Don't Be Foolish About Self-Control
Third Sunday: Don't Be Foolish • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Greetings...
The book of Nehemiah opens with Nehemiah receiving tragic news from his homeland Judah, and its capital Jerusalem.
The walls of Jerusalem had been broken down during the Babylonian invasion which lead to the 70 years of captivity promised by God through his prophets like Jeremiah and Isaiah.
By the time of Nehemiah’s day the remnant of Israel had been back for about 100 years and yet the tragic news he received was that the walls of city had not yet been rebuilt ().
The news was so hard on Nehemiah that he wept, mourned, fasted, and prayed for several days.
Why was Nehemiah so worried about the “wall and the gates still in destruction?”
The answer is in the role walls played in the defense of ancient cities.
Cities were surrounded by high, thick walls, sometimes even “double walls” so that if an invading force came the city would be safe.
In these days, before modern warfare, a city’s walls was it first and best defense.
So the walls of a city was a symbol of security and often used as such in the Bible ().
With this in mind let us look at our lesson for today.
Fools Lack Self-Control
Fools Lack Self-Control
Walls are our best defense against evil.
Walls are our best defense against evil.
Understanding walls and their purpose makes all the more relevant.
28 A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
If someone is without self-control then they are just as helpless as Jerusalem was against it’s enemies.
Self-control gives us the ability to restrain our sinful appetites and avoid temptations that can ensnare us and bring us down spiritually and bring shame upon ourselves.
How many criminals have you seen that take the “perp walk” and have their heads down in shame?
Think about all the criminal
Why, typically it’s because they didn’t have self-control in critical areas of their lives.
The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about self-control.
In it’s talking about “work ethic.”
In it’s talking about “talking too much.”
In it’s talking about “belittling others.”
In it’s talking about “speaking rashly and unwisely.”
In it’s talking about “quarreling.”
In it’s talking about “anger.”
Summery
Summery
We could go on and on but the point is, if you were to look at all these and study each of them you would clearly see emphasis is on the consequences of failing to practice self-control.
The Wise Love Self-Control
The Wise Love Self-Control
How can self-control help us?
How can self-control help us?
1 Cor 9:24-
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Self-control, like the walls of an ancient city, provide numerous benefits.
Security: With self-control we are safe from many “self-inflicted ills” such as sexual immorality, financial stewardship, etc...
A non-Christian lady I know recently told me she never did drugs or drank alcohol because she saw what it did to her mom and sister. She didn’t want to “self-implode” like them and thus used self-control against doing such.
Boundaries: With self-control we know where our limits are.
We know how far we can go, which could be different for different people, before we pass from controlled to uncontrolled.
People without boundaries are always surprised at the trouble they get themselves into.
Community: With self-control we will find ourselves with others who are committed to living within boundaries as well.
Shared values bind us together which is why it’s hard to feel close to someone that violates boundaries and our security.
Summery
Summery
Self-control is what God desires for all His creation, but it is what He expects from those that He has adopted.
God knows we need that security, those boundaries, and the community it provides for the best possible life.
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Is it too late for those that have already foolishly broken down their walls of defense due to a lack of self-control?
No, just like the Israelites under Nehemiah we can build our walls of self-control back up and find security, boundaries, and community once again.
That’s only possible if we repent and desire wisdom rather than foolishness.
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
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6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.