Discipline or Regret?

Did you ever have a day where at the end of it you just kind of felt not good? Not physically not good, but you just didn't feel like you wasted the day away, didn't really get anything accomplished that you wanted to. You know, we all have a lot of things going on in our lives, a lot of things that we know we should do.

A lot of times we don't do the things that we should do. You know, maybe you needed to pick up the phone and call someone that you've been meeting to call for a long time. And the day went by and again you just kind of let the day go by without doing that. Maybe you needed to apply for a job and you needed to go out and do that, but you just let the day go by and thought, oh, tomorrow's another day, I'll just get that done whenever I get to it.

Maybe there's some business contacts that you needed to call, but you just didn't feel like doing it, so you let the time go by and it was another day wasted. Maybe it was something around the house that needed to be done and day after day, week after week, it just gets put off because you just don't feel like it. And then you feel bad because at the end of the day you think, I should have done that, I should have gone out, I should have made all these things happen, and we didn't.

You know, maybe there's someone that we have a broken relationship with that we needed to call and try to heal that relationship. And we told ourselves, I'm going to pick up the phone or I'm going to write a letter, I'm going to write an email, and something to them, but you just didn't do it because you didn't know how it was going to be, how it was going to be received, and you just didn't feel like taking that chance.

Maybe it's someone that in your past or present you thought, man, I'd really like to meet that girl or that guy. But then you don't do it because you're really not sure how it's going to be taken and you may let fear, you may let uncertainty crowd in, and sometimes you think it's better to do nothing than it is to take the chance of being hurt or disappointed.

You know, we can all have days like that. We can all have lives like that. And they don't feel good at the end of the day or at the end of the week. And when we look back over the week, we either feel good about the things that got done or we feel bad just because there's another week or a month or a year that has passed and things go on just the way they always have. And there's a number of reasons that we do those things.

We are all humans, so we all have those times. They're all things that we just don't do. Can be just a lack of motivation. And we can all suffer from that at times. Could be in some cases we're just too comfortable in the situation we are and we think, you know what, the situation I'm in is better and I don't really feel like going out and doing anything else. What's going on is good enough. Could be that we're too easily distracted.

Could be that we spent our time watching too much TV during that day, playing too many video games or whatever else we do, surfing the net and just let the time get away with us and then thought, I was too late to do that. I'll wait till tomorrow. Could be negativity. Could be fear. Well, I don't know how that's going to happen and it's easier to feel the way I feel now than to maybe feel bad at the end of the day.

And so as a result, if we let these things go on and on and inertia can set in and nothing changes, we become people who are the same yesterday, today and forever. And that isn't what God called us to. Only He's the same yesterday, today and forever. And He can afford to be that way because He's perfect and He should be that way because He's perfect, but we're not. We need to be continually improving, continually changing and making things happen in our lives as God leads us.

You know, I talked a lot about spiritual or physical things, but let's go back to Romans, Romans 7. Because Paul talked about this very thing, this very common tendency that we all have. In Romans 7 and verse 15, he says it this way. He says, For what I'm doing, what I'm doing, I don't understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice. But what I hate, that I do. I know what I should be doing, and yet I keep doing the same thing over and over and over again.

And the thing that I know I shouldn't be doing, I just keep doing it. He was suffered from the very same thing that you and I can suffer from. It's a lot more important physically what we do. And we have to address those situations physically if we're going to move ahead in life. But when we let inertia and when we let things go by and don't make things happen in our spiritual lives, it can have devastating, devastating effects.

James 1.22, you don't need to turn there. You can if you want, but you know what James 1.22 says, it says, be the doers of the Word and not hearers only. We know what God's Word says. We know what we should be doing. He expects us to get out and do it. He expects us to make changes in our lives. He expects us to be people of action, to see what needs to change and then go out and do it. He won't do it for us.

It would be nice if he would. It would be nice if he would just change the way we think and immediately we go out and do the things the way that he wants us to, get ourselves off of the couch, get ourselves off of the computer, away from the TV, out of the house.

But he doesn't do that. That's our choice. That's our choice whether to do those things or not. He gives us the knowledge. It's up to us to do the actions. So Satan can use this state that we can get in. And if it continues day after day, we can have a whole lot of problems set in. We can kind of think we're hopeless. Life is hopeless.

We can let the things that happen in our minds build up to be bigger things than they are if we would just attack them. So we can become fearful people. We can become people who just are crippled spiritually and physically, and we just don't make things happen. It can be devastating in our physical lives, even more devastating in our spiritual lives. And at some point in our life, we will pay the price for that.

At some point in our life, the end result of not making yourself do what you know to be done is regret and remorse. Regret and remorse. At some time in life, physically, we'll look back on our lives and say, oh, if I had just picked up the phone that time, if I had just gone over and talked to that person, if I had just made that business contact, if I had just whatever it is, things could have been so different if I had just made myself do it. And then we find ourselves crippled by remorse and regret. And there's nothing worse than the end of a life or at the end of an era of our life to look back and say, ah, what could have been had I just been able to propel myself into action?

