self control g328 galatians 5-23 2017 jan 6...2017/05/23 ·...
TRANSCRIPT
Self-‐Control: Living Galatians 5:23 in the Light
of Psalm 86:12January 6, 2017
Our New Format Starting Tonight
• 7:00pm prayer• 7:05 to 7:20pm: Preaching• 7:20-‐7:30pm: Live discussion• 7:30pm: Recording turned off• 7:31-‐whenever: Informal discussion “off the record” followed by prayer requests.
Introduction
•As you noticed, the cover photo this week features a dog with a cupcake on its nose. Now THAT is self-‐control!•At this time of year lots of people make New Year’s resolutions. Last week we spoke about God’s vision for your life in 2017, and how a revelation from God can guide you.•Do you want a resolution from man or a revelationfrom God?
The Top New Year’s Resolutions All Involve Self-‐Control1. Lose weight 21% 2. Self-‐improvement 12%3. Better financial decisions 8%4. Quit smoking 7%5. Exercise 5.5%
Total = 53%So more than HALF of our resolutions involve self-‐control. Source: http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-‐years-‐resolution-‐statistics/Note that “exercise” is listed as number 7 in the original list but I moved it to #5 in this list. This was either divine inspiration or poetic license.
Temperance and Self-‐Control
Last week we spoke about God’s vision for you and how it affects your goals this year.This week we learn how to enjoy the gift of self-‐control. We learn that temperance is…• From God: It is a fruit of the spirit.• For God: “For thou art great…”• Forever: “I will glorify thy name forever more”
Temperance Defined
• In Galatians 5:23 the word temperance is egkrateia. It means self-‐restraint, moderation, or self-‐control. • The Bible uses egkrateia in a specific sense:
“The virtue of a person who masters his or her desires and passions,
especially the sensual appetites.”
Temperance Is a Fruit of the SpiritGalatians 5:22-‐23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, Longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
Temperance: against such there is no law.
As you know, it is a lot easier to QUOTE this verse than to LIVE this verse.: )
Temperance Is a Fruit of the Spirit:Galatians 5:23 Comes After Galatians 5:1Galatians 5:1 says that we are free from bondage:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,
And be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Make Good Use of Your Liberty in ChristGalatians 5:13-‐14
13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; Only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh,
But by love serve one another.14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this;
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
We Must WALK in the Spirit to Have FRUIT of the Spirit• Galatians 5:23 speaks of self-‐control and this verse is followed by:
24And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh With the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.• So, if you are walking in the Spirit, you should have self-‐control, rather than being a slave to passions, impulses, fleeting feelings, and passing desires.
Temperance Is From God
We have temperance by grace, thanks to God. So you could say…
Temperance is thanks to God, so we give thanks to God.
Temperance Is FROM God and Temperance Is FOR God
For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone.
Psalm 86:10
Temperance is FOR God because God is great.
God Teaches Us to “Walk in Thy Truth”
Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: Unite my heart to fear thy name.
Psalm 86:11
God’s word is truth and God’s spirit is truth. If God teaches us His way we can walk in His truth.
What Fruit Can We Offer to God?
•We are saved by faith and by faith alone.•Any fruit we offer God is merely giving back what He gave us.•But Jesus DOES expect fruit from us: Consider when Jesus curses the fig tree in Mark 11. • Jesus saw leaves (the appearance of righteousness) but Jesus saw no fruit (faith, holiness, fruit of the spirit).
Jesus Curses the Fig TreeMatthew 11:13-‐1413And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.14And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
Jesus and the Fig TreeMatthew 11:19-‐2219And when even was come, he went out of the city.20And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.21And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Getting Back to Psalm 86: Temperance Is FOR God•Because God is great. (It’s true that “God does wondrous things.” But God is great even He does not do what we want or expect.)•God teaches us to walk in the Spirit, and God unites our heart.• Is your heart united? Is there part of your heart that God is not welcome? Selfishness, pride, vices?
Temperance Is ForeverPsalm 86:1212 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.The praise of our lips is fruit. Perpetual, eternal fruit. So…
• Temperance is fruit FROM God• Temperance yields fruit FOR God, and• Temperance yields fruit FOREVER.
