Self Control

for our leaders and servants that are involved in that that Allow kids to go in and listen to something in regards to the Lord, that relates to them. And so I'm so thankful for that as well.

We are getting close to the end of our series of walking, in the spirit. As I mentioned to you earlier, we have been looking at the characteristics that Paul mentioned in Galatians, chapter 5 verses 22 through 23 in in, in that show after he had laid out to contrast, He told me he laid out a picture of what it looks like to live in the flesh. And what it looks like to live in the spirit. Our natural bent is to live in The Flash. At least, that's my experience my natural bent. If I'm not submitting myself to the spirit is to do exactly that Adam Paul lays out. These are the characteristics of those who live according to the flesh, those who live according to their sinfulness, their sin nature. Some might say and then he says this is what it looks like. This is the fruit, this is the the evidence that the byproduct of those who are walking in the spirit. Are you list those characteristics that sometimes we so easily rush over. And so we've been taking our time going through that you've been very patient and very kind through that and we have been going through all of these and now we are jumping in to self control. It's probably no coincidence that that rounded out with this and Paul does in order for us to, to have loved and have joy, and have peace and have patience, and the show. Kindness goodness, faithfulness and gentleness we must have self control. So, what is self control? You're probably come to realize that I like giving definitions. That's just weird. Whenever I talk about something and say how am I going to communicate it with some good definitions or some thoughts to Spur us on to help us understand what it is that I may be talking about saying I find that I have to do that constantly with a boy named Beau. Sometimes I'm in the middle of explaining something to him and he does know. What is that? And then Sykes or like if I was you, if I said you got to have self-control, you know what self-control then you go in your mind, you know, what self-control is, what you do is having self-control, but you have to pause and think about it, what it is. And I dealt with that with my with my girls, as well as they would say, Dad what is that? And that that causes you to stop in your tracks at times to answer the question and we have to answer the question so you may sit while I know what self-control is but some of you may have differences of opinion on what that my look like. So When we think of self-control, I always say, well, what's a good dictionary word? And then what is the Greek? What does that look like? In that way? What is a secular understanding that doesn't come close. Maybe it's what the Greek is talking about.

Look up. Oxford dictionary says this. It's the ability to talk about self control. The ability to control oneself in particular, one's emotions, and desires, or the expression of them in one's Behavior. Especially in difficult situations. In the Greek, it gives this picture of self-mastery self-restraint and, and all of that sounds like what we do. But, but the waste of striving the Greek. It gives this picture of what we do with the power of the Holy Spirit.

See the kind of self-control you and I need to have needs to come from the help of the Holy Spirit. About 15 years ago. I taught this whole series in a Bible study formats. And so the beginning of this portion of it was on controlling the tongue. Actually if you don't remember, I actually didn't have a discussion about that before whenever we looked at James chapter 3, we talked about controlling the tongue and so we're going to move forward here and talk about controlling our body controlling our body see here. Now this can be applied many different ways we think about that, controlling our body. But today Paul is going to talk to us in regards to sex. Now as we talked about this passes a day, our mind is going to be so focused on that. That we might not be paying attention to what the Holy Spirit may be trying to say to us in that. So I asked this morning for you to be sensitive to that has Paul talks very specifically about a very specific way in which they needed to control their body. I want us to be thinking about ways in which the spirit is calling us to do that in areas of our life. Brace yourself. Paul is going to leave us with is a universal command. And that is to glorify God. To honor God and to praise God. One of the ways we do that is with our bodies. Join, if you would 1st Corinthians chapter 6.

1st Corinthians chapter 6, verses 12 through 20. Now if you were liking a seminary class, going to Bible study would go into great detail about the background of this letter. Many of, you know, and have her understood and heard that the church at Corinth was highly dysfunctional. But a reminder also that every church has an element of dysfunction in it, doesn't it? If it has people in it, there's going to be dysfunction. We are dysfunctional people and so desperately in need of a savior I heard a friend one time, Kurt Coddington, say this, somebody had told him. He was visiting with a, a pastor from another church and it describing their denomination. And the person, the Pastor said, well, we are a new testament church and we try to model our church after the early church. And I'm referring had said, which one the church at Corinth? You know, I mean that's that's the picture there sometimes and we hear things like that. The church is obviously didn't have their act together and this is one of them.

