Chris Hodges - Self-Control
All right, who’s glad to be in church today, anybody, anybody? How about we give Jesus a great hand clap of praise, everybody? It’s good to see you. Oh, what a joy it is to be with you in church. Welcome to week number nine and the conclusion of our series on the «Fruit of the Spirit,» and I’ll tell you more about that in just a second. As always, I like to begin by greeting all of our campuses. We are one church that just happens to meet in 24 different locations across Alabama and Georgia, and of course, we are bringing this into more than 27 of Alabama’s Department of Corrections facilities, so God bless you, men and women that are there. What a joy also to be able to stream this for those that are somewhere around the world or maybe you’re home sick.
I hope that’s not the case. But if you’re watching online, we’re glad you’re with us or later On-Demand. Grants Mill, like you’ve never done it before, come on, put your hands together. They can hear you! Come on, let 'em hear ya! That’s awesome. And just a quick word before we get into the message today. Y’all know we have this little event going on this week called an election? Y’all heard about that, everybody? And I just wanted to give you just a quick little thought on that, and that is vote, everybody. Just vote, okay? Make sure you participate in the process and yeah, vote, okay? Come on, people gave their lives to give you that opportunity. And then, pray, everybody. We need to pray for our country. We have a divided country right now. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for a move of the Spirit of God.
I think the winds of revival are getting ready to blow across America. I truly believe that. And I’ve seen two extremes that are happening right now. There’s this indifferent group of people that are like, «Yeah, whatever,» you know, and they say, I don’t know how they figure this stuff out. But the estimates are that 32 million church-going Christians are gonna sit it out. Don’t sit it out, everybody. Go, go, let your voice be heard, everybody, right? And then there this other extreme. They’re freaking out. Come on, right? Just worried about everything. Listen to me, look in my eyes, I’m your pastor. God is still in control before the election and after the election. You need to know that, all right? He’s not nervous. You don’t need to be. I say take it seriously, but you don’t need to be nervous.
And then on Wednesday night, we’ll gather together, and of course, that’ll be the day after. I’ll be in the service with us, and we’re gonna have a great time of worship and prayer together. And mentioning the people who gave their lives so that we could have that opportunity, we’re celebrating a week from tomorrow Veterans Day. It’s in a second annual event that we’ve had as an event sponsored by Highlands College where we are honoring veterans. Last year, it was one of the most incredible events I’ve ever attended in my life, and we’re honored to host our veterans. There’s a breakfast at 8 a.m. The service begins at 9 a.m. We have a few spots left. I would love for you to go to the highlandscollege.edu website and register if you are a veteran so we make sure we have a space saved for you.
But there’s only a few spots left, but we really would love for you to be there. And how about we go ahead and put our hands together and honor all the veterans that are in the room right now? Awesome, thank you for that. And then you’ve already heard about this, but let me give you my quick little take. In two weeks from today, we’re gonna start a series that we’ve been doing for 15 years to do really what Jesus did. This is not a time to be silly, or we’re not just watching movies, okay? Jesus told stories, modern-day stories, to illustrate spiritual truth. They were called parables. So we take movies that actually have redemption built into the stories, and we’re gonna preach between the clips.
And we just found that this is one of the best ways to reach people that are far from God. So it is the best time all year long to have someone who’s far from God sitting with you in church. In fact, if history repeats itself, we’ll have more than 20, 000 visitors in three weeks, and thousands will give their lives to Jesus, so let’s get ready for that. We only do this so we can get more people into heaven, amen, everybody? All right, we’re in week number nine of this series on the «Fruit of the Spirit,» intentionally put during this election season, knowing that it’s really important. We believe that Christians not just believe in values, but they live out their biblical values.
And I think it’s challenging right now in a world that is so divisive, and everybody’s mad about something, and everybody’s picking a side. That’s fine. You can have an opinion without being disrespectful, amen, everybody? And God calls us actually to live out our Christian values because we are the testimony, the Bible is very clear about this, that how we live points people to what God actually looks like, and so, that’s why we’re working on these values. We’re doing them because the world needs us to look like Christ, actually look like Christians. «They shall know you are my disciples by the love you have one for another,» Jesus said. The second reason why we’re doing this is that it’s fruit. Fruit lets us know if our Christianity is right or not.
