Some commentators suggest that the fruit of the Spirit are progressive. That is, we receive them in the order they are listed, from the one that requires the least spiritual maturity (love) to the one that requires the most (self-control). Whether or not that is the case, most people find self-control to be the most difficult to master. Or, perhaps most accurately, the most difficult because we have to allow the Lord to be our Master. As Pastor Josh explores what self-control looks like this coming Sabbath we will have the opportunity to consider what it might take to bear this spiritual fruit.
"When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, 'Come back once more; he has told me everything.' So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.
Then she called, 'Samson, the Philistines are upon you!'
He awoke from his sleep and thought, 'I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.' But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved." (Judges 16:18-22)
Samson is the story of uncontrolled appetite. Samson was a judge who had been given tremendous physical strength by the Lord, but he could not control himself long enough to use that strength to permanently throw off the Philistines who were oppressing God's people. That is one thing that self-control does for us; it helps us use the gifts we have been given as effectively as possible so as to bear as much fruit as possible. In that way God is glorified as much as possible.
Some commentators suggest that the fruit of the Spirit are progressive. That is, we receive them in the order they are listed, from the one that requires the least spiritual maturity (love) to the one that requires the most (self-control). Whether or not that is the case, most people find self-control to be the most difficult to master. Or, perhaps most accurately, the most difficult because we have to allow the Lord to be our Master. As Pastor Josh explores what self-control looks like this coming Sabbath we will have the opportunity to consider what it might take to bear this spiritual fruit.
ReplyDelete"When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, 'Come back once more; he has told me everything.' So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.
ReplyDeleteThen she called, 'Samson, the Philistines are upon you!'
He awoke from his sleep and thought, 'I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.' But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved." (Judges 16:18-22)
Samson is the story of uncontrolled appetite. Samson was a judge who had been given tremendous physical strength by the Lord, but he could not control himself long enough to use that strength to permanently throw off the Philistines who were oppressing God's people. That is one thing that self-control does for us; it helps us use the gifts we have been given as effectively as possible so as to bear as much fruit as possible. In that way God is glorified as much as possible.