I like those. We think about this and my Bible here. It's got a great little introduction to this letter. That Paul writes to the church at Corinth, and it gives a little snapshot called big picture. It says, the many problems of a congregation may have whether doctrinal or practical will be resolved as that church submits properly. The lordship of Christ and learns to love one. Another genuinely I was a kid on that as we think about this today cuz we talked about it, it's actually really contrary to our world today.

And sometimes as people that are growing up in our society today, they are completely and utterly isolated as they try to live for Jesus. In this Any decision, they have to make a decision. You and I have to make is as we have to submit to the lordship of Christ in this so join me if you would and verses 12 through 20, As we go through 12, through 20, I'm going to read it through. And then we will discuss.

Paul writes. This he says Everything is permissible for me but not everything is beneficial.

Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be Mastered by anything. Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will do away with both of them. however, the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body, God raised up the Lauren will also raise us up by his power. Don't, you know that your bodies are part of Christ's body? So should I take part of Christ's body and make it part of a prostitute? Absolutely not. Don't, you know that anyone joined to a prostitute is one body with her for scripture says, the two will become one flesh. But anyone joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. Please sexual immorality. Every other Center person. Commits is outside the body with a person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body. Don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who was in you whom you have from God? You are not your own for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.

So, one of the many things happening in the church at Corinth, is that there was sexual activity that was going on through that whole church body. As a matter of fact, all addresses is essentially, in chapters, 5 6 and 7 but right at the beginning, you know? So, Paul is answering some questions and he's in, he's answering some things he's been hearing about. And so verse 1 of chapter 5, Paul says it is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you and the kind of sexual morality that is not even tolerated. Among the Gentiles. Your mind can go right through that passage and see what's going on there. I like how the email t kind of describes it this way because in some ways I think this is what Paul is kind of saying it's just I can hardly believe the reports about the sexual immorality going on among you.

Which verse 12 probably gives, the reason why they are doing this. Hey, my translation. Here it says that that Paul is saying something here of saying, everything is permissible for me.

That's some of you and your translations, you may have quotation marks in your bibles. Are that, is there to possibly help us? It's not in the original, but what is there to give the picture that that there's a good chance that Paul is addressing a saying if you will?

I'm allowed to do anything I want.

One of the problems early on in Christianity is that many of these people came from Judaism? They came from Roman religions of worshipping other gods and was in both of those. You had to do something in order to please God or a god. In Christianity, God was pleased with you. If you put your trust your belief in Jesus, They saved you that saved you. You couldn't earn it. And so anytime and I think of this all the time and you can see that in our society anytime we try to correct something we go the opposite direction way over here.

Right now, if you want me to get on my hobby horses, what's going on in college football right now? It's going from way over here to over here. This is what we do is humans. And so in their mind, as they have this newfound faith in Jesus, they're going, hey, I'm saved by grace. It doesn't matter what I do. I'm saved by God's grace, I'm saved by his Mercy. It doesn't matter what I do it all.

Paul dealt with this in the Book of Romans where he talks about God's grace and how it covers our sin. And so somewhere they can say, I need to send all the time now because if I send it just shows how great God's grace is and what does Paul say? Ask Jason. that's not what God is saying whenever he saved you by his grace and mercy, And just because there is freedom in Jesus Christ, doesn't mean everything is good for you. In fact. There are things that can be harmful. In fact, there are things that can enslave us.

What was the big deal? Even you'll see that in verse 13 where where he even is dealing with the saying, their food is for the stomach and the stomach for food and and it but then he goes on to say when God will do away with both are. So what's the big deal food is for the stomach and stomach is for the food. The body is for sex, that's what it's for. That's why we have bodies.

We hear things like that today, don't we?

Paul says, no.

