Disciplined for the Goal, Part 1

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Christians, we have a race to run, a mission and calling for today. God calls us to a disciplined life. For some of us, that word discipline may have connotations of striving in our own strength to follow rules, as if God saves us by grace, then sends us off to the exhausting and impossible task of being worthy of that salvation. But no, God's beautiful grace follows us in its transforming work. We must discipline our hearts to abide in Christ, to live with the end in view, to surrender to His work, to His heart. But God does not send us out alone. He gives us the Spirit to walk with us and Christ's example to empower us. Today, Rich unpacks 1 Peter 4, 7-11 in this message titled, Disciplined for the Goal.

You have your copy of the Scriptures open. 1 Peter 4, we continue, we conclude a mini-series. It's been a 12-part series. I don't know if you'd call that a mini-series, but it's a sub-series within the series of 1 Peter, 12 characteristics of people who are free. And the 12th one today is, people who are free are disciplined for the goal.

Disciplined for the goal. We're going to be looking at verses 7-11 of chapter 4 that Sam just read for us. Look at verse 7, 1 Peter 4, 7. The end of all things is at hand.

That's kind of startling when you think about it. The end of all things is at hand. What is he saying? He's saying the goal approaches. Do you have your eyes fixed on the goal? Are you living with the end in view? The end is coming. Now, Peter wrote this a long time ago, before any of us was born, I think.

No, it was a long time ago. What did he mean, the end of all things is at hand? It means Jesus could come at any minute. And even Peter believed that.

Paul believed it too. Do we believe it? The time frame is not our business.

It's God's business. Am I living with the understanding that Jesus could come any day? And when that's the case, because I am in Christ, if that is true, and then when Jesus comes, my time under the sun is done. When I see him face to face, I will be glorified like him.

Do I live with that end in view? It's refreshing when you encounter somebody who does. And that's what we are called to do. Like the writer of Hebrews says, run the race that is set before us as Jesus did. How did Jesus run the race? Because for Jesus, the end of all things was at hand.

How was he running the race? Who for the joy that was set before him did what? Endured the cross. That's living with the end in view.

It's not escapism. It's not I'm just going to hide in my corner until Christ comes. And then he can gloriously take us out of all this troubled world. No, Jesus lived with the end in view by investing himself totally. That's what we're called to do.

Disciplined for the goal. John says it this way, 1 John chapter 3. Beloved, we are God's children now and what we shall be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is and everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

You see, it's an ongoing process. There is nothing in this, there is nothing that Peter presents that will in any way remotely encourage us to stand by and be passive. There's nothing passive about a life of faith.

It is an active walk. 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize so run that you may obtain it.

Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. The reward that awaits us when we are face to face with Jesus Christ. We are running a race. The goal is approaching. Every day the goal gets closer and closer for us and so we live with the end in view. Nothing passive or casual about living the faith. That being said, look at verse 7 with me again.

The end of all things is at hand. What's the next word? Therefore.

Well, I've just explained what the therefore is there for. Therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. I'm going to talk about being disciplined in attitude today. Disciplined in attitude and then we're going to talk about being disciplined in aptitude. Discipline in attitude.

Three things. To be disciplined in attitude means to be prayerfully focused. Verse 7 once again, be self-controlled, sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. The New King James translates that be serious and watchful in your prayers. It's assuming that the child of God is praying. The child of God is a praying person. Praying to your spiritual life is just as important as breathing to your physical life.

How are you doing? The Christian Standard Bible translates it serious and disciplined for prayer. I see this as the Christian who is praying is a person who is continually drawing near to God. The praying believer is a person who is continually abiding in Christ. The praying believer is a person who is walking in the Spirit. The praying believer is a person who is continually letting the Word of Christ dwell in him or her richly. You are a person who is continually rehearsing God's thoughts because he's the one who is the creator and sustainer of all. And so this is a call to walk with God.

A call to walk with God, communing with him, delighting in him. And there's reason for this because when you walk with God and you pray in this manner, you are manifesting and confessing your dependence upon God. Not only your dependence but your resolve to focus upon God and you are acknowledging your relationship with God and prayer is an alignment for you as you go about the day to day, moment by moment.

Your perspective is aligned with God's character and purpose. All of this is wrapped up what he says, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Prayerfully focused.

Let me just make something clear here. To be prayerfully focused, he's not calling us to something that you can measure in terms you don't measure it by how much time you spend in prayer. He's looking more for being disciplined in prayer. Can you say you are disciplined in prayer? If when you pray is only at a time when you think about where a crisis comes up or oh if I have time I'll pray. You're not disciplined in prayer.

People who are free are disciplined for the goal. Prayerfully focused. This is what Peter is calling us to this morning.

Let me make clear as something I've said before, I've said it a thousand times and I'll say it a thousand times more. You might be busy and you might be busy doing good things. You might even be busy doing church things. But being busy for God, say it with me, is not the same as walking with God.

I don't care how busy you are. If you're not walking with God, your soul is not being nourished. Your soul craves nourishment that comes only from God. And some people can't figure out why they're so busy doing church things, what we would call spiritual things or Christian things.

And yet they are dry, thirsty, lonely. We must walk with God. Let me say also, you have an adversary of your soul who just loves for you to be busy doing good things as long as that busyness keeps you from walking with God. Because he knows that walk with God is what will transform you and people around you. So prayerfully focused, disciplined for the goal, self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Prayerfully focused. Jesus got away to commune with his father.

Think about that. Jesus intentionally got away regularly, purposefully, to commune with his father. Why did Jesus need prayer? He's the son of God, but he needed prayer. He needed to commune with his father.

Who are we to think that we don't desperately need that? Prayerfully focused. Here's the second disciplined attitude. The first one is prayerfully focused. The second one is sacrificially loving. Look at with me at verse 8. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Disciplined attitude, number one, prayerfully focused, number two, sacrificially loving. Here's another.

I'm going to help you. Have you helped me finish this? Jesus said, love one another as?

Did you think about that? How has Jesus loved me? When I think about that, when I think about his love for me, how has he loved me? God so loved rich that he gave what?

His son. God loves me by giving himself sacrificially. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, Seven Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's word the very purpose for which you were designed. Seven Words That Can Change Your Life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace, weekdays at 10 a.m.