Self-Control

Introduction

Have you ever made a New Year’s Resolution? I’m sure you have. I know that I have made many, most having become past failures. Each year, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day men and women satisfy nearly every endulgence that can be conceived. We eat large meals, copious amounts of candy, spend way too much money on frivolous gifts, take vacations, etc… Then, at New Years, people all over the world decide that they are going to become resolute about change; they’re going to buckle down. Of course, the first few days seem pretty easy. But then, temptation starts coming around. Eventually, someone comes in with sone kind of candy or bake good and we think “I’ll have just one”. Sure we will! Or maybe we’ve been going to the gym and we decide on January 4th that we’ll sleep in just that one day. Sure, we will! My point is that we as human beings are pretty weak when it comes to temptation. We struggle to exercise this thing called self-control. So what do we do? That is what we are going to discuss this morning. But first, let’s go to The Lord together in prayer!

Background

Today we conclude the Fruit of the Spirit Sermon Series with Self-Control. I believe that you have already heard about love and patience. Today we are talking about self-control, and that is a fruit of the spirit that may feel a little uncomfortable to some of us because we know that it can be an area of considerable struggle. It isn’t a new issue for humanity. Today’s scripture is taken from Galatians 5:22-23

Galatians 5:22–23 NLT

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

This scripture was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Galatia where there was a controversy between new gentile believers and Jews who were insisting that these new converts adhere to Jewish religious law. Basically, they were trading the freedom of the gospel for a legalistic religion which stood in conflict with what Christ came to accomplish. Our Christ fulfilled the law, and through him we are saved. Therefore, Paul wrote to them pointing out the superiority of the gospel and the freedom it offers in Christ Jesus.

Today, most of us probably don’t have people trying to convince us that we need to adhere to some of those old jewish laws, but there is still great opposition to our faith coming from both the spiritual realm as well as the physical. We are tempted daily to lose self-control, but Paul says that it is important to the Christian life, so let’s look at it a little more closely today.

Self-control and Greed

As I was preparing for today’s sermon, I felt like the best way to look at self-control was through the lens of a few different scenarios that highlight various temptations. So, the first thing that I want us to look at today is greed.

The Oxford Dictionary defines greed as “an intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food”. When I think of greed that causes terrible outcomes, my mind automatically drifts to the account of Achan in Joshua 7, so let’s take a look at his situation.

The Situation

Israel was taking possession of the land which God had promised their ancestors when He brought them out of Egypt. Under Joshua’s leadership, they were defeating everyone and anyone who stood in their way. God was truly fighting for them. Their next opponent would be Ai, and they had assessed that they would easily defeat them. so easily, that they only needed a portion of their army. However, when they marched into battle, they were routed and 36 of their soldiers were killed. When Joshua mourned before The Lord, he learned that God did not fight for them that day because the covenant had been broken.

One of the conditions of their covenant required Israel to dedicate all the plunder to God, but Achan had taken some and hidden it away for himself and his family. it sounds like a small thing, but it really is bigger than it seems. It shows a lack of faith in God’s provision. It creates Disposition in trying to set his family apart from the rest of the nation. It created lies and deception. The list goes on and on. There is no such thing as a small sin, and here, we are talking about a covenant with God.

The Outcome

A covenant is no small thing. It is an oath-bound agreement. God and Israel had formalized such an agreement. God was faithful to fulfill His part, but Israel failed to meet their part due to the actions of Achan. Therefore, God was not obligated to fight for them and as a result, 36 innocent men lost their lives. Achan and all that belonged to him, including his family, lost theirs as well. Achan’s sin affected the community in devistating ways. Families were changed, lineages destroyed.

What self-control would have done

If Achan would have only allowed self-control to rise above his greed, none of this would have happened. Those 36 men would have gone home to their families. Achan and his family name would have lived on. Israel’s covenant with God would not have been broken.

Greed is nothing more than temptation, and we learn in James 1:14-16

James 1:14–16 NLT

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.

When faced with the temptation of Greed, the Holy Spirit offers opportunity for self-control and empowers christians to exercise it if they stand firm in His power. That is how we fight against the temptation of Greed!

Self-control and Lust

Another temptation that I want us to review is that of lust. When lust comes around and we lose self-control, we can be assured of more terrible outcomes. Let’s take a look at 2 Samuel 11.

The Situation

We all know David to be “a man after God’s own heart”. It literally calls David that in 1 Samuel 13:14. But in the instance of Bathsheba, David does not appear to be a godly man at all as he gives into his lustful desires. 2 Samuel 11 paints a picture of a very beautiful woman taking a ritual bath on the roof of her home following the end of her cycle. It also reveals a very creepy David watching her from the roof of the palace. This creepy king creates a deplorable act when he exercises his power and sends for this young lady, who is only trying to fulfill her religious obligation, and commits adultery with her in the palace.

The Outcome

David ended up getting Bathsheba pregnant. To make matters worse, she was married to Uriah, an elite soldier in David’s army. Uriah was a very loyal and committed soldier. To try and hide what he had done, David had Uriah brought in from the battlefield under the guise of a respite, and encouraged him to go home and be with his wife. David was banking on the hope that Uriah would sleep with her and then believe that the baby was his when he found out about it. Instead, Uriah was faithful to his code of honor as a soldier and refused to indulge in any comforts while his brothers remained fighting on the battlefield.

