Brothers and Sisters,
How are you doing with conquering “inner space?” 1 Peter 1:13-“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled. . .
We all have good intentions. We all want good things for our lives and our families and yet we often find ourselves dealing with consequences that come from a lack of self-control.
It’s not that we love sin, but when we really are honest we find we love pleasing ourselves more than we hate sin and the other things that keep us unproductive in our Christian walk and witness.
How has this happened? What can we do about it?
Read Galatians 5:16-23: 16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies,(don’t all of those depict a lack of self-control?) I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Why is it so hard? Why do we give in so easily and fall for so much without even putting up a fight? Perhaps the answer lies in the hyphenated word itself. “Self-control.” The emphasis is on our ability. For the Christian, perhaps it could be more aptly termed, “Spirit-controlled.” You and I cannot be self-controlled. We must be transformed by the Holy Spirit if it is ever going to happen. It is a spiritual fruit that is only the work of the Holy Spirit.
Proverbs 25:28 paints a dramatic portrait of the individual who lives an out of control life, “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.”
Broken down walls were bad news in the Ancient World. The walls were a city’s main source of protection. Broken walls meant a city was always vulnerable to attack. Broken walls meant a city would always be poor. Nothing of value could be kept in a city without walls because it would be easily stolen. Nothing significant or sacred could be built in a city without walls because it would be destroyed. People who lived in cities without walls weren’t peaceful. They were always afraid of who or what was coming in next to take advantage of them. All of these pictures depict the person without self-control.
If you sense you lack self-control in any area of your life I want to encourage you to:
1. Talk to God about your problem. Admit you lack self-control. Ask God to fill you with the Spirit of God and to empower you in the area of your weakness.
2. Talk to the problem about God. TItus 2:11-12, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. . .”
Tell your temptation why your “no” is “no.” Speak and say, “Jesus doesn’t want me to do that and in the Holy Spirit’s power, I am not going to” or say “Giving in won’t take me where God wants me to go, and I’m not going down that road. With God’s help in the Spirit’s power I will resist this temporary high for something much greater; something that will sustain me and give me peace long term.”
3. Talk to other people about the problem. We need accountability. When you share your struggles and your victories with other Christian brothers and sisters, you make yourself voluntarily accountable.
Conquering inner space, conquering ourselves requires not only that we prepare our minds as we talked about last week, but that we seek the control of the Spirit of God completely in our lives in order that we may live self-controlled lives. Isn’t it time to end the rat race? Isn’t it time to get order in your life? Isn’t it time to quit living from paycheck to paycheck? Isn’t it time to quit hiding secret addictions? Isn’t it time to pay attention to our health and get adequate rest? Shouldn’t we make teaching and modeling self-control to our children a high priority? Isn’t it time to reign ourselves in and be submissive to the Spirit of God?
Walking with you in pursuit of the Spirit’s control.
Pastor Melissa
