compilation
It’s not about us. When we talk about self-control, we do it not only for ourselves, but for Jesus, as gratitude for everything he has done for us. That’s our motivation. That is why we want to overcome our vices and achieve higher goals in our lives.
Galatian 2:20 I am crucified with Christ. I no longer live – Christ lives in me! I live my life in this body in faith in the Son of God, who fell in love with me and gave himself up for me.
1.Corinthian 6: 19 and 20 Keep in mind that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in it and which God has given you. You no longer belong to yourself, you were bought – and bought very expensively. So let your body also do God honor!
Titus 2:11-14 He showed that he loves all people and wants to save them. This leads us to renounce impiety and bodily appetites and have lived their days wisely, justly and In reverence before God. After all, eternal joy lies before us; After all, we expect our great God and savior, Jesus Christ, to appear in his glory. He sacrificed himself for us, so that we would no longer succumb to the power of sin and become his people, enthusiastic about all the good.
When he sacrificed himself for us, any sacrifice for him should be a privilege for us. That verse also says that we should be excited to do all the good. Our enthusiasm, along with his strength and help, can help us overcome anything and achieve the goals before us.
1 John 15-17 Do not love the world and what moves it. Love for God and love for the world are excluded. People let themselves be guided by their desires, they want to have, What he sees, And they rely on it, what they are and what they have. He’ll take it all one day. But what we do according to God’s will will stand forever. SNC. And B21 gives it like this: the world is alone Body Desire, Eyes’ Desire, Aptitude Life – None of this is from the Father, it’s all from the world. B21
Fruit of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of God’s Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, kindness, faithfulness, silence and self-control. (Čep) And Snc gives it this way – but he who lives according to the Spirit of God, in his heart love is born, .. and restraint. and B21 translates self-control as restraint.
Joyce Meyer says that the first and last fruit of the spirit— love and self control – They are like bookends on a shelf. Without them, the other fruits of the spirit do not work. We can’t get far without love and self-control, it’s an unrivaled combination.
God is love and is just
How to develop self-control
Mike Mazzalongo
In the letter of Galatians 5:22-23, Paul lists the fruit of the Holy Spirit and in this list of spiritual virtues, he mentions, among other things, the gift of self-control. I would say that the gift of self-control is most needed. If you want to be successful as a Christian and bear God’s fruit in your life, it is absolutely necessary to work on your self-control.
Divorce courts, hospitals and prisons are full of people who have failed in one thing in their lives, namely self-control. They just never learned how to control themselves. Not just one part of the body, but the whole body.
The problem we have with this particular gift of self-control is that if we just wait for it to come by itself, it won’t happen. Children are not born with self-control. Anyone who has had time with a newborn knows what I’m talking about.
Self-control, as well as other things mentioned in this verse in the Galatian, are qualities that are needed in our natures develop or cultivate with the help, strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit.
I would therefore like to discuss the five things that every Christian must do to develop this such important virtue of self-control.
#1 – know God’s word well and so on God’s will
2 Timothy 3:15-17 You have known the Holy Scriptures since childhood, and wisdom is contained in them. All holy writings were inspired by God; They instruct us about what is true, lead to questioning and correcting our own lives and educating us to act right. Thus, God’s man is properly prepared to do the good work of God in all directions.
So if you want to advance in self-control, knowledge of God’s word comes first. The very first thing that will allow us to cultivate self-control is knowledge of God’s word. imagine that God’s will is like a line. Next to it is another line of your will. What needs to be done now is align your will with God’s will. It’s similar to needing to center your car tires. If they are poorly centered, they start to shake the vehicle and then it’s a rather bumpy ride. Therefore, it is necessary that both sides of the wheels are aligned. and likewise God’s will and your will must be aligned. Because if they are parallel, then the same one will be Third line, which is your body, your life, what you do.
