OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL by Pastor E.A Adeboye (DATE: SATURDAY 13 AUGUST 2016) THEME: 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.

Message
Self-discipline is a personal
commitment and decision to
voluntarily yield every aspect of
ones 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 your life except the
power of God. For this specific reason of desiring to be 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.

“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.

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

AUTHOR: Pst E. A. ADEBOYE