Galatians 5:22-23
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Self-control is the last Fruit of the Spirit. This is a hard one. Many of us don't have self-control. Most people associate self-control as not getting angry when things don't go our way. When we are angry we need to use self-control. We should not be screaming at people, calling them names, cussing and carrying on like we don't have any sense. Another thing we should not be doing is trying to get revenge when people have hurt us. Putting other people's needs first and stop being selfish is self-control. There are other areas that we need to have self-control. We also need to have self-control when we are tempted to sin. In 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 it says it says that God's Word tells us to be on our guard so that we won't make bad choices when we are tempted.
Being careful what we say takes self-control. Our tongues get us in a lot of trouble. In the Book of James - Chapter 3:2 James says we make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. Learning how to control what comes our of our mouths is the key. James also says in 3:8-10 that "...the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless (undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God's likeness! Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so." So many times I have said things that I have regretted saying - basically I put my foot in my mouth. James says we use the same mouth to praise God and turn around and say bad things to other people or cuss, gossip, etc. That's something to really think about. We need to practice self-control. But we always can use the help of the Holy Spirit. When you are about to say something and you hear the voice that says be careful of what you say, that's the Holy Spirit prompting us. He gives us the strength we need to do the right thing. We need to be quick to listen and slow to speak. Remember when we talked about David and King Saul and how Saul got to the point where he wanted to kill David? Saul chased him all over the place, and there came a time when David could have killed Saul but he didn't. That was using self-control. There are many other instances in the Bible where people have used self-control. One other person who used it was Joseph. You can read the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife back in Genesis 39. She was trying to tempt Joseph into sin. She basically threw herself at him and instead of giving into an affair, he chose to run away. He told her over and over again but one day he left his coat behind and she told her husband that Joseph raped her. Potiphar put him in jail but since Joseph had self-control, God honored that and after different circumstances and situations, Joseph became the highest official in Egypt. God rewards our self-control. However, you have to use some patience (aha another Fruit of the Spirit). God helps us to overcome the temptations we face.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Self-control is the last Fruit of the Spirit. This is a hard one. Many of us don't have self-control. Most people associate self-control as not getting angry when things don't go our way. When we are angry we need to use self-control. We should not be screaming at people, calling them names, cussing and carrying on like we don't have any sense. Another thing we should not be doing is trying to get revenge when people have hurt us. Putting other people's needs first and stop being selfish is self-control. There are other areas that we need to have self-control. We also need to have self-control when we are tempted to sin. In 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 it says it says that God's Word tells us to be on our guard so that we won't make bad choices when we are tempted.
Being careful what we say takes self-control. Our tongues get us in a lot of trouble. In the Book of James - Chapter 3:2 James says we make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. Learning how to control what comes our of our mouths is the key. James also says in 3:8-10 that "...the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless (undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God's likeness! Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so." So many times I have said things that I have regretted saying - basically I put my foot in my mouth. James says we use the same mouth to praise God and turn around and say bad things to other people or cuss, gossip, etc. That's something to really think about. We need to practice self-control. But we always can use the help of the Holy Spirit. When you are about to say something and you hear the voice that says be careful of what you say, that's the Holy Spirit prompting us. He gives us the strength we need to do the right thing. We need to be quick to listen and slow to speak. Remember when we talked about David and King Saul and how Saul got to the point where he wanted to kill David? Saul chased him all over the place, and there came a time when David could have killed Saul but he didn't. That was using self-control. There are many other instances in the Bible where people have used self-control. One other person who used it was Joseph. You can read the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife back in Genesis 39. She was trying to tempt Joseph into sin. She basically threw herself at him and instead of giving into an affair, he chose to run away. He told her over and over again but one day he left his coat behind and she told her husband that Joseph raped her. Potiphar put him in jail but since Joseph had self-control, God honored that and after different circumstances and situations, Joseph became the highest official in Egypt. God rewards our self-control. However, you have to use some patience (aha another Fruit of the Spirit). God helps us to overcome the temptations we face.