You know, the poet John Greenleaf Whittier, he said it this way, I think you've all heard these words before. He said, of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are, it might have been. It might have been. None of us want to come to the end of our lives or chapter in our lives and say, if only, if only I had done that. We can talk about that physically. How important spiritually.

Who of us wants to come back, come at the end of our lives or before or when Christ returns and say and have those regrets? If only I had made myself do what I knew to do. If I hadn't given myself the excuse, if I hadn't given myself the out, if I hadn't given myself the past, if I hadn't thought it's okay, I'm good enough and I just get comfortable right here and not gone on to perfection the way God has called us to, but if we had just done what God had called us to do, how different it might have been.

I hope none of us are in that situation. The Bible spells out regret. Let's go back and look at a few places where at the end of the age there will be people, could be people like you and me, that are going to have regrets. The Bible says it in a very dramatic and a very, very eye-opening way. Back in Matthew, Matthew 24 and the Olivet prophecy, after Christ gives all the things that will happen, or the prophecies of what will happen between then and the time of His return, down in verse 50 of chapter 24.

Well, let's pick it up in verse 48. Let's get the whole thought here. 20, 24 and verse 48. In the verses before that He talks about what a good and profitable servant is, and he is doing God's will. Not knowing God's will, doing and knowing God's will up until the time of Jesus Christ's return. But there's another man who doesn't do that. He says in verse 48, if that evil servant says in his heart, my master is delaying his coming. I don't have to take action today. I've got plenty of time. I'll do this whenever I get around to it.

And he begins to be this fellow servant since he eat and drink with the drunkards. He doesn't do the things. He just continues in life the way he has. He lets the same old sins continue to play him and he falls right back into the same patterns without making things change. He begins to be this fellow servant since he eat and drink with the drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he's not looking for him at an hour that he is not aware of and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites that will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

That's regret. That's remorse. That's not something you and I ever want to have feel to feel in our lives. We don't want that time to come and we say, ah, if I had just paid attention, if I had just disciplined myself to do what God asked us to do, if I had just disciplined myself to follow him with all my heart and soul and to put out the things that separated me from him.

One chapter over in Matthew 26. I'm sorry, Matthew 25. In the chapter that begins with the parable of the ten versions and goes into the parable of the talents, you remember that some of the people actually did things with the talents that they were given by God. And he rewarded them for the actions they took again as they were led by his Spirit and as he gave them the opportunity and he rewarded them for taking the action and doing the things and making things happen in their life.

But there was someone who just sat on what they were given. They didn't feel any motivation to do anything different than they'd always done. It was okay with them. It's good enough for them. They thought it was good enough for God. Turns out it wasn't good enough for God. Let's pick it up in verse 29. So the man who was given one talent and at the time of Christ's return, he only had one talent, he did nothing, he didn't multiply it at all.

Christ says, "...everyone who has more will be given and he will have abundance. But from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away and cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of peace." That man will regret that he did nothing, that he was comfortable with the status quo, that he thought it was okay to be the way he was yesterday, today, and forever, forgetting that God didn't call us to be the same yesterday, today, forever when we achieve perfection and when he gives that to us at the time that we become spirit beings.

Back in Luke 13, another place that the Bible spells out what regret is for people who don't discipline themselves to do what God has called them to and to make the changes in their life, to keep moving toward the goal that he has set for us. In Luke 13, verse 24, he says, strive to enter through the narrow gate. That's the gate that is a little more difficult to enter into. It takes some effort. It takes us making some choices.

It takes us denying what we naturally want to do. It takes us not falling into the trap that Paul was talking about back in Romans 7, but rising above that with the hope of God's Spirit to enter through that narrow gate. For many, he says, I say to you, will seek to enter, but they won't be able.

Wide is the gate, he says back in Matthew. Wide is the gate, and many enter into that because it requires nothing. Just continue doing what you've always done. But narrow is the gate, and he says, strive to enter into that. Many, he says, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house, verse 25, has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open for us. And he will answer and say to you, I don't know you, where you're from. You're not the people I called. You didn't do what I said.

If you loved me, you would have done my commandments. If you loved me, you would have used the Holy Spirit. If you loved me, you would have sought and had the same goals that I have set for you. And you'll begin to say, we ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I don't know you, where you're from. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Those people in that situation, you don't think there's going to be remorse? You don't think there's going to be regret?

You don't think they're going to think, oh, if only I had used the time wisely, only if I had gotten off the couch, if I had gotten off the computer, away from the TV, if I had made that contact, if I had gone up and done what I knew to do, if only, if only what might have been. But now there's regret. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.