So there is God’s will, your will and your life. When these elements are arranged in parallel, What will happen? tho You will have peace, peace, harmony and Self-control. However, when they are misaligned, you are out of control, out of control.
So the first step to gain control over yourself, believe it or not, is to know God’s will. And the only way to know God’s will is Know His Word. Knowledge of God’s word, which contains his will, reveals to us the direction in which God wants our will to go and the path our body should take.
People sometimes say to me, ‘I would like to know what God’s will is… Can you tell me what God’s will is to me?’ It’s like they’re telling me, ‘Can you read God’s thoughts?’ And they just sit, think and say to themselves, ‘I wonder what God’s will is to me…’ And it seems that the last place they go to see to find out what it is is the Bible. And I often tell them, ‘And when was the last time you read a word?’ And they said: ‘Well, I don’t have much time and I try to get to it whenever I can.’ Then it’s no wonder you don’t know his will if you don’t know his word.
To know his will, you must know his word. So when our will is in harmony with God’s guidance, our body will follow. When we are absolutely sure of the right direction, because we know it from God’s word, then we have the power to make our body follow that direction.
You also have such an experience, right? When you are absolutely sure of something, because you read it in God’s word, because you saw black and white what God wants you to do or not to do. Thanks to this, it is then easier for you to fulfill it, because you know that you are fulfilling God’s will. Then you have the courage to say no or say that is enough, and practice control over yourself.
It’s amazing when you can do the right self-talk. – ‘Well, I’d rather not do it, it’s just wrong and I know it’s wrong because it’s in the Bible in this chapter and in this verse’.
And the only way to know God’s will is to know His Word, and the only way to know it is Read it, study it and listen to it often.
Romans 12:2 Don’t let this world shape you – Better to be transformed by the renewal of your mind so that you can know what God’s will is – what is good, proper and perfect. B21
If we want victory, in some part of life, when it is in harmony with God’s word, then we know that God wants to give it to us. The reason we don’t have it is that We are not enough in the word on that particular theme. If I have a problem with my time on social networks, it won’t help me if I read and listen to a sermon on the topic of love, I should listen to the topic of self-control and how much Jesus did for me (to be more motivated, to make him happy) etc.
Another reason why we are not able to overcome something in our life may be that we do not understand the full essence of God. God is not only love, but also justice, which means there is some standard- written in the Bible. Only if we follow that God standard will we have victory in our life.
When you read the Old Testament, it’s like on a swing – they listened to what he said to them = they did well, they didn’t listen=didn’t do well.
There is a sin to fight against. The reading of the Bible reveals to us what sin is and speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, in which we can (with God’s help) improve. If we follow it, we will win over what is bothering us in life.
That’s why sometimes psychology doesn’t work, because power focuses on us – it analyzes our childhood and us up and down and makes us think about ourselves and not enough about others (why they did what they did and what hurt us and especially about Forgiveness) and above all to God and His strength to overcome anything. (Spending time studying for forgiveness and trying to do so in your life, in the end, how many times does it work more wonders than analyzing our feelings and digging into the past.)
Another aspect is our motivation. Let’s see some elite athlete or basically anyone who has achieved something significant, such a person will He was willing to sacrifice anything. – Are we willing to sacrifice our time for me?
Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, when we are surrounded by such a crowd of witnesses, let us also throw away every burden and sin that binds us so easily, and let us persistently continue the running, which lies before us. Let us not take our eyes from Jesus, the originator and completer of our faith, who, for the joy lying before him, ignored the shame, passed the cross and sat down at the right hand of God’s throne. Think of what he had to endure from sinners, so that you would not falter and fall into spirit. SNC and B21
Or if someone saved our lives, we wouldn’t even be grateful to them in life and express it with our behavior towards them? Jesus died for us, he gave everything for us. Are we willing to subjugate and give him everything? Are we willing – more than elite athletes – to get rid of anything that separates us from him (through sin)?
We call ourselves Christians, but do we really follow what is written in the Bible?
