Maybe you’ve heard about the couple that took a beach trip on their honeymoon. On their way down the strip, they saw a sign that said: “Helicopter rides ahead.” Well, they stopped to see how much the rides were and the pilot said: “$20 each” and since that was a little steep for their budget, they turned to leave, but the pilot said: “Listen, I’ll make a deal with you. If I take you up and you keep quiet, the ride is free, but if you make a sound – even one peep – you owe me $40.” Well, the ride started and it was anything but smooth. They jerked and bumped and climbed and dived, but the pilot never heard a sound. And when they landed, he turned around and said, “Sir, I’m a man of my word; you didn’t make a peep. So, the ride is free.” And the man said: “Well, thank the Lord! And just think, I almost said something when my wife fell out back there.”

Now, friends, that’s self-control. And self-control is something we, in our culture, know little or nothing about. Instead of self-control, we are a culture on cruise control. In the area of finances, we have “runaway spending” and “out of control debt.” In the area of sexuality, anybody can sleep with just about anybody. We are a culture of addicts, with drug and alcohol addiction running rampant. We are an over-indulgent society with obesity among children and adults at all-time highs. We say what we want and do what we want with little or no regard to the consequences. We are like children in a candy store, without discipline, without self-restraint. Listen to how James describes us: “We must never say, ‘God has tempted me,’ for God cannot be tempted by evil and He Himself tempts no one. But we are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. Then, our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin.”

But that’s not who we are! Paul says: “The person that we used to be was crucified with Him in order to get rid of the corpse that had been controlled by sin. That way we wouldn’t be slaves to sin anymore.” _ Through the cross, God has freed us from slavery to our sinful, selfish desires and put a new Spirit within us, a Spirit that makes us more godly and Christ-like. Paul said: “The works of the flesh are obvious … but the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

So, instead of being on cruise control, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, we are given self-control. Self-control! The word Paul uses here is egkrates; it means “the ability to discipline or restrain yourself.” It is the word Paul used in 1 Corinthians 9 when he described how athletes train themselves for the games; he said: “Don’t you know that all the runners in the stadium run, but only one gets the prize? So run to win. Everyone who competes practices self-discipline in everything. The runners do this to get a crown of leaves that shrivel up and die, but we do it to receive a crown that never dies.”  Paul says: if you’re gonna win the race, you’re gonna need self-control. John Maxwell, Wesleyan Pastor and leadership guru, said: “The first victory that successful people ever achieve or win is the victory over themselves.”

So, this morning, I want to look three areas where a little self-control would make a world of difference in our lives as individuals and our life together as a church family!

First, we need to exercise more control over our bodies! Our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, the dwelling place of God. So our lives should be marked by moderation – not over eating or under eating but healthy eating; not over exercising or under exercising but proper exercising. Paul told the church at Corinth: “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything.” _ You can be just as dominated by the gym as you can be by the buffet line and the key to both is self-control.

Second, we need to exercise more control over our tongues! In James 3:7, James writes: “People can tame and already have tamed every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish. No one can tame the tongue, though. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” Now, ain’t that the truth? Our tongues get us into loads of trouble. With our tongues, we speak vulgarities. Think about how our speech has changed over the years. In 1952, on the I Love Lucy Show, Lucy and Ricky were not allowed to use the word “pregnant” on public television, but today you can almost hear anything and everything. And we can get upset about it all we want, but television is a mirror for our culture. Television simply reflects back to us what we are saying and doing in our everyday lives. But Paul said: “Let no corrupt words proceed from your mouth, but only what is good to build one another up and impart grace to your neighbor.”

With our tongues, we lie. Leviticus 19:11 says: “Do not steal, or deal falsely, or lie one to another.” And Paul told the church at Ephesus: “Put away lying. Let each of you speak truth with his neighbor.”

With our tongues, we abuse and insult one another! James said: “We use the same mouth to praise God and to curse our neighbor. Brothers and Sisters, this should not be.”

Third, we need to exercise more control over our desires! The New York Times recently reported that over 50% of the people in the United States are completely comfortable living beyond their means. The average American household is carrying $15,863 of credit card debt and $156,584 in mortgage debt. Now, to be fair, debt has become a way of life; I understand that, but we have lost the distinction between what we need and what we want. We, as a people, are no longer driven by what we need; we are driven by what we want. We see it and we’ve got to have it … the latest gadget, the newest automobile, the finest homes, in the finest neighborhoods. And as a result, we can no longer support the mission and ministry of the church. We no longer see any value in sacrificing personal convenience for the sake of greater good. It’s all about me – what’s best for me – not in the long term, but today and sometimes … right now!

Self-control! Control over my mouth, my body, my wants and wishes! That’s what I need! And that’s what the Holy Spirit offers me when I am being continually filled and refilled with the Holy Spirit. So, how can I develop the Fruit of Self-control in my life?

First, set spiritual goals and priorities! Our lives must be driven by more than the changing winds of our culture. We have to develop the ability to “not be conformed to this world” and its priorities, but to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” _ Our question should not be: “What’s important to me?” Our question should be: “What’s important to God?” If we “seek first the Kingdom of God”_ and seek to live in right relationship with Him, then our other priorities fall into line too.

Second, be faithful to daily spiritual disciplines! The way we come to know the mind of Christ is to spend time with Christ … time in His Word, time in prayer, time in fellowship with other believers, and time in worship. The way we know if our priorities are right or not is to spend time every day getting to know the heart and mind of God.

Third, yield control of mind, body, and spirit to God! Paul said: “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God for this is your reasonable act of worship.” _ And Romans 6:13 says: “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but … offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness.” Self-control!

Well, one day a couple went down to the local car lot to buy a new car. And on the back of the lot, they saw the perfect car … sleek and aerodynamic, great gas mileage, perfect paint job, great interior, and a loud, booming sound system. So, they took it for a test drive and when he punched it, he couldn’t believe the power the engine had. In fact, he was thinking, “This might be a little too much car for my wife,” but he didn’t say anything. She wanted the car so they bought it. Well, the next day, they were showing it off to their friends and the woman said: “Y’all this is the first car we’ve ever had with cruise control.” And her husband said: “Honey, I’m not worried about the cruise control; I’m just hoping we have a little self-control.” Now, isn’t that the truth? So much of our life is spent on cruise control, but today – more than ever before – our greatest need is for self-control. “The Fruit of the Spirit is … self-control.”

O God, help us to yield to you that the greatest influence over our lives would be the leading of your Spirit and that might be demonstrated by the way we exercise self-control in all things – mind, and body, and spirit. Amen!