This Sunday, Sunder Krishnan joined us via video and covered the last Fruit of the Spirit that Paul lists in Galatians 5:22: self control. You can find the sermon, as well as his sermons on the other Fruit, here.
KEY POINTS:
- No, not now, and enough are the everyday vocabulary of the Fruit of self control.
- We are instructed to make every effort to be self-controlled by abiding in Christ through His Word and through prayer.
- As we take inventory of the Fruit of self control in our lives, we must start with self control of the tongue.
- When contemplating saying something, apply Ephesians 4:29
- Is what I am about to say good for the other person?
- Is it the right time and place to say it?
- Will it be gracious?
- Another area that wages war on our self control is media consumption. Instead of asking ourselves what’s wrong about the media we consume, why don’t we ask ourselves: what’s worthy about this?
- Self control and worship are related (1 Peter 4:7)
- Our lack of self-control is not because we don’t have discipline, but because we don’t have the right source of satisfaction; the only desire that will master all other desires is the desire for Jesus.
ADDITIONAL SELF CONTROL SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
- 1 Corinthians 6:12
- Proverbs 25:28
- 2 Peter 1:5-6
- James 3:2-11
- Ecclesiastes 9:17-18
- Psalm 101:1-4
- Philippians 4:8
COMMUNITY GROUP DISCUSSION:
- Do you consider yourself a self controlled person? How did the principles Sunder preached change the way you think about and practice self control (in controlling your tongue, consuming media, or other areas)?
- How does self control work together with the other Fruit of the Spirit? Do you think there’s any particular reason Paul ends his list of the Fruit of the Spirit with self control?
- How can we discern the difference between abiding with the Spirit’s work in our lives and laboring in our own strengths and abilities?