The Intentional Christian

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. The title that I've given to this message is The Intentional Christian. Subtitled, Living Like You Mean What You Profess. Now I know intentional is not in the, as a word is not in the text I hope to read this morning. [00:00:33] But it was the best word I could come up with in my mind that described the person that Paul is speaking about to us in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 9. If you want to turn there a while, we're going to be reading from the end of chapter 9 and into the beginning of chapter 10 of 1 Corinthians. And I had come across this passage recently, and as I was reading it and picturing in my mind the person, the believer that Paul is talking about here, I realized it was speaking to some needs in my own life, and I trust that you're a fellow human being like myself, and realize some of these same needs and challenges. [00:01:14] I'd like to start reading in verse 24 of chapter 9. Paul said, [00:01:52] and subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be cast away. I think we'll stop reading for a little bit there. We want to first look at what is an intentional Christian. What do I mean when I say an intentional Christian? We're going to look at what some symptoms would be of a careless Christian, which I think is the opposite of an intentional Christian, and what we can do if we find these symptoms in our lives. In closing, I hope to describe, at least briefly, what it means to live intentionally, or like our brother shared in the opening, a wholehearted, what does it mean to wholeheartedly seek the Lord? [00:02:34] In the end of chapter 9 here, Paul begins with a figure of speech that I think is at least somewhat familiar to us, the picture of the athlete. And as he describes here, he says, don't you know that everyone who competes in the games, everyone who runs in the race, everyone who is an athlete is temperate. In other words, he goes through training, he restricts himself. And I think if you've been following the news, you will have noticed that the Olympic Games are still underway. [00:03:10] And it's an interesting picture, interesting descriptions of the athletes as they train, as they compete, and as they strive for that mastery, down to the hundredths of a second, they're putting themselves all out to receive that prize. And those people are investing their lives in this. There's people who have been training ever since they were five and six years old. And it's the drive of their life to compete in the Olympics, to be the best in the world, to win a gold medal. And so they go to all kinds of lengths, incredible amounts of training and practicing every day. And they strive for that mastery. And he says in verse 25, now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown. I think that is so true. This all culminates in these games, the Olympic Games, and everybody competes, there's a lot of show and impressive coverage of what's happening there, but a year later, maybe it's because I don't follow the news, but I don't remember who won the gold medal last year, the last games, which were several years ago, so much of that fame that those athletes gain is only a fleeting, maybe 10, 15 minutes in the limelight, [00:04:29] and then they're passed on. It's such a temporal reward. Paul says, but we do it for an incorruptible crown. And so I think we want to draw our minds together this morning to this picture of this athlete that's training for the games, someone who's striving, who's working towards this. We know that no one goes to the Olympic Games with the hope of losing. Nobody goes there hoping to be the last to fail. to not win. [00:05:02] And so there's this push to be the best. For the children, I wanted to describe it a little different way. For you children, I'm sure you're thinking about school coming up here. And as I thought about our school and at the end of school, which was a little while ago, it seems, we always have a picnic and we have some events and games. And so picture yourself, you children, at a school picnic and everybody's lined up to run a race. Everybody is at the starting line, and you're going to run this race, and off in the distance there, there's a finish line. [00:05:36] Everybody's tense, ready to go, and the signal's given, and everybody starts running for the finish line. But what would you think if, while you saw everyone running, there was somebody that was not running with the rest? Instead, he was out walking around behind the rest. Maybe he's running in figure eights or looping around or chasing butterflies or zigzags. He's off in his own little world. He doesn't care about the finish line. He's just going elsewhere. [00:06:11] We'd think it was silly. We'd say he actually isn't in the race at all. He's doing something else entirely. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that today too many Christians are like that child. God, the finish line has been set out in front of us, we know where it is, and we've been called to pursue it, but I'm afraid too many Christians today are just doing their own little figure eights, their own little interesting diversions, their own little pursuits, and they've forgotten all about the goal that they set out for at the beginning. [00:06:43] And so I think the first thing that we should look at when we think about what an intentional Christian is or what a wholehearted Christian is, is that he's focused. Setting out to achieve a goal, just like those Olympic athletes set out for the goal of winning the gold medal. They have that goal in their mind. They have the finish line in sight and they set out. They set out with much enthusiasm, vigor, all their years of training, all of their discipline has poured into that to reach that goal. [00:07:19] How's it for us today? I really