29: SELF-CONTROL: Harvesting It in the Midst of the Battle – Part 3

Take My Hand Inspirations

 

Fruit of the Spirit Series

SELF-CONTROL: Harvesting It in the Midst of the Battle – Part 3

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).

WE, CHRISTIAN ELDERS, MUST STOP PRETENDING THAT THIS PAINFUL PROBLEM—THE BATTLE—DOES NOT EXIST AND EQUIP FUTURE GENERATIONS (OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN) WITH THE SKILLS THAT WILL MAKE THEM CAPABLE TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES UNTO OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST THEREBY DESTROYING EVERY DISOBEDIENCE WHEN THEIRS AND OUR OBEDIENCE IS FULFILLED (100% CAPABLY APPLIED WITH FRUITFUL RESULTS). 

WHAT ARE THE SKILLS TO HARVEST SELF-CONTROL?

1.     ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. To every adult who influences a child’s or a teenager’s life, take heed to what you do more so than what you advise.  Youth are critical observers.  If you desire to empower the youth with the skill of self-control over the body thus producing generations of strong male and female virgins and sexually morally right CHRISTIAN youth who will later on become elders to other younger generations, then you—elder-- must demonstrate and practice the same.  Our power is in the mighty God weapon of being DOERS of the Word, and not hearers only (James 1:21-22).

2.     HOLD YOUR TONGUE.  Never let a youth hear you degrading yourself or, more importantly, telling him or her that she can’t achieve a God-inspired goal because he or she is not ____________ enough (you fill in the blank).  Because Satan’s weapon is fear in the form of insecurity, he will make you tell yourself how unimportant you are; and in that fear turned to frustration and anger, you lash out at your children and spouse with words that curse or discourage the greatness in them yearning to come out and achieve their possible best.  Blow their minds with “YOU ARE GREAT, INTELLIGENT, BEAUTIFUL ‘CUZ GOD DON’T MAKE NO JUNK!” Thanks grandma!  Our mighty God weapon here is praising You, Lord, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well (Psalm 139:14).

3.     WIELD YOUR POWER WITH SOUND MIND. In Christ, you are a son or daughter of Almighty God who has given you the tools to do great work on this planet.  The tools are the gifts and talents you possess which are your responsibility to turn into skills for allowing you to live a life of integrity (self-respect), productivity and abundance.  Your potential is not lesser than anyone else’s.  Dear elder, prove to yourself how powerful you are by teaching the youth in your classroom, or in your office or in the field, in your dressing, conversation, and devotion to the Lord Jesus, that NO MATTER WHERE YOU COME FROM NO ONE CAN STOP WHERE YOU ARE GOING IF GOD IS IN CONTROL because our mighty God weapon is claiming  (holding firmly) the TRUTHS that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7) and that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10b).

IT IS TIME FOR CHRISTIAN ELDERS, PARENTS, YOUTH AND CHILDREN TO TAKE BACK OUR CAPABILITY—OUR POWER—TO CONTROL WHAT BELONGS IN US; AND WHAT BELONGS IN US IS THE POWER OF GOD WHICH IS OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IMPLORED BY OBEDIENCE.

That is why the Fruit of Gentleness is so important to produce.  We must go through fire to reap Gentleness as the Fruit of Self-Control gives us power to keep on producing all the other fruit.  It’s a mystery, indeed, but take time with me to meditate on this concept: If you cannot maintain self-control to make right choices in obedience to God’s will, then your behavior and the sum total of your behavior, called character, will not produce a harvest of godly fruits.

Even so, every good [godly] tree bears good [godly] fruit, but a bad [unglodly] tree bears bad [ungodly] fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that cannot bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore, by their fruits [behavior/character] you will know them (Matthew 7:17-20).

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Unless otherwise stated, all scripture quotations are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.  Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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