What a horrible feeling! What a horrible situation to find yourself in. And any one of us here could find ourselves in that situation if we choose the path of regret and if we don't choose the path of discipline and making ourselves know what we need to do. You know, back in Deuteronomy 30, 19, a very well-known verse where Moses, under inspiration from God, says, I have set before you this day life and death, blessing and cursing.

Therefore, choose life that you and your seed may live. Choose life. Choose blessing. Seems like easy choices, don't they? We've talked about those before. Let me suggest to you today that there's a path of discipline and a path of regret. I set before you this day life and death, blessing and cursing, discipline and regret. Either you will learn to make yourselves do what I told you to do. You'll become doers of the Word, or at some point in the future you will regret. Regret what you have done.

Whether we choose discipline, whether we choose to make ourselves do what God, what we know God tells us to do, or not is a matter of life and death for you and me.

It's a choice no different than life and death, blessing and cursing.

Discipline or regret. Let me define discipline for you. Discipline is the ability to control one's feelings and overcome one's weaknesses. It's the ability to pursue what is right, despite the temptations to abandon it. The desire, the purpose, the goal to control one's feelings and emotions. God gives us this Holy Spirit that helps us do that. And the ability to pursue what is right, despite the very many, I can add, temptations to abandon it. Because the temptations to abandon the God's way of life and to just do nothing or to just relax in the status quo, they're out there. They're out there and we can all fall prey to them and lull ourselves into deep sleep if we're not aware. Let me make a few quotes here from you. These are from psychologists that have written books on the subject of discipline and self-discipline.

Jim Rohn says this. He says, We must all suffer from one of two pains, either the plane of discipline or the pain of regret. While the pain from self-discipline is transient, it goes away, it does hurt sometimes to say no to ourselves, to make ourselves do what we don't want to do, and to deny self of what we wanted to do with our time. While the pain from self-discipline is transient, the agony from regret is perpetually hurtful. He says, Remaining remorseful for the lack of action gashes you like a knife wound. Once you think you've vanquished your regret and your laceration heals, you look down at the scar only to be reminded of a missed opportunity.

What an opportunity God has given all of us. None of us want to look back and say, boy, we missed that opportunity, the greatest opportunity than anyone could ever have of knowing Him and following Him and being born into His Kingdom, if we muster up the courage to do what He asks us to do. Paul O'Keefe, another psychologist, says this, he says, In life we either pay the price of discipline or the price of regret. We pay these prices in all areas of our life, our careers, relationships, health, spiritual development, and financial affairs. It's unfortunate that many of us fail to comprehend the simple law of life. It's either discipline or regret. Life or death, blessing or cursing, discipline or regret. He goes on to say later in his article, The sweat of discipline and sacrifice is nothing compared to the pain and regret of inaction.

I kind of like what Paul said back in Romans 8, isn't it, when he said, I don't think it's worthy to compare what God has prepared for us to the sufferings that we have in life today.

He says, There's nothing. Nothing compares the sweat of discipline as compared to the pain of regret.

So, discipline is something we all need to pay attention to personally, in our personal lives, physical lives, certainly in our spiritual lives. Over the last several weeks, we've talked about a number of things here. We've talked about an attitude of lawlessness. We've talked about entitlement mentality. We've talked about how to be effective fathers and the hearts of the fathers.

We always talk about loving God with our whole heart, mind and soul. There's a lot of things that we can all take to heart and all things that we can pay attention to. We always talk about obeying God totally and wholly, not just the things that we agree with or find easy to do, but every word of God living and striving by that word and making sure that that is part of our lives. And you know when we do that, when we embrace God, when we embrace His way of life, we find the opposite of what the world would say. The world would say when you're under the God's law, when you're under what He wants you to do, you're kind of oppressed, you're kind of you're kind of a slave and whatever, and that's not the case at all. We know, as we've been living God's way of life and as we put into practice, not just know, but put into practice in our lives, the principles in the Bible, there's a sense of freedom, there's a sense of joy, there's a sense of purpose in life that is motivating and that is nothing like anything we've ever felt before.

But we have to do it in order to ever know what God's life is like. And the same thing comes from discipline. Let me read two quotes here from Aristotle. Everyone's heard of the Greek philosopher Aristotle. He says about discipline, he says, I count him braver, who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self. Isn't that true? Isn't that true? Our battle is to overcome self. That's what Paul was talking about in Romans 7.15. I've got this thing on the inside of me, that's what I want to do, but I know I should be doing this. I've got to put away that old man that wants to do these things and start doing what I've been called to do. He also said this, he said, through discipline comes freedom.