So, it gives us this little checkup on our faith. We’re getting a little checkup here in this series, and if we go over a topic or one of the fruit of the Spirit and you’re thinking, «Well, I don’t look nothing like that,» just let that be a self-correction, like, «Wait a minute, then I need to work on my Christianity. I need to let this work out in my life better». Because it’s fruit. It’s a byproduct of who we are. And the last reason we’re talking about this is that God wants great things for us. This is one of the bedrock principles of Highlands. The reason why we called it Highlands is that God has more. We wanna encourage you guys just to continue in your faith. Faith is not just this belief in Christianity, «Hopefully I bought myself some fire insurance,» and go live like, you know, however.
No, no, no, God has great things for our life. Can you say a good amen right there, everybody, right? You believe that. And so, the verse that we’re learning from is a text that we’ve read every week. Here’s the conclusion of it: «But the fruit of the Spirit,» or the results of being full of God, «are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,» and then today, we’re gonna talk about this one. This just really is, boy, this is one I think this applies to every single one of us in the room is «self-control». And then it gives us a little line that I’ve been explaining every week in the series: «Against such thing there is no law».
That’s the Bible’s way to say, like, rules can’t teach you this. You can’t just have a rule book that says, hey, be nice, or be kind, or be generous, or don’t be mad, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t. If you ever had this external law, which is what the Old Testament’s all about, without an internal change, it never works, all right? And so, what the Bible’s saying is this is not a law, this is a transformation. These are fruit. So this is what’s happening already on the inside of us. And today we are gonna study self-control. The King James Version uses the word «temperance». I love that word, temperance, the ability to temper yourself. And I was gonna talk about a bunch of stories… and examples of people and occasions, maybe in our life, or ones we’ve seen where people, it’s just someone, someone just got out of control. Man, you even said it like, «My God, they’re out of control,» all right?
And honestly, I don’t think I need to because we all know what that looks like. We know what it looks like in our life, and we’ve certainly seen it in others. And Proverbs says it this way: «Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control». They’ve lost all control of their lives, and I want you to think about the areas perhaps where you don’t have control of your life, right? And I’m gonna give you the Greek definition. So I went back to the original language of the word, and this is, I didn’t make this word, this definition up. This is actually what’s in every pastor’s dictionaries, in every pastor’s office, is «self-control is the virtue of one who masters their desires and their passions».
So you have passions and desires, and many times those get outside of the will of God and the ability to be a master of your emotions and your feelings. And then, honestly, the word actually leans toward especially the areas of sensual pleasures, so you just need to know that. All of them are important, like, you know, our temper is an area where we need to get it in control sometimes, our attitude. For some of you, your thoughts are out of control. Some of you, your emotions are out of control. Others of you, it’s not things that are on the inside. They’re just things like your finances are out of control or maybe your weight’s out of control. Hello, everybody, right?
I set a goal this year to lose 20 pounds. I thought I could do it over an entire year. I mean, come on, 20 pounds in an entire year? Here we are with two months to go. I only have 30 pounds to go. Come on, somebody, where you at, where you at? But the good news is I have Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, so I’m gonna be all right, all right? Dear Jesus, right? So, it’s out of control, right? It gets out of control. Thank God for the fast. Y’all, that’s why we fast. No, no, that’s not why we fast. It’s just, it’s out of control. And the Bible says I don’t want you out of control. And honestly, you don’t want to be out of control. 'Cause when you’re out of control, it makes you miserable. 'Cause right after you do the thing that you knew you shouldn’t do, you don’t feel good about it. And God wants to help us in this area.
