Peeled 9

Self-Control

We are examining the Fruit of the Spirit and discovering characteristics of a life changed by Christ.

Here’s what we know about fruit, fruit is never grown overnight, it must be cultivated.

Picture your life like a piece of fruit. When you are peeled is the fruit sweet or sour?

We are peeling back the layers of the Fruit of the Spirit.

Many say “fruits,” however there are not 9 “fruits” of the Spirit, the Fruit of the Spirit has 9 characteristics, 9 layers if you will. One Fruit with 9 attributes.

These Fruit taken together make up the character of Christ.

Some people try to pick and choose their way through the Fruit of the Spirit. Many pray and ask God to “give” them the fruit of the Spirit. Gifts are given. Fruit is cultivated.

Galatians 5:22-23 NLT But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

The Fruit of the Spirit is a description of the character qualities found in Christ.

So far we have examined Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness,  Goodness, Faithfulness and Gentleness.

This week let’s examine Self-Control.

The Greek root word for self-control means “to get a hold of” or “to get a grip on.”

Proverbs 25:28 NLT A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.

Self-control is mastering every desire and impulse. It is inward strength to control the flesh.

This strength is NOT something we develop on our own, there are no strategies for self-control, self-control is Spirit empowered strength.

In fact, without the power of the Holy Spirit, we will not have self-control.

Galatians 5:16-17 NLT So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. ¹⁷ The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lives and when we allow Him to cultivate fruit in our lives, our lives will begin to reflect the character of Christ.

As we become more like Christ, as we resist temptation, as we allow the Spirit to lead, we begin to demonstrate evidence of the fruit of the Spirit being cultivated in our lives.

Self-control is not just about temperament.

Self-control is about allowing the Holy Spirit to empower us to resist the temptation and desire to break God’s law, and to empower us to resist the temptation and desire to manage our emotions, conduct and actions.

People often say, “I don’t know what happened, I just lost control.”

Romans 7:18-25 NLT And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. ¹⁹ I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. ²⁰ But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. ²¹ I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. ²² I love God’s law with all my heart. ²³ But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. ²⁴ Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? ²⁵ Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

When we allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate the fruit of self-control in our lives He will lead us to a place of self-control.

Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead our lives and cultivate self-control will help us keep every passion under control.

Self-control is not a quick fix.

Self-control requires a lifetime of discipline for the purpose of godliness.

1 Timothy 4:7-8 NLT Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. ⁸ “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”

We must train daily for godliness.

We must daily makes decisions to be disciplined in our mind, emotions, words, actions, and hearts.

Self-control is not just about temperament.

Self-control is allowing the Holy Spirit to help us resist the temptation to live contrary to God’s word.

Self-control requires strength and stamina because the hardest person to say “no” to is your self.

Self-control requires discipline to do what must be done.

The discipline of self-control is developed as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead each area of our lives.

“The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.”

“A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear, who has you see what you don't want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be.” – Tom Landry

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Why do we need self-control?

Self-control is the bonding agent for every other attribute of the fruit of the Spirit.

It takes self-control:

To love others like Christ loves us.

To maintain joy in the midst of hardship or difficulty.

To live at peace with other people.

To have patience in the mist of irritating imperfect people.

To show kindness to others.

To demonstrate goodness.

To continue a life of faithfulness.

To live with gentleness.

It takes self-control to enable each attribute of the fruit of the Spirit to be active in our lives.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NLT Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! ²⁵ All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. ²⁶ So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. ²⁷ I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

Paul points out that athletes are driven by a clearly defined goal.

All athletes understand that to reach the goal of winning the prize, they must resist the distractions that come from their bodily passions and desires.

Self-control is the result of allowing the Holy Spirit to empower us in moments of weakness.

When we are weak, we find strength through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:16 NLT So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

Self-control is not a result of self-effort or learned strategies.

Self-control is cultivated as we let the Holy Spirit guide our lives.

How many diets have you gone on?

How many gym memberships have you purchased?

When we allow the Holy Spirit to lead our lives and to cultivate fruit in our lives, we also develop the potential for self-control.

As the Holy Spirit leads, we begin find that we can control our temper, our desires, we find we have the strength to say “no” to things that would not be Christ honoring.

We find we now have the willingness and the ability to turn-off forms of entertainment to allow more time for seeking God in His Word and through prayer times.

You don’t need to read a book or take a course to learn self-control.

Self-control is cultivated in our lives through our faith.

Fruitful Growth begins with faith.

2 Peter 1:5-11 NIV For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Fruit is cultivated in our lives through the Holy Spirit’s power and our effort.

The Holy Spirit works in us as we also do our part allowing Him room to work.

Peter cautions us to “make every effort” to cultivate Christ-like character qualities in our lives.

Too often we tend to focus on “what we want to do with our lives rather than “who” we are becoming.

The Lord is more concerned with who we are than what we do!

Who we are shows our character.

Each day we should focus on who God wants us to be.

When we are who God wants us to be, we will find that we are doing and accomplishing what He desires for us to do and accomplish.

“The fruit of the Spirit tells us God is far more concerned with who we are than what we’re doing.

Probably 99 percent of knowing the will of God is being the person God wants you to be.”

Dr. George O. Wood, Living in the Spirit, pg. 121

2 Peter 1:5-6 NIV For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

Peter shows us that self-control comes through knowledge, which comes through obedience to the Word of God.

We must be diligent as we allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate the character of Christ in our lives.

Proverbs 16:32 NLT Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.

Galatians 5:16 NLT So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

The foundation for cultivating self-control is daily walking in the Spirit. When we follow His leading, we are then positioned to cultivate fruit.

We successfully walk in the Spirit through self-control.

We conquer desires that work against the Spirit’s leading and we submit to the desires the Holy Spirit births in us.