Through discipline comes freedom. You want to feel a life of freedom, you want to feel good about things, you want to feel like you're in control of life and we're all under the control of the Master. Practice discipline. Because if you don't practice discipline, you're in the control of someone else who's going to lead, to regress and re-lead, lead to death and remorse in your life. Let's look at a few examples. Let's look at an example in the Old Testament of someone who didn't discipline himself. Well, turn with me back to Joshua. Joshua 6. You know, discipline, making ourselves do what we know to do. It's a key. It's a key to success in business, to succeed. It's a key to success in our families, key to success in our physical lives, certainly in our spiritual lives. Due to Joshua 6, we fall into the story here of Achan. Achan, remember, is a man, well, at this time that Achan exists, Israel has crossed over the River Jordan. They have come across and God has given them a great victory over Jericho, the most secure city in the world. They would have said, but God, with Israel doing nothing except obeying God's commands, marching around that city seven times, seven days, and then on the seventh time around, on the seventh day, blowing their trumpets and shouting, the walls came down and the greatest and most secure city on earth, fell to the Israelites. And God gave them a command concerning that time that they would be conquering Jericho, because he knew the temptation would be there, because it was a wealthy city. There was a lot going on in that city, and the people were all going to be conquered. Let's pick it up first in Joshua 6, verse 18. See, God's clear command regarding the conquering of the city of Jericho. It's Joshua 6, verse 18. He says, this is Joshua speaking, God has told them, And you, by all means, abstain from the accursed things. Don't be tempted by those. Don't think, I want this, I want that. Abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel accursed and trouble it.

God's pretty clear on what He wants them to do. You go in and conquer, but you don't be tempted by this and that. You don't take their things. He would tell us, you don't take, perhaps, their ideas, their sentiments, their emotions, whatever it is, and worship me that way.

But all the silver and gold and vessels of bronze and iron, they are consecrated to the Eternal. They shall come into the treasury of the Eternal. Some of those things will be preserved, but they're going to be for God. Well, Aiken thought that he would be able to get away with something.

When no one was looking, he would be able to take a couple of baubles here from Jericho, a couple of things, and hide them away. And if he hid them really well, who would ever know, right? Because people weren't watching every move he made, and he thought, if I can fool Joshua, if I can hide it from my even family, who's going to know? Who's going to know? I can do this anyway, and I can disregard what God said in this regard. That isn't the way that it worked.

Let's go back to one chapter forward to chapter 7 and verse 10. They go to the next city that God is going to give them as they enter into the Promised Land. It's a little city of Aai, and Israel is defeated. And Joshua finds himself wondering what on earth. I mean, you gave us the city of Jericho, and here's Aai. Aai has beaten us back, and we don't know what's going on. And God tells him why. Chapter 7, verse 10. Israel has said, or verse 10, So the LORD said to Joshua, Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived. And they have also put it among their own stuff. Achan, who it will turn out was the deceiver and the one who did these things, thought it was well hidden. He would learn a lesson. Israel would learn a lesson. We would be wise to learn a lesson. So God goes on in verse 12, Therefore the children of Israel couldn't stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they become doomed to destruction. Why? Because they didn't pay attention to the command of God. Someone said, I can still be in this camp and still do what I want to do. God won't know. God won't care if I take these few little things. How is that changing anything in the scope of things?

We can have that same attitude, right? We can have that same attitude sometimes. I don't have to change that. God understands what I am. If I give him 95% of me, and I want to hold on to this little attitude or this little thing, I don't think God minds. God minds. God hasn't called us to a life of status quo. He's called us to a life of perfection. He called his church, and he's looking to purify his church, that he may present it to himself a blameless church, no spot or wrinkle.

You may not know the secrets that each other have. I may not know the secrets that each other have, or what we might be holding back from God. God knows. Aiken thought he could get away with it. Aiken thought there would be no consequences for his action. Aiken learned differently. Keep your finger there in Joshua. Let's go back to Luke for a minute. Luke 8.

Luke 8 and verse 17. Something that's also recorded there in Numbers 23 verse 32. Luke 8 verse 17.

Nothing. Christ speaking, he says, nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.

Aiken was going to learn that lesson.

God isn't messing around when he says, I am purifying a church. I am looking for a church that will become blameless and without spot and wrinkle. I'm not messing around when I said, I've called you to perfection, to blamelessness, that you will, when I show you these things in your life, that you will go about and demonstrate the discipline of putting them out and putting in the things of God. That you won't rely and just regress back into the old way of doing things, but you will continue on the path that God has called us to. Aiken didn't pay attention to this, so let's go on here. Back in Joshua 7. God is teaching Joshua the lesson here, too. Someone has done this. I said don't do it. And now you're paying for what that, what one person here in Israel has done. Verse 13, he says, Get up, Joshua. Sanctify the people and say sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus does the eternal God of Israel. There's an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you. And so it goes on through the revelation process, if you will. And they go by tribe, they go by camp, and finally the lot comes upon Aiken. And it's like this is the one, this is the one who has decided that he could do something different than what God wanted him to do. Down in chapter, same chapter, verse 20. It's come down to him, and it says in verse 20, Aiken answered Joshua and said, Indeed, I have sinned against the eternal God of Israel, and this is what I've done. When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold, waiting fifty shekels, I covered them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent with the silver under it. Well, good for him, at least he acknowledged it. This is what I've done.