And by the way, before you get too hard on yourself, the Bible is filled with examples and people who are out of control. God even used people who had to work through these issues, and one of those was the apostle Paul, and I love what he says. Boy, if you ever wanna encourage yourself when you’re having a bad day, oh, just go read Romans chapter 7, 'cause Paul, who wrote more than 1/3 of the New Testament, planted churches all across, you know, that part of the world, says, «I really don’t understand myself, for I,» come on, that’s your theme verse, isn’t it everybody, right? «For I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I actually end up doing what I hate. But if I know that what I’m doing is wrong, this does show that I agree with the law,» and this is very important. I don’t want you to skim past this. He goes, «When I know I did something that was wrong, it lets me know that I have a standard on the inside of me». I actually fear more for people who actually do wrong and say, «It’s not wrong, it’s actually right,» than doing wrong and saying, «But I knew it was wrong».
Now, look at me, church. Always make sure your heart and your actions stay aligned with what God says is right and wrong, not what culture says right and wrong and not what your feelings say right is wrong. Come on, clap there if you know I’m telling you the truth. So he’s saying, «Look, I did it, but I do agree I shouldn’t have done it». I mean, «I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong,» and this is an interesting little phrase. In other words, «I didn’t do it». Yeah, you did, Paul. He goes, «No, but there’s something going on in the inside of me,» sin. «It’s sin that’s living on the inside of me». And so what we’re gonna do today, I’m gonna show you how you can get rid of that thing on the inside of you that drives you to do things that you don’t even like doing. He says, «And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature».
I’ve got this, in other words, «I’ve got this war going on, this other part of me. There’s this part of me that just loves God, loves to worship God, just grateful for what God did for me, but I’ve got this other thing going on inside of me where I want to do what is right, but I can’t». And he, of course, is gonna show us how in just a second. It’s, «I wanna do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t wanna do what is wrong, but I do it anyway». He keeps on. You know what I mean? It’s just like, «Paul, we get it already». «Not at all, I gotta talk about it more».
«I discovered this principle of life, that when I wanna do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law,» and by the way, you can be a person who loves God, you’re going to heaven, it’s not the matter that you really don’t love God, something else is going on in the inside of us. He says, «I love God’s law with all my heart. But there’s another power on the inside of me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me,» and boy, some of you feel this way, like, «I’m a slave to it, I really hate it, and I keep on acting that way, making those choices». And then he says this: «Oh, what a miserable,» you miserable wretch, you, «what a miserable person I am»!
Now he’s kinda beating himself up here. He says, «Who is gonna free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death»? Now I’m dedicating this message to all of us who feel this way. I would like to believe that probably all of us have one area or another where man, that verse just described what I feel like. Because there is this cycle, most of us have been through it, hopefully a bunch of us have gotten out of it, but there’s this cycle of not doing what I want, the lack of self-control, and basically, it looks like this, that when I wanna do right and fail, I automatically have this sense of hopelessness and shame. Now let me be very clear, there’s two emotions going on when you do something that’s wrong. One of those, God’s involved in, and one of those, the enemy’s involved in. The one God’s involved in is he will send you the Holy Spirit. This is the role of the Holy Spirit, and that is to convict you.
So when you feel bad about it, that’s not bad. But when you start beating yourself up and saying, «And there’s no way out,» now that’s bad. One’s called conviction. One’s called condemnation. And God never wants you condemned. Say «amen» right there, everybody. Jesus did not come into the world to point his finger at you and to yell at you and fuss at you, maybe like you got fussed at by other people, your boss or your dad or… no, no, no. He came to save the world. He didn’t come to make you sorry, he came to save you. He came for a solution, okay? You need to know that, but you still are gonna have this feeling on the inside. Now, we all have this. The question is is what you do next.
If you let God in, you never get this next one I’m gonna show you. If you don’t let God in, here’s what usually happens, and that is now I’ll allow that thing to become who I am. «Well, my daddy was angry, my great granddaddy was angry. You know, we’re Scottish, we’re all redheaded. We just hate people». No, no, no, no, right? Or, «I’m an alcoholic, always was an alcoholic». It’s one of my things I don’t like. As much as I respect those 12-step programs, and I do respect them, and I know they work in a lot of people’s lives. The fact that you can be 20 years sober and still start the whole meetings identifying with «I am this». No, you’re not. You are who God says you are. You do not have to put these labels on your life. And for some of you, you’ve taken on the identity. You’ve even said, «That’s just who I am». «I’m feisty». «I’m mean». «I’m angry». «I’m, you know, I just, I lust. I just, I think the girls are so pretty».
