Day 11 Self-Control

Day 11

Self-Control

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”  (Matthew 5:21-22)

Believer’s Self-Control is the 3^rd pillar

Believer’s self-control is the third pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

To have self-control is to exercise temperance in all things, to restrain yourself from fulfilling the lusts of your flesh, and by God’s grace, to walk in the Spirit!  In other words, self-control is to refrain from doing what your flesh wants you to do, and doing instead what the Spirit tells you to do.  Again, self-control is a fruit of the Spirit.  It will be difficult for you to maintain self-control and be temperate if your life is not totally committed to Christ who gives you power to walk in the Spirit so that you may not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.   This requires commitment and discipline on your part and grace on God’s part.

Unless you make a conscious decision to turn away from whatever bad habits you are struggling with, and turn with all your heart to God for help, you will never make it.  You will only frustrate yourself by continually failing and breaking promises you have made to God, which will leave you feeling inadequate, weak, pitiful, unworthy and dirty.  Ultimately you may give in and just accept your bad habit as part of your life.  The flesh will make you feel better, telling you, “This is who you are.  Accept it.’’   If you don’t snap out of it, this sin will become part of your life and with time it will become less sinful in your own eyes, and you will end up justifying it.  You can do this with all your bad habits, vices and lusts and live in misery and self-pity for the rest of your life, or you can get up in the name of Jesus and make a conscious decision to stop in the name of Jesus, and bring your sins to Christ one by one in prayer, with tears, supplications, and fasting.                                                                                                      

You must bring your sins to the altar of grace, and the grace of God, which is sufficient to deliver you from any bad habits, vices, lusts, addictions, or anything you are struggling with, will deliver you in Jesus’ name.  Amen!

Whatever you are struggling with, you can bring to God today, this very hour.  Just go on your knees and admit that you cannot stop in your own strength, that you cannot do it by yourself and that you need help.  Confess.  Ask for forgiveness of your sins in the name of Jesus! And ask God to wash you with the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.   Ask God to deliver you.  Ask God to help you.  Surrender it all to God and leave all your bad habits, vices, lusts, and addictions on top of the altar of grace.  Stand up in the name of Jesus and confess with your mouth:

“I am free in the name of Jesus.  I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ my Lord.  Amen!”

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”  (John 8:36)

Christ came to set us free from all forms of slavery.  For if we live in sin, fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, the devil will hold us captive under his power, stealing our joy in the LORD, as well as our access to blessings that God promised us in Jesus Christ our Lord!

“Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’”  (John 8:34-36)

My dear beloved, this freedom is available to you, now, today, this very hour.  All you have to do is surrender all unto Jesus.  Stop carrying this heavy load like a servant.  Bring all your burdens unto Jesus and He will give you rest for your soul.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30)

Christ died so that you and I should no longer be slaves to the devil or to the lusts of the flesh.  Jesus Christ our Lord died so that you and I may become sons and daughters of God.  Hallelujah!

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the RIGHT to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

 (John 1:12-13)

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”  The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”  (Romans 8:12-17)

“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”  Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” (Galatians 4:6-7)

“Therefore ‘Come out from among them
      and be separate, says the Lord.
      Do not touch what is unclean,
      and I will receive you.
       I will be a Father to you,
      and you shall be My sons and daughters,’
      says the LORD Almighty.”  (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)

If indeed we are the sons and daughters of God, let us therefore exercise self-control and walk as sons and daughters of the eternal King, casting out from among us our bad habits, vices, lusts, addictions, and malice, cutting ties with all works of darkness.

                                                                                                         

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”  (Galatians 5:16-26)

As a child of The King, your conduct and behavior reflects either good or badly on the King.  As sons and daughters of God, everything we do or say on this earth reflects either good or badly on God.  We can either bring glory unto His Holy name or shame unto His name.  You decide today!  But as for me, I have proposed in my heart--yes, even with all my imperfections, all my failures, all my flaws—I have proposed in my heart, I have made a conscious decision, that I will by God’s grace live a life that brings glory to God my Father.  Even if I fall, I will get up in the name of Jesus, and by His grace I will press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Forgetting those things which are behind which I cannot change and reaching forward to those things which are ahead unto the glory of God the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name.  Amen!  I will press on to the mark, to the high calling of Jesus Christ my Lord, who overall is God blessed forever.  Amen!

As children of God, we ought to separate ourselves from the world.  That is, not to isolate ourselves from the same world of which we ought to be the light, but rather to be different in everything we do, that we may have a good influence in the world.

Let us therefore have self-control in life, food, temptations, clothing, speech, and over the lusts of the flesh, and especially of our tongues, which is the cause of most of our suffering:

“But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.  Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”   (James 3:8-10)

And again:

“Come, you children, listen to me;
         I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
  Who is the man who desires life,
         and loves many days, that he may see good?
  Keep your tongue from evil,
        and your lips from speaking deceit.
  Depart from evil and do good;
         seek peace and pursue it.”  (Psalm 34:11-14)

There you have it.  If you want to see good in your life:

“Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.”

That is all you must do if you want to see good in your life, and do not say, ‘’I just can’t do it.’’

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”  (1 Corinthians 10:13)

“Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.  Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’ for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”  (James 1:12-15)

                                                                                                             

“Then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the Day of Judgment.”  (2 Peter 2:9)

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”  (Romans 6:12)

Let us, therefore, discipline our bodies lest we fall into temptation.  Let us bring our flesh in total subjection to Christ, that we indeed may be sons and daughters of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen!

“But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”  (1 Corinthians 9:27)

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”  (Romans 13:11-14)

Finally my dear beloved, God is faithful to finish that which He has started in you.  Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty that you have declared with your mouth, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
      and to present you faultless
     before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
        To God our Savior,
      Who alone is wise,
      be glory and majesty,
      dominion and power,
      both now and forever.  Amen.”  (Jude 24-25)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.   Amen!

Meditation:  A sober mind is well pleasing in the sight of God.  To discern good from evil is better than silver and gold!

Prayer points:  LORD Jesus, please help me to have self-control.  Please help me to cast off the works of darkness in my life, and by Your grace, please help me to walk in the Spirit, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

Commitment:  I commit myself, by Your grace, oh Lord Jesus, to press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, unto the glory of God the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen!