Thank you, Michelle, and welcome everyone to church this morning.
! It's great to see you.
I am Steve.
I've never met you before.
I'm senior pastor here at St. Paul's.
As Nick said, we're closing off our vision series for this morning.
So if you keep your Bibles open there, 1 Corinthians 9, that'd be fantastic.
The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was a classical scholar
and a self-confessed critic, particularly of the Christian faith,
religion generally, but particularly the Christian faith.
He once said that he would believe in the Redeemer, that is Jesus,
if the redeemed Christians looked a little more redeemed.
He was making the point that from the Christians that he knew,
that he never really got the impression that there was, in fact,
a God who created all things.
You never get the impression that humanity was made in a special relationship
and in the image of God, in a special relationship with him.
You never get the opinion at all that this humanity
inexplicably set their hearts on something else than their creator God.
They destroyed themselves in the world,
and yet this God rescued them by coming into his story,
and that this God rescued them by coming into his story,
dying on a cross, and rose triumphantly,
and now reigns and rules over all things decisively,
giving them the gift of eternal life in his presence forever,
where he will restore everything and all evil and sin.
He said, you would never get the opinion that Christians believe that.
That was his point.
In fact, Nietzsche said, another one of his great quotes is,
there's really only one true Christian, and he died on a cross.
Nietzsche's point was that if that is, in fact, what Christians believed,
then why does it seem to make such little difference
in the way that they live their lives?
Why aren't they exceedingly joyous?
Why aren't they living lives shaped by that truth?
And that really is what our series has been about this year,
this term, our vision series.
When I began, I mentioned that the word Christian
Christian is a connection of its two words,
which means two words of Christian,
which means, in essence, it means followers of the Christ.
And the word Christian means a lifelong journey,
following Jesus, 100% dedication to him,
as he himself describes it,
of taking up your cross, dying to self,
being alive to him, being changed,
transformed into the character of Jesus
and with the priorities of Jesus.
To be a Christian is to be like Jesus,
like Jesus in his complete surrender to the Father,
like Jesus in his life of service of others,
like Jesus in his love for all people,
like Jesus in his patient endurance,
like Jesus in his mission to the world
to win people back into relationship with God.
And as I've said along this series,
there's often a disconnect in the Christian life
between those great truths,
our worldview, as I said last week,
and the lives that that worldview should produce.
And so this series has been looking at
regular rhythms of grace,
Christian practices, spiritual disciplines,
as they've been traditionally called,
which take those great truths of the Christian faith
and to take them from the mind
and push them down into the driving centre of our lives.
And then from there, out from there,
into transformation of character and priorities.
That's what spiritual disciplines do.
They move.
And as the great John Calvin said,
a truth that's held just in the mind
is actually not a truth that's lived by
or actually believed in
until it's pushed down into the driving centre of our lives
and out from there.
And so these rhythms, if you like,
are about pushing them down
and about that transformation in life.
And if you've been journeying through this series so far,
all the way with me,
I suppose my question is,
eight weeks in,
what next step have you taken?
what's different?
What has changed?
What are you doing differently now
that you weren't doing before?
Basically, if you get up tomorrow morning
and there's an entire disconnect from today,
what you realise is when you look at these rhythms of life
and when you start to put them into practice,
what you realise is that there's a fight on all the time.
All the time.
There is for me.
You should not assume that
as I ascend the stairs to the office at church,
there's a halo that kind of follows me.
You shouldn't assume that
because this is my profession
that somehow that I don't have a fight on
every single day as a disciple of Jesus.
I hope you got that from the very first sermon
where I basically,
within three or four minutes,
was vulnerable to you
in terms of my own day-by-day struggles
as a disciple of Jesus.
There is a fight on every day.
And so what this means is
that self-control is crucial in life.
And that's really the message today
as we look to take our next steps.
What does it mean to have a life of self-control
in order to put these into practice?
So if you've got the St Paul's app,
you'll see three things there.
The first one is the heart and self-control.
Now, the word for self-control in 1 Corinthians 9,
which is just read out to us,
is actually in verse 25,
even though it wasn't in the English version
that was read out.
In the original language,
the word there is,
everyone who competes in the games
goes into, the English says,
strict training.
Literally, it means self-rule.
