The Christian’s Duty to have the Spirit of Self-Control in All Matters of Their Lives!

Proverbs 25:16.        Hast thou found honey? Eat so much (only as much) as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.

HAPPY LABOUR DAY!

Well, a fine good day to you Monday! It’s good to know that I don’t have to get up and rush around and face all the hassles of going to work this Labour Day morning! Thanks again for the holiday…only wish you could do it more often, then we would not have so many disagreements. 

Yes friends, it’s Labour Day Monday, which means most of the summer frolic is over; schools and such will now open and the cool fall breezes of September ought to blow. However, with the unpredictable weather patterns currently in vogue, (smile) courtesy of climate change, who knows what kind of weather we will receive. But thankfully, whatever happens, with Jesus on our side, we’ll be more than able to handle it, because with and through Him we can handle any and everything that the world throws our way! ‘Glory Hallelujah!’  

But please remember that although the day calls for celebrations, we don’t need to go overboard and over do it, we must mind our p’s and q’s, for overdoing most things is not good for us. And there are many verses in the scriptures that speak to that topic, for instance this one from the wisdom of Cousin Sol in Proverbs. ‘Hast thou found honey? Eat so much (only as much) as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.’ (Prov. 25.16) 

And that is a good measure for most things in this life. Especially in the matter of alcohol, as Bruh Paul warns in Ephesians. ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit.’ (Eph. 5:18) And Cousin Sol corroborates that with this Proverb. ‘Wine is a mocker, strong (intoxicating) drink is raging (arouses brawling): and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.’ (Prov. 20:1)  

Yes mih bredrin, too much alcohol is certainly no good for us, because it causes us to lose our mental bearings, get into fights, arguments etc. and we end up doing things that are not in God’s will, or as the scholars say: ‘Drunkenness leads to moral intemperance, and we should instead be filled with the Spirit of God. For a person filled with wine is under its influence; similarly, a Christian filled with the Spirit is under the control of the Spirit, and can control his thoughts, attitudes and actions.’ 

And furthermore, we have this warning from Bruh Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. ‘All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient (helpful): all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any (anything).’ (1 Cor. 6:12) And that situation seems to have been very important to Bruh Paul, for he says the very same thing in 1 Cor. 10:23, except, there he changes the last phrase to ‘but all things edify not (do not build up).’ 

Oh my fellow believers, many things may be lawful for us to do, meaning, not proscribed or prohibited by the God’s will in the scriptures, but not all of them are helpful or beneficial in living God’s plan and purpose for our lives. That calls up the fruit of the Spirit of self-control, whereby we don’t let those supposedly lawful but not beneficial things control or have power over us. 

That brings us to two more interesting verses from the wisdom of Cousin Sol. He wisely maintains: ‘It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search (seek) their own glory is not glory. He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.’ (Prov. 25:27-28) There’s no disputing the wisdom in those verses friends, but sadly those things are rather prevalent in our current society. Everybody is seeking their own glory and aggrandizement, with very little if any self-control in the process. 

Meanwhile, we have these wise words from Bruh Paul to the Galatians that oversee the entire situation. ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (do not lose heart). As we therefore have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.’ (Gal. 6:7-10) 

I guess that says it all my fellow saints. We must be careful of our thoughts and actions, for whatever we do, we will reap the necessary consequences. However, our duty is to live good, as much as humanly possible with all people, especially Christians. And to help us do that, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid. 

Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

But unfortunately friends, things will never improve until we turn from our evil ways and begin sincerely seeking God with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds. Much LOVE!

…you reap what you sow…more than you sow…and later than you sow… Uncle Charles – Dr. Charles Stanley…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 August 2015 1 Corinthians 6:12

1 Corinthians 6:12.   All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient (helpful): all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any (anything). 

And then it was Friday Friends! Not soon enough for some, but nevertheless they declare in loud and joyful voices: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Wow! The weekend’s here at last, and I’m just going to go crazy over those two days away from tiresome labour! Thank You God for this Friday yes!’ 

Ah mih people, it is right to be happy over the two days off of work, but by the same token, we just can’t use them to go overboard, because then we’ll be of no use to anybody, including ourselves, come the beginning of the new workweek. And as believers in, and followers of Jesus Christ, we are expected to live balanced lives. 

For Remember what Bruh Paul says to the Corinthians in our Bit. ‘All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient (helpful): all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any (anything).’ 

Yes Friends, it’s not everything that’s lawful is right for us to do. As we saw in our recent Bit, ‘proving what is acceptable unto the Lord,’ we have to analyze every decision and see whether it’s acceptable to God or not. So though some of them might be lawful, they might not be acceptable to God. And wasting away the weekend in debauchery is certainly not acceptable to God. (smile) 

Now the scholars give us a good explanation of that verse. ‘6:12. Paul’s principles may be summarized in three words: Lawful, expedient, and power. The first is the principle of liberty. When Paul says “all things,” we cannot take this in an absolute sense. Obviously, what God forbids can never be allowed. 

Rather, it refers to those things about which the Scriptures are not explicit. Such matters are left to the Christian’s own judgement. The apostle is careful not to weaken the important doctrine of Christian liberty by leading these people back under Judaistic legalism. 

Rather, his intent is to circumscribe its application through proper restrictions. These are expressed in the principle of “expediency.” Not everything is beneficial. 

A second restriction is expressed in the words, I will not be brought under the power of any. This is the principle of self-control. Certain forms of indulgence become wrong when they bring the person into bondage.’ 

There you have it my people, we need to pay close attention to the expediency of things, even in our Christian liberty, and invoke that most difficult of tasks, self-control, in all that we do. 

Bruh Paul felt so strongly about that, that he chose to repeat it in a slightly different form, later on in chapter 10. ‘All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient (helpful): all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not (do not build up).’ (1 Cor.10:23) 

So my fellow believers, though many things are lawful and legal, not all of them are becoming re Christian behaviour. If they don’t edify, build us up, keep us on the straight and narrow path that leads to God, then they should not be indulged in. 

And sometimes it’s not even so much indulging in those things, but more like overdoing them. And we have a perfect example in the way we spend the weekend. Nothing’s wrong with partying per se, but when we overdo it, get black up and start misbehaving, losing our self-control, then that’s certainly not expedient and useful to us. 

And that’s why we have our Friday Chant; to give us a better perspective on how to spend our precious two days off. So as one now, let’s chant it with some vim and vigour nuh 

‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. 

Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ 

Yes Friends, that’s more like how we ought to come up over the weekend; with rest, relaxation and fellowship, so that we can go back out next week fresh like a daisy, (smile) fully empowered, in both body and soul, to do Christ’s work. And that my brethren, should always be our first priority! 

Now on this summer Friday then, let’s get our thoughts together as believers, and with the necessary self-control and help of Jesus, make the right decisions on how to spend our weekend, for that is indeed wisdom of the highest order. Much LOVE!

…it’s legal and lawful in man’s world…but is it right in the sight of God…that is the question…