The Spirit-Controlled Life

Well, the title of our split sermon today is The Spirit-Controlled Life. The Spirit-Controlled Life. Let's open our Bibles once again and turn now to Galatians 5, beginning in verse 16. This is where we'll begin. Galatians 5 verse 16, and we'll read verses 16 through 23 in just a moment. As we are going to come to the final aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, self-control. Now, if you're keeping tabs, we're going to come back to gentleness in a future study. But for today, we want to come to this whole idea of self-control. And I believe I can say that with this particular part of the fruit of the Spirit, it reveals, perhaps more than any other part of the fruit of the Spirit, our deep need for the Holy Spirit to help us in this matter. Without the Holy Spirit, this part of the fruit is absolutely unattainable. Absolutely unattainable. So it's fitting we come to this part of the fruit, self-control, as we're leading up to Pentecost. You know, when you think of the progression of God's Holy Days, we begin with a beautiful spiritual picture of how essential the Spirit is in this whole plan of God as it unfolds in helping each of us manage ourself here on earth. The Passover reminds us that we're forgiven of our sins, forgiven of those times in which we fail to control ourself and our human nature. We're forgiven for those times. Following this incredible forgiveness from our failure to control comes the Days of Unleavened Bread.

During the Days of Unleavened Bread, we're instructed and admonished to come out of sin, to focus more on to get better control of ourselves. But if you're like me, we know that controlling the self and putting away the sin, it's not easy, of course. During the Days of Unleavened Bread, that sobering reality often comes into our experience that there's something within us that clings to that sinful nature, clings to selfish desires. There's something within us that clings to our own self-will, and we feel that struggle, that inward pull toward the flesh, the battle in our thoughts, attitudes, reactions, desires, wrestling with the self.

And that's why, then, the transition from the Days of Unleavened Bread to Pentecost is so beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful because Pentecost reminds us that God didn't call us to remove our self-nature alone, or by our own strength. Rather, he gave us the power of the Holy Spirit to help us control ourselves. The flesh, though we know, doesn't surrender its throne easily. We have those selfish type of things in our life, selfish attitudes, desires, selfish impulses. So that's where the battle begins when the Holy Spirit comes into the life of a new believer. And it's a real struggle between the flesh and the Spirit, between the pre-Holy Spirit old life and the post-Holy Spirit new life. That's where the struggle begins.

And that's why, perhaps, having, then, self-control becomes such an essential part of the fruit of the Spirit. So we're going to talk about that, and I'm going to admonish you today to get a hold of yourself. That's the admonishment today, and we're going to allow the Apostle Paul to help us in this endeavor. So here in Galatians 5, Paul pulls no punches. He gives it to us straight here. Speaking to the believers of his day, Paul says, Galatians 5, beginning in verse 16, he says, then, very plainly, I say then, Paul says, verse 16, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Very simple. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish, he says. Verse 18, but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. So let's stop there for a moment. So first of all, very quickly, we see Paul presents the contrast here. Once the Spirit of God comes to live in a new believer, it immediately comes up against the flesh. That's how he categorizes or describes it, the self. And then he says, but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Let me just say a quick word about that. Paul is not saying here in verse 18 that once we receive God's Spirit, then somehow or another we're not under God's law. He's not saying that. That wouldn't make any sense, quite frankly. The law gives us the boundaries in knowing how we should control ourselves, right? So the law is very beneficial in that way. So he's not saying that post-Spirit the law is somehow unnecessary or abolished. He's not saying that.

Rather, what Paul is explaining here is that the believer led by God's Spirit is no longer living under the condemnation of the law. Because it is that you, that with regards to yourself, the law finds you guilty as a sinner. The law finds you guilty as a sinner. The wages of sin is death. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. So the Spirit leads us out of that condemnation of fleshly sin and death. Okay, got it? Continuing here, he continues with the contrast of the Spirit in the flesh.

Verse 19, if he hadn't gotten it already, he continues here with more explanation. Verse 19, now the works of the flesh, they're evident, which are, Paul says, let me give you a little short list of the works of the flesh, the self. They are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and just in case he missed any, he says, and the like, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in the past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Okay, very clear. He's not pulling any punches here. Verse 22, he pauses, collects himself, and says, but the fruit of the Spirit, or we could say perhaps the works of the Spirit, in contrast, is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such, there is no law. All right, so let's stop there. Quick note on that last phrase, against such, there is no law. That's right, because the fruit of the Spirit, or the works of the Spirit, love, joy, peace. Against such, there is no law. That's true. God's law does not condemn or prohibit these things.

