Most successful people in this world learn at some point in time that the disciplined life is the easiest life you can live and that the disciplined life is the easiest load you can carry. Think about this for a moment. Who enjoys life the most? Is the one who enjoys life the most a person whose life is out of control? Or, is the one who enjoys life the most the person who has discipline?

Millions of dollars are made every day by casinos, liquor stores, bars, drug dealers, and porn sellers. Those dollars are mostly taken from those whose lives are out of control, who have little discipline in their lives. Because their lives are out of control, without discipline, they are carrying a heavy burden. Who is going to have the abundant life that Jesus talks about in John 10:10? It is the person who will take the yoke of the Lord Jesus upon themselves. It is the person who will come under the Lord’s discipline. It will be the person for whom Jesus is Lord and not just a fire insurance policy.

III. To be a true disciple of Jesus, a disciple indeed we must come under His discipline. What are some of those disciplines?

Prayer is one of those Christian disciplines. Who has the lightest load? People who pray, or those who don’t? The apostle Paul tells us of the great peace that is available to us through prayer, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7)."

Bible study is a discipline. Who lives with more peace? Who has more success? Those who know the promises of God or those who are ignorant of God’s promises and of the power of God’s Word? We are told in the book of Joshua that the Word of God can give us success, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:8)."

Going to church is a Christian discipline as the writer of Hebrews tells us, "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25)."

The Bible says in Hebrews 10, "... not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is." When we assemble together, we know we have worshiped God and have established relationships with people of God who will be there when life’s burdens must be carried. When we assemble with other believers "love and good works" are stirred up in our lives. However, many Christians do not see attending church as being a priority or a necessity. They may think going to the lake or to the beach as being a necessity. They may think watching or going to sporting events is a necessity, a priority in their lives. But church attendance is on the same level in priority as with visiting your Grandparent’s grave, calling your old friend you haven’t seen in years, and visiting those in the nursing home. You really do have every intention of doing it …., unless of course something else more important (or maybe we should say, more fun) comes up. In way too many lives, church attendance seems to be at the bottom of the list in terms of priority.

If we are disciples indeed we ought to be in church every Sunday. We ought to be here Sunday morning for Sunday School. We ought to be here for the Sunday morning worship service. We ought to be here Sunday night for discipleship training and for the evening worship service. And, we ought to be here on Wednesday night for the service then.

Our burden is made lighter when we accept these disciplines and become true disciples of our Lord. As the apostle Paul says in Romans 12:2, "…do not be conformed to this world." That’s really the problem with our lack of church attendance isn’t it? We are not disciples indeed because we are just too conformed to what the world is doing. The world isn’t coming to church so we don’t either.

IV. How do we get from not caring to actually living the Christian life as a disciple indeed? Jesus tells us, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me (Luke 9:23)."

When I was in junior high I was having trouble with spelling tests which we had every week on Fridays. We were to spell and then write out the definition for twenty words. I could spell the words fine but remembering the definitions was causing me all kinds of problems. I was making 60s, and 70s on the tests and barely sqeaking by. To be honest I tried cheating for a while and my grades greatly improved but my conscience didn't like it and it just made me feel bad. So finally I tried studying. I had a study hall the hour before the spelling class and when I spent that hour learning the words and definitions I began receiving perfect scores on the spelling tests. But there was a price to pay and it was a matter of discipline. I had to discipline myself to spend the time necessary to study and learn the material.

I am not and never was an athlete, although I was involved with TaeKwon-Do for a time. I do know that it takes much discipline to succeed in any sport and I can only marvel at the amazing athletic ability of those participating in the Olympic Games in China. What great discipline they have had to have to even reach these games!  Michael Phelps for example has trained every day four hours in the water and one hour on land. Now that training is paying off with broken world speed records and a record breaking eight gold medals!!

V. In most areas of life we know that in order to excel we must be disciplined. Certainly an athlete must be disciplined to attain Olympic form and quality. An artist must practice their art as must a musician. Most, however, seem to resist the idea of discipline for the Christian in mastering the Christian disciplines. Jesus in Luke 9:23 is clearly stating the need for discipline to live the Christian life. He says it will not be easy when He says to take up our cross and to deny ourselves. He makes it clear, we are to be disciplined when he says to do this "daily."

It takes discipline to read the Word of God regularly, to pray frequently, and to attend church faithfully. Of course, these things alone do not make up a life wholly given to God. But they are necessary before a life can be wholly given to God. Margueritte Bro, a great prayer warrior, once said, "In almost any skill allied to science, or plain old living, it is every day that counts. Prayer grows in meaning as we grow in practice. The very regularity of our period of devotion works for us... inducing the mood and quality of devotion."

The world's best cyclist, Lance Armstrong, says this about pain: I become a happier man each time I suffer. That sounds strange but Armstrong says that, Suffering is as essential to a good life, and as inextricable, as bliss. The old saying that you should live each day as if it’s your last is a nice sentiment, but it doesn’t work.

Take it from me, Armstrong says. I tried it once, and here’s what I learned: If I pursued only happiness, and lived just for the moment, I’d be a no-account with a perpetual three-day growth on my chin. He says, Cancer taught me that. Before cancer, whatever I imagined happiness to be, pretty soon I wore it out, took it for granted, or threw it away. He says, that, A portfolio, a Porsche, a coffee machine--these things were important to me. So was my hair. Then I lost them, including the hair.

When I was 25 Lance says, I was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer, which had metastasized into my lungs and brain. He says, I sold the car, gave up my career as a world-class cyclist, lost a good deal of money, and barely hung on to my life. When I went into remission, I thought happiness would mean being self-indulgent. Not knowing how much time I had left, I did not intend to ever suffer again. I had suffered months of fear, chemotherapy so strong it left burn marks under my skin, and surgery to remove two tumors. Happiness to me then was waking up. Armstrong goes on to say, I ate Mexican food, played golf, and lay on the couch. The pursuit of happiness meant going to my favorite restaurant and pursuing a plate of enchiladas with tomatillo sauce.

But one day Armstrong’s wife, Kristin, put down her fork and said to him, "You need to decide something: Are you going to be a golf-playing, beer-drinking, Mexican-food-eating slob for the rest of your life? If you are, I’ll still love you. But I need to know, because if so, I’ll go get a job. I’m not going to sit at home while you play golf."

Armstrong stared at her and Kristin said, "I’m so bored". Suddenly, Armstrong understood that he was bored, too. The idleness was forced; he was purposeless, with nothing to pursue. He says that conversation changed everything. I realized, Armstrong says, that responsibility, the routines and habits of shaving in the morning with a purpose, a job to do, a wife to love, and a child to raise--these were the things that tied my days together and gave them a pattern deserving of the term living.

Within days Armstrong was back on his bicycle. He says, For the first time in my life, I rode with real strength and stamina and purpose. Without cancer, I never would have won a single Tour de France. Cancer taught me a plan for more purposeful living, and that in turn taught me how to train and to win more purposefully.

Are you disciplined in your devotional life? Maybe it is time for a renewed commitment to a daily walk with your Lord? What would it take? What would it take for you to get serious about being a real disciple of Jesus Christ? A health crisis?

A disciplined devotional life will bring rewards of joy, peace, inner strength, steadfastness and more here on earth and far more in eternity. As the Olympic athletes are going for the gold. We also need to go for that abundant life that God has for us here on earth and for those eternal rewards.

So, in that sense and in that spirit - let us all go for the gold!!