Self Control - A Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Hi Everyone,
Today I have a vision to share with you regarding self-control, a fruit of the Spirit. The Lord gave me a vision earlier this week as I was praying about events and circumstances in my personal life. I also wanted to hear from the Lord as to what to write about. I am so thankful that the Lord is willing to speak when we call to him.
I am very committed to the Lord and want to serve him. He is first in my life and I would like others to experience the joy and peace that come with following him. I hope that what I write will inspire you to go deeper in your relationship with the Lord and to trust him. It is not always easy, but I never want to deny him, or prefer my will over his.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
The Vision
“Willpower”
In this vision I saw a series of pages which were held together at the top so that they flipped on the horizontal axis. The pages flipped so fast that it was difficult to see anything written on a page. But as the pages flipped, I saw one word clearly. It was the word “willpower” written in lowercase, in white letters.
In the Bible, the word that comes to mind that is similar in meaning is the word: self-control. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
The fruit of the Spirit is what is produced in us as we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit who indwells us as believers. Without the Spirit of God, we cannot produce such fruit. But when we become born again, the Lord gives us his Spirit and the desires of our heart change. The Holy Spirit gives us a desire to know him, to please him and to follow his lead. We delight in doing his will. That is certainly a change from where we may have been, before we found the Lord. Now we can take pleasure in reading his Word and sharing our faith with others. But, without the Holy Spirit, our spirits are dead, and our sinful nature holds sway over our hearts, minds and wills. Without the Holy Spirit we are easily deceived, and enamoured by the world and all it has to offer. The things of God hold no interest for us.
John warns us to not fall prey to the passions and desires of the world and to our sinful pride:
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. 1 John 2:15-16
James speaks of the temptations of the world and what harm it brings to our spirit:
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. James 1:13-15
Apart from God, we bear the fruit of unrighteousness that comes naturally. We call it the sinful nature. It is the default setting to all those who are not yet born again. We can see this demonstrated in the lives of the people around us. It begins at birth. Young children show their thoughts and feelings without holding back. If they see something they want, they will take it. They want to exert their will over their circumstances. In addition to “mommy and daddy," the first words in their working vocabulary are “mine,” and “No!”
I remember visiting a couple back in Chicago, when my daughter was about 14-15 months old. The couple’s daughter, like ours, was only a day or two older. They both had very fair skin and red hair. We parents were busy talking when suddenly the two very tiny girls were standing on ther feet, with each of them having their hands on the other girl’s hair. They were both screaming. I believe that they simply saw each other’s hair and did not realize that it hurts when it gets pulled. They seemed to be perplexed and horrified at the same time, as if they wanted to say “What are we doing? Can someone stop this?”
They were both relieved to see that we stepped in and untangled the mess they were in. We can get ourselves into such messes, when we are not walking in the Spirit, when we “let our hair down,” and do what comes naturally. The Bible lists the fruit that comes from our sinful nature.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21
Notice the last sentence: “those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” This is a warning. We must exert our wills, what the spirit wills, and what the Spirit of God who dwells within us wills, so that we will not be excluded from the kingdom of God. It is imperative that we have self-control. We must be able to put down or deny our flesh and its sinful desires.
We are born with a capacity to love and a capacity to be selfish. We can see the sin in others, but can we see it in ourselves? Most mothers can tell what their children’s cries mean. Is it a helpless cry, a hungry cry, a sleepy, overwhelmed cry, a cry of “pity me,” or a cry that is angry and defiant? We learn to read our children and our family members. But can we read ourselves? Are we aware of our own behaviors that grieve the Holy Spirit?
I remember that I was at the altar one day praying after the lights were turned off and I was alone. God spoke to me saying, “Will you stop complaining? Do you want to be like the Israelites and wander for forty years?” I wasn’t aware of my complaining. I immediately repented and promised not to complain any more. But within a few minutes after leaving the altar, I found myself complaining again! Now I saw what the Lord was showing me. But it is not easy to change a deeply ingrained behavior.
What it takes to change a pattern is the leading of the Holy Spirit and our desire to exert willpower over our sinful flesh. The desire to change is essential, for it has been over 25 years since I heard the Lord on this issue. And I have to admit that I still complain. The Lord said “Apart from me you can do nothing.”
I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5
We are helpless to change ourselves without the help of God. Paul spoke of this in his own life.
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. Romans 7:18-20
For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. Galatians 5:17
The spirit wants to please God, but if we give into the flesh the result is sin.
Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin. James 4:17
Jesus warned his disciples that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
“Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Matthew 26:41
But to be fair, the disciples were not at that time filled with the Holy Spirit. They were born again on the day of Jesus’ resurrection when he appeared in the room even though the door was locked.
It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them. After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:19-22
It was later, during the feast of Pentecost, that they received the baptism in the Holy Spirit that gave them the power to do miracles, and to preach with boldness. From that moment on both Jews and Gentile believers would receive the Holy Spirit when they came to believe, or when the disciples laid their hands upon them and prayed.
It is the Spirit of God that helps us to overcome our flesh. And it is as vital today, as it was then, to be able to preach with holy boldness, to anoint and heal the sick, and to deliver those oppressed by unclean spirits. The work of God must continue, so we need the gifts of the Holy Spirit to empower the Church to do the will of God.
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 6:16
Without the Spirit we will succumb to the flesh, to the cravings of our sinful nature. We need our minds, our hearts and our spirits to be transformed by aligning ourselves with the word of God and by walking in the Spirit. The Lord gives us the Holy Spirit so that we have the power to overcome. The Spirit is manifested in a variety of supernatural powers referred to as the gifts of the Spirit.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Today as in the past, we need to overcome the flesh which God gives us the grace and empowerment to do so. Yet our trials and difficulties are nothing compared with the ordeals and persecution that the 1st century church faced. We may have to give up our careers, our social standing and sinful habits or lifestyles to overcome our flesh and please God. But compared to the early church, they had to overcome the fears of torture, and violent death. They were tested beyond a normal person’s ability to overcome using willpower. But with the Holy Spirit and an unwavering faith, expecting eternal life as the reward, they were able to overcome.
