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The Pain of Discipline Over Pain of Regret
WHEN YOU Series pt. 3
INTRO: All 3 areas we’ve been discussing require DISCIPLINE
A] Throughout Scripture: He disciplines us – then we DISCIPLINE our bodies.
Psalm 94:12 Blessed is the one you discipline, LORD, the one you teach…
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Jack Hayford, “You can’t cast out the flesh or discipline a demon.”
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John MacArthur, “True faith is never seen as passive – it is always obedient.”
RECAP from 2017: We cannot be filled with the Spirit and always giving into fleshly desires – it makes us very weak spiritually.
B] The message of self-denial is not POPULAR, but it is powerful.
Tom Landry – The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do, in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.
C] This message will set the stage for FASTING – lean, mean, fighting machine.
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Failing to equip in this area, would be like the marines failing to equip soldiers.
D] We can’t go right into fasting without the FOUNDATION: Concrete before Wood.
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Scriptural Support – ON THE SCREEN – Romans 6:16 NASB “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death [regret], or of obedience resulting in righteousness [discipline]?”
Either way, we are slaves – “The pain of discipline over the pain of regret.”
2 Timothy 1:7 NIV For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
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Yield to the Spirit: “I feel this desire coming up. I’m going to say NO, and yield.”
Titus 1:8 NIV Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
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John Wesley required fasting so that leaders disciplined their appetites.
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Wm. Penn, “No man is fit to command another who cannot command himself.”
1 Corinthians 9:26 NIV …I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, 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.
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DISQUALIFIED: ineligible for an office because of infringement.
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FASTING: Now that the stage is set, let’s present the Main Attraction –
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Important Doctrines are always attacked – the Holy Spirit, inerrancy, holiness…
When Jesus tells us to do something, the outcome is good – More at WCFAV.org.
1 VERSE – Matt. 6:16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. [Luke 5:35 – “they will fast”.] For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
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Scripture doesn’t say, “When you sin – and if you fast.”
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We shouldn’t have a sad countenance: It is harder for us because most experience withdrawals.
This Message is important because most can’t just Fast.
The reward can be spiritual and physical – closer intimacy and feeling better [health].
The spiritual benefit is the priority – but the physical aids the process.
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Can you pray and seek God better with a headache, tight pants, and a very sluggish, lethargic body?
Body / Soul / Spirit – what you put in the mouth [body] and the mind [soul] affects the spirit – and when you feed the spirit, it affects the body and the soul.
Often when I pray for people I sense that they need to make changes.
PRAY FOR MY panic attacks, angry outbursts, and anxiety. Ok, but stop going by Starbucks twice a day, or the cigarette shop, or the sugar factory.
PRAY FOR MY arthritis, joint pain, and heart problems. Ok..stop eating the foods that inflame it.
90% of the healing that I have seen over the years was the result of good stewardship.
Very hard for me at WalMart or amusement parks: More than 12 million U.S. children are obese — one out of every six children.
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Even if they’re not overweight, most are malnourished – caffeine, coke, and junk
No one is perfect – but we go in the direction of wisdom. And He does heal miraculously, even in rebellion – but the exception only validates the rule.
PARENTS / GRANDPARENTS – You create the environment for health OR disease.
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“Make no provision for the flesh” (Rom. 13:14) – a few times I try Brownies.
Put healthy things in the refrigerator. But it’s too expensive? So is your $150 Starbucks habit, and your nail appointments. DADS, so is eating out 10 times a month – not to mention the new pair of shoes and clothes we just have to have every month.
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1] Those who don’t want to fast are often in bondage to food. 2] Or they don’t see the benefit (e.g., that’s an Old Testament teaching).
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Fasting cleans house: when the flesh is restrained, anxiety, fear, unbelief, doubt, lust, jealousy, bitterness, anger are minimized.
MEDICAL MYTH: Fasting is bad for you.
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Be careful when getting advice from those who profit from the advice.
Fasting is God’s design –
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8/19/17 “HEALTH – WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?” https://youtu.be/nZA0ISqJiJA
“Fasting is the greatest remedy; the physician within.” Philippus, father of Western medicine
“The body’s wondrous ability to self-digest and destroy needless tissue such as fat, tumors, blood vessel plaque, and other nonessential and diseased tissues, while conserving essential tissues, gives the fast the ability to restore…youth to the system.” Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
Most research on cancer and fasting supports the healing process.
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A tumor is a collection of poison.
Chemotherapy – The goal is to stop or slow the growth of cancer cells. BUT THE BODY HAS A NATURAL, GOD-GIVEN WAY TO DO THIS: Fasting.
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Fasting doesn’t attack rapidly growing healthy cells – it promotes their growth.
DISEASE is often a toxicity problem by what we consume – fasting is DETOX.
Type II diabetes is nearly eliminated – we stop fueling the disease. It’s not necessarily a progressive disease – there is hope. STARVE THE FUEL SOURCE
But remember – Body, Soul, and Spirit – all 3 need cleansing: Proverbs 14:30, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”
A mental fast and a stomach fast go hand-in-hand: starve the fuel source.
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1st Step – Get the Body Ready for Next Week [fall forward and be here]
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Spiritual Benefits NEXT week – “Lean, Mean, Fighting Machine…”
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Begin to eliminate junk – pray for heaven but plan on hell.
Those who fast have low incidence of the Flu, Colds, Sickness, etc.
Medical Supervision Recommended, but may not be supportive: Examples: If you’re on high blood pressure, fasting drops it substantially.
It’s your body:“Here is what I’m doing – and I’d like you to monitor.”
HE DOESN’T LOVE ME MORE, BUT I LOVE HIM MORE!
The Pain of Discipline Over Pain of Regret is so rewarding!
I fumble and fall often, but get back up and prepare for warfare.
“A wholly minister is an awful weapon in the hands of God” (M’Cheyne).
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