If You Can Praise God, You Can Walk in the Spirit•God’s greatness leads to praise.•Praise makes you want to say: “teach me thy way.”•Praise makes you want to “walk in thy truth”•Praise makes you want to “unite my heart.”•Praise makes you want to glorify His name.
Let Us Pray…
Lord, we thank you for this day, and for each of the fruits of the spirit. We thank you especially for self-‐control. Help us to walk in the Spirit, and not according to the lusts of our flesh. Unite our hearts to fear your name, with awe and reverance for our Father who loves us.We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Afterword:Comments About Tonight’s Call• It is now 9:30 pm on Friday January 6, 2017. I thank God for blessing our time together on the phone. • Tonight’s podcast ran about 28 minutes, and can be found here: http://rec001.freeconferencecalling.com/mp3/1364956/735765/LAF3494_010620
17160148827_1182932.mp3
•We continued the discussion “off the record” for another 45 minutes, and the Lord gave us both candor and compassion. It was both fun and fruitful!
Appendix:Misc. Scriptures About Discipline
Obey AuthorityHebrews 13:7,17• Obey Your Pastor: Hebrews 13:7: Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.• Obey Authorities: Hebrews 13-‐17: Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Discipline in the ChurchMatthew 18:15-‐20• 15Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
• 16But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
• 17And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
• 18Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
• 19Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
• 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
We Can All Be Led Astray by Our Own Itching EarsWithout accountability to authority, a believer will often develop “itching ears” (2 Tim. 4:3), which seeks after teachings that validate self-‐conceived opinions, instead of “objective” teaching which compels us to face truths that may conflict with our self-‐willed inclinations and desires.
We Want Autonomy, But We Need Authority(Part 1 of 3)Most of us have had a problem with authority at one time or another. Every person, no matter who they are, enjoys the freedom to do their own thing without interference from others. Teenagers like to be free from parental oversight. Wives don’t like it when their husbands tell them what to do. Citizens often prefer a government that keeps its hands out of personal affairs. No one wants to stop when the policeman pulls us over.
We Want Autonomy, But We Need Authority(Part 2 of 3)Yes, it’s true, human beings have a problem with authority. We love to exercise authority, but we hate to have to obey it. Every organization from the nuclear family to corporations to governments wield some kind of authority over others. Authority is necessary for society to be ordered and stable. We recognize that authority is necessary and good, but that doesn’t stop us from resisting authority from time to time. That’s because human beings want to live life according to their own authority, and on one else’s—not even God’s. Man, by nature, is rebellious.
We Want Autonomy, But We Need Authority(Part 3 of 3)The Bible is a book of authority, and the Christian church is also an organization that carries authority from its founder, Jesus Christ. The authority of the church is derived from God, and as such, it exercises its authority under certain conditions.
Source: http://www.preachitteachit.org/articles/detail/the-‐power-‐and-‐authority-‐of-‐the-‐christian-‐church/
Rebellious Christians & The Widow’s Mite(Jesus Blesses Tithing, Even to Hypocrites)1 And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.2And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.3And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
Luke 21:1-‐4
What Came BEFORE the Widow’s Mite?Luke 20:46-‐4746Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;47Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.• So the widow gave her tithe to scribes “which devour widows’ houses.” The widow gave her money to scoundrels and hypocrites! So what excuse do WE have to avoid tithing? Even if our church is full of hypocrites, God commands us to tithe.
The Spirits of the Prophet
And the spirits of the prophets Are subject to the prophets.
1 Corinthians 14:32
•We need self-‐control, even when we are walking in the Spirit.
Galatians 3:28 Gálatas 3:28KJV RV 1960
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither Bond [slave] nor free,
There is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus.
Ya no hay judío ni griego; No hay esclavo ni libre; No hay varón ni mujer; Porque todos vosotrosSois uno en Cristo Jesús.
How to Connect with Us
• Call Us: We have preaching, prayer, and live discussion every Friday from 7-‐8 p.m. The number is (712) 770-‐8086 and the code is 735-‐765.• Text Us: Send a text to Rob Martorana at (201) 919-‐2395. He will text you a link each Friday and you can see the message right on your phone.• Visit Us: www.Galatians328.com has all of our weekly messages and podcasts.• Email Us: Send an email to [email protected]