Anyone who competes in the games
goes into self-rule or self-control.
That is, the athlete exerts self-control,
self-rule in all things.
The runner runs for the prize,
the athlete for the crown,
the boxer,
which is another one there,
another word,
is to strike a blow.
That's what they do.
The boxer doesn't go into strict training
in order to punch the air.
They go into strict training
to punch a chin
or whatever it can,
above the belt.
Paul says here that he beats his body.
And by that he means
he is wearing down his resistance
in every area of his life
so that he might reach the goal.
In case,
the prize is in verse 27.
He says,
I strike a blow to my body
and make it my slave
so that after I have preached to others,
I myself will not be disqualified
for the prize.
He exercises self-control
to make sure that his life itself
aligns with his belief,
with what he preaches.
And the secret ingredient for Paul in that
is the heart.
It's the heart.
In modern times,
we tend to think
that the secret to self-control
is willpower.
And particularly in Western culture,
we think that the secret to self-control
is willpower.
You know,
athletes,
you know,
they just have this extraordinary,
powerful mind
and are able to,
you know,
assert the will
over everything.
So if I had placed before me
a bucket of Rocky Road ice cream
and I want to eat it all,
what I need to do
is I need to convince myself
that if I was to eat it all,
then it would be really bad for me,
really bad for me.
And so I need to assert my willpower
over the desire of the heart
to eat an entire bucket
of Rocky Road ice cream
or one of those big buckets of KFC
or whatever it is
that you're...
Now,
so in other words,
the modern concept of self-control
is an exercise of the mind.
It is willpower
over emotions
and desires
and feelings,
which is exactly
how the ancients regarded
willpower
or self-control.
In ancient Greek stoicism,
that was their concept
of self-control.
Stoicism regarded
that a life lived well
was a virtuous life,
a good life.
Virtues,
really four main ones
for the Stoics
was wisdom,
justice,
courage,
and self-control.
And so for the Stoics,
like all of Greek culture,
which Western civilization
is built on,
the mind,
knowledge,
reason
was always
supreme
over emotions,
feelings,
and desires.
They emphasized
the importance
of self-control
and emotional regulation
to navigate life well.
So you can have
a very strong
desire for something,
but self-control
was to ensure
that you
convinced yourself
of
negating
the desire
and pursuing
the rational.
If you can rid
your life of desires,
feelings,
and emotions,
then you are living
a virtuous life.
Now the Bible
does not think
of self-control
as taking
the mind
and will
and asserting
it over
the desires,
the feelings,
and the emotions.
Primarily
because in the Bible
humanity
is made in God's image
and therefore
desires,
feelings,
and emotions
are part of
who we are.
It's part of
the whole person.
But verse 25
gives us
the Bible's
key
to self-rule,
self-control.
Everyone
who competes
in the games
goes into
strict training,
goes into
self-rule.
They do it
to get
a crown
that will
not last,
but we,
and he's referring
to Christians here,
we do it
to get a crown
that will last
forever.
What Paul's saying
here,
the Bible's view
is,
it's not
that an athlete
doesn't want
to eat
a bucket
of Rocky Road
ice cream,
or their equivalent.
it's not
that they
don't want
to stay
up all
night
with their
friends
and party.
It's not
that they
don't want
to sleep
in
every day
or most
days,
particularly
if they're
teenagers.
And they
don't really
want the
fatigue,
they don't
really want
the exertion,
and they
don't really
want the
expenses,
and they
don't really
want the
injuries.
But what
they do
want,
more than
anything else,
is the
prize,
the crown,
the medal.
That's what
they want.
You see,
self-control
is not a
matter of
the will,
it's a matter
of the heart,
it's a matter
of what it
is that you
set your
desire on.
it's a
matter of
what you
have
affections
for.
Self-control
is about
setting the
heart,
the driving
centre of
the life,
which is
the way
the Bible
understands
it,
on the
nobler,
higher,
and most
important,
greater
thing.
Self-control
is not
that some
people have
a stronger
will than
others,
or less
feelings
and emotions
and desires
than others.
It's a
matter of
what we
set our
hearts
on.
What we
desire
the most,
the thing
that the
heart
most wants,
orders
all of
the other
desires of
the heart.
self-control
is about
setting our
hearts and
our desires
on the
one
major
want
in life,
and that
major want
will order
all the
other major
wants in
life,
even as
a diabetic.
Frankly,
there are
times when
I would
love to
eat a
bucket of
Rocky Road
ice cream.
But,
more than
a love
for Rocky
Road
ice cream
is a
love to
be alive,
a love
to be
healthy,
a love
to be
functioning,
a love
for all
of my
limbs to
stay
attached,
and for
me not
to be
blind,
for instance.
That is
a greater
love for
me than
Rocky
Road
ice cream.
The
higher
want
or love
or desire
will
always
win,
always
win.
What
main
thing we
set our
hearts
on
is the
thing
that we
will
think,
it's the
thing that
we think
will fill
our deepest
longings of
our heart.
will
make us
something,
that will
set us
apart.
The
thing that
we think
will make
us win
will
always
win.
Thomas
Chalmers
was a
Scottish
Presbyterian
minister,
professor of
theology,
he was a
political
economist.
He's been
referred to
once upon
a time
as
Scotland's
greatest
19th
century
churchman.
He preached
a very
famous
sermon
called
The
Expulsive
Power of
a New
Affection.
He made
the powerful
point that
bondage to
sin and
self is
only truly
broken by
a stronger
affection.
One
affection is
only ever
removed from
the place of
primary existence
in our
heart, the
depths of
our heart,
by a much
stronger
affection.
All of
our actions
and our
habits in
life are
connected to
our deepest
desire in
life.
Bad
habits are
only replaced
by more
compelling
joy in
life.
Now I've
updated the
language a
little bit for
our context
and not
doing it in a
Scottish accent
in any way
even though that
is my
heritage but
in essence he
wrote this,
says, we
only cease to
be the
slave of
one appetite
because another
has brought
it into
subordination.
A youth
may cease to
idolise
sensual
pleasure but
it's because
the idol of
wealth and
career success
has gotten
the ascendancy.
There is not
one personal
transformation
where the
heart is not
left without
an object of
desire.
The heart's
desire for
one particular
object may
be conquered
but the
desire to
have some
object is
unconquerable.
There is no
void in other
words of desire
in the heart
and it
controls
everything in
life.
The only way
to dispossess
the heart of
an old
affection is
by the
expulsive
power of
a new
one.
If we set
our hearts
on being
the best
athlete in
any kind
of particular
discipline,
it will bring
self-control
in some
things but
it will never
bring self-control
in all
things.
If you find
you are not
the best,
it will always
be just out
of reach and
you will start
to lose
control of
your emotions.
you will
start to
blame other
people.
Relationships
will suffer.
If career
success,
then some
things will
be able to
be self-controlled
but not all
things.
If it's
family harmony,
you'll be able
to control
some things
but not all
things.
So,
this brings us
to the second
point.
What is the
one thing
that if we
set our
hearts on
it will
bring us
self-control
in all
things.
And we
get that
in verse
23.
I do
all
this
for the
sake of
the gospel
that I
may share
in its
blessings.
When Paul
writes there,
I do all
this,
he's looking
back to
what he's
written in
chapters
7 to
9 and
actually
looking forward
as well
into what
he's about
to write
in the
rest of
9 and
into 10
which if
you look
at it all,
the theme
of self-control
is the thing
that floats
through the
whole thing
and he does
it all
for God's
glory.
All of it.
And bear
in mind
that when he
talks about
a life of
sacrificial service
of all people
and of God,
this is the
Paul who
endured so
much personal
sacrifice.
He suffered
so much
in life.
so much
hardship.
He consistently
surrendered his
personal freedom
and at the
same time,
this is the
Apostle Paul
who virtually
in every list
that I've seen
to this day
is listed
as one of the
top 10
most influential
people
in the history
of humanity
to this day.
And Paul
tells us
that this
life of
self-control
has one
source.
It is one
desire of
the heart
for the
sake of
the gospel
that I
may share
in its
blessings.
Now there's
one desire,
two aspects.
The blessings
of the gospel.
The gospel,
as I said
last week,
is fundamentally
the absolute
core foundational
message of the
Christian faith.
life-altering
news
that even
though I
am deeply
sinful
and evil
and flawed
and deserving
of God's
judgment
because of
my rejection
of God,
of our
created God,
the world
who's made
all things,
I've rejected
him by
determining
to live
life my
own way
as myself
as Lord
and master
of my own
life,
that if I
put my
trust in
the substitutionary
death of
Jesus Christ,
the Son of
God,
who died
on a Roman
cross in
history,
I am
forgiven,
I'm loved,
I'm affirmed,
and I'm at
peace with
God.
And God's
love for me
in Jesus
Christ is
as high
as the
heavens are
above.
In Jesus
I am
unconditionally,
unchangeably,
constantly,
eternally,
delighted in
by God.
despite who
I am,
despite my
falls and
my failures.
That's the
message of
Easter.
So that's
coming up
in the next
four weeks.
We're looking
at the hope
of the gospel.
And what
Paul says
is if the
main thing
that I set
my heart
on is
that good
news,
if that is
the thing
that's the
driving centre
of my life,
if that is
my joy
and my
hope,
then self-control
is possible
in all
things.
Because
in Jesus
I am
affirmed
already
despite my
performance.
I am
loved and
accepted already
despite my
performance.
I have the
praise of
the praise
worthy.
You see,
the gospel
is the
only thing
that I
can set
my heart
on and
never
lose it.
The
radical
security
of the
gospel
means
we don't
have to
secure it,
don't have
to maintain
it,
don't have
to keep
it.
It's
guaranteed.
Notice
though that
the gift
of the
gospel
does not
lead to
passivity
on Paul's
behalf.
See the
rest of the
sentence,
that I
may share
in its
blessings.
Now the
word share
there is
a word that
means partnership
in the
original New
Testament
language.
Paul's
passion is
to share
the benefits
of the
gospel to
others.
The passion
of his
heart was
for others
to see
the ultimate
treasure
that Jesus
Christ and
the gospel
really are.
and this
meant for
him that
he wanted
to make
sure that
there was
nothing in
his life
that would
cause others
to miss
the ultimate
treasure that
Jesus is.
He didn't
want anything
to disqualify
him from
that prize,
the prize of
sharing the
blessings of
the gospel
with others.
that is,
if you look
at it,
Paul's
fundamental
focus in
life,
his main
desire was
actually away
from himself.
You see,
when I
train for
a run,
and I
don't put
myself in
the athlete
category at
all,
when I
train for
a run
that I'm
participating
in,
I exercise
self-control
in that
part of my
life so
that I
can achieve
something for
myself.
Normally a
finish is
medal,
that's about
it really,
just finished.
if I get
there in
time,
they're all
gone.
Ironically,
the one
thing I'm
doing as
I'm training
for that
goal,
for me
historically,
the one
thing that
I'm not
able to
control is
how much
I train
myself.
I tend
to always
run myself
into an
injury.
Paul
rests
secure in
the good
news of
Jesus
Christ as
the deepest
desire of
his heart
and from
there it
drives him
out to
exercise
self-control
in all
areas of
life that
he might
share it
with others.
You see,
the gospel
loudly
proclaims
that in
Jesus
everything
that we
need for
life and
salvation
is already
done.
It's not
something that
we do.
We receive
God's
approval,
we don't
achieve it.
And yet
Paul is
not
passive.
Now,
over this
term,
we've been
looking at
seven rhythms
and these
seven rhythms,
what they're
doing is
constantly
keeping the
gospel in
front of
us.
And these
seven rhythms
push it down
into our
hearts to
bring about
the change
of character
and priorities
that the
gospel demands.
These are
rhythms that
are done
privately and
corporately
because we
need the
clarity and
the accountability
and the
support of
others on
the journey
to bring
about that
change.
All of
these rhythms
are both
private and
corporate.
They are not
things we
do to win
God's
favour.
We pursue
them because
we have
God's favour
in the
gospel of
Jesus.
And these
rhythms take
us deeper
and deeper
into the
good news.
Rhythms like
these are
in fact God's
gracious gift
to us.
Gracious
gift to us
for our
endurance and
growth into
all the
blessings of
what we have
in Jesus.
The key
to endurance,
the key to
self-control
is the
gospel.
and with
self-control
we see the
gospel and
experience the
gospel more.
But it's
not easy.