That makes sense. That makes sense, of course. You know, the law is not against love. The law is not against peace. The law is not against kindness, goodness, or even self-control. All right, continuing two more verses, 24 and 25. Just to put an explanation point onto here, verse 24 and 25, and those who are Christ, okay, post-holy Spirit, those who are Christ, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. All right, if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit, and those things that we just listed there. All right, so let's stop there. That's logical. Okay, quite a passage here. Again, simply put, the fact is that the flesh, we could say, the self, the self-nature of the flesh, it is inherently in opposition to the Spirit.

Okay, Paul has made that clear. The flesh is against the Spirit, and that is because in the process of becoming like Jesus Christ, then, it involves then putting away or getting rid of those things of ourselves that Paul just so helpfully listed here.

So when you hear the Bible instruction that says self-sacrifice is part of this process, well now you have a clear understanding of what that means, right? You're going to have to sacrifice the self and move then to a life, a Spirit-controlled life. Okay? Hopefully that sets up a good foundation for our topic today. All that by way of introduction for us to then move our study into answering two fundamental questions with regards to this part of the fruit of the Spirit self-control.

And I'll tell you, if we grow and we mature in this part of the fruit, you will see so many of those, so everything just falls in line. Innately, the works of the flesh become diminished. The parts of the other part of the fruit of the Spirit become easier with growing in this particular part of the fruit of self-control. Okay, so we're going to ask two questions today. First of all, really nail down what is self-control?

That's going to be number one that we endeavor and give ourselves to today. And then secondly, we're going to ask, okay, then how do we grow in it? So number one, we're going to find out what is self-control? And then we're going to answer number two, how do I grow self-control in my life? What definition would you give to self-control?

You know, there's probably a million different ways we could describe self-control. I thought of this. I came up with this, but you might come up with a version of it. Here it is in what I thought was the simplest form. The fruit of self-control is the Spirit-enabled ability to stay within the God-given boundaries in how we live. I'll repeat that. The fruit of self-control is this, the Spirit-enabled ability to stay within the God-given boundaries in how we live. In other words, it is to do what is right by God despite our own desires.

It is to do what is right by God, that's an important part of it, despite our own desires. Controlling the self, the ability to control those things of the self, so that we don't elevate ourselves above God's control and just simply do what we please. We don't want to unintentionally elevate ourselves above God's control and therefore make up our own aspects or our own idea of what's in or out, our own boundaries.

Now, this theme of self-control, Paul the Apostle Paul really took it upon himself to make it a major theme of all of his proclamations. So, let's look at a couple of those places here just to help our understanding of what this whole matter is of controlling the self. Paul wrote of this same topic in Ephesians 4. So, if you want to keep your marker there in Galatians, we'll come back. But let's turn over to another one of Paul's letters. Ephesians 4 verses 17 through 24. We're going to look at a few other places to help us understand exactly what it is. What is self-control? And here in Ephesians 4 beginning in verse 17, Paul's going to explain more. And here he's going to say, by the way, this is not my teaching. This is Jesus Christ's teaching that I'm just passing along to all of you. And he's going to put forth this contrast between the pre-spirit life and the post-spirit life and how you live. Ephesians 4, let's begin in verse 17. Paul again writing says, This I say to you, therefore, and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk. You know, you're now, in other words, post-holy spirit. You have God's spirit. So you're no longer to walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. And then he says, verse 20, you have not learned this from Jesus Christ. Just to make that clear, verse 21, you have not learned this from Christ if indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus. Now he says, verse 22, the truth is in Jesus that you should put off concerning that former conduct, the old man, which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and rather be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. Let's stop there. So don't think that I'm teaching this, Paul says. Jesus Christ, if you heard him and you understood Jesus, well then you know what I'm saying here, he says. You need to have the same kind of contrast from the old way of life to the new way of life here. And you need now, if you are recipients of God's Spirit, you need to be renewed by that Spirit in your mind, he says, and to live a Spirit-controlled life. Get a hold of yourself. Get control of yourself, he's saying. Become who you're supposed to be in the Spirit. So we're learning what self-control is. Now, I probably don't have to mention this, but I'll say it anyway. This is not easy, right? It's one thing to know something. It's another thing to think about the task of executing it, you know, self-control. So we know this is not easy. I found this quote, and I kind of like it, about the self being like a weed. See if you can relate. The quote says, the self, quote, the self is one of the toughest weeds which grows in the spiritual garden of our lives, unquote. I think that's right. The self is one of the toughest weeds which grows.

I know we have some gardeners out there, and I know your experience, your lived experience is you see that weed. Some weeds come out pretty easily, you know, but there's always that one weed, you know, that you're walking by and you think you can just get it in one quick swipe, you know. Oh no, it's hanging on for dear life there in the ground, and it's usually the littlest of boogers that are out there, you know, those weeds that don't come out. So this is the comparison here, and I hate weeds, you know. I know you hate weeds. And even thinking about this comparison of the self being a weed that's the toughest to remove, you know, I almost think of the self as being one of those weeds which close itself in those stickers, you know.