#2. become aware of the danger posed by a lack of self-control
Matthew 5:29-30 Do everything so that temptation does not penetrate to you. Don’t be afraid to renounce something that seems so indispensable to your life today.
How to develop self-control, number two: be aware of the danger of lack of self-control.
I will give an example here, when our son Pavel returned home from the Marine Corps many, many years ago. He went to the marines (eighteen-year-old, a skinny boy) and they fed him mashed potatoes and sauce ten times a day, smeared his bones with fat. He absolved all the exercises there. He came back a man, he was hard as a rock. But when he was little, we wrestled on the floor and Lisa (my wife) was there. We had fun with how fathers and sons do it. But when he came back from the Marines, he says, ‘Come on, dad, come wrestle.’ And that wasn’t a pretty sight. You know, I was about fifty years old at the time or something. But he just bent me like a stick. But fortunately I had my secret movement – the ‘painted death grip’. He threw me into different positions that I couldn’t get out of, but I managed to find his little finger and just bend it a little. Imagine that thanks to the little finger I had control over him! Then he begged, ‘Get off of me, please, dad. I declare that dad is rougher than the Marines!’ Thanks to the grip with the little finger, I was able to control his whole body! Then, of course, I announced the victory and ended the match before I beat me, Ha!
I’m telling you this little story because This is exactly how Satan works in our lives. They try to control one small part of our life and then try to control our whole life. It’s as if Satan grabs us by the little finger and somehow manages to move our whole body. So when he succeeds, he tries to manipulate all parts of our life from this one position, from that one finger.
So for example, if you’re a secret drinker, I mean you have a problem with alcohol and it’s a secret. And Satan will catch on, and since you have this weakness, he’s got you hooked and then he’ll force you to lie about it. And then your work or school will start to suffer because of it, and then your health will start to suffer because of it. And all this just because it has influence and control over one part!
Once Satan controls one small part, he will then try to control the other parts. Because if God doesn’t control you, Satan controls you.
For example, most people who left regular meetings with other Christians usually did this because there was one thing they could not control. And in the end, unfortunately, she dominated their spiritual life and overturned it.
What do I mean by this? My point is to realize that all this is happening because of a lack of self-control. And if it happened to them, it could happen to us.
We must realize what danger we face if we do not control ourselves with God’s help. When Jesus says, ‘It’s better if you lose your little finger than your whole body.’
Don’t let Satan get into some part of your life with a worm, to control it to the extent that it controls other parts of your life from this one area!
#3 – Be prepared for it not being easy
What did Jesus say in Matthew’s Gospel 16:24 to his disciples about what they should do when they want to be his disciples? Who wants to follow me, stop thinking about yourself (Design yourself), Don’t be afraid to suffer for me And follow me.
1 Corinthians 10:13 Until now, nothing has happened to you that one could not bear. God will not disappoint your faith in other trials either: if they are allowed, It will also give you strength Endure and overcome them.
In other words, there is nothing new in life to suffer. Whatever it seduces and tempts us – greed, sex, lust, addiction, etc. This is not something that was not here before. Human beings have always been tempted by these things. Sometimes we manage to escape them, but sometimes we just have to endure and endure. Note that both are mentioned here.
Most people who fail to gain control over themselves fail because they think they should be able to do it without effort, that it shouldn’t cost them anything. However, when we realize that when our will begins to exercise divine control, then our body and body mind react violently to our efforts, it will be a little easier for us to master self-control. Peter mentions it in 1 Peter’s Letter 4:1-8 Even Christ underwent bodily suffering, so armed with the same determination. Whoever suffered on the flesh put an end to sin‘So the rest of his life in the body no longer devotes himself to human desires, but to God’s will. We’ve had enough of the waste of time that pagans revel in… It is enough that as an unbeliever you lived in the past in a free life, in passions, in drunkenness, in gluttony, in drinking and in shameful idolatry. Of course, your former friends will be surprised that you no longer stick with them, they will mock you and despise you. But don’t worry about it; After all, they will be answered for their lives to the judge of all the living and the dead. .. The end of everything is fast approaching, so live a disciplined life and pray eagerly. Above all, let your mutual relationships be full of true love – after all, you can cover many wrongs with love. (B21 and SNC)
It is said here: ‘I see the suffering that takes place in your life and that you are therefore trying to control, stop sinning.’
