Emotional Wholeness

Self-Control

Proverbs 25:28
A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls!

Proverbs 5:22-23
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!

1Corinthians 9:25
All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.

The Importance of Self-Control

We see from the above scriptures the importance of self-control. Indeed, without self-control we will perish! Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit and is nothing more than the management of our mind, body, and emotions to serve the Lord. We no longer allow them to control themselves but we bring them under the disciplines and power of the Word of God.

The Lord expects us to use His power to control ourselves. This seems like an obvious statement, but in this culture, self-fulfillment is much more popular than self-control. Self-discipline is usually thought of as legalistic, unintelligent, and certainly not something for which we should strive.

Self Discipline is a Fruit of the Spirit

Let's be clear about what self-discipline is and what it is not. Self-discipline is a fruit of the Spirit and the KJV calls it temperance. It is the result of God's rule within; when God rules He empowers us to control ourselves. A fruit of the Spirit is the heart attitude, and behavior, that results from planting the Seed of the Word of God within our heart. As the Seed grows it produces the fruit of the life of God. When the life of God is in us then He gives us the strength and ability to control ourselves; we will have rule over our thinking, our emotions, our desires, our pleasures, and our body. Self-discipline is the result of God's life within our heart. 

How To Have Self-Control

Self-discipline is not the result of will power. It is not an ability of a strong personality. The self-control we are talking about is more than avoiding ice cream. We are talking about standing against that part of us that welcomes spiritual evil.

As we give the Word of God its rightful place of rule, then we are enabled to stand and withstand the lies and manipulations of Darkness.  God's Word is truth; if we are serious about self-control, then we must submit our intellect, our will, our desires, our priorities, and our emotions to the oversight of God's Word.

Truth motivates and empowers us to stand and withstand darkness; truth gives us the ability to recognize the deceptive nature of Darkness.

The sole ambition of Darkness is to resist the Person of Jesus Christ and bring destruction to His people. Without the understanding and spiritual strength of truth, we simply cannot discern, nor can we bring ourselves to stand and withstand the lies of darkness. We are informed by Ephesians 6:10-18 that the full armor of God gives the strength to stand against the wiles of the Devil. As we prepare ourselves for the Christian life, truth is the very first piece of armor we put on.

Eph 6:13-18
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Self-control is a result of putting on the full armor of God. If we're not careful, we can turn this around and think that we gain the ability to put on the full armor of God through self-control. Be careful, we put on the armor of God through obedience, and then we're able to stand against the wiles of the Devil.

People fail at self-control because they do not do it God's way. Scripture clearly tells us we will be able to stand against Darkness if we put on the armor provided by the Lord. "Put on the full armor of God that you might stand against the wiles of the Devil". It is the standing that is the self-control. He provides the only armor that can bring us to a place of self-control and self-control gives the power to stand against the lies of darkness. Self-control is learning to use the weapons that God gives, to control of ourselves that we might stand.

Our Real Enemy

The scripture informs us that our real enemy is an organized system of evil referred to as principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:10-13

Darkness Hates You

This organized system of evil is opposed to God, opposed to His Word, opposed to His way of salvation, and opposed to you, a born-again Christian. This system of darkness is intelligent, disciplined, powerful, and according to scripture, exercises influence over the entire world and every unbeliever! Ephesians 2:1-3, 1John 5;19

The Cross Defeats, Therefore We Stand!

The Cross has defeated Darkness and we therefore discipline ourselves that we might stand againt Darkness and possess our blood bought victories. We no longer allow Darkness the liberty to control what we want, how we think, or how we feel. Our emotions belong to Christ and we, through the power of the Spirit enforce Christ's ownership of our being.

The person that cannot control their behavior has never allowed God's Word to rule their intellect, will, or their emotions.  They cannot stand against evil because they will not submit to God. They cannot change because they will not allow His life, which is in His Word, to change them. If we are not willing to bring ourselves under the authority of God's Word, then Darkness will gladly supervise our thinking and lead us to a hopeless, fearful, and Godless future.

But this is not God's will for you. He has already given us victory over the world, over our fleshly nature, and over the Devil. It is now our responsibility to possess the victories Christ has graciously given us!

Scripture

Eph 3:14-21
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Gal 5:22-26
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And 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. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Rom 13:11-14
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Eph 2:1-2
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

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