There is a quiet ache beneath the noise of our age.

We are connected—but unguarded.
Busy—but undisciplined.
Influential—but internally unstable.

In this sermon, we open Proverbs 25:28 and 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 to confront a sobering truth:

Spiritual authority requires self-government.

Not charisma.
Not gifting.
Not platforms.

Self-government.

“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28)

God never designed His people to live exposed to every impulse and vulnerable to every temptation. From Eden to the New Jerusalem, redemption restores order—God reigning again in the human heart.

If we want enduring influence, we must rebuild the walls.

Maybe you feel the breach.

The anger that flares too quickly.
The habit that quietly masters you.
The distraction that thins your prayer life.

You are not alone.

I’ve known seasons where I rebuked the enemy while neglecting my own gates—praying for deliverance when God was calling me to discipline. And by grace, He did not condemn me. He trained me.

Scripture says the grace of God trains us (Titus 2:11–12).
Grace does not excuse lack of discipline—it empowers transformation.

Self-control is not self-salvation.
It is Spirit-formed strength under the lordship of Christ.

The apostle Paul writes:

“I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27)

Paul feared not losing salvation—but losing usefulness.

God does not entrust public authority to those who reject private obedience.

We cannot demand spiritual authority while neglecting spiritual governance.

So we must ask:

• Where are the walls broken?
• Where has indulgence replaced vigilance?
• Where has comfort displaced calling?

Collapse rarely comes from one dramatic decision.
It comes when discipline is postponed, repentance delayed, vigilance relaxed.

Beloved—rebuild the walls.

This message is not about perfection.
It is about submission.

Present your body as a living sacrifice.
Submit your will under Christ’s rule.
Train by grace for the long race.

Run—not aimlessly.
Fight—not shadowboxing.
Endure—for an imperishable crown.

Authority in the Kingdom flows from obedience under the King.

Let the Holy Spirit govern your desires.
Let Scripture order your appetites.
Let grace train your will.

Spiritual authority is sustained not by gifting, but by grace-trained self-government under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 25:28
1 Corinthians 9:24–27
Titus 2:11–12
Romans 12:1
1 Peter 5:8

Where has your life grown unguarded?

Ask the Spirit to search you—not to shame you, but to sanctify you. The same Christ who ruled His spirit in the wilderness and submitted His body to the cross now reigns to strengthen you.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
You endured for the joy set before You. Train us by grace.
Rebuild our walls. Govern our desires. Make us vessels fit for Your use.
Let our authority flow from obedience.
In Your mighty name, Amen.

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Work hard—but only under the weight of grace, not guilt.

Grace Trains Before It Sends

Titus 2:11–14

There are moments when help arrives just in time—a light in the dark, a voice before danger, a hand when strength is gone. We know the relief of rescue.
But Scripture presses us further: rescue alone is not enough.

A child saved from a fire must still learn to live safely.
A patient healed in surgery must still submit to rehabilitation.
A sinner forgiven must still be formed.

Grace that only pardons but never parents leaves us fragile.
Grace that only rescues but never remains leaves us undiscipled.

Into that tension, Titus 2 speaks with holy clarity:
Grace does not merely arrive as a moment—grace remains as a mentor.
Grace does not only save us from wrath; it trains us for life.
Grace does not end in private relief; it sends a purified people with purpose.

Grace trains before it sends.

We live in a culture of instant solutions. Download. Swipe. Click.
And salvation, in our imagination, becomes something we receive without something we enter.

Many want Christ as Savior but resist Him as Trainer.
Forgiveness without formation.
Heaven secured, habits unchanged.

But real change always requires training.
You can be pulled from the water—but you must still learn to swim.
You can be forgiven—but you must still learn to walk in freedom.

Titus 2 doesn’t scold weary believers; it shepherds them.
It doesn’t say, “Try harder.”
It says, “Grace has appeared—and grace is at work.”

Grace Appears to Save (v.11)
Grace didn’t evolve—it broke into history.
Grace has a face, and His name is Jesus Christ.
Salvation begins not with human effort but divine initiative.

Grace Trains Us to Renounce and to Live (v.12)
Grace becomes a teacher—a parent shaping a child.
It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions,
and yes to self-controlled, upright, godly lives now.

Grace does not excuse sin—it evicts it.
If grace never challenges your habits, it has not yet trained your heart.

Grace Fixes Our Hope on Christ’s Appearing (v.13)
The Christian life is lived between two appearings:
Grace came in humility. Glory will come in majesty.
Clear hope produces clean living.

Grace Sends a Redeemed People (v.14)
Christ gave Himself to redeem, purify, and claim a people—
zealous for good works.
Grace doesn’t end with forgiveness; it ignites mission.

Grace does not rush you to the mission—
Grace prepares you for it.

Lord Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior,
Thank You for grace that came near, stayed present, and keeps working.
Train what resists.
Purify what compromises.
Send us into the good works You have prepared.
Until the day of Your appearing, keep us faithful—
not earning grace,
but living as those whom grace has claimed.
Amen.

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Grace doesn’t rush the sending—grace perfects the training.

There are seasons when God’s hand feels heavy—when conviction sharpens, comforts are removed, and the soul quietly wonders, “Did I do something wrong?” Hebrews 12 confronts that fear with gospel clarity. God’s discipline is not rejection; it is relationship. Correction is not condemnation; it is confirmation that you belong. This teaching reframes hardship not as divine displeasure, but as loving formation from a faithful Father.

If you’ve ever mistaken pressure for punishment, you’re not alone. Many believers carry shame into seasons meant for growth. Scripture gently reminds us: “The Lord disciplines the one He loves.” God is not distant in correction—He is near, invested, and committed to your becoming. Discipline is love in work clothes, shaping what grace has already claimed.

Hebrews 12 presses a sobering truth: the absence of discipline is not safety but distance. God refines what He values. Correction presupposes connection. If He is training you, pruning you, or pressing you, it is because you are His. Sons submit; slaves resist. How we receive correction reveals what we believe about God’s heart.

What if this season isn’t rejection but proof? What if the pressure is not God’s anger, but His affection at work? Submit to the Father of spirits and live. Trust His hand—even when the process is painful—because His purpose is holiness, not shame; maturity, not fear. Yield to correction as an act of faith.

God’s discipline is not evidence of His displeasure—it is proof of your belonging. He corrects what He claims, trains whom He loves, and completes what He begins.

Father, thank You that You do not abandon what You adopt. Teach us to see Your correction as care, Your discipline as love, and Your training as grace. Give us hearts that trust You—even when the process hurts. Form us into sons and daughters who reflect Your holiness. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Work hard—but only under the weight of grace, not guilt.