You say to the devil, ‘I will not do what you say. I say no. I say to leave.’ And the devil said: ‘Well, I have a new product for you, friend. I’ll make your life hell.’ And you say to your body: ‘No, no, no, I’m in charge of my body. My will rules my body And you will do what I tell you.’ And your body will answer you: ‘Oh so? over my corpse!”
Therefore, be ready to suffer. But also be ready to rejoice when you see how freed from the slavery of sin you are.
During the Health Fair, I talked with one person about things in general, and we also talked about addictions and the problem of addictions and some programs that exist to help people deal with addictions. And the person tells me: ‘The programs are good, but there is never a mention of God. Maybe there is a mention of a higher power, but they never describe the higher power because they don’t want to offend anyone.’ Programs for those who are addicted usually help them deal with addiction to move towards what is called sobriety. The goal is for someone who is addicted to anything to be able to get to the point where he says, ‘Hi, my name is Joe and I’m an alcoholic and I’ve been sober for three years or 79 days.’ Sobriety is a good goal, but in Christianity the goal is not sobriety, The goal is liberation.
the difference between sobriety and deliverance is that Sobriety means living with the desire for sin all the time and constantly fighting it, while liberation means that we no longer have any desire for sin.
Now I want to share something personal with you, but I can’t say everything because I would be ashamed. But I will share one thing that I am less ashamed to say in public. So I started smoking cigarettes when I was maybe ten years old or something and I smoked until I was thirty. That’s a long time. It’s been almost twenty years since I smoked cigarettes and I liked to smoke them. I mean I loved it. I took other drugs and everything else, but the hardest thing for me was giving up cigarettes. I stopped taking drugs in one day and never went back to them. But I’ve tried cigarettes maybe ten times to stop. But when I became a Christian, I realized that using this type of product, consuming tobacco, is not a pious thing, it is not a virtuous thing. It was something I had to give up, that I had to get rid of in my life, because it should not be part of the life of a Christian, I was convinced that the Bible was teaching it and that gave me the courage to say no.
And you know what, today someone could tell me: ‘I’ll give you two first class flights to Europe, I’ll pay you all the expenses, the best hotel, etc., but all you have to do is start smoking again.’ No, no, never! I hate it. I hate it. I hate the smell, the stench. This is a true deliverance. Nothing in me wants to go back to it.
Does it make sense, what am I talking about? deliverance, that’s what Christianity offers to people. It offers liberation, not just sobering up. But If you want to come to deliver, you must be ready to suffer. I repeat, those, Those who control themselves, have joy and experience the peace and satisfaction that comes when their life is more perfectly aligned with God’s will. In other words, when they are freed, which Christianity offers them.
#4 – Immitt and dwell with winners and not losers
In other words, If you want to fly like an eagle, don’t hang around with chickens. Imitate people who are worthy of imitation, who have proven successes in ‘spiritual life’.
1.The Tesalonian 1:6-8 And you followed ours and the Lord’s example; Despite many tribulations You have received the word with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so you have become a model for all believers. B21
Pavel and his staff were an excellent example of the newly converted in Thessaloniki. They then imitated them and became a model for other congregations in the whole area. It’s a big deal, copying the apostles, copying choirs.