No. Sure is quiet out there, all right. And then other people start noticing it. And maybe even, whether it’s indirectly like I’m doing on a stage right now or maybe it’s someone close to you and they said, «Dude, you can’t talk to your wife that way». You’re like, «Wow, man, why are you responding like that»? Or, «Really, you did that again»? And when we are challenged, we actually don’t allow change to take place. We feel like you’re, «Wait, wait, wait, you’re threatening me,» and now we’re began to be defensive. Some of you have gotten defensive in your sin. «That’s who I am. I can’t control my feelings». Yes, you can. Yes, you can. We don’t live by our feelings.
We live by our choices, and choices lead and our feelings will follow. God will change us into his image, everybody. And we have a whole generation now, honestly, that’s just saying, «Well, that’s how I was born. That’s just who I am». No you’re… no, no, no, no. If I followed every feeling in my life, I would not be your pastor right now. No, I submit my feelings to the will of God, and he changes me into his likeness. Isn’t that right, everybody? Right, that’s the truth. And so, if you don’t really handle that, then you’re back to that miserable place. You’re a place where you’re beating yourself up, and you really almost feel like you’re losing your life, and guess what? You are, you’re losing what God intended for you.
Remember I said these fruit are for you? These aren’t for God. God’s not telling you to do all these things to make him happy. He’s telling you about all these things so you’ll be happy. So, «Oh, what a miserable person I am»! Paul said, «Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death»? Look at the next line: «Thank God»! Everybody read everything in yellow out loud. Here we go: «The answer is in Christ our,» yes it is. There is an answer. I’m here today to tell you that you do not have to continue to act that way, be that way, think that way, feel that way. Come on, everybody. I said there’s an answer in Jesus! In fact, the next line, even though we have a chapter division, the original text did not have chapter divisions. Humans put that in the Bible so we could find stuff.
But in chapter 8, verse 1, which is really just the next verse, «So now there’s no condemnation,» so don’t be condemned, there’s an answer, «for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit can free you». Look at me. Everybody look in my eyes. You can be free. Isn’t that a cool thought? You can be free. You don’t have to be that thing that makes you feel so miserable. «He can free you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses,» remember I told you about the external law, the rules on a tablet, «was unable to save us». Of course it was, because it told us to do it, but we didn’t wanna change. It was external, not internal.
«The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the Old Testament and the law couldn’t do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirements of the law would be fully satisfied,» in other words, he doesn’t just give us the law, he writes it on the inside of us, «who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit».
So we’re gonna talk about self-control. In fact, I kinda, after reading all these verses, I read every place in the New Testament with a word… In fact, I read every verse in the whole Bible where the words self-control were used, and I wrote my own little definition based on all of it. Self-control is the fruit of God’s Spirit, God’s power in me, that helps me to do what I want to do and not to do what I know I shouldn’t do. So it helps me. Real self-control isn’t a discipline, it’s something that’s written on the inside of us through the power of God so that I can have the life I wanna have in the future. And if there’s nothing else you hear, I want you to hear that, that if you allow me, and better yet us, this church, and really, God, ultimately, to take you on a journey, you can actually be free. You don’t have to have a life that’s always angry, always lusting, always spending, or whatever it is, that think it’s is out of control. No, no, no, God can temper us, and he can do a work in our life, and there can be misery no longer as we allow God’s work in our life.
Do you believe that, church? I really do, I really do. In fact, I thought one of the best ways to not only give you a solution for this one value, this one fruit of the Spirit, was actually to give you some value, some solutions that… really, I think these serve all nine of the fruit. In fact, I truly believe that what I’m getting ready to give you, I’m gonna give you the practical side of all of this. We’re gonna conclude this series with, «Okay, now go and do this. Go do this». And I want you to hear this, and this is not preacher talk. I’m guaranteeing it, that if you do this that you’re gonna start to bear the fruit of all nine of these and especially this area of self-control.
