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"Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control
over his spirit" (Proverbs 25:28). King Solomon informs us that the Creator
has endowed human beings with a measure of self-control. Some people have more
self-control, and some less. Some of us have more self-control in one area,
and less in another. Each one of us is weak in certain areas, tempted by those
sins that so easily entangle us (Hebrews 12:1).
Since a man who has no control over his spirit is like a city that is broken
into and without walls, every precaution must be exercised in order that lack
of discipline and self-control does not result in the break down of the walls
of our defense. Unfortunately, there are many people in our rapidly
degenerating society who are no longer able to rule themselves. They are like
a city that has been broken into and without walls. Since they rarely exercise
self-control, they are vulnerable to all their enemies, and exposed to all
the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. All that is good goes
out, and leaves them. All that is evil comes in and indwells them. When they
are tempted to eat or drink too much, use illegal drugs, engage in sex outside
of marriage, or lose their tempers, they give in almost immediately.
THE
IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CONTROL
Since prayerful, watchful self-control
is like the walls that protect a city, it is essential
that each child of God have control over his own
spirit. He must be able to govern his appetites,
desires and passions. "Applying all diligence,"
Simon Peter instructs us, "in your faith supply
moral excellence, and in your moral excellence,
knowledge, and in your knowledge, self control...
for if these qualities are yours and are increasing,
they render you neither useless nor unfruitful
in the true knowledge of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah"
(2 Peter 1:5-8). According to Simon Peter, to
have a useful and fruitful life, knowledge of
God is not sufficient. In addition to true knowledge
about God, we need essential character qualities,
including self- control. If we diligently apply
ourselves to attain these qualities, we will be
effective and productive, otherwise our lives
will be useless and unfruitful. These qualities
should be ours and they need to be growing stronger
in our lives day by day. Simon Peter goes on to
say that "he who lacks these qualities is blind
or shortsighted, having forgotten his purification
from his former sins" (2 Peter 1:9). If we lack
these qualities (including self-control), it is
evident that we are not taking the issues of sin
and salvation seriously. We are forgetting what
it cost Messiah to purify us from our sins. We
are blindly drifting away from the God we claim
to love.
"Therefore
brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain
about His calling and choosing you; for as long
as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
for in this way the entrance into the eternal
kingdom of our Lord and Savior Yeshua the Messiah
will be abundantly supplied to you." We have
a responsibility to ensure that we remain on the
straight and narrow path that leads to the eternal
kingdom. If we diligently practice these qualities,
especially self-control, then we will never stumble;
the gates of Messiah's eternal kingdom will swing
wide open, giving us generous access; God's calling
us to Himself will be effective, and His choice
of us will be made sure.
THE
EXAMPLE OF MOSES
Look at what happened to Moses, one of
the greatest servants of God, when he lost self-control
at the waters of Meribah. "There was no water
for the congregation, and the Jewish people assembled
themselves against Moses and Aaron... The Lord
spoke to Moses, saying, 'Take the rod; and you
and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation
and speak to the rock before their eyes, that
it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth
water for them out of the rock and let the congregation
and their beasts drink.' So Moses took the rod
from before the Lord just as He had commanded
him; and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly
before the rock. And he said to them, 'Listen
now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for
you out of this rock?' Then Moses lifted up his
hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and
water came forth abundantly, and the congregation
and their beasts drank. But the Lord said to Moses
and Aaron, 'Because you have not believed Me,
to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of
Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly
into the land which I have given them'" (Numbers
20:1-12). Moses lost his temper, and instead of
speaking to the rock, he struck it in his anger.
That momentary loss of self-control cost Moses
the privilege of entering the Land of Israel.
THE
EXAMPLE OF PAUL
On the other hand, look at how seriously
the apostle Paul, who walked in the Spirit more
than any of us, and who had more spiritual gifts,
considered this area of self-control: "I
run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in
such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet
my body and make it my slave, lest possibly after
I have preached to others, I myself should be
disqualified" (1 Corinthians. 9:26-27). The
rabbi from Tarsus exerted great effort to keep
himself under control so that he would not discredit
himself and the ministry entrusted to him.
HOW
DO WE GAIN SELF-CONTROL?
There are two ways to gain and maintain
self-control: by walking by the Spirit and by
practicing spiritual disciplines. First, when
we walk by the Spirit, (conducting ourselves in
such a way that our life that is controlled by
Messiah's Spirit) we will not carry out the desire
of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
It is
not that the child of God is without desires of
the flesh, appetites and passions; but with the
help of the Almighty he does not allow them to
gain control of him - he controls them. Rabbi
Paul goes on to tell the Galatians that the indwelling
of God's Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self control (Galatians 5:22-23). If we are
filled by the Spirit of God, there should be a
noticeable increase in our ability to control
ourselves. Gaining strength from the indwelling
presence of the Lord, every child of the Almighty
is enabled to master his thoughts, desires, inclinations,
impulses, resentments, and keep them from spinning
out of control.
The second
way to gain and maintain self-control (which is
complementary to the first), is by practicing
spiritual disciplines. Rabbi Paul, besides telling
us to walk by the Spirit, also instructed his
disciple Timothy: "Discipline yourself for
the purpose of godliness. For bodily discipline
is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable
for all things, since it
holds promise for the present life and also for
the life to come" (1 Timothy 4:7-8). The
word translated "discipline" means to
train or exercise. Unfortunately many people spend
far more time exercising their bodies than they
do their souls! Americans spend billions of dollars
each year on bodily exercise. You can see them
by the thousands at the health clubs, working
out on machines, running, jumping, lifting, sweating.