The Lord dispatched his letter of encouragement to the church through John, giving him a revelation of what would soon take place. John was instructed to send his revelation to the seven churches in Asia minor.
“The revelation of Jesus Christ , which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.” Revelation 1:1
“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” Revelation 1: 11
To the church in Smyrna, Jesus said:
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’ Revelation 2:8-11
To each of the seven churches Jesus said that he was returning soon to judge those who persecuted them. They were told to hold fast to their faith, even to the point of death, and by standing firm they would receive their reward.
The Lord came as he promised bringing wrath and judgment on the Jews who persecuted them. He came on the clouds in judgment as he had come many times in the past to those cities and nations that refused to repent. He came as an army, as famine, as plagues, as pestilence, as fire and as brimstone numbers of people groups: to Sodom and Gomorrah, to Israel, Judah, Samaria, Egypt, Edom, Assyria and to Babylon. And in the 1st century he came to Jerusalem bringing the Roman sword against them. From AD 66 to AD 70, a period of 3.5 years, a time of dreadful tribulation, Titus and his Roman army pelted the city with boulders from a catapult, and sent flaming arrow over her walls. Famine, disease, and internal strife, factions and revolt were going on inside the walls. Dead bodies were left in the streets to decay in front of their eyes. Women ate their children and false prophets kept them believing that God was coming to their rescue. Jesus had prophesied all this forty years earlier, to his generation.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers. You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?
Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Matthew 23:29-39
The Lord was coming to end the Old Covenant and establish the New Covenant. There would be those with him, and those against him. Even today we see families split with some following the Lord and others doing their own thing.
Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 10:34-39
The sword of the Lord was the Roman sword, which he anointed to put an end to the temple sacrifices, to destroy Jerusalem and to put the Jewish elite, his enemies, under his feet. These events Jesus prophesied to his disciples in Matthew chapter 24, and in the previous chapter 23, he sites the seven woes or indictments against the Pharisees, bringing about the verdict of judgment in the close of that chapter.
So the young church was to undergo a testing of their faith, and Jerusalem and the enemies of the cross were to undergo judgment and a divorce decree, revoking the Old Covenant. This was the consummation and the inauguration of the New Covenant in his blood and made between himself and his bride, the church.
The letter of warning that John had written, having received his revelation from the Lord, he sent to the seven churches, giving them instruction and encouragement to stand firm in their faith and to not compromise with the earthy authorities in order to save themselves from torture or the flames. They needed self-control or willpower provided by the Holy Spirit to overcome the fear of pain and death. Jesus never candy coated his messages. He is truth, and those who hold to his teaching of the kingdom of God and continue to believe in him, will not lose their eternal reward.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7: 21-23
Jesus’ message of the kingdom of God are very direct and painfully honest.
Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:23-27
The Lord shows us that if we fear death, or pain more than we fear or love God, we will not receive our eternal reward - to be with him in heaven. If fear causes us to deny him, he will deny us. In the message to the churches, the Lord declares that cowards, among other sinful people will not inherit the kingdom of God.
To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life. The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.” Revelation 21:6-8
Jesus warned them of the coming test of faith, the persecution and tribulation that they were to suffer and overcome. And knowing all things, he spoke of those who would do just that.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Revelation 12:11
Hallelujah! God asks us to have willpower and exert self control over our flesh, to not fall pray to sin, but to be over-comers just as he overcame, and those of the 1st century church who overcame.
We need the power of God through the Holy Spirit to overcome. It is our sinful nature that must be denied. We cannot sin and please God. But God has given us grace, so that when we sin, we can turn to him in repentance and receive his forgiveness and his cleansing from all sin. Hallelujah! The Lord has made a way for us. He has given us his righteousness.
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us. 1 John 1:7-10
So let us be inspired to overcome by the Lord’s words to those believers in the 1st century:
To the one who overcomes I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Revelation 2:7
The one who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. Revelation 2:11
The one who overcomes will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. Revelation 3:5
No matter what trials of faith may come our way, we need not give into the flesh but overcome our fears and difficulties. The Lord wants us to live in his victory over death. He purchased our salvation and eternal life. Let us live our lives from that standpoint. Our trials may never be like those of the 1st century believers, but there is currently persecution of the church in various nations of the world. Let us remember to pray for those who are undergoing difficult and fiery trials, that their faith will not fail, and that they will receive divine strength, mercy and deliverance.
We pray:
Lord, We pray for those believers who are persecuted for their faith. We pray that they will call upon you and will receive your help, your strength and your deliverance. We pray that they will see that you are with them in their trials, as you were with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. We know that you will never leave them nor forsake them. That you will uphold them with your mighty arm. You will show them your salvation.
Lord, we also pray for those who persecute them for this is your heart, that none would be lost and that all would come to the saving knowledge of God. Let us be faithful in prayer as we seek your face on behalf of others. You asked us to pray without ceasing. You asked us to pray with faith in your name, and to believe for miracles, signs and wonders so that the world will see that you alone are God and King. We trust in you, and believe that you hear our prayers and will hearken to your word to perform it. So thank you Lord, for standing with them in the fire and for giving your people peace, in your wonderful and holy name, Jesus. Amen.
Thank you for reading. I ask that you share this post with others that need to know their Savior, and the hope that he extends to those who will call upon his name. God bless you all.
