Next Steps

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

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

Hebrews 12:1–3

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.

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.