Sermon Tone Analysis

Good morning!

We are going to be concluding this series we started at the beginning of the Summer entitled 9 Flavors 1 Fruit…

We have been talking about the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23-

The fruit of the Spirit is really this mosaic of the life Jesus....... We can see how the fruit of the Spirit plays out in the life of Christ.

Jesus exemplified these characteristics in his earthly ministry in the gospels.

• Jesus had many obstacles he encountered in his life…

• Jesus shows love to everyone he meets.

he brings joy into a world that is in desperate need for it..

He calms storms with his peace, He exercises patience and longsuffering with his disciples…

• He shows kindness, he does good… He is faithful to the end.. ..He is Gentle and exercises restraint over temptation....

• All the fruits are present in Jesus.

• This morning we are going to be talking about last Fruit of the spirit and that is the virtue of Self Control

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

• What is Self Control?

For my birthday Pam bought me a box of SA foods… Some of our favorite treats, beef Jerky, chocolates and cookies.

So this sermon couldn’t have come at a worse time… You would be glad to know that I managed to finish them all so they are no longer a temptation!!

It has been said that ..... Self-control is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands—and then eat just one of the pieces.

Self-control can be described as Self mastery…

• I was reading an article in Psychology today .... which-defines Self-control—as the ability to subdue one's impulses, emotions, and behaviors to achieve long-term goals—

• Self-control is described as being synonymous with will power…

• And there is this ongoing debate of whether willpower is finite…It’s called ego depletion.

• The concept is that there is a point ---where we absolute no power to resist temptation that comes our way.... at this tipping point Self-control, actually “run out.

• For example ego depletion would say that…when our defenses are down and when we are tired or overworked we are more apt to reach out for that chocolate chip cookie…than when we are feeling more rested..

• Psychology tells us that the answerer to our lack of control… is regulating our behavior… In other words...

• We can Establish better habits and routines, practice being more mindful… give ourselves rewards… We can also avoid triggers that cause loss of control… instead of Walking past our neighborhood bakery and getting that cookie we can choose a different route and avoiding the temptation altogether..

• Biblical view on Self Control is a little bit different in that it is not just about mastering skills — and reforming ourselves from the outside in but rather it is transformation from the inside out...

• Paul calls Self-Control a Fruit of the Holy Spirit.

• Self-control is not about self-mastery or (self mastery) but Spirit-sovereignty and that involves self-surrender to God’s control…

• The reason we need the Spirits help is that it’s simply too difficult to exercise self-control over this fallen, sinful nature within us—these self-centered desires and tendencies that always seem to get the better of us.

• Paul deals with this just before he talks about the Fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16–18 ESV

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The Problem was that the Galatians were trying to wrestle that nature to the ground in their own strength by obeying the law, by gritting their teeth, by trying harder.

But it's a losing battle… Paul tells them that’s not it… the key is that It’s the Holy spirit power that is going to help us to overcome temptations...

They tried and tried and failed.

Paul tells the Galatians that without the Holy Spirit they are going to keep on failing...Because of the sinful nature.

We need to realize that we cannot not handle total Power of this nature on our own.…

and if you think so we are fooling ourselves...

• The fastest car on the planet is the Hennessey venom F5 it boasts of going 301 miles per hour… it is claimed to can go 0 - 249 - 0 in 30 seconds…can’t even imagine having this kind of power…

• Now not any driver can get in the car and drive this kind of vehicle.

We would put ourselves and others at risk if we thought we could handle this kind of power…

• When you have power and freedom without control… you going to run into problems..

• For example..

• We know the dangers of living beyond our means, of eating or drinking too much, of losing our temper, of committing adultery in our hearts or imaginations.

• We promise ourselves we're not going to do those things again.

And we don't, for a while.

But eventually, the pressure or pain or temptation is too great and we give in....

• It more than just saying NO to something… we can warn young people of the dangers of sex, drugs and violence… we can say just say no to these things…But when they get out there in the real world—when they're lonely and want to feel loved, when they're sad and want to feel better, when they're angry and want to take it out on someone—their emotions and desires get the best of them, and they can't control themselves

This is where the Fruit of Self- control comes into play and helps us to handle freedom.