So when that didn’t work, David tried to get him drunk hoping that he would abandon his convictions, would go home and have relations with Bathsheba. But again, Uriah showed great commitment and refused to do so. Therefore, David set up a scheme to have Uriah killed, and it worked. After Bathsheba had mourned the death of her husband, David had her brought to the palace and took her as his wife.

David’s moment of giving in to lustful desire led to adultery, deceit, and murder! The unfortunate outcomes don’t end there because 2 Samuel 12 reflects God’s disappointment with David and reveals the consequences of David’s sin to ensure justice for Uriah. Those consequences included David losing his firstborn son.

What self-control would have done

David was a man after God’s own heart. Scripture says it and I believe it. Therefore, you have to believe that in that moment, because of his relationship with God, David had an opportunity to show some self-control. God never wants us to abandon His will and embrace what the world offers, and He is not a fan of lust. In fact, 1 John 2:16 reads that “lust comes not from the Father but from the world”. Being so close with God, David surely had an out, but he chose to allow lust to win the moment, and the moment had life altering outcomes. If only he would have exercised some self-control, Bathsheba’s honor would have been saved, Uriah’s life and lineage would not have come to an abrupt end, and who knows what other good outcomes would have transpired.

Self-control and Anger

The last temptation that we are going to look at today is “anger”. When I think of extreme anger, my mind goes to the earliest days of our beginning: Cain and Abel.

The Situation

Genesis 4 tells us that Cain and Abel were the children of Adam and Eve. Cain worked the soil and Abel tended the flocks. One day, they both brought offerings to God. The scripture says that Cain brought fruits from his crops, and that Abel brought the best portions of his firstborn. So, Cain gave, but Abel gave his best. Which do you think God appreciated more? Of course, it was Abel’s offering. So, in a state of extreme jealousy Cain became angry.

The Outcome

The anger that it mentions here is best described as “becoming hot and kindled toward something”. You see, he didn’t just get mad, he burned with anger toward his brother and dwelled on it which made it even worse. He kindled the flames of his own anger. God even called him on it and said “all you have to do is what is right and I will show you favor as well”, but Cain was having none of it. He was jealous and filled with a growing anger that was out of control. So, he lured his brother out into the field and killed him there.

What self-control would have done

What is crazy here is thatGod literally gave Cain an out. He assured him that all he had to do was change his heart in his approach to offerings and everything would be fine. But Cain refused to hear any of it, or at least to heed any of it. Instead, he allowed his jealousy to fan the flames of anger, and did the unthinkable to someone who trusted him; who loved him!

What if he would have just listened to God? What if he would have shown some self-control and decided that God was right, that everything could easily be corrected, that he could still gain God’s favor? What children might have Abel had? Would they have been biblical heroes? We’ll never know, because an out of control hot headed robbed the world of anything good that might have come from Abel’s life!

You and I should do better. When something or someone causes us to grow angry, we should heed scripture such as Proverbs 29:11 “Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.”

Conclusion

So, there we have it. There are 3 really good examples of how self-control could have been exercised to create much better outcomes. It could have curbed Cain’s anger, it could have dealt with David’s lust, and it could have overcame Achan’s greed. Lives would have been saved, and lineages might have thrived. Who knows what teriffic outcomes may have resulted if any of these men would have exercised self-control.

But maybe the word itself is part of the problem. It’s a bit deceiving, isn’t it. It kind of suggest that it is a “control” that comes from one’s self; an independent control. In reality, each of these situations that we looked at today were because people made independent decisions that took them away from God.

God did not want Achan to take plunder, He did not want David to have an affair with Bathsheba, and He certainly did not want Cain to feel so dejected that he would kill his own brother. These moments happened because these men, in their temptation, took their eyes off of God and rather than pushing sin away, they grabbed it and embraced it. So how do we learn from then that we may do better?

Friends, if we want to do better than the examples that we have reviewed this morning, then the key to the type of “self-control” that is a fruit of the Spirit is to remain focused on God and tethered to His Holy Spirit. Remember, it I s a fruit of the Spirit, not a fruit aside from the Spirit. The Spirit produces this fruit, and thus, for us to cultivate it and participate in it, we must remain near that which is producing it; we must stay near God. That’s the key!

Temptation is nothing more than Satan’s attempt to attract us away from the source of our strength. When Satan tempts us with greed, lust and anger, he is trying to lure us away from the presence of God. When he succeeds in it, we become very vulnerable.

There is a reason that the bible likens our relationship to God as that of a child and their parent. 2 Corinthians 12:10 “when we are weak, He is strong”, and that’s true. We can depend upon His strength as a child does until it wanders off. If, in the face of temptation, we walk away from God, then our weakness is just plain weakness and we become very vulnerable. So be self-controlled by remaining connected to and dependent on God in every moment. That’s the key to being able to exercise self-control. May we never forget that, and may God bless us with abundant fruit!