Dr.Charles Stanley

0:00Hey, this is Strawberry, how y'all doing out there today? Today, I hope everybody is doing well, if you're not doing well, that's found a way to get well, look well, and be well. Right now, we're gonna praise a little bit with Dr. Charles Stanley. Any area of your life that you would consider as being out of control? What about your finances? Out of control? What about your moral life? Would you say that's out of control? What about your relationship with other people? Is that out of control? What about your attitudes towards some people by jealousy? When you think about your life,

1:01is there any area of your life that you say will, I think that's out of control? For example, you drink, and maybe you take drugs. Or maybe you gamble a little bit, you say. And what about gossiping? What about just having a critical spirit? What about being lazy? None of those did who we are. That's why Paul said to the regulations that further the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. So when you think about your life, would you say that your life is not a control? Or would you say that there are some areas of my life

2:02that certainly are not in control? Well, it's a battle. That's the title of this message, the battle for self-control. We all want to be in control of our lives. And now, what I mean by that is this. We all have the relationship of that Lord, but which we are submitted to him to the point that we're not always battling. Because once this, when things are not right between you and God, it's like a tug of war. God wants you to do the right thing. You'd like to, but you don't. And so there's tension and stress and uneasiness. And oftentimes, unhappiness, lack of peace, lack of joy, lack of all the things that Paul just mentioned. You say, you cannot be living a life of disobedience to God and have loved, joy, peace, goodness, and all the rest.

3:04You can't. You say, I'm not so happy to where I am, solar. But you cannot have real happiness, real joy, real peace, real love. When you and the Lord Jesus Christ are not in agreement with that your life. So I want to think about this whole issue of the battle for self-control in our lives, because all of us either have had a battle or are in the battle right at present time. So think about this. Would you say that your life is under control? That you have a sort of a healthy attitude about all these things. The desire for acceptance by others. How strong is that desire that you have that you want to be accepted by everybody else? The desire to be loved by others. Do you want people to love you? That is, have a close relationship? What about desires for all types of pleasure? Does that characterize you?

4:06That just whatever is fun? Whatever makes you feel good for the moment? That's what you're looking for. And Paul lived in a society that was a cesspool of immorality. And so he knew about it. What about desires for wealth and security? Why does that rate on your list of important things? Wealth and security. What about desires to achieve and to excel? Is that healthy desire that you have? Or do you want to excel above all the people? You want to be better than that. What about the desire to have not a right to end theme? You see, this is the reason people do such atrocious things as motoring other people. They'll get the name on television and the picture, and then the newspaper, public when it costs them. What about would you say that you have a strong desire for happiness?

5:09If that's true, what are you doing to be happy? What do you be to be happy? What about your desire for personal attractiveness? Is that wrong? No, it's not wrong. But does that demand a lot of your time, a lot of your thinking? Do you just want to look good? Or do you want to look good better than somebody else? So you feel the friction of that. If I could just fix my hair like she fixes hers. Or if I could just dress like she dresses or he dresses. What about a desire to control? Do you have a desire to control a little bit? Somehow you just have to be number one. And then your business, you are not number one, but you'd like to be. You want to be. And then, for example, a desire for self-acceptance. I just want to be able to accept myself the way I am. You and I will never be anyone else.

6:10So think about that. No matter what you are, how you see yourself, what you intend to do with your life, you will never be like someone else. God made you just the way you are. Whether we distort that by our actions and our attitudes, that's another question. But as you think about all of these, would you say that your life is under control? That you have a sort of a healthy attitude about all these things? Now, let's talk about what self-control is. Self-control is basically thinking before you act, which is what a lot of people do not do. Thinking before you act and considering seriously the possibility of the results that you have. Would you say that's two of your life? Your life is under control. You think before you act. So the battle for self-control.

7:11Now, beginning in the 19th verse of the 5th chapter, Paul also sets us up for the fruits of the Spirit by saying, verse 19. Now, the deeds of the flesh, notice what he says, there are fruits of the Spirit. That is, these things we just mentioned a lot of peace and joy, these attitudes come from the work of the Holy Spirit within us. But notice how he contrasts that in verse 19 in the 5th chapter. Now, the deeds are actions of the flesh the way we live, are evident which are, and the first three of them have to do with sexuality. Sin, he says, immorality, impurity, sensuality, then adultery, sorcery, imitants, strife, jealous out, burns the anger, disputes, dissension, factions, indian drunkenness, coralsing, things like these of which I fall on you,

8:12just as I have fall on you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Watch this verse. You may be seated here around someone you're saying, then I guess I'm not going to heaven because I've done, I've done one of all of those things. The key word in this passage is that I have warned you those who practice such things. And so I won't get into the Greek of the word here, but what that means is it's a way of life. Not that it has not happened in your life, because more than likely, when I look at this list, all of us, to some degree, have it sometimes, probably committed one or all of those. But it's not a practice, it's not a way of life for us. When you trust in Jesus Christ, those things did not fit who we are. So he's saying, those who practice such things, it's their lifestyle. A person who drinks all the time, it's their lifestyle. A person who's always into something sexual, it's their lifestyle.