like the words of Paul in Philippians 3, where he says, Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after, if that I may apprehend, that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count myself, not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. [00:07:52] I like the way Paul explains this. It gives me hope as I look at my own life and the challenges that I face, the distractions I face, because I don't consider myself perfect. I have a feeling you probably are in the same shape with me. We're not perfect. But Paul gives us hope. He says even if we haven't reached that yet, even if we haven't taken a hold of the thing that Christ has called us to, we've got one thing on our minds. [00:08:22] We've forgotten what's behind us and we're pushing forward. We're pushing forward. We're reaching out and pressing toward the mark. The intentional Christian also thinks carefully about his race. No one enters the game without considering carefully what he needs to do to take part in it. What he needs to do to compete successfully. And I've been reading, as I was thinking about the athletes, reading about the way those who are in the games for swimming, they have special techniques they do. [00:09:00] Those who are running have special techniques. And they think carefully about this race that they're in. They think carefully and long about how to perfect what they're doing. Hebrews 12.1 says, Wherefore, seeing we are compassed about, we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God. [00:09:40] That verse has always been very vivid to me as I think about wanting to run a race or to run. My mind goes back to when I was in school. Someone came for devotions and somehow this has always stuck with me. He asked for two volunteers and I was one of them and my friend was the other. We got up to the beginning line to run and he comes up with a whole bunch of wooden blocks tied on ropes and hung around my neck and tied them around my middle. There was no way in the world I could run. I could barely even walk. [00:10:14] Imagine running with weights strapped all over you. And that's what Paul, the Hebrew writer, is telling us. He says we need to lay these things aside. We need to think about this race that we've been called to. We need to think about these witnesses that are standing beside the course watching us prepare to run. And he says, let's think about a race and lay aside. Let's lay aside these things that hang about us, that weigh us down. We won't take time to describe what all those things could be. [00:10:46] And I think that's a good subject for meditation, to think of those things that weigh us down, that hinder us from this race that we're running. And so, as we think of the intentional Christian and running with purpose, the opposite we know is that there's no focus, no goal, like that child just meandering around the race course. If we run aimlessly, there's no achievement, there's no reward. It's just running aimlessly. [00:11:19] That's what Paul is speaking to in verse 26. He says, I therefore so run, not as uncertainly. In other words, he's not uncertain. He has a goal and focus in mind. He also says that he fights not as one that beateth the air. Another opposite of the intentional life is beating the air. Maybe we do have a focus and goal, but I like the picture. Beating the air, maybe we know where the goal is, but we're fighting at the shadows of the real enemy. [00:11:50] Imaginary obstacles. We're doing something, but are we really getting anywhere? I'd like to keep reading in chapter 10 now. He's talked about this athlete, these people that are training, and he says he goes on in chapter 10 with some warnings for us as believers. And I think we'd like to take from chapter 10 here some symptoms of the careless or the aimless Christian life. [00:12:20] Starting to read again in chapter 10, verse 1. Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. [00:12:56] Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of the serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happen unto them for examples, and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. [00:13:27] Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able but will with a temptation also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. I think we'll cease reading there. And Paul goes on with some practical admonitions to the people there at Corinth, which we do well to read, but we want to look at the illustration that Paul gives us [00:14:00] from the lives of the Israelites, God's people in the Old Testament. The word, moreover, in verse 1, also translated 4 in other versions, is to tell us that he's illustrating what he's talking about in chapter 9. He says, with this in mind, I don't want you to be unaware of what happened to our fathers. And he goes on to describe what happened to them. And I think he's drawing a parallel between them and us. They were all baptized unto Moses. They all ate the same spiritual meat. They all drank of the spiritual rock, Christ Jesus. [00:14:41] And as I considered the story of God's people in the Old Testament, I realized there's a lot of similarities to us today as we walk in this Christian life. Those of us who have named the name of Jesus have had a special deliverance, just like God's people in the Old Testament were delivered. We have been delivered as well through the direct intervention of God in our lives. We look back there and see God moving through the plagues and moving in direct, literal, physical ways. [00:15:13] And I think not any less today, God has directly intervened in our lives, making us something different than we had been. God's people had a special mission and purpose as he brought them out of the land of Egypt God had a purpose for them. They were to be his people. He had taken them out and was guiding them. And we don't have any less