And here they are. This is the practical side, I’m gonna close this series this way, and it’s just, you gotta tell God I was wrong. You gotta repent, and the word «repent» simply means, for your note takers, I saw a lot of you guys’s heads go down, you’re taking notes, you’re using your app to take notes. You are truly the most spiritual people at Church of the Highlands, all right? But it really literally means change your mind so you can change your direction. So you can’t change your direction until you change your mind, and the first thing you need to do to change your mind is is, «God, you’re right and I’m wrong». Now what the world is trying to tell us right now is that when you have a feeling, it’s right, 'cause it’s your feeling.
So, where people go off the rails, even in some churches and some Christians, is they say, «No, no, no. For me, this is my truth. This is right. This is okay for me». No, no, no. God is always right. It says, «Let God be true and every man be wrong,» the Bible says. And when you come to the place, you don’t even have to get it right, you just have to tell him he is right. Getting it right is gonna happen. I’m gonna show you how. But even when I don’t understand it, don’t even agree with it, or don’t feel it, if God said it, that’s it, «You’re right, God, and I repent. Make me more like you». That’s what it says. And I’m asking you, don’t fall into the lies of the world right now that’s saying, «Oh no, you can have your own set of truths».
God’s Word is truth, the Bible says. It is true. So we just accept it his way, and I don’t judge it based on how I feel. I don’t trust my feelings. I trust God, and we gotta change my feelings. The whole essence of the Bible is change. That’s what it means. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things are gone. «Behold, all things are made new». I had a girl come up to me, oh man, I think it was last year. It was like summer of last year, and I was standing right here at the front between services, and she kinda ran up, looked mid-20s, and she goes, «Oh, my first time at Highlands today and I absolutely loved it». I said, «Great, that’s awesome». She said, «If I keep coming back, are you gonna try to change me»? I said, «Oh yes, we are, yes». I hope it changes me. I don’t wanna stay the same. I wanna look like Jesus. Come on, everybody, right?
So you repent. I’m gonna tell you what’s gonna happen. This is how you’ll know it’s right, because the second you do, this is gonna happen: «Repent, turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of God». The second you’re gonna do it, you’re gonna feel the sense of clean, pure, made right, 'cause you’ve submitted yourself under the lordship of our God, and it changes us. Then you do that. That’s not the only step you take. That’s just saying, «God, you’re right».
The second thing we do, if you really want to start bearing the fruit of the Spirit and especially the fruit of self-control, because the law doesn’t work. So I can’t tell you, «Look, okay, here’s how you do it. Get a filter on your internet». That’s fine, I’m all for it. But if you still want to do it on the inside, you’re just gonna… now I’m almost setting you up to live this miserable life. No, so what I want you to do is fall in love with Jesus, okay? Because the best defense is a healthy offense. I can tell myself every day, «Don’t commit adultery, Chris. Don’t you look at another woman. Don’t… stop, don’t,» or I can fall in love with Tammy and I don’t want to look at anybody else. I don’t wanna do any of that 'cause I’m so in love with her, okay? The more you’re in love with Jesus, the more you’re gonna «want» to do his commands, not «have to» do his commands. You gotta get this. This is the essence of the gospel. In fact, Jesus himself said, «If you love me, you will obey my commands».
And some people read this the wrong way. Here’s how they read it: «If you love me, prove it. Prove it by doing what I told you to do, and if you don’t do what I told you to do, well then you don’t love me». That’s not what it says. It says, «If you love me, you’ll do what I command». The emphasis is not on the obedience, it’s on the love, because love produces obedience. So I always ask people: what side of the comma are you living on, everybody? Are you over here trying to obey everything? Are you working on your love relationship with God? 'Cause Christianity is easier when you’re in love. Let me show it to you in another place, and this is in the book of Titus.