9:14You can just go ahead and bliss. If this is your way of life, this is what you're committed to. He says, you're not adhered to Kingdom of God. So we're not saying that a person who does one of these, it's not your to heaven. But if you've come to the place in your life, you practice those, it's the way you think, that's who you are, it's because you're not saved. You can't live like that continuously, and you're going to be saved. You say, well, I thought, no. Listen to what he said, those who practice those things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. So that's our actions. But what about the fruit of the Spirit? So let's think about that for just a moment, and ask here a few questions. And when I think about that, and think about the society in which you and I live, think about the fruit of the Spirit versus what we live around. And ask yourself the question,

10:14would you be considered a follower of Jesus with your kinder, the things that you do and see and the things places you go, how you spend your money? In other words, are all those things in your life that you consider important, that they fit who you are? When you trusted praise that you saved you, you turned you back on sin. Doesn't mean that you'll never sin again. Turn you back on sin. And so your commitment to the Lord is to be obedient to Him, to walk in His ways, because you want the fruit of the Spirit in your life, of love and joy and peace and goodness and gentleness. And all these fruits you want in your life, because you're going to be more satisfied, you're going to be more secure, you're going to be able to relate to other people, totally different than what you used to. So if you look at your life, would you say at this point that you are walking in the Spirit? And those who know you,

11:14would you say they know you as a person who walks in the Spirit? Something different about you. Or do they see in you this tension, this stress, this anxiety, it's like a tug of war. How do you break that tension, stress, and all the rest by surrendering to the Lord? By turning your life over to Him, by saying God the way I've been living, it doesn't work. That's not the way I want to live in my life. And I think about people who live that whole life, captured by some sin, living in slavery, in their hearts, in their minds. Many people live and die, and never experience the love of God, the goodness of God, the freedom of God, the gentleness of God, lived to live the whole life, and never experienced that. So if somebody should say to you today, well, at this point in your life, whatever your age, where would you say you are?

12:15Would you say that you're a person who experiences the love of God, a person who recognizes that he's the source of everything? Would you say that you're a person who loves other people? You're happy when you see other people being blessed? You're happy when you see other people be saved? You love listening to the word of God? Could every set of you, or would you have to say, I can't exactly explain it, but I'm really unhappy. I'd like to be different. There are things in my life I'd like to get rid of, but there are some things in my life that I just can't give up. Yes, you can. There's not anything in your life you can't give up and it comes to sin. If you are willing to surrender your life to Jesus Christ and tell Him I've made a blend of my life, I've messed it up, I've heard of the people, I've sinned against you, I've sinned against myself, I've sinned against the people I love the most.

13:16God, can you help me? Here's my life. Will it help you change your life? Change everything about you. Self-control, would you say that your life is under the control of God? If not, let me answer your question. Are you happy? No, you're not. You satisfied with how you're doing in life? No. You can't be living outside of God's will and plan and purpose for your life and be happy. You cannot. Not real joy, not real peace. Not any of those fruit of the... That's not going to be in your life. The fruit of the Spirit, not of the flesh. And the thing that concerns me most is how people live their lives and look back and think, well, what did this happen to me? What was not blessed? Was it not because you didn't listen to God? If you lived disobediently before God,

14:16you suffered the consequences. In other words, all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus, there is no acceptable excuse for our not attempting to live a godly life whereby the Holy Spirit is in control of that thinking and of our actions. And when He's in control, I think before I act and my actions will follow His purpose and His plan and His will for our life. So what is the key to our self-control? And so this brief passage of Scripture is Paul's way of giving us an opportunity to examine ourselves, to see where we are and our relationship to the Lord. So self-control requires that we think before we act. You've got to get that down. Self-control requires that we think before we act. And this is the problem. People act before they think.

15:17And then they're sorry. And so you must have a strong desire to obey God. If you don't have a strong desire to obey God, you're not going to live a godly life. You're not going to overcome most anything without that strong desire for Him in your life to enable you. So you've got to believe in your heart that the Holy Spirit who lives within you is going to enable you. Now think about this. Jesus knew all about temptation and trials and everything else. Therefore, when He promised us the Holy Spirit, He knew how awful society was in those days. When you trusted and met your Savior, that Spirit of God came into your life to enable you to live in whatever society you live in, to overcome all types of sin. So it's not just you against your environment. It's you in the Holy Spirit

16:17who's promised to give you whatever you need to be victorious. He's there for the asking and the dealing of your life. So when you think about that, you think about you have someone to help you through this. So you should consider seriously the following questions. Think about it for a moment. Before you do anything, ask yourself these questions. How will this affect me spiritually? Secondly, how will it affect me financially? And how is it going to affect my health? Many people today are where they are physically because they have violated the physical laws that God has given us. And then they wonder why they're where they are. So oftentimes it's a violation of a principle God's giving us. So think about it. How is it going to affect me spiritually? Finally, how is it going to affect my health?