Paul says to the Galatians.. “If you walk in the spirit you are not going to gratify the desires of the flesh…”

So, when Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that, ‘the fruit of the Spirit is … self-control’ we must not think of the self in control but the self under the control of the Holy Spirit.

This is absolutely crucial to our understanding of God’s grace… that its his grace that is at work in our lives.... Scripture tells us that when the Spirit is not in control we are really become vulnerable and open to an attacks.

Proverbs 25:28 ESV

A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.

This city that was once splendid and beautiful but Because its walls are in ruins it is susceptible to invasion and control by enemy forces....

When we see virtue lists and vice lists… we need to view them for our protection… Every day we drive on the roads… and we don’t often see them… but we have Guard rails that protect us from dangers… even dangers we don’t know exist until we need them…

The fruit of the Spirit… are like guard rails and especially the Fruit of Self- Control..… They are like guardrails --- to protect us…from dangerous situations.

..

You may not have noticed Guardrail on the road--- but they are there for our protection…

Andy Stanley says guardrails are, “a system designed to keep us from straying into dangerous or off-limit areas.”

› If you ever wondered if we need guard rails… check this video...

T/S Self-control protect us in three primary ways...

1. Self-Control Provides guardrails for Good Leadership .

How many of you are list people?

Some of us make lists and put them on your refrigerators… some have lists on your phones… In our family Pam is the list person....Normally, I am included in list… of plans.. But, lists are great… because they give you an overview of a plan… they prioritize what is important…and keep you accountable....

They are like guardrails.

Well there are several virtue lists in the Bible… we going to look at a couple of them… Because they going keep us on track..

In 1 Timothy we are given qualities/qualification for spiritual leadership.

What we need to know that virtue lists in Jewish and Greco Roman wold was not to bring judgement or to disqualify people --- rather it was used to inspire and aspire leadership.....

They help set the bar or the standard.. to be reached or to be attained....

1 Timothy 3:1–5 ESV

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?

• It was not until coming to Richvale that I heard the word Overseer used instead of elders.... Well, the leadership at the time didn’t make this stuff up… It is found right in the text….

The Greek word is episkope - -has this — speaks of those leaders who serve and give spiritual to the local church.. used of bishops, pastors, elders… overseers.

• Paul tells us this is a good word… or a trustworthy saying… That those who aspire Spiritual leadership have a noble desire…

• Desiring to be a Spiritual leader is commendable and to be encouraged.

It is a beautiful thing when someone sets their heart to spiritual leadership…its a beautiful pursuit...

• The qualities leadership should not turn us off… that is the last thing on Paul’s mind… what he is doing is setting them up for success… because if Self-Control is absent from your life as a leader… as a husband/wife, parent … or in the work place… it can lead to some dangerous places...

• We have seen this over and over again when Leaders, fall or fail…it leaves behind a trail of damage..

• Paul gives this virtue list to set us up to be successful leaders.

Paul tells Timothy that leaders need to be...

1. Above Reproach - -this speaks of his observable conduct.. (words and actions) This speaks of Ethics…our behavior and responses...how we handle ourselves....

This is the key to understanding this section… Being above Reproach… is being Spirit controlled…

• … From time to time situations will present ourselves… Where we are going to have to ask… Am I above reproach in this situation?

Am I going to deal with this issue in the power of the flesh?

or the in the spirit?

Why would this be important for leadership… the reason is that...Leadership sets the tone of the system… whether it is in the church, office, or the home.

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There are some environments that are simply toxic… Pam worked in a Day care center in Charlotte that had a terrible culture.

The staff put each other down… gossip about each other…there was always drama… The tone came from the top down… Modeling bad leadership role models.

• Leadership set the Tone… being above reproach

It takes self-control… to be above reproach..

• Being above reproach is being able to control our words and actions.

The first item on the list… and overseer should aspire to be...

Being above reproach in marriage.

Paul says that Overseers/ spiritual leaders are to be the.

2. Husband of one wife… this has been commonly misinterpretation is quantitative—that he can have had only one wife.