May 27, 2001

June 29, 2003

Service Theme – "Our God is in Control"

Galatians 5:16-26

Temptation and Self-Control

Introduction

Illustration – There was once an elderly couple that was traveling through upstate NY. As they were driving along they saw a sign that said, "Helicopter rides ahead". Pa said to Ma that he always wanted to ride in one of them helicopters. So they pull into the place and find the pilot. Pa asks him how much for the ride. The pilots says, "$20 each." Pa scratches his chin and states that that’s an awful lot of money. "I would like to ride but that’s too much money". Feeling a little sorry for the old folks the pilot tells them, "Here is what I will do. If you or your wife don’t make a sound, I’ll take you up for free. But if either one of you says a word then you have to pay me $40". Pa says "Sure, I’ll take that deal." So they they off. They go just about straight up, then the pilot does a power dive just above the trees. He turns the craft one way then the other. At times almost going upside down. He finally lands and says, "Sir I am a man of my word, you never made a sound, that ride is for free." Pa said, "Yup, I almost said something when ma fell out the side." (As cited on SermonCentral.com)
Self-control is something we all struggle with every day. We’ve grown up in a society that indulges in its every desire whenever it desires. So today we’re going to look at James 1:13-15 to see what the cycle of sin is and how we are tempted to counterfeit self-control.

Scripture Passage

(NEW SLIDE) James 1:13-15 (NIV) - When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

(NEW SLIDE) Preoccupation/Enticement (verse 14) – we’ve got to nip the temptation in the bud right here and right now. We tend to be self-controlled in the areas that are important to us but we’re not disciplined in areas that God thinks are important. That is where we fail. We can be disciplined and self-controlled in any and every area we want to be, but if we don’t discipline ourselves in areas where God wants us to be, we will fall. Our last president, Bill Clinton, is a perfect example of this principle. He went to church almost every Sunday and was very disciplined in the areas he wanted to be. But in things God sees as important, such as telling the truth and being faithful to our spouses, Bill Clinton failed miserably because he had no self-control in those areas. When we obsess about the things we want to control, and ignore the things God wants to control, we start the sin train down the track!

(NEW SLIDE) Ritualization/Conception (verse 15) – we’re rolling on toward sin with no hope in sight. Why? Because we do the little things that lead to the big sin. We selectively discipline ourselves, and let ourselves think about indulging in what God says isn’t good. We plan all the little steps out that we can use to justify what we’re doing because they are not blatant sin. Those are called rituals, and they lead us straight to the gates of hell. Once we begin to use those rituals, we headed for trouble!

(NEW SLIDE) Acting Out/Birth (verse 15) – we do that which disgusts us. We settle for using sinful methods to meet our needs, instead of the wonderful things God has for us if we will just be self-controlled enough. Think of all the trouble Clinton got into because of his lack of self-control. And the trouble we’re in with both ourselves and with God is an incredible amount greater.

(NEW SLIDE) Shame/Death (verse 15) – we have to face the pain of severing our relationship with God. There are only two ways of dealing with our shame: bringing it before the cross of Jesus by confessing our sin and asking for forgiveness and turning our backs on that sin; or to medicate the pain of the sin even further by sinning again. Medicating ourselves only locks us into that vicious cycle of sin that we’re helpless to get out of on our own, no matter how hard we try.

True Spiritual Self-Control

What is our alternative? What does true spiritual self-control look like? How do we tell the difference between what’s true and what’s counterfeit? Let’s look at some Scripture.

(NEW SLIDE) Proverbs 5:22-23 says An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his incredible folly. True spiritual self-control keeps us from folly.

(NEW SLIDE) Proverbs 16:32 says It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city. True spiritual self-control brings great power to a believer.

(NEW SLIDE) 1 Corinthians 7:5 says Afterward they should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt them because of their lack of self-control. True spiritual self-control protects us from temptation.

(NEW SLIDE) 1 Corinthians 9:36 says All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it to win an eternal prize. True spiritual self-control requires work, but God will reward it eternally.

(NEW SLIDE) 1 Timothy 3:2 says An elder must be a man whose life cannot be spoken against. He must be faithful to his wife. He must be able to exhibit self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. True spiritual self-control is a sign of wisdom and maturity.

(NEW SLIDE) 1 Timothy 3:11 says They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do. True spiritual self-control requires faithfulness.

(NEW SLIDE) Titus 2:2 says Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. True spiritual self-control sets an example for others to follow.

Titus 2:12 says We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God. True spiritual self-control sets an example by which the world will see Christ in us.

(NEW SLIDE) 2 Peter 1:6 says Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. True spiritual self-control comes from relationship with God, and produces the fruit of holiness in our lives.

Here are some definitions of what true spiritual self-control is.

(NEW SLIDE) Bible Knowledge Commentary (Logos): "Self-control (enkrateia; this noun is used in the NT only here and in Acts 24:25; 2 Peter 1:6) denotes self-mastery and no doubt primarily relates to curbing the fleshly impulses just described. Such a quality is impossible to attain apart from the power of God’s Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:16)."

