Sermon Info
Summary
We live in a culture marked with excess. We have what seems to be an infinite amount of food choices, 24/7 access to email, unlimited capacity to spend, travel, buy, and invest. As good as all of these things are, we have to be careful to keep them in their proper place. Without discipline and self-control we become conquered and captivated with food, entertainment, and all of the other things we have in abundance. Where is your heart today? Are you chasing after food in a gluttonous manner, just because you can? Are you scrolling 24/7 because you actually enjoy it and it brings meaning to your life, or just because it is there? God desires to do more in our lives than we most likely even realize! Join Him today in allowing Him to refine your life!
Content
Don’t Settle For Where You Are Today
Sometimes we can get in the mindset that tells us we are never going to change... that this is simply who we are or what we do.
"I'm always going to struggle with ______."
"I wish I wasn't so ______, but oh well."
"My life is always going to be like ______."
But, the beauty of the Gospel is that we are never stuck where we are. We have a kind God who knows us at our very core. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our deepest longings, our darkest thoughts, our silly quirks – and He loves us anyway. He chooses us always. And, He tells us to daily become more and more like Him. Don't settle for just okay. Don't settle for staying where you are right now. Don't settle because our God encourages us to continue to grow and be sanctified in Him.
Find freedom from your struggles and sin by restoring the hope of growth, the hope of tomorrow, the hope because of Christ. And this includes our struggles with the sin of Gluttony.
What the Bible Says about Gluttony
Gluttony is defined as, literally, to “gulp down.” It may not be a word we use on a daily basis, but it’s a sin struggle that is very real in our world. Proverbs 23 says, Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path: Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags (Proverbs 23:19-21). It’s pretty explicitly stated here: gluttony is a sin – and there are severe consequences for this sin! Though this passage describes food and drink specifically, we can be gluttons of many different things of this world. It may be food for you, but it could also be alcohol, video games, pornography, social media, entertainment… the list goes on and on.
God’s Word also repeatedly speaks about an essential habit that we must build in our lives in order to fight against the sin of gluttony: denying yourself and choosing self-control. Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control (Proverbs 25:28). God knows our sin nature, and He knows that we are drawn to the things that destroy and harm us. Our brokenness and sinful nature lead us into destructive habits and sin struggles that we spiral further and deeper into. That’s why Scripture continually points us to self-control as a key discipline in the life of a believer.
Though God created many good things for us to enjoy – things that are not inherently “bad” things – He created them to be enjoyed with boundaries in place. “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.“I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12). When we remove, ignore, or simply never establish boundaries, we allow room for something that God created to become an idol in our lives. And that’s, ultimately, what the root of gluttony is: idolatry. Above all, we must be aware, we must confront the ways in which we are gluttonous, and we must look to others for help and accountability in the areas that we may need it.
Setting Boundaries and Eliminating Idolatry
What is it that is an idol in your life? What is the thing that you spend much (too much) of your time participating in, watching, or being entertained by?
Now, what boundaries do you have in place to keep you from continuing to indulge in this? Or… what boundaries do you need to establish?
Without a plan in place, you will not be able to succeed. Sin and the idols in our lives have a way of creeping into our hearts without us even realizing it at times, and if we simply let it happen without creating healthy and essential boundaries, we will fail, time and time again. In our own strength, we, frankly, can’t do it. We never will be able to.
It’s time we confronted the sin we struggle with. It’s time we eliminate the lies we are choosing to believe that we will never be enough, that we are a failure, or that it’s just not that big of a deal. Sin is always a big deal. It’s what nailed Jesus to the cross. But, it’s through our Jesus that we are called enough, we are called chosen, and we are called conquerors.
So, we’ll ask it again: what boundaries do you have in place? What boundaries do you need to establish? And, who are you going to ask to hold you accountable and walk with you in this journey?
We can’t do it alone… but, praise God, for we are never alone in Him.