So Joshua sent messengers, they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in the tent, and the silver under it. And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua, with all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the eternal. Then Joshua and all Israel, with him, took Achan, the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tents, and all that he had, and they brought them to the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why have you troubled us? The eternal will trouble you this day. So all Israel stoned him with stones, and they burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. I think Achan had a lot of remorse and a lot of regret when that was happening. When he looked back on a choice that he had made in real life, I didn't discipline myself to do everything that God had said. I thought it would be okay to compromise in this area. I didn't think he would care. I didn't think anyone would find out. I think Achan had a lot of remorse, and I think his family had a lot of remorse. And I think they wish that they and Achan wished, I wish I hadn't brought this trouble on Israel. I wish I hadn't brought this trouble on my family. I wish I had disinflated myself, and when God said, live by every word of the Bible. Do what I say, when I say, how I say, and where I say, that I would have paid attention.

I think there was weeping and gnashing of teeth, as that family was let out to their remorse.

That couldn't. That the remorse that was going to find itself in death, because if we don't pay attention to what God says, the regret for us will be painful. Let's go back to James 1.

You know, we could put ourselves in Achan's position, and we might, I think we understand, what Achan did there. He gave into temptation. All of us have temptations. There's things may not be the silver, may not be the gold. Every one of us has some temptation, some desire of ours, some lust of the flesh, some lust of the eyes, some pride of life that we can fall prey to. God calls us to overcome all of those, and not to hold on to them, but to overcome them. In James 1 and verse 14, this is what happened to Achan. This is what can happen to us. Each one is tempted. When he's drawn away by his own desires and enticed. And then he lets the thoughts go, and pretty soon it results in something that we very much regret. Back in Matthew 26.

Matthew 26 and verse 41. As Jesus Christ was on that night after the Passover.

When he went out to the Garden of Gethsemane and he brought his disciples with him.

When he knew it was going to happen that night, the disciples, even though he told them what was going to happen, they didn't really understand what was going to happen. They would understand later. And in verse 41 he says this, he says, watch and pray, disciples. Watch yourselves and pray. I said, stay awake. I said, be alert. I said, don't fall asleep here. Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Watch and pray, disciples. Isn't it interesting that he would say, at a time when he knew it was going to fall that night, don't fall into temptation. Don't get enticed by what your desires are.

Don't be led astray by that. He knew what was going to happen. And it was going to be a trying night for everyone. And the disciples would learn some lessons that night. The next person we'll look at is Jesus Christ. We can talk about Achan, and he didn't learn the example of discipline. And you can go through the Old Testament, and you can see many people who didn't learn to discipline themselves. They didn't pay attention, but they learned the hard way, and they regretted their actions. You can talk about Miriam, who didn't discipline herself to watch the words that she was saying about Moses. And she ended up with leprosy. God removed it.

God removed it, mercifully. You can talk about Gehazi. Remember Gehazi? We talked about Naaman last week. And Naaman, the Syrian commander who was healed of leprosy. And Elisha healed him. Remember, he thought that he should be honored by Elisha and come out and see them. But he was healed when he finally realized, I'll do it the way God says. And he was so thankful he came back, and he offered money. He offered things to Elisha. Elisha said, no, what we have? We don't sell for money. But Gehazi didn't listen to that. Gehazi wanted what Naaman had to offer. He went out and tracked him down and said, I'll take those clothes and those things you were giving. And Gehazi paid the regret of having leprosy on him and lived with leprosy the rest of his life.

We can talk about Israel. We can talk about Judah. They disregarded God. They continue, despite God's warnings, to follow or always try to adopt and look at what the nations around them were doing and saying that they ended up in captivity. Let's go back to Lamentations 1.

Israel went into captivity. Judah saw what happened. They had Jeremiah, who was witnessing to them for 40 years. And God said, don't go follow the way of your sister, Israel. Turn back to me. And if you don't, this is what's going to happen. Well, it happened. It happened just the way God said. And then you have the book of Lamentations. That spells regret. Regret. Judah, if only we had followed God, we'd still be in our land. We'd still have the things that we had. Lamentations 1, verse 1, how lonely sits the city that was full of people.

How like a widow is she who is great among the nations. The princess among the provinces has become a slave. She weaves bitterly in the night. She regrets what she has done, what has happened to her, if only, if only. She weaves bitterly in the night. Her tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers, she has none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her. They have become her enemies. Judah has gone into captivity. Under affliction and hard servitude, she dwells among the nations. She finds no rest. All her persecutors overtake her and die her straits. The rose, the zion mourn because no one comes to the set feast. All her gates are desolate. Her priests sigh. Her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. Her adversaries have become the master. Her enemies prosper, for the Eternal has afflicted her because of the multitude of her transgressions. Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy. If only Judah had listened. It could have been so different if only Judah had listened, if only Israel had listened, if only Miriam, if only Achan, if only us. If we would listen, and if we would pay attention to what God says and not take it lightly.

