Sermon
6-21-15 Fruit of the Spirit - Self-Control-Joy 1 Cor 9:24-27
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 someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the
air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so
that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the
prize.
The series – fruit of the spirit
Self control and joy are cousins.
Self control leads to joy.
The
right thing to do is the right thing to do…..
We
all want the joy, but it is rarely found without some self control
Good
decisions are often difficult at the time, but lead to long term joy.
For
many of us the first thing that we think about is how we eat or don’t eat
Exercising.
Eating right.
Aaron
israelite – its all mathematics
Pumpkin
pie when I was 9 years old
Trip
to donut shop when I was 14.
Bought
them all.
Donuts
are spiritual
Used
to be on a donut a day to lose 10 lbs……
Self-control
can have much deeper, more spiritual purposes than just being able to say “no”
to donuts
During
his term as President of the U.S., Lyndon Johnson was somewhat overweight. One
day his wife challenged him with this blunt assertion: "You can't run the
country if you can't run yourself." Respecting Mrs. Johnson's wise
observation, the President lost 23 pounds.
Self
control is so much more than what we eat or drink……..
Sometimes
we are our own worst enemies………
We live within a culture that pretty
much encourages the lack of self-control
We
are taught that joy is found by taking
For
example –
"Betcha
can't eat __just ___one____"
Its
never enough
We
are told to want more and more and more and more. And new and new and new
How
about the sneaches?
God is not the cosmic killjoy
It’s
got to be more than God not wanting us to have bad habits
Selfishness
and unrelenting self indulgence is bad for you
Bleeds
over into the church – we begin to think that we are consumers…..s
When
I think about self control, one of the things that I think about is……..
Bringing
every thought into captivity
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have
divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish
arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of
God, and
we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Cor 10:4-5
Frequently, when I think about
self-control & how having more of it helps me grow closer to Jesus that I
think about things like:
·
Protecting
my mind from lust
·
Guarding
my heart against resenting or hating my brother or sister
·
Throw
the catalogues away if you don’t need anything……..
Some
years ago I quit a bad habit [smoking]
I
didn’t feel more spiritual, but I felt joy that that thing no longer had
control of me
Joy in difficulty
Weeping
lasts for a night but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30
The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight
What
hurts today will likely feel differently tomorrow
Email-
really pastor? Just see the good
Toopta
lost her fortune – sulked the rest of her
life
PICTURE
YES YOU LOST YOUR MONEY
YES THEY FIRED YOU
YES YOU GOT DIVORCED
YES YOU LOST YOUR HAIR
AND YES YOU CAN STILL HAVE JOY
Yes,
joy can come to us if we choose it.
22 A
cheerful heart is good medicine, but
a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Prov 17:22
Joy
is a choice
Oliver
Wendell Holmes, Jr., was a member of the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years.
At one point in his life, Justice Holmes explained his choice of a career by
saying: "I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had
not looked and acted so much like undertakers."
Phil
middleton/mike greenlee in princeton
The
staff at st johns in Houston
Learning to let the joy go
A
conference at a Presbyterian church in Omaha. People were given helium filled
balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt
like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since they were Presbyterians, they
weren't free to say "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord." All through the
service balloons ascended, but when it was over 1/3 of the balloons were unreleased.
Let your balloon go.
Just as we train for a sporting event,
we can train for spiritual life
Loving
god does not come naturally to most people. It must be cultivated.
We
naturally love our selves
We
don’t think we need it until a problem arises
New
Sunday school class…….
“Train
yourselves in prayer
and reading the Scriptures”
Visited
w a young man who told me that he had not been practicing religion………
Not
going to church
I
thought that he might not just run out and start because we were talking
I
wanted to give him an easy place to start……
Go
outside, look up……look around. Say thank you…..
That
is practicing religion
There
is lots of joy in life, if we just look to see it.
Transition to fathers day
Paul is saying The Game is BIGGER than
us as individuals.
Parents,
aunts and uncles, yes even grandparents need to instill self control……
Put
also deliver a little joy……..
I
told you that we would start w self discipline and end w joy
Here
is
Father’s
day
cloudy
with a chance of meatballs……..2009
earl
the deputy - Cal’s birth day clip
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