SERMON: TESTED AND APPROVED: SELF-CONTROL

15 February 2015

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)
²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
²⁶ Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.
²⁷ No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

            -- as most of you know, I try to go to the gym and work out on a regular basis -- although to look at me, you might not be able to tell -- but I've been doing this for several years now, and over this time, I've noticed something

            -- all of us are familiar with what happens in gyms in January -- January is the time of New Year's resolutions -- and when you go the gym that first week of January, it is packed -- every machine -- every treadmill -- every weight station -- is being used by someone -- usually by people that those of us who go on a regular basis haven't ever seen before -- it's really hard to get in the gym and do anything in January

            -- but then, towards the end of January, the crowd starts to die down -- you see fewer and fewer people, until you're left with the handful of regulars and just one or two of the new folks who have managed to stick it out -- this is the pattern we see with New Year's resolutions -- and it's true not just in the gym, but with all the resolutions that people take up when a new year starts -- people just can't exert self-control -- they just don't have the willpower to maintain a change in their life and so their resolution goes by the way-side and they give up, usually within the first 21 days

            -- but I've recently noticed a new phenomenon -- I'm sure it's been there the whole time, but it's the first time I've noticed it -- over the past week, the gym has gotten a little more crowded -- a lot of the folks that quit in January are back -- they're in the gym again and all the machines are full and it's hard to find a treadmill

            -- and what I think is going on is something I've termed, "Resolution Rebounders" -- you see, these are people who didn't keep their New Year's resolution -- and they feel guilty about it -- so they're trying again -- and now, in the middle of February, they're back at the gym, determined this time to follow through on their resolutions and make a difference in their lives -- but, if the pattern holds, most of them are going to fail and they'll be gone by the first of March

II.  Spiritual Resolution Rebounders

            -- we're familiar with this pattern, aren't we? -- a lot of us tend to be Spiritual Resolution Rebounders -- we make a resolution -- we're going to read the Bible more -- we're going to pray more -- we're going to walk away from that nagging sin in our lives -- we're going to spend more time with our family -- we're going to focus on what's truly important in life

            -- and we do good for a little while, but then we lose focus and our will-power and our self-control wavers, and we start to fall away -- and then we feel guilty and we make the decision to start over -- and so we go back at it and then our will-power goes away and we fail again and then we feel guilty and we resolve to do it again and the cycle goes on and on and on

            -- and to make matters worse, we read over and over in the Bible how as Christians we are supposed to be exercising self-control in our spiritual lives -- Jesus told us to deny ourselves and to take up our cross and to follow Him -- Paul lists self-control as one of the fruits of the Spirit -- even here in this passage, Paul is exhorting us to go into strict training -- temperance -- self-control -- self-discipline -- in order to win the race

            -- but we don't seem able to do so -- are you with me or is this just something that happens to me? -- am I the only one who has a problem in this area? -- anyone else ever had a problem with making a spiritual resolution but found themselves unable to keep it?

            -- this morning, we're continuing in on our sermon series called "Tested and Approved" on the cardinal virtues of a Christian -- we've looked at wisdom and courage and today, we're looking at the much-needed virtue of self-control

            -- I wanted us to talk about what the Bible really means when it tells us to exercise self-control, so we might be able to break out of this cycle of striving and failing and feeling guilty and doing it all over and over again

           

            -- so let's start at the beginning and define what we mean by self-control -- it seems pretty self-explanatory -- self-control is the control of self

            -- the dictionary defines it as the ability to exercise restraint or control over one’s feelings, emotions, reactions, and behavior -- it means the same thing as restraint or self-discipline or willpower

            -- Self-control is the ability to govern ourselves -- as Plato and the early philosophers talked about this virtue, self-control enables us to control our temper -- regulate our sensual appetites and passions -- and pursue even legitimate pleasures in moderation -- It’s the power to resist temptation -- It enables us to wait and to delay gratification in the service of higher and distant goals.¹

            -- so why can't we seem to do it? -- why is our world today the epitome of self-gratification? -- look around you and you won't see but a handful of people who seem to have the self-control the Bible calls for -- even in our churches, we don't see people controlling sin and restraining themselves -- I see it in my own life -- why does it seem we are incapable of controlling ourselves and walking with God as He wants us to?

