If you want to be good or skilled about a certain thing, especially in sports it requires discipline.
If you check out the professional athletes, they are the very first people you see practicing in the field and later after everyone had gone, they still stay longer than everyone else. These people put in more time, more effort and more commitment to train themselves. They believe if they be disciplined with their time and with their actions, they could become good, if not the best, in their chosen field. They become highly skilled in their profession. You see, dear friends, discipline involves self-control. You need self-control to do a lot of things. You can talk about committing yourself to exercise. You want to lose weight, you want to diet. You want to remove those excess flat tires you have in your belly. But you have to make sure you know control to do those things. We live in the world that’s so obsessed with “INSTANT GRATIFICATION”. Instant food, instant noodles, instant coffee, (even instant wife! – made to order bride) People would say “Why would I need to wait for the results?” I don’t have to wait and work my way to get it. I want it now”. When we go through a drive through, or a restaurant, we don’t want to wait long. We get easily angered when someone cuts us down the road and we want to get even. What you do is you burst your anger at the crew who was taking your order. You burst into anger when you catch up with the car that cuts you off. My dear friends we are in our last installment of the Fruits of the Spirit. Amen! Did we learn many things from Ptr. Mark and our Sunday schools? Hope you did. Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. And you know, I heard from a lot of people, and maybe you too, that what they struggle the most (and I’m guilty sometimes) is SELF-CONTROL. Different kinds of people, different background nationalities, all struggle from SELF-CONTROL. Maybe you have struggles too, maybe some people here, or maybe most of us are struggling with self-control? Are you? Do you feel struggling with self-control before, and now we are all Christians, there is like a battle inside of you when things get out of control. WHAT IS SELF CONTROL? It’s from the Greek Word “ENKRATEIA” EN = IN, KRATOS = POWER A state of power or self-mastery over something Basically it’s the restraint of one’s emotions, impulses or desires. It’s the ability to hold back. It’s the ability to want something but not taking it! You can be tempted to want something, but still you have the power to say no! Again, being tempted is not a sin. But can we be able to say NO when temptation knocks Beloved friends, can we tell ourselves NO, when temptation to be “out of control” comes? The best example about self-control is in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Jesus knows what you are going through right now. He understands your struggles. He understands what you are going through, your difficulties and the temptation that you are in right now. That is why we defined self-control “the ability to resist or say no”. Self-Restraint. Just a while ago we read about the account of Jesus’ temptation in Matthew Chapter 4. Can you imagine that Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights? It says there in v. 4 4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. Jesus did not eat for 1 and a half month and it says there he was hungry. When we haven’t eaten breakfast or skip a meal or two, we say we are hungry. He was hungry here means “HE WAS STARVING TO DEATH”. He really needs food and he wants it! So the devil comes and tempts Jesus to misuse His power for something that He really desired and wanted! It was a very strong desire to eat. And then the devil says, “If you’re the Son of God, all you have to do is turn that stone to become bread”. YOU SEE THE DEVIL KNOWS HE CAN DO IT. JESUS KNOWS HE CAN DO IT! HE REALLY WANTS TO EAT BREAD. BUT HE SAID NO! AGAIN SATAN TEMPTED JESUS WITH ALL THINGS THAT ARE DESIRABLE. THE DEVIL DOES NOT TEMPT YOU WITH THINGS THAT DON’T LOOK GOOD! When I am on a fast and I feel hungry, the devil can’t tempt me with VEGETABLE SALAD. BUT IF I AM SHOWN LECHON AND STEAK, SUSHI, STRAWBERRY CAKE AND ICE CREAM AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN, - - - THAT’S WHAT I CALL “TEMPTATION”. (LORD JUST A TASTE, JUST A BIT OF THIS AND THAT’S IT NO MORE –WHILE PULLING) THE DEVIL GOES WITH THE THINGS WE WANT. And it takes self-control and restraint. In this case the devil wants Jesus to show off His power, His ability, and His authority. “YOURE THE SON OF GOD RIGHT? TURN THAT STONE INTO BREAD! YOURE HUNGRY RIGHT! YOU CAN DO IT! DO IT” Jesus then decides, the desire to eat or to do the thing that is right? Is our desire to do what we want stronger than the desire to choose what is right? When you choose what is right then we say you are right-choose. (RIGHTEOUS) or you choose-right. (interchange) GARDEN OF GETHSEMENE (Jesus was praying before he was crucified) Jesus said “Father, if there is any other way, let this cup pass from me, but not my will but yours be done”. At that moment, He knew if He would take all the sins of mankind that He will be separated from the Father. Because God the Father cannot stand sin. Can you imagine that? Jesus was with the Father in all eternity past, and that very moment He will be separated from Him. He needed to control what he was feeling inside. He allowed himself to be tortured and crucified after that. He died your death! My brothers and sisters. He died our death. JESUS DID WHAT WAS RIGHT. HE WAS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF SELF CONTROL. AND HIS SELF CONTROL DID NOT END THERE. DO YOU KNOW JESUS WOULD HAVE CALLED FOR REINFORCEMENTS BUT HE DIDN’T? JESUS RESTRAINED HIMSELF TO AUTHORIZE ANGELS TO DESTROY ALL THESE PEOPLE PERSECUTING HIM. Matthew 26:53 Jesus said “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and He will not at once put at my disposal more than TWELVE LEGIONS OF ANGELS?” He was saying to Peter you don’t need to protect me from these soldiers taking him. Do you know how many soldiers are one legion? In the Roman army it’s about 6000 soldiers. So if you multiply 6000 x 12 equals how many angels are we talking? 