today. We have a mission and purpose from Christ himself. And I look at God's people and see that they had started out well. [00:15:48] God brought them out, it says, with a high hand and with amazing displays of power and God's intervention. And they had every provision that they needed for this trip. And you could say, what could go wrong? And as I see God taking his people out of Egypt, it looks like they should be able to get to the promised land with no problems at all. If God is right there in person, how could you be wanting anything? [00:16:20] God was there to supply every need. But unfortunately the sad thing is as Paul says in verse 5 but with many of them God was not well pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness. The word overthrown there in verse 5 literally means they were scattered in heaps about the desert. I hope and pray today that it's not said of us that with many of us God was not well pleased. These people started out well, but they didn't end well [00:16:54] The end was not well We may think that the Israelites with their explicit revelation The person of God and the fire, the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud They should have had it easy And sometimes I wish that sometimes we would have the direct intervention of God You know, God speaking directly to me as he did to them But you know, it didn't seem to be any easier for them They fell just as we're tempted to fall [00:17:24] And Paul tells us that these things that happened to them And he gives us a whole list here Happened so that we would have an example We would have an illustration For our admonition And so I hope and pray that we can learn from the example here And I wanted to look at, just read some of these Old Testament examples and expand a little bit on these various points that he makes where he tells us that we need to watch for these things. [00:17:56] And so what are the symptoms of the careless Christian life or the aimless Christian life? I think the first one that he tells us here in verse 6 is a lust for what is denied to us. He says that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. I went back to Numbers, the book of Numbers, to see where he was referring to here. I think this is possibly what he was talking about. I'd like to read several verses here from Numbers 11 to illustrate or to expand on what he's saying here. [00:18:31] In Numbers 11, verse 4, it says, And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a-lusting, and the children of Israel also wept again and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic. But now our soul is dried away. There is nothing at all besides this manna before our eyes. Skipping down to verse 10. Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families. Every man in the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly. Moses also was displeased. [00:19:03] What was God's answer to this murmuring and this complaining? Verse 18. This is what he said to Moses. And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh. For ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt. Therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days, but even a whole month, until it come out of your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you. Because ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and ye have wept before him, saying, [00:19:35] Why came we forth out of Egypt? I think the psalmist illustrates the same, talks about the same situation in Psalm 106.14. He says, But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request, but sent leanness unto their soul. Thinking about God's people there, we know they had the provisions they needed. When they needed water, God gave them water. When they needed food, God gave them manna. [00:20:05] but so much like us today in our humanity it's not good enough. We remember all that good food we had to eat in Egypt the fish and the fruits and vegetables and it's just not good enough. Are we tempted to lust today for what is denied to us? I'm afraid we are. And just like God's people in the wilderness it isn't always bad things that we're lusting for We would like to have [00:20:35] It's just the things that they couldn't have And it's so much like that for us today It's the things that are denied to us Those are the things that stick in our minds And we say, why can't I have that? Just like that little poem that you've probably heard before About humankind When it's hot, he wants it cold When it's cold, he wants it hot Man is strange, always wanting what is not And it's so much like people today is what we don't have that we want. [00:21:08] And that want takes root in our soul and we start complaining, lusting after it. I had to think God was taking His people from bondage to freedom, had given them glorious liberty, and here they were whining and complaining about the food. You could say, how ungrateful. That's what they were lusting for is the food of Egypt. Sometimes I think we need to let God take us away from something we think we should be able to have [00:21:40] So that he can bring us into something better I see that in the lives of the children of Israel He was taking them from something to give them something better And all they could focus on was what they couldn't have The result for the Israelites who were involved in this complaining and whining The result was they died And so the warning is to us today Take warning Symptom of the careless Christian life is lusting Desiring and yearning Even for things that are okay for other people [00:22:12] But are denied to us Moving on, another symptom that Paul gives us Of the careless Christian life Is idolatry Verse 7, need to be idolaters as were some of them Beginning of the verse there I think literally means Stop becoming idolaters Implying that some of the Christians in the Corinthian church