Well, let's... you could be turning over to Luke 22. We're going to talk about Jesus Christ.

But as I talk there, you know, as I'm talking about discipline, there are trials and things that come on our lives, come into our lives. Not every single one of them that comes into our lives is because we have failed to practice discipline. God does send trials our way and tests our way to build our faith and to see how we will react. But many of the things that come in our life is because we haven't practiced the discipline that we should. We haven't followed God explicitly. We haven't followed even maybe good physical discipline. Maybe we don't eat right. We make the wrong choices. We don't exercise when we know we should exercise. We do the things, waste our time, the whole things we've talked about before. God is looking for all of us, physical and spiritual, our whole life to be given to Him and yielded to Him and the discipline that comes with it. But let's look at Jesus Christ here, this time in Luke's version of it, Luke 22, and see what He was facing that night, that He was after Passover and what the decisions He made because Christ also had choices just like you and I had. He was tempted in all points like as we are. That's what the Bible says. And He has choices just like you and I do. He could have practiced discipline and done the right thing, or He could have chosen the other path and what was easier for Himself and what maybe He naturally wanted to do to His credit and to His glory forever and ever. He chose the right thing. But let's look at Luke 22, verse 39. So, after the Passover ceremony, they're out in the garden of Gethsemane. The disciples there are with Him. Verse 39, it says, coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives as He was accustomed, and the disciples followed Him. And when He came to the place, He said to them, pray that you may not enter into temptation. Just read that back in Matthew. Pray that you enter not into temptation. And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Your will, but Yours be done. Verse 43, He prayed that prayer. God knew He meant it from the heart. It wasn't just words He was saying. An angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. When we prayed the prayer that God would have us pray with our heart, not just the words, God will strengthen us. And there is coming a time that we are going to need that strength from God. When we are yielded to Him and He can see our attitudes in our hearts. And being in agony, Christ prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. So let's stop there, and let's look what happened here that night.

Christ left the Passover, and He went out into the Garden of Gethsemane.

He knew what was going to happen that night. He knew Judas was going to betray Him. He knew that the armies would come. He knew that he was going to be arrested. He knew that he was going to suffer immensely over the remainder of that 24-hour period until he was crucified and finally died.

Before sunset, before the sunset of the 15th of David, He knew those things. He knew those things, and He went to the Garden anyway. He went to the Garden anyway. And He was well aware of them. But as He went out there, He committed to God's will, and He told God, if there's a way to do this differently, let's do it. But if we are going to adhere to the plan that we developed and that was before the foundation of the world, we will do it your way and the way we did. The agony that Christ knew He was going to face was very real. So real that in verse 44, we see that He was dripping sweats of blood. I've never prayed a prayer where even one of that blood was even there. How much in agony was He realizing what was going to happen the next night or that night and the rest of that day? If it was you and me, and we knew that was going to happen to us, would we go to that Garden or would we run and go someplace else?

Christ had a choice that night. He could have said, this is just too hard. I'm not going to go to the Garden. I'm going to leave this building and I'm going to run. I'm going to run. I don't want to face this. That might be what I would say. If I can get out of this, I'm not going.

It took extreme discipline for Jesus Christ to make the choice He did, to follow what God's plan was, even though it meant for Him immense pain, immense suffering, immense agony.

Even though He knew He was going to pay a personal cost beyond what any of us can even imagine, He did the right thing. He followed God's plan. He didn't yield to temptation and run. He did the right thing. He did the right thing and we are eternally grateful to Him that He did it. Eternally grateful to Him that He did that.

If God calls us to a life that we deny self, that we overcome, the things that we might even find and whatever the word might be, if it's against God's will, how can we in the face of Christ's example ever say, I won't give God that. I'm going to continue doing this. I'm going to continue doing that. Discipline would say you do the right thing. God's given us an opportunity that absolutely defies the imagination and none of us deserve it. But He's given it to us. He's opened our minds to the truth. He's opened our minds to the future. And what He says, if you want this and I want you to have it, you've got to be doers. You've got to make changes. You've got to discipline yourselves. You've got to train yourselves to do what I say, when I say, how I say, where I say. And not make excuses and not give me all these reasons why you can't.

Jesus Christ made no excuses. He made no reasons. He was there. He was there, right where God wanted Him to be. And He could have. He could have. He wouldn't have because He was so disciplined, but He chose to follow God. And not regret.

Because He certainly would have regretted it in a way that none of us can even imagine that. But that's Jesus Christ. But He left us an example that we should follow.

The way we live our lives. He was willing to do all that. What are we willing to do?

You know, His disciples saw that that night. They saw what would happen in the next 24 or less than 24-hour period until He died. And Peter was among those disciples who was there that night. Let's go over to John 13 and look at Peter and see where he is at this point in his life.