This was my biggest reveal verse, by the way. I don’t think I’ve ever taught this verse, and what I’m getting ready to tell you, I’ve never saw. That’s the beauty of the Bible. You read it and you go, «Oh, I never saw that». I really never saw this before. Watch what it says. Oh, I just can’t wait to teach it to you. All right, so it says, «For the grace of God,» the grace of God is this extravagant love for you. Grace means it’s what he gave you that you did not deserve, and when anybody gives you something you don’t deserve, you go, «Oh, why did you do that»? And it makes you fall so much in love with them. So this is basically saying, «Be in love with God». Watch this: «For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to every,» knothead on earth, «every one of us,» everybody, all right?
And watch this. So, grace is the noun here. «It,» so it’s talking about grace, «It teaches,» the more you realize what Jesus has done for you, «It teaches,» it’s how he loved me, «teaches me to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live in self-control, upright, godly lives in this present age». What teaches me? No, somebody slapping me, and telling me, and yelling at me on Sundays? No, no, no. It’s when you realize how much Jesus loves you and now you fall in love with him. It like, I don’t want that anymore. I just, I love you so much, I just don’t want that anymore. It teaches me to say «no». It teaches me to say «no». So grace literally is when What I ought to do becomes what I want to do, and that’s what I want for you.
The last thing I want for you is you to go home and say, «I’m gonna try to do what old PC said today in church. I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to do it. I sure don’t wanna do it, but I don’t wanna go to hell or anything. Well, I guess I’ll do it». No, I want you just to fall in love with Jesus. All right, it doesn’t end there though, so we repent, «God, you’re right, I’m wrong». Never call what you’re doing right if God says it’s wrong. Then I’m gonna fall in love with Jesus, and it’s gonna teach me how to say «no». But we also, you gotta realize, those things can ebb and flow. Like, you have to have some way to maintain it, and it comes through this daily lifestyle of a disciple.
So, I don’t know that I can actually help you become any parts of those fruits of the Spirit if you’ve not committed to the lifestyle of a disciple. So, honestly, so you’ll do it maybe for a couple days. You’ll get to Tuesday maybe. But if you don’t commit… are y’all listening to me everybody? Sermons aren’t enough. In fact, it hurts my feelings a little bit, but sermons can’t change your life. They can make you want to change your life. Sundays are catalytic in nature. I come here, and I preach, and your «want to» goes hopefully through the roof, like, «Yeah, I need that in my life». But now it’s up to you to walk it out. Look in my eyes, everybody, every campus. But if you don’t walk it out, I promise you, you won’t get to Tuesday or Wednesday.
So there has to be some lifestyle of a disciple that maintains. 'Cause I gotta wake up on Wednesday morning and go, «Lord, you’re right, I’m wrong, and I love you and worship you. And God, I’m laying down all of my attitudes, my sins, my steps. And for today, God, I wanna live for you. And God, help me today. Give me your stren», I gotta do, and then guess what? That’ll last about 24 hours, and then I need to wake up on Thursday morning, «Lord, God, you’re right, I’m wrong. God, I love you, and I fall in love with you today. I worship you. Thank you for saving me. You didn’t have to do it, but you did. And oh God, I’m still in love with you today. And Lord, I’m just… and God help me for today».
Just say, «To be kind to people, nothing unhealthy out of my mouth. Lord, I’m giving you my mind, my eyes, my ears. God, today, just for», are y’all following me, everybody? Are you gonna be back on Saturday night doing everything… you back to Romans 7. And then you show up here, and it’s same place. So at what point does this end? The lifestyle of a disciple. I’ll show it to you. This is a verse that’s before the fruit of the Spirit. So those are in verses 22 and 23. This is verse 16 of chapter 5. It says, «So I say,» say it out loud, «So I say, walk. Walk by the Spirit,» and if you walk, notice it’s not an event, it’s a journey, «walk by the Spirit,» and if you do, «you will not gratify the desires of your flesh». Some of you need to make this your theme verse. If I walk, if I just have a day, I need to figure out my daily walk. The Greek word for «walk» is «paripateo» in the Greek, and it literally means a continuous regular action, a habitual way of life. I did not make up that definition. That comes straight from the Greek word.
