with temptation is often because we have fed the sinful nature so much, that it’s bigger than our higher nature!  The best way to kill the sinful nature is to starve it.  Also, when two people get married, it’s time to break off old ties, or there will be problems in the marriage. Now that we are “married” to Christ, it’s time to sever our ties with the old way of thinking and living, and start living in allegiance to Christ.

Third, verse 25b tells us to keep in step.  This is a marching term; think of the military or a marching band — if you get off step, the whole thing gets messed up.  When we walk out of step with the Spirit, our lives get messed up.  This is the practical living aspect of this message.  How does it play out in everyday living?  Colossians 3:13-17 shows us how.

The key word in all of this is “Spirit”.  We don’t fight our battles alone, but the Spirit of God is ready, willing and able to help us.