John 13 and verse 37. After the foot-washing ceremony, after Judas has been dismissed, after it's been done, that Judas is going to go out and he will betray Jesus Christ.

In verse 36, Peter says to Christ, Lord, where are You going? Jesus answered Him, where I'm going, You can't follow Me now, but You'll follow Me afterward. And Peter said to Him, Lord, why can't I follow You now? I will lay down My life for Your sake. I will give My life for You.

That's what he said that night. We would all say that. I think if we went around and pulled everyone in this audience, would You give up Your life for the truth? When the time comes that there is and we are confronted with life or death, bow down before another power or hold fast to Your truth, we would all say, we will stand by God. Peter said that, and he meant it when he said it, but just a few hours later, he didn't follow through with that. Let's go back to Luke 22, where we were. And you know the story of Peter. Jesus Christ, verses I have written down here, Luke 22, verse 56.

Jesus Christ was arrested. Peter is afraid. When they see this happening to Christ, they think, what is going on? And so, he runs. He didn't stand there by his side.

He sees what's going on, and he didn't count on this. It's different. It's a little more dramatic than what he thought it would be, a little more personal than he thought it would be.

In verse 56 of Luke 22, when she sees, after Christ is arrested, says a certain servant hero, seeing Peter as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, this man was also with Christ. But Peter denied him, saying, woman, I don't know him. And after a little while, another saw him and said, you all thaw of them. Peter said, man, I am not. And after about an hour, had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, surely this fellow was with him. He's a Galilean. But Peter said, man, I don't know what you're talking about. While he was speaking, the rooster crowed and he remembered what Christ had said. Peter made some choices that night. He didn't discipline himself. He didn't think enough to say, I'm standing by him no matter what, just a few hours ago or maybe just a few minutes ago. I said, I would give my life for you. As soon as he felt threatened, I don't know who he is. I have never seen him before. He made a wrong choice. The same choice you and I might make in the face of physical danger. If we haven't prepared ourselves ahead of time for it. Peter didn't exercise the discipline that he just saw Christ do of doing the right thing and standing by him. He did what humans do and he did what naturally came to him. Defend the self, protect self. Down to verse 20 and verse 62. He didn't pay the price of discipline, but he paid the price of remorse. So Peter went out and he wept bitterly. He wept bitterly. Oh, he experienced pain and I think that pain stayed with him the rest of his life.

Just like Mr. Roan said, when we look back at the things that we didn't do in our life, now we remember how we blew this or blew that. When Peter looked back at that, he realized how painful that was that I denied the Savior three times. But he used that as a motivating force. And he became a different man after that. He learned discipline. He knew not just to rely on feelings and emotions, he knew he had to go to work on self and he knew he had to go to work on who he was and what he would do in preparing his mind, preparing his heart for what would happen. And as he went forward, he became a dynamic man who was willing to give his life. And indeed, he did, as Jesus Christ said, he followed him. And when the time came again, he never denied Christ again and he was willing to give his life.

He learned from his mistakes, just like you and I can. And he learned the discipline.

And he learned how to overcome fear.

And the other things associated with it, you go back and you look at Peter in his life, you see how many times, especially on the sea, when Christ said, Peter, don't fear, don't doubt. I can calm the storms. Peter, you can walk on water if you'll just keep your eyes on me. But when you look itself, when you try to protect self, when you begin to rely on self, you will surely fall. Same lessons you and I need to learn.

Well, Peter learned them to his credit. Let's look at the Apostle Paul as well.

Paul is a man with a past that was terrible in the Scriptures. He looked to see and persecute the true people of God. He was consenting as Stephen stood by, as he stood by, as Stephen was known to death. But then God called him, just like he called you and me, out of a life of sin, out of a life of thinking that what we were doing was right, and a life that he had to humble himself and become who God wanted to be. To Paul's credit, he did that. And Paul did learn the lesson of Jesus Christ. Let's look at Acts. Let's open a few verses here in Acts. Acts 20.

It's 20 in verse 21. Paul is at Ephesus here. He's been there for three years. He's about to leave them. Later on in the chapter, he cautions them, the false prophets will come. People will rise from among you, looking to have followings after you themselves. And he's telling them where he's going to be going next. In verse 21 of Acts 20, he says this. Okay, I'm cutting into the middle here, but let's pick it up in verse 21. Testifying to Jews and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And see, now I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. I'm going to Jerusalem. And when I get there, I know probably persecution is going to await me. Chains may be awaiting me. I'm not going to have a thicker tape parade laid out for me when I come into Jerusalem. There are people who hate me there. But I'm going to go, because that is what God wants me to do. And I am going to testify in every city exactly the way that God has called Paul to do. Down in chapter 21 in verse 10, he has moved on from Ephesus. And he says there, as we stayed many days at the place that he was at with Philip and his daughters there, he says, as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And when he came to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, so shall the Jews of Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. If you go to Jerusalem, Paul, this is what God is letting me say that's going to happen to you. You're going to be bound. You're going to be delivered over the Gentiles. And they hate you. Now, when he heard these things, or when we heard these things, both we and those rose from that place and pleaded with him not to go to Jerusalem, just like you and I would do. If someone from here said, I'm going to go over to this and this place, and when I get there, I'm going to be arrested, I'm going to be beaten, I'm going to be hated, we would say, No, no, no, don't go. That's the human thing to say, right? Protect yourself. Don't go there. Just like the human thing would have been if the apostles knew that Christ was going to be arrested in the Garden of the Lord, let's not go to the Garden of Gethsemane again. If Judas is coming, let's go to another garden and pray.