Let me ask you like this: What kind of Christians do you think your children will be? – Well, they will be Christians like you! That’s the pattern they have. Please, parents, do not think that your children will be more faithful and devoted and more hardworking, etc. than you, because they are learning the DNA that you instill in them, the DNA of their Christian experience.
these people here in thessalonica were pagans and the change in them was caused by the fact that They modeled their behavior according to what they wanted to become, not according to what they once were. The same principle applies today. You need to have a community with people who have succeeded where you yourself have failed and follow them.
In order to gain self-control, we must imitate those who have acquired it themselves in the areas in which we try to obtain it ourselves.
I’ll go back to that smoking example. When I was a new Christian, I was in contact with other strong Christians who, by the way, did not smoke. So I learned how to do it. I received encouragement from those who succeeded spiritually.
If you’re a smoker, you drink too much, you gossip about people, you’re sexually impure, you’re addicted to something, you’ll never get over these things as long as you hang out with people who have similar vices. On the contrary, if you associate with those who walk in the light, who will call you accountable, who will encourage you to do what is right, instead of excuse your vices, then you will start to resemble them, but not before. If you want to fly like an eagle, you’d better socialize with eagles and learn from them how to fly.
#5 – Pray
And finally, in order to be able to develop self-control, you have to pray. In the 22nd chapter of Luke’s Gospel, verses 39 to 43, Luke writes the following: Then, as usual, he went to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples accompanied him. When they reached the place, he said to them, ‘Pray to stand the hard trials that await you.’ He himself then moved away from what he would have agreed with a stone, knelt down and prayed: ‘Father, if you could spare me this chalice of suffering, but Let your will be fulfilled, not mine.’ Here an angel stood by him and gave him strength.
Here is Jesus who was perfect and sinless. He perfectly understands God’s will, and yet he was tempted. His response to these rehearsal moments was a prayer and a plea for strength to do what God wants. He was a god, but he still had to fight with a weak body. His spirit was willing. His body needed help. And it’s the same with us.
I believe that there is no one who really wants to sin, who would say to himself: ‘I can’t wait to leave this building so that I can do something bad, like stealing, cheating, lying, being sexually impure, addicted and the like.’ Most people think, ‘I want to avoid these things, I don’t want to do them anymore.’ But Sometimes our circumstances or not thinking things up will cause us to succumb to temptation. The spirit wants to do what is right in us, but the body cheats us.
Now I would like you to notice something related to Jesus’ situation. He knew God’s will perfectly, he perfectly fulfilled God’s will, but still he prayed for the strength to continue it. It occurs to you that this was not the first time he had prayed. that Keeping his human body under control required effort, just like the rest of us.
Do we ever call ourselves a similar prayer? Yes, we say it from memory, in the Lord’s Prayer we say: ‘Don’t put us in temptation…’ Do you think it’s just a final thing? No, how many times do we say the prayer, how many times do we say to God: ‘Lord, I am so weak, I am nothing. I am only dust, I am less than dust, please help me!’
Have you ever begged God in prayer: ‘God, please give me a day when there will be as few sinful things as possible. Can you do it for me? Will you do it for me today? Please help me to handle all the temptation today.’
What is our prayer? – ‘Can I get more things please?’ Or are we trying to give up things (bad habits)? Are we looking for excuses for our weaknesses or are we asking for the strength to overcome them? God will give it to you every time you ask Him for it. Just be aware of them, tell him sorry and ask him for the strength to win over them.
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How self control is a gift
The question you may be asking yourself: ‘When I have to do all these things, how is self-control as a gift? Sounds like a lot of work. Self-control is a gift of the Holy Spirit because he provides all the elements to make it happen very quickly in our life.
The Holy Spirit gives God’s word
We say that we must know the word so that our will is in harmony with his will. Who do you think gives you God’s word? – Yes, it is the Holy Spirit!
2 Peter 1:20-21 But above all, know that no prophecies writing It is not a matter of one’s interpretation, for no prophecy ever arose from human will, but from God spoke people moved by the Holy Spirit.