Your body is not made for sexual immorality. Now, This causes us to pause and ask the question. What is sexual immorality? I know as a youth pastor whenever we would come across passages like this and we would say those two words together and then ask what does that mean? I got all kinds of different answers. As a matter of fact, if he probably walked up to somebody on the street, don't do this, by the way. Okay? But if you walked up to somebody on the street and ask them what is sexual route? I keep getting feedback on here. I apologize. I think that I keep touching this. So I'll quit touching it Rob. I'll quit touching it. So if you go up to somebody and ask them, what is that? You might get a ride have different answers.

But when we think biblically is, we looked through all of scripture and what God has done, what is openly sexual immorality, when Paul talks about it, And here's the definition I will give you. Maybe you can give me a better one later on. That's fine. But I want us to think in these terms. It is any sexual activity outside of marriage between one man, and one woman.

I said I guess we think about this it is any sexual activity outside of marriage between one man and one woman. Paul says, your body is not for that. It is for the Lord.

Try selling that to our society.

It's hard. Because what we are talking about today is absolutely contrary to what we see and experience.

Yeah but we have to believe is Paul is talking about this, he's not just talking about a cultural thing, he's talking about about a very fee, a logical thing and that is that we are now the Lord's and he's going to talk about that even more. But that Greco-Roman World parallels greatly with our world today, doesn't it? And other places around the world. Also Paul says, your body is for the Lord and in that culture, the Greek mind believe that the body was evil. That the very thing that was good, was the sole. That's the thing that's going to last forever. This evil body is going to no longer exist and there was some kind of a weird philosophy that that that was this idea that what you do with the body, doesn't really make any difference. It's what you do with the soul and for some reason they had a hard time realizing there was a connection there.

Paul talks about this in first, visit goes on in this letter is he's going to talk about in chapter 15 and we talked about it. One year the Easter is that there was this idea that you died. You're so there's an afterlife but you're done with the body. Ladies and gentlemen, there is a day coming when Jesus will raise that body and we will be transformed. And I will see you walking down the street and then exactly who you are, you will be in your glorified condition and you will have Smiles on your face all the time. We will be stress-free. Will be all those things we will have bodies just like Jesus had a body when he was raised from the dead. So our bodies are precious to God. Our bodies are a part of Christ. And so Paul goes on and says, don't join it with a prostitute. Wow, wait a minute, what? Don't join it with a prostitute. What is Paul say that? We cannot emphasize enough that sexual immorality was part of everyday life for them. Even prostitution was a part of Temple worship for one of the Roman religions there. There was a temple called the Temple of Aphrodite and over a thousand prostitutes, they say. Were there men and women? They were slaves and they were gathering funds for this goddess. And there was people at the church at Corinth. It sounds like they were participating in that as well.

Paul says, you're messing around like that and guess what you are doing something opposite of what God designed. You are becoming one flesh with that person. What he does, is he, he quotes all the way back to the Old Testament all the way to the beginning, all the way back to Genesis chapter 2. Eve has been created. And Adam says this, this one at last is bone of my bone and Flesh of My Flesh. I remember my six foot seven a church. History Professor, dr. Bingham going at Li Moon of my bone and Flesh of My Flesh. I don't know. I got weird. Thoughts going through my brain of dr. Bingham up there talking and talking about that. But what are you saying, is this? Adam saw all of everything. All of creation. Have nothing like him and now, here's Eve. And she is bone of my bone and Flesh of My Flesh. This one will be called woman for. She was taken from me. And Moses goes on to say this, this is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife and they become one flesh.

So Paul tells them and when you are doing that, when you're doing that activity, you're doing something that God had created for a specific relationship. And you are joining yourself on someone else and you are going against God, and you are going against your body.

So, Paul tells them in verse 18. Please.

1.

Run Forrest, run.

And if you grew up in the 90s, you know what I'm talkin about their don't linger. Don't, don't mess around with it. Flee from it. It's just like when Joseph flee from Potiphar's wife,

Don't linger in it. Don't get away.

You and I know this that sexual immorality has caused more damage. Physically, mentally emotionally. And spiritually.

I want you to know, even if I, as I say those things knowing the large group that we have I have no idea what you might be feeling. We talked about that.

Some of you even talking about this have struggles with in it. Of past things.

But here again, I want you to remember. We have a savior that died for every single one of our sins.

