SELF
DISCIPLINE IS THE GOAL!
Eph
4:11-15
11
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and
some, pastors and teachers;
12
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ:
13
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ:
14
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro,
and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is
the head, even Christ:
In
order to leave our nursery and progress to the Pre-K class, one must be potty
trained! Now, why would I lead off with that fact this morning? It is to point
out that self discipline is the goal of discipline! All the efforts of the
teacher are focused toward self-management which we sometimes call maturity.
A
year or so ago
a little boy, squirming on the front pew, said to me: “I can tie my own shoes!”
and proceeded to demonstrate by untying and tying both his shoes. One
would have been evidence enough but he wanted there to be no doubt regarding
his skills. He was a big boy now and was eager to progress to other challenges.
Signs
of spiritual maturity are not so cut and dried but generally
one who is spiritually mature is able to read, accurately interpret and apply
Scripture for himself. He is not carried about [Greek periphero]
or transported hither and thither by anomalous winds of doctrine. His belief
system and behavior are set. The training wheels are off the bike. He is
self-disciplined. He can tie his own shoes.
God’s
gifts to the church
are apostles, prophets, pastors and teachers. These, spiritually speaking, will
tie our shoes and wipe our noses until we are able to do these things for
ourselves, but self-management is always the goal. Do you have a Bible reading
schedule and prayer time? Do petty offenses cause you to retreat from worship
at church? Do you pout and demand your own way? Are you sure of what you
believe and why you believe it? Pay respectful attention until you are able to
tie your own shoes.
2 Tim 2:2
2 And the things that thou hast heard of
me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be
able to teach others also.
Dear
Lord, help me to be a fast learner and a patient teacher. AMEN