72 thousand ANGELS. In the Bible, in the book of Kings, (2 Kings 19:35) one angel destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. If you do the math. 72 000 angels x 185000 people = 13 billion people would have died if Jesus did not restrain himself commanding the angels to help him. That time it was estimated that the world population was only about 300 million, Can you imagine if Jesus did not restrain himself or did not have any self-control? You, me our families won’t be here. The whole world will be wiped off the face of the earth. Even if Jesus would have lived now and died at our time, he will also destroy the world with those angels because the world’s population now is only 8 billion. 2 Peter 2:21-24 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” You see my dear brothers and sisters, if there was anybody in the whole earth who have the right to unleash his authority, it was JESUS! It was Jesus. But he didn’t. Why? He saw you. He saw me. He saw your family. He saw ALL your loved ones. He saw your friends. He even saw the neighbor you lost your temper yesterday. Jesus saw the world. If He will not die, where will you be? Where will be your parents, your children? THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS SELF-CONTROL. My friends, we are called to restrain ourselves and be able to say NO and HOLD BACK when our desires and temptations come in. WHEN DO WE NEED SELF-CONTROL? 1. SELF-CONTROL IS NEEDED WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS. “Ever had someone made you so angry you just want to give him the stars?” Remember the pastor who almost shouted at the elder in his church? You need to restrain yourself. Count to a hundred. Don’t count sheep or you’ll go to sleep. One thing I learned from experience and wisdom is called here. Don’t say or do something in extreme emotions. If you’re too happy, too angry or too sad, you might regret what you have said and done. Extreme emotions cloud our judgement. You can be carried away by emotions. 2. SELF-CONTROL IS NEEDED IN OUR FINANCES. Do you spend more than you ought to? Do you spend what is needed to be saved? Ever experienced going inside the shopping mall for window shopping and find yourself you had shopping for the whole house? 3. SELF-CONTROL IS NEEDED TO HAVE HEALTHY PHYSICAL BODIES. To keep a schedule. To build a habit of exercise. It takes real dedication to keep going. It takes self-control to eat right. Well, you can’t be tempted to eat salad, but you’ll be triggered to eat cake and steak. Takes self-control to say no. Not today. 4. SELF-CONTROL IS NEEDED TO HAVE HEALTHY SPIRITUAL BODIES It is difficult to set a schedule to exercise and eat healthy food. But it is also difficult to be disciplined when to pray and when to have personal devotions. We need determination, discipline and self-control to cultivate your relationship with God. 5. SELF-CONTROL IS NEEDED TO AVOID SIN. Just before the section on the Fruits of the HS in Galatians, we can see the contrast of the fruits. These are the works of the flesh. Galatians 5:19-21 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. You might say, oh no! I did one or 2 of those? I’m dead! I’m not going heaven. My friends, the answer is in the last sentence of verse 21 “that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” If you have been doing it continuously, practicing it and sin becomes a way of living, then that is what it means. You will not inherit the kingdom of God. But if you have asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins, then all those have been removed from you. You have been justified. ALL OF US ARE TEMPTED IN SOME AREAS. AND THE DEVIL KNOWS WHERE YOUR WEAK SIDE IS. 1 Corinthians 10:13 13 No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. Dear friends, God will always give you an escape so that you will not be tempted beyond what you can do. There is always an option not to sin! If we surrender everything to Jesus and give all our burden to him. We will be at peace. Lord I want you to be in control of my life. I raise my hands in surrender to your will. Not my will but yours be done. Before we end let’s read this. We will learn a principle here. Matthew 7:15-20 15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits. HOW DO YOU KNOW IF SOMEBODY IS FOLLOWING JESUS? LOOK AT THEIR FRUIT? ARE THEY BEARING THE FRUIT? Do they have love, joy peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, self-control? THE QUESTION NOW IS DO I HAVE THE FRUIT? YOU SAY YES, MOST I HAVE, SOME, I DON’T. God is still working in my life. My dear brother, my dear sister. If you want to grow the fruit, let’s ask Jesus to plant those seed and make it grow. He is the one that makes it grow. Let go of any hurt, let go of any pain and let Jesus take control. Not you. Release it to Jesus. LET US PRAY.
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