Awe Ayodele

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SELF DISCIPLINE

Memorise: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 1st Corinthians 9:27

Read: 1st Corinthians 9:24-27, (KJV)

24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Bible in one year: Isaiah 14:28-19:15, Psalm 33:12-22

MESSAGE

Self-discipline is a personal commitment and decision to voluntarily yield every aspect of one’s life to the Almighty God. This is ensuring nothing controls or influences your life outside the power of God. You must make no further provision for anything else to rule over your life except the power of God. For this specific reason of desiring to be a vessel unto honour, you deliberately narrow your choices to only what Jesus will have you do at any given time. When a man is self-disciplined, he will no longer entangle himself with the affairs of this life or with those things that add no significant value to his life as a Christian. Presenting your body as a living sacrifice is one of the ways to impose discipline on yourself.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”

Romans 12:1

The fact that some people are not determined enough to pay the price of self-discipline is a major reason why things will not work for them the way they expect. In life, nothing goes for nothing. Until there is a departure from certain things, there can never be a discovery of great things. No one will amount to something great until they are ready to make certain sacrifices, which must come through self-imposed discipline.

Having been a boxer myself, I can tell you that you can never become a champion in the world of boxing if you are not programmed to be self-disciplined. When an individual is not disciplined, he or she will not be able to go far in life. A believer will have to be disciplined when it comes to certain issues like eating, sleeping, talking etc. Some people cannot do without comfort for a while. There are some that are slowed down in life because there are numerous weights that they are entangled with. When you are not self-disciplined, it will lead to your being unfruitful and unproductive in the business of God. There are people who cannot pray as they should because they cannot allow anything to deny them of their sleep.  Some people will always eat when they should be fasting just because they cannot deny themselves of food. 13 August 2016 open heavens

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one recieveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain”.

1st Corinthians 9:27

Here, Paul was portraying the struggles that one must contend with in the Christian walk if one will have to make full proof of his ministry. Apostle Paul was willing to make all sacrifices and commitments required in evangelising to the world. He was obedient to the demands of the gospel because of the assurance that He who called him was faithful to reward him in due time. As believers, there is the need to show commitment in self-discipline to the task of our calling as ministers of the gospel. Those who prepare for competitions with the mind of receiving perishable rewards still give the competition all the sacrifice required, this is a big lesson for those of us preparing for eternal rewards. One must exercise no less commitment or sacrifice. As long as we faithfully run the Christian race, we can be assured of the gift of eternal glory in Christ Jesus. No matter the difficulties we encounter, we can be rest assured that the grace of God can be relied upon.

Prayer Point

Father, please remove anything that will hinder my greatness from my life in Jesus’ name.

 

At Home in Your Heart by Joyce Meyer

May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts!
– Ephesians 3:17If you are born again Jesus dwells on the inside of you through the power of the Holy Spirit. Your inner life—your attitudes, thoughts, and emotions—is holy ground where the Spirit of God wants to make His home. This inner life is of more serious interest to God than your outer life.If you want to be a comfortable home for God, you must give up grumbling, complaining, faultfinding, and murmuring. The Bible says God inhabits the praises of His people (see Psalm 22:3). He is comfortable in the midst of your praises. You need to wake up every morning and say, “Oh, good morning Jesus. I want You to be comfortable in me today. Praise You, Father. I love You, Lord.” And you need to go to bed every night and say, “Thank You for all the good things You’ve done today and will be doing tomorrow.” Before you do anything else, invite Jesus to make Himself at home in your heart.

The Seer.

Looking unto Jesus. (Heb 12:2)

Usually in the world today people move around with a burden behind their backs, heads or hands

It is imminent that responsibilities are carried out or else we don’t get to catch up with our peer because truth be told most times out mates are used as our measuring stick for progress in terms of affluence, looks, possession, provision or even personality.

However we are instructed to be “Looking unto Jesus”. This command talks about a continuous process of life focus which I would discuss soonest. I’ll take these three words and explain on them.

Looking unto Jesus..

A present and future tense that explains being deliberate or being stubborn. If you were to climb a mountain with a bag pack and you were told that all the benefits you will get at the top of the mountain I’m sure many of us through the journey will keep looking down while climbing. Not because down is convenient but because of the fear of falling or being pulled down or being scorned, fears and doubts may creep in. Only at selective times would we look up. Even when you walk around for example you”ll discover you look to the ground or side More than you look to the sky… That’s the nature of man but we were warned to keep our focus on Christ so that our body would he full of light ( Matt6:22). I have learnt a few concepts about light it could mean information, knowledge, power, illumination etc and all of these helps to give shape, purpose, color, definition, etc…. To what we are doing. We need to keep looking because that’s how we we can find (Matt7:7). It is therefore necessary that we look to Jesus as our destination and purpose because the odds can’t kill us but can birth strength in us.

Jesus is waiting for you to use your will power to look beyond the present circumstance and drive through your troubles to His rest. Its in your power to look and see. Don’t hold back.

Prayer: Lord I thank you for this chance and I pray you strengthen me to use my right in you, that my focus would be you as my everything. Help me and don’t let me fall or faint in Jesus name. Amen.