Self-Control

Introduction

In our celebration Sundays we have been studying the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23

And so we have talked about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and for the last celebration service before a break for the summer we had to decide how to end our series.

We had one Sunday left and two fruits of the Spirit, gentleness and self-control.

We have chosen to wrap up this series with a focus on self-control. 

I don’t think it is very relevant for us, but we’ll talk about it anyway.

Ending with self-control is actually very applicable and let me explain what I mean.

[Holding up a pearl necklace] Some of you have pearl necklaces at home, maybe some of you are wearing one today.

Let’s say the fruits of the Spirit are like the pearls on a necklace.

Borrowing from what someone else has said self-control is the silken string running through the pearl chain or necklace of all fruits of the Spirit.

In other words self-control in the life of a person results in more love shown; greater joy and peace; stronger patience; etc.

Not long ago on March 11th I shared a sermon on self-control.

Doesn’t it make you angry and frustrated and impatient that you have to sit through another one!!!!

“Self-control is so irrelevant to me!!!”

In that sermon I shared Proverbs 25:28 “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.”
Self control is a fruit of the Spirit that hems us in. It is like the wall around us that protects us.  It protects us against bitterness, greed, envy, impatience, idolatry, addictions, obsessive behavior, strongholds of sin, apathy, spiritual lethargy.
It guards us against self-destructive, addictive, obsessive, compulsive, irrational, and unacceptable behaviors. 
Let me identify in what areas of our lives we may need to gain more self-control. 
You may have compulsive and/or addictive behaviors in your personal life in the areas of Eating, Shopping, Cleaning, Alcohol, Drugs, Gambling, Sex, Smoking (nicotine), Relationships, Sugar, Excessive activity, Body image, Exercise or other obsessive behaviors 
You may have self-control issues in Relationships such as: Over-dependency on others, Manipulation of others, Need to fix others problems, Use of intimidation to get what you want, struggle handling anger or resentment. Or you may have other self-control issues in relationships.  
You may have self-control issues at work or school such as: Time management, Stress management, Workaholism, or Handling perfectionism.   
Self Control keeps your life in moderation, helping you to avoid extremes in any direction. 
Moderation, avoiding extremes, and practicing restraint, in case you haven’t noticed, is very hard.
HAND OUT MARSHMALLOWS.
Anyone on the balcony want a marshmallow? Please, I really want to throw one up there.  I need my marshmallow launcher I use on my neighbor’s cat. I’m kidding I don’t have a marshmallow launcher good thing because I don’t know if I would have enough self-control for one of those.
AROUND 1970, psychologist Walter Mischel launched a classic experiment. He left a succession of 4-year-olds in a room with a bell and a marshmallow. If they rang the bell, he would come back and they could eat the marshmallow. If, however, they didn't ring the bell and waited for him to come back on his own, they could then have two marshmallows. 
In videos of the experiment, you can see the children squirming, kicking, hiding their eyes -- desperately trying to exercise self-control so they can wait and get two marshmallows. Their performance varied widely. Some broke down and rang the bell within a minute. Others lasted 15 minutes. 
Listen, here is what they have discovered: This was written in an On-line article in San Francisco Chronicle: “The children who waited longer went on to get higher SAT scores. They got into better colleges and had, on average, better adult outcomes. The children who rang the bell quickest were more likely to become bullies. They received worse teacher and parental evaluations 10 years later and were more likely to have drug problems at age 32… The good news is that while differences in the ability to delay gratification emerge early and persist, that ability can be improved with conscious effort. Moral lectures don't work. Sheer willpower doesn't seem to work either. The children who resisted eating the marshmallow didn't stare directly at it and exercise iron discipline. On the contrary, they were able to resist their appetites because they were able to think [emphasis added] about other things.”
Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” [NASB]
Self-control implies that our self produces desires and impulses that we should not satisfy or fulfill and these come to us in our thought-life and so a battle in sues in our minds.
And so Paul writes in Ephesians 4:22-23 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds;”
Let me remind us of some verses I have shared before. 
Romans 1:21 “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened”
Naturally we do not think it worthwhile to glorify God. By nature our minds are not God-worshipping minds. Our minds are ego-centric. We worship self and not Christ.
Romans 1:28” Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.”  
In our natural minds we do not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God. 
Now listen to the external immoral behavior, the complete lack of self-control caused by the natural thinking of an unrenewed mind.
Romans 1:29-31 “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.[in other words a complete lack of self-control.] They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.”
The battle to live a self-controlled life is a battle that in sues in our minds. 
1 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
We need to focus our minds on Jesus Christ and living in obedience to Him.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
We must have a very intentional plan for filling our minds with Christ honoring truth.
Psalm 119:11 “I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
We must pursue Christ-exalting truth through reading, meditating on scripture, reading books written by men and women of faith, listening to Christ-exalting music, or messages, the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to see and actually behold the glory of Jesus Christ.
As we read, study, and meditate on God’s Word the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to see truth.
The Holy Spirit will soften our hearts to respond in obedience to the truth.
Conclusion:
Something counter-intuitive you learn when mountain biking is to carry enough speed over roots and rocks. If you do not carry enough speed you can get caught in a halt situation. Instead of your front tire rolling over a rock or root it halts on it and this can throw you over the handlebars. 
When working at self-control we must watch out for HALT situations when we are feeling out of sorts and too: H - Hungry A - Angry L - Lonely T - Tired   
Galatians 5:22-25 [Remember we are the branches and Jesus is the vine. When we are connected to Him His life, His Spirit will be manifest in us] “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.[Where does this happen? In the mind] 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” [the temptation comes, go this way, no, no, keep in step with the Spirit. What is the Holy Spirit going to bring to us to call us back? He will remind us of scripture. He cannot remind us of scripture we have not filled our minds with.]
Keep in step with the Spirit and you will not gratify the desire of the sinful nature.