And I
asked the
question a
moment ago,
what are you
doing differently?
What's changed
in the last
month?
What are you
doing differently?
What steps
have you
taken?
Because the
reality is
it's not
easy,
it's a
battle.
Discipline
and self-control
are never
easy.
Many a
time we
will want
to give
up because
we are
weary or
losing heart.
And if we
are not
pursuing these
disciplines or
disciplines like
these, it's
actually one of
the key signs
that you
are in fact
losing heart
and weary.
We must
never take
our eyes
therefore off
the endurance
of Jesus,
the self-control
of Jesus.
And one
of the best
descriptions
of this is
Hebrews
chapter 12
verses 1
to 3.
Now these
sentences,
if you want
to stick it
up on the
screen,
these sentences
highlight the
self-control
of Jesus
Christ.
Jesus knew
everything that
happened to
him was going
to happen to
him.
He knew
that he
would be
betrayed,
he knew
that he
would be
abandoned,
he knew
that he
would be
killed and
yet he
still did
it.
He did
it so
well in
fact,
it says
there that
he endured
the cross
and he
scorned
its shame.
So where
did he get
the self-control
to endure
the hardship
and the
self-control
to regard
the shame
of the
cross,
dying on
that cross
for the
sin of
humanity
regarding it
as absolutely
nothing?
Was it
that he
had a
great
willpower,
more
willpower
than any
other human
being?
no.
It's
right there
for the
joy
set before
him,
he endured
the cross
scorning
its shame.
You see
the secret
of self-control
is setting
heart on
the right
thing.
Jesus
did not
have
willpower,
he had
joy power.
so what
was it
that Jesus
set his
heart on
that gave
him such
joy
that he
endured
such
rejection
as the
cross,
the shame
of the
cross?
What was
the joy
that was
before Jesus?
What
did he
set his
heart on
that led
him to
endure
what he
endured?
to
exercise
the
self-rule
of
allowing
people
that he
created
to nail
him to
a cross?
What was
the passion
of his
heart
that gave
him such
self-control?
for?
Now,
a few
times in
the past
as I've
looked at
this,
let me
make it
brief.
It's the
one thing,
it's the
one thing
that an
eternal,
perfect,
satisfied,
loved,
fulfilled,
powerful God
did not
have before
the cross.
And that's
you.
That's me.
It's
humanity.
It's what
drove you
and I
are the
ones that
drove him
to the
cross.
And yet,
the joy
of what
would be
achieved in
bringing us
back to
him,
meant that
he exercised
self-control
and allowed
us to do
it.
Rebellious,
sinful,
humanity
created for
him,
but setting
the passions
of their
heart on
everything else
but him.
Jesus
endured,
self-disciplined
because he
loves us
like that.
Grasping
that truth
more and
more,
looking to
the cross
more and
more,
will cause
us to
love him
like that.
The secret
to a life
of self-control
is pursuing
these rhythms
of grace
which constantly
put the
gospel in
front of
us,
not,
not
willpower,
joy.
It's
joy in
Jesus
and the
gospel.
In the
power of
the gospel
of Jesus
Christ to
fill our
deepest
longings
and desires
of our
hearts,
the gospel
of Jesus
Christ is
the only
expulsive
power and
the ultimate
desire and
affection of the
heart that
will drive
out every
other desire,
the ones
that your
day-to-day
practices and
habits in
life are
currently
demonstrating
that you're
pursuing
and that
I'm
pursuing.
The
rhythms of
grace flow
out of a
gospel-renewed
heart but
they are
also the
agents,
the means
of heart
renewal so
that Jesus
becomes our
delight and
joy as
we are
his.
And so
as we
finish off
this service
today,
we're just
going to
look to
Jesus one
last time
as we
participate
in the
Lord's
Supper
together.
We're
going to
gaze on
Jesus as
we participate
in this.
We're going
to lift our
hearts to
him this
morning as
we eat
and we
drink with
grateful
hearts
for the
mercy of
his love
for us,
mercy that
saw him
joyfully
self-controlled
as he
endured the
cross to
win back
rebellious
creation,
humanity back
into relationship
with himself
and to give
us an
affirmation,
a love,
a security,
a hope that
will never
be taken
away.
Amen.