had already begun to be involved in this And I think this is a timely message for us today As I thought about God's people going into idolatry [00:22:47] My mind went to Exodus 32 The glorious account there where God was giving his people the law I'd like to read a few verses here in Exodus 32 Moses was up on the mountain with God here we remember It says in 32.1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount The people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said Up make us gods which should go before us For as for this Moses the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt We want not what has become of him And Aaron said unto them [00:23:19] Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives Of your sons and of your daughters and bring them unto me All the people break off the golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them unto Aaron and he received them at their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool after he had made it a molten calf and said, These be thy gods of Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And we'll stop reading there. Maybe you're saying this morning, okay, that was a problem the Israelites had. They had this calf and it's hard for us, I think, to imagine why they could come through this great deliverance [00:23:51] and see the power of God on the mountain and turn right around at the very base of that mountain and worship a golden calf. It seems foolish and ridiculous to us. And as I consider that, I ponder, is this really even a warning that's applicable to us today? Are we tempted to idolatry? I think the answer, unfortunately, is yes, we are. What is the idol of this age? We're not tempted today to take gold and carve a calf or some kind of object and worship it. [00:24:30] But what is the idol of this age? I believe the idol that we're tempted to worship today and that the people around us are worshiping is simply the idol of self. Look around at your neighbors, look at yourself, look at the people in this land of America. Isn't the idol that people are worshipping their selves, the self, the individual? Sometimes I think we're tempted to consider materialism as the god of this age. [00:25:02] But as someone has said, materialism is just one of the altars at which self is worshipped. Self-worship and self-focus is such the attention and the whole mindset of the world around us. And I'm afraid so often that God's people need to heed the warning that Paul gives us here To stop becoming idolaters to self We could talk, and we won't take the time to, about materialism [00:25:34] The buying of things, the accumulation of things Because there's other ways that self is worshipped as well It's not only in buying things, but self is worshipped in indulging the senses And that's the message of the world around us. We've been traveling for several days. And you go past billboard after billboard. And so much of it is about indulging your senses. Doing what feels good. You need to do what makes you feel good. [00:26:05] You need to come where we are. You need to spend your money here so that you can feel good. Indulging the senses. The other altar that it's worshipped at is glorifying the body. When we look back at the ancient world, we can easily see how the Greeks and the Romans glorified the human body and carved statues to it. But I think in today's world, in America, glorifying the body is just as much an idolatrous practice as it was back in ancient times as well. [00:26:39] The message of this world is that we should decorate our bodies, even in ways that other people don't see, because it's going to make us feel different about ourselves. But I think we need to be aware that when we pay attention to ourselves, it's so easy to be trapped in worshiping the idol of self. It also comes when we're preoccupied with what other people think of our appearances, and we're concerned about how other people are going to view me. It comes in worshipping human accomplishments. [00:27:11] And I think that's so real today as we look at the Olympics and the fame and the glory and the praise that's lifted up to these people who excel in human accomplishments. I think those are all ways that the idol of self is worshipped in today's world. And I look at my own life and realize how easy it is to be caught up in that self-worship that is all around us. The result for the Israelites who fell into idolatry, they died. [00:27:42] It's a simple message, they died. They couldn't get into the promised land. We need to take warning and flee from idolatry. What is another symptom of the careless Christian life? Verse 8, it's sexual immorality. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. In Numbers 25.1 it talks about the situation there. [00:28:13] It says, And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods, and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-Pur, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. This whole area of sexual immorality is such a very real distraction in today's world. There's a lot of evil out there. And not every temptation that we face in this world, I think, is a sign that we're careless. [00:28:46] But you know, as we get our eyes off the goal, we will find a stronger and stronger pool to yield to temptation. As I look at the warning that he gives us here, He reminds us that when the Israelites fell into immorality, they fell in one day, three in 20,000 of them. We grieve when one person dies and it's hard to fathom the judgment that God brought on them for this. It's hard to imagine. And so, Paul's warning is a stern warning to us. [00:29:21] We need to avoid that. I think it's a symptom of a careless Christian life another symptom in verse 9 neither let us tempt Christ as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of serpents tempting Christ the Old Testament