If you've lived any kind of garden life, you realize you see that weed, and without thinking, you go and grab it, and you realize it has all those stickers, you know. Well, the self is a little bit like that, and even it can be a little deceptive, you know. Some weeds try to fool us by putting a little pretty flower at the top. You're still a weed, you know. You're not fooling anyone.

Sometimes the self does that as well, you know, tries to blend amongst the other true flowers of the garden. Well, controlling the self, weeding out the self is kind of like that, and it is so much true. If you think about it, who do we have the most trouble with in our entire Christian life? Who do we have the most trouble with?

Now, if you looked at your spouse, that's the shame on you. You shouldn't have done that.

Because the fact is, we know if we're honest, the individual we have the most trouble with post-recipients of the Holy Spirit is the one that stares back at us in the mirror every morning, right? When we brush our teeth, if you will. That is the individual who gives us the most problem, ourselves. We get caught up in self-centeredness, or self-deception, or self-importance, or the opposite self-pity, right? The list goes on, and the self then tries to work its way outside of the boundaries. You know, it's so interesting that we know, and even though we know, God loves us, and as a father loves his children, he establishes boundaries for us, for our protection, for our well-being, boundaries for our good. Even though we know these things, though, the self innately wants to move outside of those boundaries, outside of that which he's established for our good. That's how the self works often. And that's the understanding from Paul in the last part of the fruit. That's what we need to get control of, you see. It's very deceptive, very deceptive, very cunning, and it doesn't help to the fact that even the devil knows that we are our biggest problem. C.S. Lewis presents this very thing in his screw-tape letters. The screw-tape letters, as if some of you aren't aware, they're kind of a fictional literary work which uses fictional characters to address theological issues, particularly around this whole issue of the self and resisting the temptation to go outside of God's boundaries. Screw-tape, the evil one in this fictional narrative, screw-tape the evil one says to one of his nephews, he says, all that we can really hope to do is to encourage our enemies, that's us, Christians, to take the good things from God and encourage them to use those good things at the wrong time or in the wrong quantity or with the wrong person. Okay?

Very cunning. Be aware that the self influenced by Satan the devil can be very cunning. So, for example, intimate relations, a wonderful gift from God, a good and wonderful gift from God, God sets the boundaries. This good thing must be exercised in the boundaries of marriage. Well, what happens? Well, what happens? Man comes along, indulging the self, and exercises that good thing outside of the sacred bounds of marriage to spoil that good thing, taking what is good and using it at the wrong time with the wrong person, you see. So be aware of the kindiness of what we're talking about, the self, especially when it's influenced by the evil one, Satan the devil himself. So we need self-control. Again, the fruit of the spirit self-control is the spirit-enabled ability to stay within the boundaries of how to live. All right, we got that. Got that. That's what it is. Now, to the second question, how do we best grow this fruit in our lives? That's a good question. Maybe perhaps the more difficult question here. How do we best grow this fruit of self-control in our lives? I came up with three ways that I hope will be helpful to you in endeavoring to grow in self-control. Let me give them to you. Number one, in how to grow self-control, number one, self-control begins with our daily walk in the spirit. Simple, yet I believe profound, number one, self-control begins with our daily walk in the spirit. If you go back to Galatians 5, if you had your marker there, you will be helped. Galatians 5, again, this is the understanding that Paul leads with, of course, and I think he's right in doing so. Galatians 5 verse 16, again, where Paul says, Galatians 5 verse 16, walk in the spirit, he says, and if you do that, you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Simple, profound, but simple, deep, but simple. So, self-control in developing it begins with our daily walk in the spirit.

Daily walk in the spirit. Do you take a walk with your loved ones occasionally? There's a certain closeness that comes from that. There's a certain fellowship. When my family and I walk, I don't know, it just seems like the conversation flows so easily. You know, so I love this imagery of walking in the spirit in this way. And in a way, this paints the picture of a loving Father, God the Father, who provides the power of the Holy Spirit, the Father walking with his child, you know, a child walking with his Father.

They're really not anxious of what's ahead. You know, very often they're enjoying the things as they go, not even looking ahead. Why? Well, their Father's there to protect them. Walking with our Father. We learned to stay close, though, if there's a bark from a dog that's too close. What does the son or the daughter do? They scurry to get close to the Father there. So you learn to follow the Father's pace. So be thinking about walking in the spirit, that imagery. You listen to the Father's voice. If the child stumbles, the Father's ready there to steady them, to give reassurances. If the child begins to wander, the Father guides them back. Right? So this is the picture that Paul's putting forth here, and this is the first step in how to grow in self-control, is to walk in that power that's available to us, the Holy Spirit.