So how do I not gratify the desires of my flesh? How do I not get so angry like I used to? How do I stop from sinning? How can I not want that habit, that addiction, whatever it is, I gotta learn how to walk this thing out. I’ll show it to you in another place just so you can see it: «His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life,» he really has, «through our knowledge of him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may be able to participate in a nature,» that doesn’t look like you, it looks like Jesus. It’s called the, «divine nature, having escaped the corruption of the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add,» so don’t just attend, don’t just have an event, but I gotta add to it. I gotta have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday… are y’all following me, everybody?
«Add to your faith goodness; goodness, knowledge; knowledge, self-control; self-control, perseverance; perseverance, godliness; godliness,» like, I’m working one layer at a time, «For if you possess these qualities,» not on Sunday morning or at a hand raise or… no, no, no, «in an increasing measure». If I do that, «they will keep me from being ineffective and unproductive». I don’t look like the thing I just repented of, and that’s what I want for us. If we’re really gonna get it down to, «Okay, this is more than just a good 'amen' and a ''man, yeah, God, help me with that, Lord. All right, back to money, same old, same old.'» If you really want to change, «God, you’re right, I’m wrong, and I’m gonna love you with all my heart, and it’s gonna teach me how to say no. But God, now I’m gonna commit to a lifestyle of walking it out».
Now I’m gonna fly through these. Y’all know our vision around here is not our vision. It came from God. It’s been in the Bible since the book of Exodus. We just call it. Know God, find freedom, discover your purpose, make a difference. I could show you 14 places, Old Testament and New, this is what God wants for you. But those are principles. Those are labels. Those are titles. I decided today I’m gonna show you very quickly three things you can do under each one of these. So basically, it becomes 12 action steps that if you really wanna be a disciple, I’m asking you to have these in your arsenal. In fact, I’m gonna fly through these. Okay, so under our «Know God», if you really wanna know God, all right, this is just what the Bible says. You first make that relationship with God public. That’s called water baptism.
If you’ve never been water baptized, I promise you, if you take that step of obedience to your discipleship journey, you’re gonna notice that saying «no» to sin is easier. When you ignore what God has commanded us to do, serving God is much harder. So be water baptized. «Well, I didn’t come prepared,» which is why we prepared for you. After every service at every campus today, we have t-shirts, black t-shirts, black shorts, underwear, stuff for your hair. «Yeah, but I had plans to go have brunch after this and my hair’s gonna be wet». Jesus went to the cross. Like, your hair can be a little wet. People like, «My God, why’s your hair wet»? «I obeyed God in baptism today. That’s what I did».
And then you spend time with God every day and then weekly worship in church, I’m gonna commit to maintaining this through weekly worship in church. The average, I don’t think it’s true of us, but the average Christian in America only goes to church twice a month. It’s fine. But why don’t you just commit? Like, I’m gonna be there every time I can be there. By the way, I was watching this documentary on the blue zones. Y’all know what the blue zones are? It was a secular documentary on the seven places of the world where people lived as centenarians, over 100 years old and they’re the healthiest people on earth. Did you know that in all seven zones where they have extended life, in every zone, faith is one of the components that they’ve attributed to their longevity. And they said, not me, that if you attend a faith service every week, four times a month, that it can extend your life expectancy 4 to 14 years, and they have data to prove it.
Now what is that? Why is that? Because when we do commit to not just a decision, but a walk, a paripateo, a habitual lifestyle, you begin to change. So this is all under «Know God». Under «Find Freedom,» that’s the part where we’re gonna work through some things in a group. We’re gonna be honest and transparent. We’re gonna invite the work of the Holy Spirit on the inside of us. Like, «Okay, I’m saved, I’m a Christian, but now Holy Spirit, all right, work in me». And I’m gonna get to a friend and say, «I need somebody else to know». «Man, I keep clicking. I keep spending». «I get mad every time». You need to tell another Christian, not every Christian, just another one. And if you do, that’s the power of groups. You’re gonna start to walk in this.