account we can find in Numbers chapter 21 and they journeyed, verse 4 and they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea to compass the land of Edom and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. [00:29:54] And the people spake against God and against Moses. Wherefore have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and much people of Israel died. Are we tempted to question God and challenge God today? Maybe we're not complaining, as they were, even though I know that is a very real temptation in my own life. [00:30:28] Tempting God comes in many different ways, and we're drawn to that in many different situations. My mind also went to Matthew 4, where Satan is tempting Jesus in the temptations that he had there. One of them was to jump off the pinnacle of the temple. So, I think tempting God is not only questioning God for his goodness, but also being presumptuous, questioning, challenging God, challenging his abilities, his goodness to care for us, taking things into our own hands, and living recklessly. [00:31:04] What was the result for the Israelites who tempted God and challenged his ability to care for them? The result was they died. It's a terrible refrain, but as I look over these accounts from God's people, they died. Now the example of the serpents is such a good illustration for us today to take note of. Because as those serpents were crawling in the camp and biting the people as a judgment for what they had done, [00:31:37] God told Moses to raise up that serpent on the cross for them to look to. And just a look would be a salvation to them. And it's something we could spend more time on, but we won't. And so, a symptom of a careless Christian life is tempting God, challenging Him, questioning His abilities and goodness. He goes on to say in verse 10, Neither murmured ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. I think there's a couple of accounts that he could be referring to here in the Old Testament [00:32:12] Maybe the occasion of the quail where they complained about the food But also I wanted to read from number 16 The account here This is the account where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram had risen up and were complaining about the leadership of God's people Well, why don't you start reading in verse 31 of Numbers 16. Maybe we'll back up a little bit there. [00:32:45] Maybe just describing this scene here. These men had been complaining about Moses taking so much on himself. And God told Moses to separate these people from the congregation. And so they did. And so we picture, we have this scene here. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram Let me start reading in verse 27 So they got up, that's all the people, from the tabernacles of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram on every side, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood in the door of their tents and their wives and their sons and their little children [00:33:17] and Moses said, Hereby shall ye know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works for I have not done them of mine own hand skipping down to verse 31 here and it came to pass as he had made an end of speaking all these words that the ground cleaved asunder that was under them and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up and their houses and all the men that had appertained to the core and all their goods and they went down alive into the pit and the earth closed upon them and they perished from among the congregation and all Israel that were around about them fled at the cry of them [00:33:49] for they said lest the earth swallow us up also and there came a fire out from the Lord and consumed 250 men that offered incense It's a terrible scene of the judgment that comes on these people who had questioned God's authority. But notice with me, down in verse 41, what they did. It says, But on the morrow, the next day after they saw the earth open up and swallow these men, on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord. [00:34:21] You brought this on these people that were godly. How could have you done that? It was a murmuring, a complaining, and a grumbling attitude. Is that a warning for us today? Are we ever tempted to complain and murmur? I'm afraid I find it in my own life. Too often we think things, they just should be different. I just don't like the way it is. Other people can, and you fill in the blank. [00:34:54] Why can't I? Why can't we? We take exception at the restrictions that we have We say the church has these rules Why do we have to do this? And we so easily fall into the trap that Korah fell into The basic gist of what Korah's rebellion was about was They said, surely we're all children of God We can all decide what's right It's not right for you to tell us what to do [00:35:25] Surely we can all decide what is right for God's people to do. And that's such a prevalent thought in today's world. I'm a believer too. Why can't I decide what's right for God's people? I should be able to make the decision myself. And so often we're tempted to grumble, to complain, to murmur about the safeguards we have around us, the guidelines we have. But you know, we need to take warning today [00:35:56] Take warning, because the result to the Israelites was that they died And especially, I'm touched as I think about Korah's family This man that was involved in leading this It says his children and his little ones, they all went down into the earth with him So often, when we look at the things we don't like, the complaints we have We think about ourselves We think about what I would like, what my wishes are. But you know, I don't think Cora was thinking about his children enough. [00:36:30] And where this would take them, although I'm sure he probably didn't realize that he would take them to their grave with him. We need to