The Fruit of Self Control

Happy Sunday! Today we wrap up our study on the fruit of the Spirit. Over the past eight weeks, we've looked at love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness. Today we look at self-control.

This may seem like an odd addition to the list. As we began our study, we looked at Galatians 5:16, which tells us, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves." It seems somewhat odd to put self-control here when we are to live God-controlled lives. I think the point is that there's a new sheriff in town and that we must yield our control over to the Holy Spirit.

God will not force himself on us. Each day we must decide to yield our control over to God. It's a constant battle. A reporter once asked the great evangelist Dwight L. Moody what people gave him the most trouble. He answered immediately, "I've had more trouble with Dwight L. Moody than any man alive."

That reminds me of what Paul said in Romans 7:21-25. Paul said, "I have discovered this principle in life, that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart, but there's 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. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God, the answer is 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."

Can you relate to Paul? That's the battle: old self versus new self. Our world suffers because of a lack of self control. Look at the news. There you will daily see examples of people who have not yielded to God and are living in the flesh.

As Christians, we are not immune. I cannot emphasize enough the need for us to daily yield our lives to God. 23 hours a day is not enough. Six days a week, not enough. 364 days a year is not enough.

Proverbs 25:28 tells us, "A person without self-control is like a city with broken down walls." That's quite a picture. The defense of ancient cities depended on strong walls. Jericho fell when the walls were gone. So many movies are made about cities that when the walls are gone, the movie's over.

Our Christian walk depends on the strength of our boundaries. If we let the world into our lives, we'll be like the world. Remember the old children's song: "Be careful, little eyes, what you see. Be careful, little ears, what you hear." That is so true. Today we must be careful what we allow in our lives.

Self-control is paramount to our success. If our walls are broken down, we're in trouble. Once we become new creations, once we live yielded lives, great things begin to happen. I know a man that was out of control with his language. The four letter words flew constantly.

When he became a Christian, all of that changed. He was yielded to God. Old self gone, he was new. He practiced self-control. Today it would be safe to place him in front of a microphone 24 hours a day.

I have seen those addicted to drugs and alcohol, with lives out of control, turn around because of the power of God. With God, all things are possible. As we wrap up, let's look one more time in Galatians 5:22 and 23. By contrast to our old self, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things."

What's that last part mean? "There is no law against such things." Why did Paul say that? The book of Galatians was written to churches in Galatia, an area in Asia Minor. Today we call it Turkey.

Christianity was in its infancy, and people from all sorts of backgrounds were becoming believers in Jesus. Among the new believers were many Jews, and some Jews felt that they were chosen and that Gentiles, non-Jews, were inferior. The only way that some Jewish believers would accept Gentile believers was by making the Gentile convert first to Judaism, to keep the law and be circumcised. You can read about that in Acts chapter 15.

So Paul addresses this in Galatians chapter five. He's saying this: if you live a life filled with the Spirit, if you are a person of love, if you are a person of joy, if you are a person of peace, if you are a person of patience, if you are a person of kindness, if you are a person of goodness, if you are a person of faithfulness, if you are a person of gentleness, if you are a person of self-control, if you bearing this type of fruit, you belong to God. You need not worry about following Jewish laws. That's the truth.

If all of these are present in your life, there is the evidence of God at work in you. May God bless you as you bear all the fruit of the Spirit. Thank you for watching over these past several weeks. We're about to begin our celebration of Thanksgiving and then Christmas.

Let's pray together. Lord, help us to bear fruit. And as I have friends watching this all over, I thank you for their impact on my life. And Father, help us change the world as we let our light shine and they see our good works, but they give the glory to you. Help us to bear beautiful fruit wherever we go. In Jesus' name, amen. God bless.