Christ followed exactly what God had led him to do, and the plan was Paul did the same thing.

He didn't listen to people. He knew what his mission was. And even though there were those who were encouraging him, don't go to Jerusalem, he was determined to go anyway. Let's pick it up in verse 27. On the seven days of chapter 21, when the seven days were ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, men of Israel. This is the man who reaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place. And furthermore, he also brought Greeks into the temple, and it has filed this holy place. Verse 30, And all the city was preserved, and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. And as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

He went to Jerusalem, and they were ready to kill him. They were ready to scourge him until he claimed that he was a Roman, and they couldn't scourge Romans. But that trip to Jerusalem eventually led to Paul's death. He ended up in Rome. He ended up dying. But in Acts 23, verse 11, after Paul's gone through all this, and some might have said, Paul, if you had just not gone to Jerusalem, if you had just not gone to Jerusalem, things could have been so different.

But that wasn't what God had intended. Chapter 23, verse 11. The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, Be a good cheer, Paul. He's in prison at this time. Be a good cheer, Paul, for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, you must also bear witness at Rome. It was my will, Paul, that you go to Jerusalem. And it's my will you go to Rome, and you'll bear witness of me there.

And he did it. He did it, and he ended up dying in Rome later.

But he followed the same example that Jesus Christ set. It wasn't about his safety. It wasn't about his personal comfort. It wasn't about protecting himself. It wasn't about protecting his whatever whatever God led him to do, he was willing to do. There will come a time when God leads us to do something that will be against our desires, if you will.

In the Bible study, we're going to talk a little bit about the power that allows us to do these things, that permits us to do it. But let's go back to Romans. Romans 7. And some of what Paul wrote to Timothy about what it was like to be persecuted, and how to endure in a time during that time. Over in Romans 7, we read what Paul said in verse verse 15. The things I don't want to do, I do. And the things that I know I should do, I don't. Let's pick it up in verse 18. For I know, Paul says, that in me, that is in my flesh, nothing good dwells. For to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I don't do. But the evil that I don't want to do, that I practice. Now if I do, what I will not to do, is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. That sin, that other life, that old life that God has called us to put out of our lives, to bury that man. And we spend the rest of our lives burying that man and putting on the new man. And Paul says, I recognize it's the old self that's leading me to do these things. That's what needs to be buried. I can't listen to that self anymore. I need to listen to God. I find then, verse 21, I find then a law that evil is present within me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God, according to the inward man. I know it's the right way. I know what God says is right. I believe him.

In the inward man, I believe that, but I just don't want to do it. But I see another law in my members, or against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? How will I ever overcome self? How can I ever show myself to God and build myself to Him that He can give me what He wants to give me? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. Through his life, Paul learned discipline.

Through our lives, God wants us to learn discipline. He wants us to do the thing that's right, not cover it up, not hide it, not choose the easy way out, not the way that leads to destruction and regret and remorse, but the narrow way that leads to life, the narrow way that leads to freedom, the narrow way that leads to joy, that leads to life everlasting. The choice is yours, the choice is mine. Will we choose discipline, or will we choose regret?

Thank you, Mr. Shaby. For the final hymn this afternoon, let's pick up our hymnals once again and rise and turn to page 102. We're going to sing God Speaks to Us, page 102, and after this will be led in the closing prayer by Mr. Michael Hemingway.

We'll sing God Speaks to Us, page 102, and after this will be led in the closing prayer by Mr. Michael Hemingway.

Please remain standing for the opening prayer, brethren.

I'm sorry, closing prayer.

You're holy and heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for this holy Sabbath rest and everyone who's come out to be with those like-minded and of the same mind to hear and read your word today. Your Lord, we ask that as we hear and read your word and we meditate on it, that we have and we practice self-discipline in our lives and obeying your word, your commandments.

Your Father, we thank you, Lord, for your blessings in our lives. We ask that your will be done in our hearts, in our homes, and in the church. We ask your blessings upon those who suffer from sickness and sorrow, to guide the hands of those who tend to our care. We ask that you bless the food and drink that we partake of, that it may be good, and satisfy our hunger and our thirst, and bless the hands that have prepared the food. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. Bless and exalt it is your name above all things, and all power, might, glory, honor, and dominion is yours. Amen.

Amen.