Sunday, August 6, 2023 AM
RETURN TO HOLINESS: Sin of Lack of Self-Control
Mike Teel, Pastor
FOCAL PASSAGE:
28 Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control. —Proverbs 25:28
A BIBLICAL
OF LACK OF SELF-CONTROL
28 Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control. —Proverbs 25:28
1. GOD’S
–In biblical times, a city’s walls were its chief means of defense.
–If the walls were breached, an invading army could pour into the city and conquer it.
2. THE
OF SOLOMON
–The Scriptures record that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines all from nations the Lord had said to the people of Israel not to take wives (I Kings 11:1-3).
–But Solomon gave free reign to his passions and totally disregarded God’s prohibition.
–Solomon paid a heavy price for his lack of self-control.
SCRIPTURE
OF SELF-CONTROL
1. GOD’S
–The Scriptures, both in Proverbs and the letters of the New Testament, have a lot to say about self-control.
2.
– a lost cause
–Despite the scriptural teachings on self-control, I suspect this is one virtue that receives little conscious attention from most Christians.
–We seldom say “no” to our desires and emotions.
–A lack of self-control may be one of our more “respectable” sins.
–A lack of control of our tongue, for example, opens the door to all manner of defiling speech such as sarcasm, gossip, slander, and ridicule.
HOW DO WE
SELF-CONTROL?
1. SELF-CONTROL DEFINED
–What is self-control? We must define it before we can implement it.
–Definition: It is a governance or prudent control of one’s desires, cravings, impulses, emotions, and passions.
2.
SELF-CONTROL
–Biblical Self-Control is not a product of one’s own natural will-power.
–Biblical Self-Control covers every area of life and requires an unceasing conflict with the passions of the flesh that wage war against our souls.
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. —I Peter 2:11
–This self-control is dependent on the influence and enablement of the Holy Spirit.
A FEW REFLECTED
OF CONCERN
1. AREA OF
AND
–Allow me to say right away that I am not singling out those who have a “weight problem.”
A.
CRAVINGS
–While we are discussing the tendency to continually give in to our desires for certain foods or drinks it is important to realize how much control these desires really have on our lives.
–When fasting we learn the our stomach is really in many cases the king of our lives.
–We eat when we are nervous, we eat when we are sad or when we are happy, we eat for comfort or we eat without even realizing we are eating or snacking.
B. HOW TO
CONTROL
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. —James 4:7-8
–One of the ways that has worked successfully for me is to remove or get away from whatever tempts us to indulge our desires.
–As I develop this discipline in my life, then I am able to take on additional temptations.
–The battle is in the mind more so for me than in my stomach, although they can work together.
2. SELF-CONTROL OF ONE’S
–Controlling one’s temper is a second area that often shows Christians have little self-control.
–It is amazing you may not have an issue with food or drink at all, but do not let someone cross you!
–Also please note it is not related to the color of your hair!
A. DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANGER
–Some believers are known to be hot-tempered or to have a short fuse.
–There are “spewers and stewers” The stewar is the person that allows their anger to build like a pressure-cooker. When it reaches its maximum level then they erupt all over everyone.
–The end result is still devastating to everyone around and even those who have not contributed to the temper tantrum.
B.
SWORD
–A person with a short fuse is a person who tends to become angry or irritated with a person or situation they have no control over.
–So, this person is now dealing with Anger and also lack of self-control. (We will perhaps look at anger in another study.)
–Outburst of temper is usually directed against anyone who displeases us, regardless if they had anything directly to do with the outcome. And unfortunately, is directed at one’s own family members.
–Note the number of warnings against a quick temper.
–We can store up these verses to exercise self-control over our tempers.
LIVE IT OUT
–What area of your life do you struggle with self-control that we have addressed today?
–What steps will you take to gain control in these areas of your life?
–Remember Jesus is the key to victory, not self-reformation.