(NEW SLIDE) Theological Dictionary of the NT (Logos): "dominion over the self."

Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Logos): "the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, esp. his sensual appetite"

Greek English Lexicon of the NT based on Semantic Domains (Logos): "to exercise complete control over one’s desires and actions. …‘to hold oneself in,’ ‘to command oneself,’ ‘to be a chief of oneself,’ ‘to make one’s heart be obedient,’ ‘to command one’s own desires,’ ‘to be the master of what one wants,’ or ‘to say No to one’s body.’"

(NEW SLIDE) The bottom line is that true spiritual self-control is possible only through an unwavering commitment to a intense personal love relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the fruit of that relationship, and will bring us hope and wisdom and joy for all eternity. It isn’t easy – so we have to be constantly and faithfully on our guard against Satan’s temptations to lure us away from godly self-control. And we have to resist the temptation to substitute our own rules for God’s rules. But if we are truly committed to God, we will do it His way. So we know how we’re tempted, and we know what true spiritual self-control looks like, but how do we defeat temptation and build true spiritual self-control into our hearts and lives?

Help and Hope

By walking in obedience by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can defeat temptation the instant we begin to be tempted. We’ve got to nail temptation in the preoccupation stage. Here’s how.

(NEW SLIDE) First, we’ve got to pray, not only when tempted but also in consistent daily time with Him. Jesus died and rose again to break the power of sin and Satan over our lives. Jesus already won the victory. All we have to do is appropriate its power through prayer and relationship with Him. We begin by praying a prayer like this, as Bill Perkins suggests: "Thank you, Lord, for saving me from this sin that I’ve tried to medicate my pain with (and list it specifically). Right now I’m looking to Jesus and trusting Him to live His life through me. I’m now trusting Him to use His Word to purify my mind." Claim the victory in prayer and continue in prayer.

(NEW SLIDE) Second, we’ve got to focus our minds on what we should focus on, not what we shouldn’t by memorizing Scripture. The more we focus on not thinking about temptation, the more we’ll think about it. We have to focus on thinking about God’s Word. The Holy Spirit will bring those verses we’ve memorized to mind when we need them the most. Scripture memory is hard work, but we can do it if we work hard at it. You can, too. So what Scripture do we use to fight the temptation to indulge in counterfeit faithfulness? (NEW SLIDE) How about 1 Corinthians 9:36 from the New Living? All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it to win an eternal prize. If Jesus needed Scripture to defeat Satan’s temptations in the wilderness, then so do we!

(NEW SLIDE) Third, we’ve got to have accountability. When you have to look other Christians in the eye and tell them the truth, it really helps keep you from giving in to temptation. We have to ask ourselves this question and answer truthfully. Is there anyone in your life who you have given permission to ask you about how you spend your time and your money, and about how your relationships are going? We can’t resist temptation without accountability. Prayer is great, and memorizing Scripture is great. But we won’t consistently use them in our walk with God and we won’t consistently walk closely with God without accountability. It just won’t happen!

Illustration – D. A. Carson writes, People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated (as cited on PreachingToday.com). I don’t think anyone of us here wants to drift away from God. But that is what happens if we do not allow the Holy Spirit to build true spiritual self-control into our hearts and lives.

We’ve got to learn to allow the Holy Spirit to give us true spiritual self-control so that we can defeat the cycle of sin in our lives that leads us to counterfeit self-control.

Conclusion

Please bow your heads and close your eyes. Where are you at in the cycle of sin? Have you been effectively defeating it at the first stage, not allowing yourself to become preoccupied with temptation, praying and focusing on God’s Word in your heart and making yourself accountable to fellow Christians? Or has the sin cycle been getting the best of you? If you are struggling with sin, remember what 1 John 1:9 says: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Right now we’re going spend a few minutes checking our own hearts and allowing God the Holy Spirit to show us any areas where we’re struggling with sin.
What has God been saying to your heart? If you want to begin the process of defeating the cycle of sin in your heart and life, now’s the time to start. First, you must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, otherwise the Holy Spirit has no power in your heart. If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and you want to begin to appropriate His power to break the cycle of counterfeit gentleness or any other sin in your heart and life, pray right now and repeat after me. "Thank you, Lord, for saving me from this sin that I’ve tried to medicate my pain with (and list it specifically). Right now I’m looking to Jesus and trusting Him to live His life through me. I’m now trusting Him to use His Word to purify my mind. Amen." If you prayed that prayer, I challenge you to do two things. First, start working on memorizing 1 Corinthians 9:36 today, not tomorrow, not sometime this week, but today. Second, find someone who will lovingly but not permissively hold you accountable, and find them today. Confess your counterfeit self-control and the rituals you practice. Then meet with them weekly if at all possible, confess to each other, strengthen and encourage each other. But get started today, or you simply won’t do it!
Now of you’re serious about the commitment you’ve made to Christ to break the cycles of sin in your life, I’d like you to take the communication card and circle the "S".