            -- let's look at this passage and see if we can gain any insights that might help us

III.  Scripture Lesson (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

            -- remember this letter was written from Paul to the church at Corinth -- and we like to say these were some messed-up people -- they were divided, with some people following this teacher and other people following a different teacher -- there was no unity -- and, as a result, sin was running rampant in their church because everyone was doing what they thought was right -- and even though they were getting spiritual instruction from Paul and Peter and Apollos, they would try it for a while and then fail and try something else -- these are Spiritual Resolution Rebounders of the first century

            -- we tend to think of them as a carnal church -- a messed-up congregation -- but, truthfully, they weren't so different from a lot of our churches today -- it's just that their sins were written down for us to see in the two letters in the Bible while ours is only displayed in our lives

            -- Paul has written this letter to the church to help them sort out their failures and get them on the right track and maybe to get it to stick this time

            -- look with me, if you would, back at verse 24

1 Corinthians 9:24
²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

            -- here we see the first key to making a difference in our spiritual lives -- you have to know where you are going -- you have to know your purpose -- you have to have a clear goal in mind

            -- in this passage, Paul uses the analogy of a race to help us understand what our lives in Christ should look like -- thinking of a race, what's the goal? -- what's the purpose of running a race? -- to cross the finish line? -- NO!

            -- we don't run a race to cross the finish line -- the purpose of running the race is not to finish, but to win -- the purpose of the race is to win the prize -- and that's one reason why so many people fail in their Christian lives -- they don't understand why they're running the race and so they aren't giving it their all

            -- what is the goal of our life? -- what is our purpose in Christ? -- what is it that Christ is calling us to do?

            -- it's simple -- to know God

            -- the whole purpose of the cross was to restore our relationship with God -- our chief end in life is to know God and to glorify Him -- and we do that by becoming more Christ-like in our lives -- to be holy as He is holy -- and by showing His love to others

            -- our goal is to die to self and to live for Christ -- and what that means -- and why this is important in our discussion on self-control -- is that we first have to get rid of self

            -- in order to win the race, we have to take our eyes off ourselves and off those around us and focus on God and Him alone -- we don't run for ourselves -- we run for Him -- He is our goal -- He is our purpose -- He is our prize

            -- verse 25

1 Corinthians 9:25 (NIV)

²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

            -- Paul tells us that runners who are preparing for a race go into strict training -- the word that is translated in the NIV as "strict training" can also be translated as temperance or self-control or self-discipline

            -- once we know what our goal is, then we can start training for it -- once we know where we are headed, then we can start preparing our bodies and our minds and our spirits so we can run the race and win the prize

            -- we do that, Paul says, through strict training -- through self-control -- by mastering our emotions, impulses, appetites, and desires

            -- and here is where we most of us fail -- this is the realm of the Spiritual Resolution Rebounder -- most of us find we just cannot exert the self-control we need to do this Christian life -- you know why? -- because you can't -- you aren't supposed to

            -- herein lies the rub -- the paradox of biblical self-control -- there is a difference between worldly self-control and the self-control the Bible urges us to wield

            -- as the world defines it, self-control is mastery over self -- it is inherent power over self -- it is us taking our willpower and using it to stop us from doing something or forcing ourselves to take up a new habit -- it is all about self-reliance -- and that is why New Year's resolutions fail and that is why so many people fail in their spiritual lives -- they are trying to do Christianity in their own power

            -- biblical self-control is different -- biblical self-control is based on surrender -- surrender to a higher power

            -- everyone in here agrees that our willpower and our self-control is lacking, right? -- so if we can't do it -- if we don't have the power within us to overcome sin or to walk in holiness or to love the unloveable -- then what do we do?

