Bear (His) Fruit: Self-Control
Galatians 5:22-23 New King James Version
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 [a]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
I. Bethlehem Community Fellowship exists to elevate and empower sons and daughters to become the place where Heaven touches Earth. We are committed to teaching you how to connect with God, hear His voice, and walk with Him in obedience.
a. To be elevated is to be lifted out of the fallen nature of humanity and into the divine nature of Jesus Christ.
i. The Divine Nature of Christ is revealed in the Fruit of the Spirit
ii. This divine nature is how Jesus endured and overcame temptation, trials, misfortune, suffering, trouble, etc…
b. The Fruit of the Spirit is Foundational
i. Spiritual gifts without spiritual fruit will eventually:
1. DISCREDIT a move of God
2. MISREPRESENT God
3. DESTROY You
c. It’s (His) Fruit
i. Fruit vs Fruits
ii. You cannot bear (His) fruit apart from Him
1. When we abide in Christ, we don’t have to work to develop these 9 characteristics, they all supernaturally, simultaneously, develop within us.
John 15:4 New King James Version
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
iii. Abide/remain in three ways
1. Place – secret place
2. Time – five more minutes
3. Condition – Holy Spirit began the work, He will finish it
II Intro to Self-Control
a. The fruit and the spirit
i. The Fruit: G1466 – Egkrateia
1. The virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, esp. his sensual passions
ii. The spirit: G4995 – sophronismos
2 Timothy 1:7 New King James Version
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
1. An admonishing or calling to soundness of mind, to moderations and self-control
2. The ability to restore yourself to your senses
b. When many of us think of self-control we think of the ability to resist doing bad things that we REALLY want to do…
i. This isn’t a good picture of self-control. It focuses on the desired results of self-control and doesn’t get to the heart/source of self-control.
c. Self-Control is the supernatural ability to conform our hearts (thoughts, feelings, and desires) to Father God’s will
i. This is one of our values: Health || Trickle Down
1. We’re healthy when our thoughts, feelings, and desires reflect God’s. When we care for ourselves spiritually, physically, and emotionally we can influence our communities for the better. Health spreads from the top down and from the inside out.
ii. Both God and the world desire to conform our hearts (minds) to their wills
1. The world wants us to think like them, feel like them, and desire what they desire
Romans 12:2 New King James Version
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
III. The Battle for Your Heart and Mind
a. The journey of the heart
James 1:13-15 New King James Version
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
i. We are tempted when we are drawn away by our desires and enticed…
1. Everything begins as a thought
2. We think about our thoughts until we feel a certain way about them
3. We continue to think and feel until a desire develops
4. If we don’t stop we are drawn away by our desires, enticed, enter into sin, and eventually reap death.
b. Controlling your thoughts
i. In 2005, the National Science Foundation published an article showing that the average person has between 12,000 and 60,000 thoughts per day. Of those, 80% are negative, and 95% are exactly the same repetitive thoughts as the day before.
1. This is why our minds need to be renewed DAILY
ii. You CAN control what you allow to remain unchecked in your mind
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 New King James Version
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not [a]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,
1. We walk/experience life in the flesh, but we do not fight/strive in the flesh
a. In the world, not of the world
b. The world says follow your heart, we follow Jesus
2. Why? Our WEAPONS are not carnal, but MIGHTY in God
a. The world protests and riots before courts, we pray and worship before God
b. The world cancels and curses, we forgive and bless in Jesus’ name
c. The world believes murder is a mother’s right, we believe life is our children’s inheritance
3. Pulling down strongholds
a. Identifying and destroying thought patterns that the enemy hides behind to attack us from
b. Strongholds can be the “stories” we tell ourselves to make sense of difficult things that happen in life
i. Everyone leaves me, so I must always fend for myself
ii. If I don’t compromise we will never have peace
iii. Whenever I tell someone the truth I push them away
c. Strongholds can also be bad theology/doctrine that the enemy uses to keep us away from knowing the TRUE nature of God found in the bible
4. Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God
a. Cast down everything that pretends to know better than the way of Jesus, no matter how good it sounds
b. You will never know what to cast down if you don’t KNOW His word
i. You cannot know Jesus apart from His word
5. Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ
a. Our thoughts must be brought into captivity, you must wrestle with your thoughts, not suppress or reject them, in order to bring them into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
i. Wrestle with them, where did they come from, who is the originator?
1. The flesh, the enemy, Holy Spirit?
b. Don’t fear your thoughts, confront them and ask Holy Spirit to confirm or conquer them
6. This is a WEAPON of warfare given to you, USE IT
a. This takes time and discipline to get good at it
1 Timothy 4:8 New King James Version
8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
b. Journaling is a great way to slow your thoughts down enough to be aware of them and to take them captive.
c. Control over your feelings
i. Having control over your feelings looks like allowing them to inform you, not lead you.
1. It’s like a “You Are Here” mark on a map. It’s great to know where you are in a moment, but you need to look at the whole picture to see how you got “here” and how to get where you want to go.
ii. Our feelings can let us know how we are doing in a specific moment
1. In our relationships
2. In our careers/jobs
3. In our personal lives
iii. Feelings CANNOT lead you
Ephesians 4:26 New King James Version
26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath
1. Our feelings can be EASILY manipulated or just plain wrong if our thoughts aren’t being taken captive
2. The trump card in today’s society: “Well I just feel like…”
a. I hear what you’re saying, that monogamous relationships within the covenant of marriage are statistically the healthiest and longest lasting, but I just feel like I’m not ready to stop having sex or get married.
b. I know watching pornography affects my brain like drugs, but I just feel like I’m not satisfied in my marriage
c. I know I should be a man of my word and do my best at my job, but I just feel like I’m respected
d. I know I should stop doing drugs, but I just feel like I can’t function without them
3. Just like thoughts become feelings, feelings become desires, which lead to sin and death
a. Of marriage
b. Of family
c. Of future
d. Of country
iv. When we recognize our feelings, we should stop, take time to THINK and connect with God in the midst of them.
1. From that place we can discern what needs to happen to take us back to HEALTH.
a. Our feelings will catch up with our behaviors
2. David was AMAZING at this. Just read through the Psalms
d. Control over your desires
i. You CAN control what desires you allow to remain unchecked in your heart
Psalm 37:4 New King James Version
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
1. Delight yourself in Him and He shall give you the desires of your heart
a. What you delight in, you conform your desires to
IV. Self-Control Belongs to Those Who Abide in Christ Jesus
a. Ask Holy Spirit what strongholds exist in your mind
b. Ask Holy Spirit what arguments or high things are exalting themselves above the knowledge of God in your mind
c. Pull them down, cast them down, take them captive unto the obedience of Christ right now