17:17And how will others... how is it going to affect how others see me? Will they look at you and say, she's really committed to the Lord? I can tell he's really committed to the Lord. You will never talk to him in the dark place like that. They will never have that in their life. That is when you think about your life. How do others see you? Not perfect. One of us is a perfect. But do they see you? Watch this. Do they see you as a true believer? Do they see in you a person who not only claims to be a Christian but a person who lives it out? Not perfect. But they see the difference in you. And so you ask this question, all of these questions, and ask this question. What are the consequences of my actions? Do the people I work with, do they see me as having lived a Christian life? Do my friends see me as someone who was honest today in this situation?

18:21Do other see me as somebody who's very reckless with my money, reckless with my morals, reckless with my attitude? In other words, is the fruit of the Spirit evident in our lives every day, all day? Now think about this for a moment. God has provided His very, very best for you. I didn't say his best was easy. It's not easy. It's difficult sometimes to have God's best. But then ask your question, what's better than God's best? Nothing. And so Paul wrote this whole book of Galatians. Listen to what he says, for example. He says in the last chapter, do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man so does, he will also reap all through these six chapters. He's encouraging us to live a godly life.

19:23And what does he say? Don't be deceived. Don't believe the devil's lie. You can't mock God's son, don't believe in God and all the rest. Whatever a man so does, he will also reap all that he believes in or not. God is not mocked for whatever a man so does, this he will also reap. Period. And so I don't believe you always reap what you sow, that's what you say in God's lie. I'll tell you another reason you can believe it. Look around you. Look around your friends who drink, who are on drugs, who are living in immorality day after day after day, who cheat when they can't alive, when they can't and brag about getting away with it. You don't want to live that kind of life, because listen, you cannot change the law of God. You can't change his law and his law whatever we sow we'll reap.

20:23And think about this. You've been sowing something all these years. The God says you're going to reap a harvest. Does God miss anything? No. Is he a judgmental God? No. The problem is we hear what he says, but we don't believe what he says. For example, if somebody said to me, or I'll tell you what, if you just step out all the way down here and here's what's going to happen, if you do that, you can break your leg. Would not be foolish to lay down four steps and say, I'm going to do it anyway. You know what? That's exactly what people do. When they hear the Word of God, they listen to the Word of God. They say, yeah, I do believe that walk right out and do something totally opposite. And listen carefully. It is a dangerous thing to listen to the Word of God and then deliberately,

21:23willfully knowingly disobey God. Dangerous. Because whatever man says, he's going to reap. What he says more than he says later than he says, we don't like that part. Just because you're not having a bad time at this point in your life and you think you've been getting away with sin, you haven't gotten away with it. I'll tell you why. God loves you too much so that you get by with it. He loves you too much for it. Besides that, he would not be being himself. God has chosen the very best for those who willing to listen, surrender, walk in his ways he's got the best. Don't look around and compare yourself to somebody else. God has a plan for your life. He's got the best plan for your life. Ask yourself this question.

22:24What am I doing in my life? Watch this carefully. What am I doing in my life that's cheating may out of God's best? What is it? What are you doing that's cheating you out of God's best? Create and stress, intention to strike a wall in your life. What is it in your life that you just can't let go? What is it in your life that you want that you don't have? What is it in your life that you're doing that slammed the door on the blessings of God? Well, I think about how awesome loving God is and then the people who hear the truth and walk away thinking there are no consequences. Listen to me carefully. If you will listen carefully, you'll hear the devil tell you this.

23:26The devil will say, you don't have to believe all that. You don't have to believe all that. But on this side, God is saying, you're going to reap what you sow. We have a choice. And I will say to you, it's a dangerous thing to hear the gospel. It's very dangerous if you listen to the gospel and turn it off, walk away because then you're responsible but knowing the truth, denying the truth and saying no to God. It's a dangerous thing to hear the gospel and it's an awesome, wonderful thing to hear the gospel. It depends upon how you respond to how you act. Let's pray, Father, in Jesus' name. What a critical moment this is. The people seated here and people who are listening and watching. Their eternity may hinge upon their decision in this moment.

24:30Oh, God, may your love sweep over them. May your love surround them and undergird them. May they be wise enough to recognize that you're God. The only true God, and you have the best, the best plan possible for them, for this one home. If there was this, say, yes, Lord. Yes, yes, yes, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.