            -- we turn to God and depend on His power and strength to do what we can't do -- remember, biblical self-control is a fruit of the Spirit -- it is not something we can do on our own -- it is something that comes from the Spirit through us

            -- when the Bible talks about self-control, here is what it means:

            -- first, it means you die to self -- this goes back to our goal and purpose in running the race -- before we became a Christian, we lived for and worried about ourselves -- now, as Christians, our focus should be upwards and outwards -- up towards God and out towards our neighbors

                        -- so we have died to self -- we no longer live for ourselves -- it's not about us -- it's about Him

            -- secondly, we change the direction of our will and our desire -- this where the "control" part of self-control comes in -- rather than letting our self determine what direction we go, we surrender control to God and choose to let Him direct our will and desire -- as Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Yet I want your will to be done, not mine"

            -- and, finally, we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the task -- we realize we can't do it, so we ask Him to do it through us -- and if our goals and our purpose and our will is to know God and to glorify Him, then the Holy Spirit will give us the strength and power to make it happen

            -- self-control in the Bible is about surrendering our self to God -- it's about giving up control, so God can work through us -- when we quit trying to do it on our own and in our own strength, it is then that we start to see success in our Christian life

            -- verse 26

1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (NIV)
²⁶ Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.
²⁷ No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

            -- here is why so many people fail when they make New Year's resolutions -- they are well-intentioned, but are running aimlessly -- they have no clear goal in mind

            -- let me give you an example -- the reason why the gym is so full in January is because a lot of people have made a resolution to go to the gym in the new year -- but that's it -- their goal was to go to the gym, which is not a sustainable goal -- they have no plan -- they're not training for a purpose -- and so they fail

            -- the people who make it stick are those whose goal is not to go to the gym -- but those who go with a definite plan -- "I want to lose twenty pounds by summer and this is how I'm going to do it" -- and then they come up with a plan to reach their goal -- I'm going to walk on the treadmill for thirty minutes a day -- I'm going to eat a healthy meal -- I'm going to quit eating fast food

            -- you see the difference? -- knowing the goal -- knowing the real purpose they are there -- let's them develop a plan to meet that goal -- they're not just running around doing this and that, but are following specific steps to win the prize of losing twenty pounds by the summer

            -- Paul says he does not run like a man running aimlessly -- he doesn't fight like a man beating the air -- he has a definite goal in mind and he is aiming for that goal

            -- he has a plan and is controlling himself and his desires -- he is overcoming his own personal desires and wishes and temptations in order to run the race with purpose -- everything he does is for a reason -- to know God and to glorify God in his life

IV.  Closing

            -- I know it seems like a minor point, but it's important -- you have to remember the goal of knowing God and glorifying Him in order to make any lasting change in your life

            -- a few years ago, I made a resolution to read through the Bible in a year -- good, spiritual resolution, right? -- no, it wasn't -- what was the reason I wanted to read through the Bible in a year? -- to fulfill that goal -- to be able to say, even just to myself, I read through the Bible this year

            -- and, do you know what happened? -- it didn't stick -- I started off well -- made it through January and then I started missing days and not having enough time to get it done and I didn't finish -- it's because the goal was about myself and I was trying to do it in my own strength

            -- this year, I decided to read through the New Testament, but I'm doing it for a different reason -- I'm doing it because I realized I haven't been spending time with God on a daily basis like I should -- so I'm not reading through the New Testament just to read through the New Testament -- I'm reading through the New Testament to know God and to spend time with Him

            -- and do you know what's happening? -- not only have I found time to read the New Testament every day, but I've also gotten so excited about spending time with God in God's word that I'm also reading through the Psalms and the Proverbs

            -- because my focus is different -- because my purpose and goal are different -- I am succeeding where I failed before -- this is the difference between biblical self-control and worldly self-control

            -- the virtue of self-control -- the fruit of self-control -- is not exerting control over yourself but giving yourself up, surrendering yourself to God, and seeking to glorify Him with your life

            -- as I close, I want you to take a moment and just think about an area of your life where you need to exert self-control -- maybe your body -- your mind -- your emotions -- your time -- your finances -- your tongue -- your relationships

            -- think about a part of your life that is not right -- a part of your life that you need to give back to God -- and then I want you to begin doing that right now -- by surrendering that part of your life to Him

            -- not because you want victory over that sin or over that bad habit -- but because you want to glorify God in that area of your life

            -- and then ask the Holy Spirit to give you the power to make a change there

            -- the key to self-control is in defining the goal -- and for the Christian, that goal should always be to know and to glorify God -- not for any selfish desire -- but for His kingdom alone

            -- let us pray

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1 Ten Essential Virtues -- https://www2.cortland.edu/dotAsset/299043.pdf