They pour their time, money and labor into exercising
to get in shape, so their bodies will look and
feel good and run at peak performance. Just as
physical exercise promotes good health, so spiritual
disciplines promote good spiritual health. Each
child of God needs to keep himself in good spiritual
shape. But too many professing believers are so
spiritually under-disciplined that they have little
fruit and power in their lives. Spiritual disciplines
are the habits of spiritual devotion that have
been practiced by the people of God since the
earliest times, to keep them spiritually robust.
Let's take a look at some of the most important:
THE
WORD OF GOD
No factor is more influential in shaping
a person's character and moral behavior than regular
reading of the Holy Scriptures. Psalm 1 tells
us that if our delight is in the Torah (the law,
teaching, instruction) of the Lord, and if we
meditate in His Word day and night, we will be
like a tree firmly planted by streams of water
which yields its fruit in its season, and its
leaf does not wither; and in whatever we do we
will prosper. We need to train ourselves to take
the time to read our Bible every day.
PRAYER
"Devote yourselves to prayer."
Often prayer flows naturally and easily. At other
times we lack the sense of the nearness of God,
and it is harder to pray. At those times we need
to discipline ourselves to pray anyway, since
we are to "pray without ceasing." We
need to train our minds to turn our thoughts throughout
the day to talking with God. Teach your mind to
talk to God about the things that interest you.
Anything that comes to your mind, thank God for
it, and pray about everything that strikes you
powerfully. Thank and praise Him for who He is
and what He has done. Intercede for yourself,
for your friends and family, for your congregation,
for the Jewish community, for the growth and health
of the Messiah's holy community, for the government,
and for the world.
FASTING
Fasting is a spiritual discipline which
is not practiced much today, but used to be practiced
regularly in the ancient Messianic Community.
Fasting does not come to most of us easily or
naturally. We like the pleasure that comes from
eating too much! But fasting is expected from
all of God's people, and should be part of our
normal spiritual disciplines. Yeshua said to us,
"When you fast anoint your head, and wash
your face so that you may not be seen fasting
by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and
your Father who sees in secret will repay you"
(Matthew 6:17-18). Messiah gave us instructions
what to do and what not to do when, not if, we
fast. The Almighty takes notice of our fasting,
approves of it, and will reward us for it.
SILENCE
Related to fasting is the discipline
of silence, which is not practiced in most Protestant
churches today. Silence is a purposeful abstention
from speaking so that we may seek God. Though
no outward dialogues are going on, there are internal
dialogues with your own soul, and with God. Experiencing
silence can help us come to grips with the realities
of our sin, with the realities of death and judgement;
ideas frequently drowned out by the many distractions
of the world. That's why saints and holy men have
sought solitude
in the desert, with prayer and fasting. King David
knew this truth when he wrote: "My soul waits
in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation"
(Psalm 62:1). The words of Jeremiah are also instructive:
"It is good that a person waits silently
for the salvation of the Lord... Let him sit alone
and be silent" (Lamentations 3:26-28).
Learning
to control our tongue brings with it many other
benefits. Ya'akov (James), the brother of Yeshua
tells us that the ability to control our tongue
is an essential part of true religion: "If
anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet
does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own
heart, this man's religion is worthless"
(James 1:26). Ya'akov also says "if anyone
does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect
man, able to bridle the whole body as well"
(James 3:2). Practicing the discipline of silence,
and learning how to bridle our tongues, will make
it easier to gain self-control in every area of
our lives.
EVANGELISM
Evangelism should be considered a spiritual
discipline, since Messiah commanded each one of
us to be His witness. To be a faithful witness,
we need to train ourselves to share our faith
in all kinds of circumstances, ready in season
and out of season, whether we feel like it or
not. If I have grown at all over the years, it's
because I've practiced this discipline. Train
yourself to share your faith on a regular basis.
A good witness does not wait for witnessing opportunities
to occur - he makes them happen. Study Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John and see how the Master shared
the Good News. Read the book of Acts and see how
the apostles shared their faith. Read books on
witnessing. Talk with those who are good at it.
Find out their methods, the things that have worked,
as well as the things that haven't gone over so
well. You might make some mistakes, but you will
learn from them, and you will grow in your ability
as a witness of Messiah's reality.
MONEY
A significant portion of the Word of
God concerns the proper use of money and possessions.
If we don't have control over our finances, something
is seriously wrong. Gambling, buying on credit,
and going into debt are signs that we are not
governing our finances properly. We need to manage
our finances in such a way that our needs, the
needs of our families, and the needs of the Kingdom
of God are met. Let me give you a simple formula
that should work for most people: live on 80%,
save 10% and tithe 10%.
TIME
The disciplined use of time is very important.
Even though we are exhorted to use our time wisely
because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16),
many of us waste a lot of time with trivial pursuits.
The world we live in is not conducive for using
our time wisely, especially for the purposes of
spirituality and godliness. In our modern society,
there are more distractions than ever that can
rob us of our precious time. The prayer of Moses
in Psalm 90 is still a very good prayer for those
of us living on the verge of the twenty-first
century: "teach us to number our days that
we may present to You a heart of wisdom"
(Psalm 90:12). Let's make the most of the precious
time with which we have been entrusted. We also
want to discipline ourselves to observe one very
special period of time - the Sabbath. Let's set
it apart each week to worship the Almighty, and
get refreshed and renewed. If you are too busy
to treat the Sabbath as holy, then you are too
busy.
These
spiritual disciplines are like the muscles in
our bodies - the more we use them, the stronger
we become. By being filled with the Holy Spirit,
and by diligently practicing these spiritual disciplines,
we will grow in our self-control, so that we will
not be like a city that is broken into and without
walls, exposed to all the dangers of its enemies.
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