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Back to Sermons Index Back to Home Page 24th September 2006 PMWHO'S IN CHARGE Pastor Colin MeadowsBible Readings: Ps 1:1-3, Proverbs 25:28, Matt 26:36-46, 1 Cor 9:24-27 · Producing Fruit! Today we complete our series on the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives. God’s desire for us is that we continue to produce fruit, right up until the day we die. Believers are pictured in Psalm 1 as being healthy trees growing close to the water: Ps 1:3 “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does he prospers.” God does not want us to be Bonsai Christians, believers whose spiritual growth is stunted by shallow roots, confined in a small pot of our spiritual experience. Rather he wants us each day to be growing- loving through our actions, joyful in our confident exuberant trust in God, peaceful by resting with God in the storms of life, patient as we slowly handle the hurts of life, kind as we live with compassion, good by responding in a morally sound way, faithful in being people of our word, and gentle in displaying strength under the control of the Holy Spirit. There has been much focus in past days in Christian writings on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is encouraging thus that we are focusing on the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Unless we are producing such fruit in our lives, then exercising the gifts of the Spirit will be greatly restricted. As we produce fruit, then God will use the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives to touch our world! The final aspect of the fruit of the Holy Spirit we will consider now is self-control. · Who’s in charge? The first half of the football game had not gone well. At times, the team did well but at other times it was a shambles. They kept looking to the sidelines but the coach seemed unsure and was not giving directions. Players were unsure what to do and what the strategy should be. Thus at half time when they trudged off the ground, tired and dispirited, they expected they would get a blast from the coach. Instead the coach was very restrained and quietly said ‘I am the one who has let you down, team. I wasn’t focused or paying attention to what was happening and you got away from me. You having been playing independent of my control and it is my fault that we are in the position we find ourselves right now. This next half it will be different. I am back in charge and this is how you are going to play.’ Does this reflect on how you find your own life? Do you feel at times that your body with its thoughts and actions are disconnected from you, that you are on the sidelines just watching was happens? You want to go in one direction but the reality is quite different? Just who is in charge of all that is you? As Christians we would say that God is in control, but in order for that to happen you need first to have control of yourself so as to hand yourself over to God. Do you have such control of yourself? That is what we will be looking at now – self control. · What is Self Control? The Greek word used here in Gal 5:22 literally means ‘self-mastery’ or ‘to hold oneself in’. The AV uses the word ‘temperance’. A person who could keep themselves in check and not go to extremes was called ‘temperate’. Geographically a temperate climatic area is one that is neither hot nor cold but rather steady in the middle. The word speaks thus of disciplining oneself, of having our free will choices under our control. Self-control is to live in moderation, to stay within the limits, God’s limits. Self-control, as someone suggested, is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands – and then eat just one of the pieces. When it comes to love and self-control, it has been suggested they are like bookends that keep the other fruit of the Holy Spirit together. Love, as the first fruit of the Spirit, encapsulates and permeates all the other fruit. Self-control, as the last fruit, enables one to develop the other fruit. It is virtually impossible to show forth the other fruit of the Spirit unless you walk in self-control. If we don’t have self-control then we will be ruled by our impulses and selfish desires. It is God’s desire that we submit ourselves to Him so that He can control what happens in our lives. Rom 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Yes, we are to offer ourselves as a whole person to God. We need to thus have ourselves under control. · How not to live! What does it mean to live with self-control? Sometimes the best way to define a preferred position is to paint the picture of the opposite state. The Apostle Paul gives us a clear outline of how life without self-control will be shaped. Such a person, says Paul, is under the control of the sin nature: Gal 5:19 “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” It is not a pretty list! These are acts of the body and of the mind that show rebellion towards God, actions that demonstrate an independent spirit, cut free from self-control. Such things not only bring pain to God’s heart but also lead to unhappiness in our lives. Each of these words tell different aspects of a life that is out of control. We are not to live in such excess but rather to bring our hearts and minds under control, to master ourselves for God’s glory. Alexander the Great, long revered as a king of the Greeks, was a man whose life was out of control for much of the time. A brilliant thinker, he became ruler of Macedonia at the age of 16, victorious general of his army at 18 and king of the nation at 20. He died a drunkard before he reached 33, able to control a great army, but not able to control himself. Who is in charge of your life? · How to live under control! So much for the bad news, but now for the good news. How do we bring our lives under control? The Apostle Paul has some very helpful things to say in 1 Cor 9:24-27. The images used are those of an athlete and a boxer. Every three years, the Isthmian Games were held in Corinth. Athletes trained for at least ten months leading up to this time, to harden their bodies and bring themselves under subjection and control. An athlete is thus a good example of someone living with self control. Strict training, diet, adequate sleep and rest, all of these speak of self-control. The boxer pictured here is beating himself, to ensure that his body is in submission. At any time, these athletes could walk away from the training schedule but if they do, then any hope of achieving the desired results are lost. So too with us in our growth as Christians as we seek to produce the fruit of the God’s Spirit. If we submit to the disciplines of prayer, reading God’s Word and sharing our faith with others, so we will grow spiritually strong. We need to be disciplined in doing these things, not in a legalistic way, but in response to the wonderful grace of God in our lives. We don’t just relax and say ‘God will work in my life and bring about growth.’ We must play our part. Paul reminds us to… Phil 2:12 “…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Here we see our part and God’s part. We take responsibility for our lives, seeking in God’s strength to bring them into submission. God empowers us so that this will happen. We see this most clearly worked out as we look to the life of Christ. · The Example of Jesus! As we think about self-control and how it is worked out in life, the strongest example of all is that of Christ. One of the most challenging times he faced concerning self-control was in the Garden of Gethsemane, just before he was betrayed. He asked his disciples to stay with him and support him in prayer but they chose to fall asleep! Their self-control came undone as they were overcome by a lack of sleep. Mark tells us that Jesus soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Luke tells us that, such was his anguish; his sweat was like drops of blood. Jesus thus faced his ultimate test of self – control alone and he cried out: Matt 26:39 “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Here Jesus brought himself - spirit, body and soul into submission to the will of his Father. He faced the ultimate test of self-control and passed. His disciples on the other hand did not do so well. Jesus thus said to them: Matt 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.” Let us seek to be obedient to God in a similar manner. · Keep your life under control! Seek to keep your life under self-control, ready for God to use. Keep a careful watch where you allow your mind to wander and where you body goes. Seek to keep yourself under control. Prov 25:28 “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” Let us be people who live with self-control. You never know how God might use you… We spoke earlier of Alexander the Great, a man who lacked self-control. Let me finish by referring to another man whose life was characterized by self-control. Born in 1809, he had a difficult childhood, with less than one year of formal schooling, so taught himself. Tried to start a business in 1831 but it failed but did not give up; ran for parliament in 1832 and lost but kept on growing as a person, tried another business in 1833 and it failed but said he learnt much from the experience, his fiancé died in 1835, but later married in 1842 - only one of his four sons lived past age 18 but he refused to allow grief to rule his life. He ran for US congress in 1843 and 1848 and lost both times but learnt through the experiences; he ran for US senate in 1855 and lost but by now had gained widespread support; ran for US Vice President in 1856 and lost but kept focused on his goal. Then in 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President of US. He served with great distinction during the difficult days of the Civil War and through the time of the abolition of slavery. A man of faith whose life was characterized by diligent self-control, mastery of self for the greater good, for God’s purposes. We too can be used by God for his glory as we live a life of self-control!
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