One thing I am grateful for...

 

I am grateful for many things and people and even during a year like 2020 but a reoccurring one is pictured above.  I can't think of going into a community and not making friends with the ministers of the Gospel.  I always wish I could spend more time with them but church demands on both sides keep all of us pretty busy.  A chat here, a message there, and sometimes a meal together are so precious to me.  These men hold down the fort in DownEast Maine.  I will miss them in the near future but may God bless them all as faithfully proclaim God's gospel.

I thought I would share in this post what I delivered at the taping of gathering.  We gathered in a small church, the Holmes Bay Baptist Church, and dissected the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23.  Ministers speaking to ministers needs to happen more often.  My charge was the fruit of self control.

Self Control

I was so thankful that I got the easy one!  (said with a lot of tongue and cheek) The KJV translates it "temperance."  A simple definition is "the ability to control oneself."  I need to remind myself that these are the fruit of the Spirit and therefore this is how the Spirit operates.  So the big question is:  "Do I allow the Holy Spirit to operate this way through me?"

The Bible tells us of the importance of self control.  Proverbs 25:28 says, "A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls."  Therefore someone without self control is exposed and vulnerable.  Titus 1:8 gives us a list to consider, "Be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined."  Self-control makes it into many of the lists that describe a follower of Christ.

Being a visual learner, I always love a good illustration so what is a good illustration of self-control?  I thought of a good bird dog working a field.  He comes upon his prey and locks in on point.  He freezes into a pose.  A good bird dog will exercise self-control and not move until his master give the command to flush the bird.  How was this self-control developed?  The key is the relationship between the good bird dog and his master.

The dog was fed by the master.  The dog was guided by the master.  The dog was cared for by the master.  The dog was trained by the master.  The dog was disciplined by the master.  The dog was rewarded by the master.  The dog looks for his master and paid attention to his master's every move and command.

Can we relate this illustration to our lives and our self-control or lack of it as it corresponds to our current relationship with our Master, Jesus Christ?  The self-control that the Holy Spirit displays through my life is in direct relationship to my time with my Master and my submission to His training on my life.  Point 1.

Point 2.  The dog is laser focused on the bird.  What is our laser focus as Christians?  What is crucial if we are going to display this fruit of the Spirit called self-control to those around us?

Jesus was asked the question, "'Teacher, which is the great command in the Law?'  And Jesus said to him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thine understanding - this is a first and great command;...'" I imagine the questioner writing this down and putting down his quill only to retrieve it quickly when Jesus takes a breath to go onto say "'...and the second is like to it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; on these--the two commands--all the law and the prophet do hang'" (Mt. 22:36-40).  

In 2020 (or any other year), if we are to display self-control, we need to be attentive to these two commandments.  We need to be laser focused on them when dealing with politics, elections, COVID, mandates, relationships, gatherings and the like.  These have all become a part of our lives, things to deal with, and hard to avoid so when I speak of them or react to them will I keep my eyes on loving God and loving others to guide my responses?  Will I allow the Holy Spirit to exercise this fruit of self-control through my life so others see someone who loves God and loves others?  

I may high disagree with others at times and I may respond in different ways than others do but does love, which is another fruit of the Spirit of how He operates, never exit the scene when wading through these waters?  While I deal with this world, will my focus keep on love?  If so, the world will experience someone who is displaying the Spirit's self-control.  See, I got the easy one!  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  

Point 1:  more self-control seen is because more time has been spend with the Master.  

Point 2:  our laser focus on loving God and loving others will display this fruit of self-control as we respond to the world around us.

May we be thankful to display this fruit of self-control and may we allow the Spirit to display it through us even more in 2021 as we spend more time with the Master and keep our eyes focused on our love for Him and our love for the others He puts before us.

Pastor Adam