take warning against the symptom of the careless Christian life that is murmuring and complaining. Why did all these things happen to God's people? They happened for an example to us. And as I get to the end of this long list of the terrible refrain that they did this and they died, [00:37:02] I had to think, what do I do if I find some of these symptoms in my life? What can I do? Well, I think the answer from Paul is that it's time to quit beating the air and running around aimlessly. We need to take a good look at the race that we're in to stop and think about what this race is about. Look again at the finish line. Sometimes that means turning around and heading back towards the finish line, repenting of what has crept into our lives, [00:37:35] whether it's a murmuring attitude or whether it's whatever it is, worship of self. We need to get our eyes back on the goal, back on the prize that's before us. My personal experience has been that whenever I lose focus on spiritual things, these symptoms just start creeping in. Maybe it's just in little ways. Maybe you could say, I'm not like the Israelites. I haven't done whatever it was that they did. But you know it's those little things that creep in that we need to be concerned about. [00:38:10] I was challenged as I was studying with the verse from Jeremiah 12.5 as I considered the ways that these things creep into our lives, even in this land of ease and plenty. Jeremiah 12.5 says, If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? And if in the land of peace wherein thou trustest they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? In so many ways, I look at my own life and realize how easy I have it. [00:38:43] I think we have it so easy. We have congregations of brothers and sisters to support us, to care for us, godly friends to encourage us. And like it says in Jeremiah, if we have done so poorly sometimes in the land of peace, what are we going to do when the flood comes? What wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? The answer is that we need to labor to enter into that rest that God has for us. [00:39:15] We need to put our minds to it. We need to put our bodies to it. We need to live intentionally. Seek God with our whole heart. And so briefly, what do we do to live an intentional Christian life? I think the first one is in verse 27 here in chapter 9 where Paul tells us that he keeps under his body and brings it into subjection. We need discipline in our lives. [00:39:46] Just like the athlete goes into training and accepts a regimen of strict guidelines about what he eats and what he does, what he wears, he brings his body into a form That's what Paul was doing He brings his body under Brings it under subjection And that's what we need to do today Discipline our lives Not for the sake of discipline Not for the sake of worshipping our own achievements and disciplining ourselves [00:40:20] But so that we can achieve the goal Discipline ourselves so we can reach the goal We also need to have focus We need to look to the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus, like we read earlier, and we need to do, we need to have action. So much, I'm afraid, of today's Christianity is good words. We can talk about the discipline, and we can talk about Jesus Christ, and we can sing about him, and feel good about our worship of him. But there's more to it than just talking about it. [00:40:52] It has got to result in action, has to result in action. We can't stand in the middle of the race course and look at the finish line and admire everybody who's running but not take a step. It'd be foolish. We need to live out the truths that we profess. And sometimes I'm afraid that we so unconsciously slip from the things that we say we profess. It's so easy to become distracted. We call ourselves plain people. [00:41:23] I think that's good and biblical. It's right to call ourselves plain people, but I think you know as well as I do that it's so easy to slip into what the Bible calls costly array. Maybe it's displays of expensive vehicles, maybe it's possessions, maybe it's clothes, but these little things tend to creep in. We talk about training up our children and teaching them, but sometimes I'm concerned that we dress them. [00:41:55] and ways that aren't consistent with godly modesty. It's all a part of living our Christian lives intentionally, paying specific attention. The athlete who paid attention to his uniform and to his training but ate whatever he wanted to eat would not be a good athlete. and so there's many different areas that come in and we won't near cover everything that could be covered this morning [00:42:26] but we need to think carefully about how we're living our Christian life one other, we talk about loving the brothers and yet so often we have long memories we can think way back to those things that happened to us in the past We've lost failures, hurts, relationships from long ago. And those things can trouble us and distract us from this race that we're trying to run. [00:42:58] And so I think it's so imperative to each of us that we look closely at our lives and think carefully about how God would have us to run this race. Look at the race and study what it's going to take to win. because failure is a possibility. Failure is a possibility. As Paul said, lest any of you seem to fall short or lest any man fail of the grace of God. That's a terrible possibility. But the warning in chapter 10 here is it is possible. [00:43:31] Just like God's people, for all of their opportunities, for all of their blessings, they died. They failed. and that whole generation was strewn in heaps across the desert. We need to take that as a warning for us today. Hebrews 10.39 in closing But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. And I trust and pray that's your faith and confidence and it's mine today as well.