And so the Holy Spirit provides God’s word, which reveals God’s will, without which no man could know what is right and how to act.
The Holy Spirit is one who warns our conscience
That voice saying, ‘I think you shouldn’t do that.’ Sometimes it’s just a feeling. It’s like resistance, like wind resistance, you go here and just say to yourself: ‘Man, I don’t feel good here.’ Who do you think is doing this? the devil? Do you think Satan is the one who wants to stop you from doing something stupid or bad? No, this is the Holy Spirit who works in your life. Paul says:
For the body pits its desire against the spirit and the spirit against the body, for it is in opposition to each other, so that you do not do what you like. Galatians 5.17
What do you want to do? I want to do what is right, I want to obey God, I want to live a holy life, but My body, the world and Satan keep pushing against me.‘Who is pushing against them? – Spirit! The Spirit is pressing against them. The Holy Spirit is the source of those warning signs that signal to me the danger and that I am out of God’s guidance.
The Holy Spirit strengthens your spirit to fight
You remember I said it wasn’t easy. It will be a struggle, you will get a load. Who do you think gives you the strength to win every turn? Paul says: If you deaden the works of the body with your spirit, you will live. Romans 8:13
If in spirit, then not by one’s own will. You deaden the deeds of the body with your spirit. Overcoming your bodily desires is not easy, but we are not alone in this struggle. The Holy Spirit cooperates with our Spirit to bring our body into harmony with God’s will.
The Holy Spirit leads our leaders
We have leaders (or examples) in the church, take an example from them. I will not take an example from the life of a man or woman who has been Christians for six months. I will take my life, service and approach to things as a model according to one of our elders, who has been older for maybe twenty years and who knows something about the Christian life. And who do you think is the leader? Paul says again: Take care of yourself and the whole herd, among which you Holy Ghost He appointed as administrators that you herd the church of God, which he had redeemed with his own blood. Acts 20.28
Finally, what you admire, imitate, and what the leaders do are the things that the Holy Spirit created in them.
Prayer
And finally, the Holy Spirit brings our prayers before God. Sometimes, when I pray, I say to myself: ‘I don’t even know what to say anymore, God, can you hear me?’ Paul says that in the same way the spirit helps our weakness. We cannot pray as we should. We know how to pray, but we don’t always know how to pray as we should. But then he says: ‘The Spirit himself intercedes for us with a groan that is too deep for words.’ And so he intercedes for us. I am so calm when I know that the Spirit helps me pray before God in the right way. When we pray for self-control, we can have confidence, because the Holy Spirit himself brings our prayers before God.
And so the ability to self-control is definitely a gift of the Holy Spirit, because he provides all the basic means that make it possible, and provides them for free and in abundance. That’s why it’s a gift.
So if our life is not in harmony with God’s will, it is usually because of ignorance of God’s word, love of sin or unbelief, lack of prayer. We can spend a lot of time rationalizing or justifying, but the cause is usually the things I just mentioned.
Self-control is something to be cultivated. And as I mentioned before, do you do it in such a way that Do you know God’s word that you are aware of the dangers and consequences that are the result of a lack of self-control, that you are ready to fight and suffer, to gain control over yourself, that You follow the leader instead of those who do not have the fruit of the Spirit in their lives and that they You are constantly praying for God’s help.
Some of you have already believed what I have said now and are already asking God for help in the fight to gain control over themselves.
And others weakened because they argued with this teaching in their hearts or found new excuses for their lack of self-control and refused to see the danger they were in. My question is: Which group do you belong to? Do you want to get better? Or are you getting worse? Have you improved in the last 40 minutes or vice versa? Did you get something out of it or rather lost it? If you need to put on Jesus and make him the one who controls your life, then of course there are ways to do it.
According to God’s word, it will begin by wanting to have self-control in your life and repent of your sins. Or ask for the prayers of others or the elders in Jesus, you can try counseling or whatever service you need.