So, when I talk about this this morning, am I My Hope Is that you don't feel?

Ultimately Guild but joy because of what Jesus has done. But you and I know this to be true, we live in a society that is taking something so precious, that God has created and they have made it their own

And it has created pain and struggle and Brokenness.

Paul says that the temple they were talking about. These people are going to the temple worship and he uses the temple and Knology. He says, your body is the temple temple of what Temple of the Holy Spirit.

You are not your own. No, you Paula saying to them, you are free in Christ, but you are not allowed just to do whatever you want.

The price of prostitution that you have, guess what you have been bought with a price. And that little bit that you paid, guess what is nothing compared to what Jesus Paid For You. Jesus Paid for you with his very own life.

And we Bond ourselves with him.

We are part of Christ's body.

Sir Paul gives this command at the end, he talks to them about

That not everything is beneficial that you shouldn't be Mastered by anything or enslaved anyting and it goes on and talks about everything that we've been talking about even more things and I'm sure I'd left out.

The Paul gives this declaration that applies to all areas for us, not just the topic that we're discussing the day. he says, glorify God with your

The idea here is to, to honor God, to Revere God, to praise God, to worship god with our bodies. Do you remember when Paul talks about this in Romans, chapter 12, Where you talked about in light of God's mercy, what he is done for us, go do whatever you want.

Paul says, in light of God's mercies and all that he has done for us that you and I would give ourselves up for him. BET our lives with me, now need to be about him and that is our spiritual act of worship.

All has that same thought here. That you and I would honor that we would pray that we would worship that we would live our lives that we would live with these bodies and which God has created for us, ultimately, for him. The question we ask this morning or I ask, we talked about all kinds of things.

And I'm asking, Holy Spirit, would you reveal to us and each and everyone of us, how do we glorify God with our body? How do we glorify God with our bodies? It's a lot being said here but but if I'm telling you that this week is, that was preparing for the sermon. As I was thinking a lot about this and wondering how it is. And not just the topic that Paul is talking about here, but in general and all, how do I glorify you father with my body with my being? How do I worship you?

When realities, I think about a little boy that constantly wants me to play catch.

I've got a basketball goal sitting in my garage and needs to be put together that I got a little boy, that's waiting for that basketball goal to be put up so we can play basketball.

Got daughters, that want their dad around. I've got a wife that likes me being around 2.

and as I get through my wonderful Taco Bell, gift cards in my Whataburger in all that kind of sauce I get through Thanksgiving, as I get through the Hollywood. It just reminded me a little things of what I can do. To make sure I stay in the game if you know what I mean.

What is your thing? What do you need to work on? You even think in those ways, is our relationship with God? That says something to the side.

What is it? That we not just worship god with our minds and our hearts and our souls? We also worship him with our bodies.

Cuz guess what you're going to see this good looking man in heaven. One day right here.

Am I said, aren't you? Glad you're going to have hair. I hope I don't.

God has given us, these bodies to serve into to glorify him. All gives a very specific scenario. What was going on, but I think it fall is here today. He would say

What is it that enslaves you? What is that? Keeping you.

I'm giving your All to Jesus.

As we think about all these things of love, joy, peace, patience and kindness. We come to the one of the hardest things for me I guess I think about patients man. I don't ever pray for patience. I hope nobody else does either because now I feel like I'm going to be forced to practice patience at times. Self control. Self control. The daily thing. It's a hard thing.

as we think about that here in the next couple of weeks, as we think about self control,

How self control?

Effects. How we treat the world, even in present times as things are going on self-control and how we respond to others. Self-control and how they see us following Jesus? Self control. Living contrary to the way that our world is. Let us pray. Father. Thank you.

Thank you again for your word.

Thank you again for the Apostle, Paul.

Thank you for the examples that we have in the Bible.

Good examples of bad examples. All there.

We don't block things out of your word. We don't.

We let your words say what it says.

Thought I just pray even today.

I said, anything offensive at all.

Please forgive me. but I do pray today that your spirit What's speak to all of us?

Cuz we live in a world that is contrary to you and I asked your father in Jesus. Holy name. Amen.