Moment by moment, you know, this, even in psychology terms, is the best way to help keep your self-control in line. Walking daily in the spirit, to making it a top priority to pray for God's power to help you in that day. As you look at the reflection in that mirror in the morning, this is the beginning of, you know, say, Father, I want to walk with you in your power, in your spirit today. Help me with this. Help me with that. Bring it to your mind, your focus. It is a daily walk, and just really practically think about it first thing in the morning, and that you're inviting the Spirit to influence your life in a greater way, and inviting that help. And that brings us to the second of the third three ways in how to grow this. The second way in how to grow self-control is to understand that we must feed the Spirit rather than the flesh. Okay? It has been said that, you know, the life between the flesh and the Spirit, there's no neutral ground, right? You're either in one or you're in the other. There's really no neutral ground. So we could say you're either feeding one or feeding the other. Important to remember that. Think of a, maybe think of a fire, you know, as it begins to die down, but if you continue to feed that fire, then it burns hotter and brighter. I think that's the way it is with the self. We can feed the flesh, the self. We can feed bitterness. We can feed lust, pride, anger, and so on. And then we'll think, why do I feel so out of control? Well, perhaps if you feel that way, perhaps you're feeding the works of the flesh in that way. By what you watch, what you're listening to, what you're allowing to meditate upon, you know.

So as you feel a negative thought about someone else or some bitterness come into your heart, you've prayed that morning. You've established your walk at the beginning, and now the Spirit helps you recognize it. And then you don't want to feed that. You want to say, Father, I don't want to have that thought. I don't want to have that word, that negative word about an individual. I'm not going to feed those things. Maybe it is during those times you'll say a prayer, and a prayer then begins to feed that Spirit that dwells in you. Perhaps you need to turn on some encouraging music at that time. Begin to think about, maybe pull up some Scripture.

When you begin to feed the Spirit, your appetite for the flesh will lose its grip. Sin will begin to feel heavy. I've experienced that. Things of the flesh that we used to excuse, those things will begin to grieve us as it grieves the Holy Spirit in us. It's amazing that these are very practical ways, even though we know this, to make sure that we're growing in our self-control. Really think about it in terms of, what am I feeding at any given time of the day? The hope and the prayer is that the things of the flesh will slowly lose their appeal as you're feeding the things of the Spirit. You see? So that's number two. Practical, but profound, I believe. All right, number three. The last aspect, perhaps you can come up with more in your own personal study, as a means by which to grow in self-control, is simply, number three, remember who you belong to. Okay? I think this is an important one. I think this is an encouraging one. If you're here in Galatians 5, Paul is so pithy in his statements. He's so such a, so skillful in how he turns a phrase. Look at Galatians 5 verse 24, when you think of who you belong to. This third aspect in how to grow in self-control. Paul says, Galatians 5 verse 24, and those who are Christ, that's you, if you are Christ, you have crucified the flesh and its passions and desires. That's a fact. If you are Christ, this will be occurring in your life. There will be evidence, you see. This is a comforting reminder that the believer, who receives God's Spirit, belongs to Jesus Christ, not partially, but entirely, you see, kept by his grace, loved with an everlasting love. Yes, the flesh still fights.

Yes, there's times in which the battle feels exhausting, but in the middle of those moments, we simply need to stop and remember, and perhaps even express out loud, I belong to Jesus Christ.

And with his Spirit from the Father through Jesus Christ, with his Spirit living in me, there's hope. He has not abandoned me in this struggle. In fact, I'm going to invite him to come closer to me in it. I believe this deeply matters in our growing in self-control, especially when progress feels painfully slow, to say the least. So if you're discouraged out there, battling the flesh, battling the self, if you're grieving currently over your condition, I'll tell you one encouraging thing to think about. Just the fact that you're grieving over it.

That's evidence that Jesus Christ, in his the power of his Spirit, is still with you. The evidence that the Holy Spirit is still at work to give you that grief. So you can use that grief to help encourage you toward the things of the Spirit. And God is faithful. He's so patient. He's not going to give up on you, so don't give up on him.

Well, as we conclude here, this is an ongoing battle. There will be this pull between the Spirit and the flesh until the day that Jesus Christ returns. But until that day, let's know what this part of the fruit is and really bring it to the forefront of our lives this upcoming year. Use these steps, these techniques, and how to grow it. Develop. Focus on deep control this year. The beautiful self-control, which can't be produced by God the Father through his Son Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. So may today and until Christ's return, may we strive to live in the victory of the Spirit-controlled life.