Under «Discover Purpose,» I mean, you can discover your gifts and passions, you can get on a Dream Team, and then you can just continually, like, I’m not gonna let my Christianity, my growth discipleship journey get stagnant. I’m gonna be a lifelong learner and grower. And by the way, today is step one of the Growth Track. If you’ve never been on it, step onto it today. It’s at 6 o’clock at every location. And it’s where you can hear what it means to be a member of our church. You’re gonna hear a little bit of this all over again. But we talk about what it means to be a member of our church. And then you can, like, commit to a local church. It’s great to attend one.
Look at me, everybody. You need to belong to one. You need a family. You need a family. So that we can do this last step in the spiritual journey, and that is make a difference, make a difference, make a difference. We make a difference by serving God, by serving other people, by giving generously, and sharing our faith, which is what this At the Movies is all about. Watch this. Some of you are, your sin and your self-control issues are gonna be solved just when you start sharing your faith with another believer, because now you know they’re watching you too. It’s true. So, «Jesus, you’re right, I’m wrong. The Word of God is true, and I’m never gonna stop. I’m never gonna stop pursuing what your standard of right is, period, and it’s in the Word of God. And I’m gonna fall in love with you every day, and I’m gonna have this lifestyle of a disciple». And then finally, «I’m gonna guard against going back to my old way of living».
What does that mean? That is you are gonna have to put something in place, and it might be a filter on your internet, and it might be an accountability partner who knows everything you’re going through. So now I’m not even gonna trust me, I’m gonna have to trust somebody else. I’m gonna have to change something. And my question to you today is this, listen to me, just my last thought. I want you to think about this. What would you have to put in place for some of these things to stop? Have you ever thought about that? I mean, do I just need to tell somebody? Do I need accountability? Like, is there something I could put in place?
And I remember not too long ago, I was counseling one of our college students, not Highlands College, but I actually spoke in Tuscaloosa this week, and I’m gonna be in Auburn in a couple weeks and I love being around our college students, and they always ask me about relationships. And this particular girl was actually in a relationship with a guy where they were not living a holy, they weren’t having a holy relationship, and the guy’s not a Christian. So, if she were to hear this and just try to maintain all of this without making a decision about that, well good luck.
And I just said, «You know what? You’re gonna probably, in fact, you’re gonna need to break that relationship up, 'cause you’re not gonna be able to live out these things while you still have some things in your life that need to change. Because every time you make great decisions, they’re pulling you further and further away from God». Are y’all following me, everybody? And I told a guy, I told a man, it was like ten years ago. He had somebody in his office that he was just lusting at. Just, it was a secretary or something. He thought she was so attractive. He said, «PC, I don’t know if I’m gonna handle this». I said, «Move». Like, «What»? «Quit your job and move to another city. I hate it 'cause I wanna be your pastor, but I’d make drastic decisions before I lose my marriage, and my relationship with God, and all that God’s done». Are y’all listening to me, everybody?
I’m not trying to be dramatic. I’m just trying to say at what point do we actually do the reality of this verse? «Since we have the promise,» that you can actually be a person of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, since you have that, «purify yourself,» God did his work, do your work, «from everything that contaminates, perfecting holiness because I love my God». Bow your heads in prayer.
Father, this one’s a tough one. This one steps on the feet, God, but I pray, Lord, that you help every one of us grow and bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, God. So Lord, let healthy conviction take place right now. And I bind every bit of shame, condemnation. Lord, we’re gonna emerge from this service, this message, better, taking steps, 'cause you’re right, and we love you. And we’re gonna live like a disciple, and we’re gonna make some decisions to keep our lives pure before you. Father, I bless the church today.
Heads bowed, eyes closed. It all begins by surrendering your life to Jesus. It all begins by saying, «Lord, you’re right and I repent. I’m gonna give you my life». And if you’re here today and you’re ready to surrender your life to the control of Jesus, there’s a public aspect of that. It happens after the service. It’s called baptism. But the first step happens privately, personally. It’s you and God. And if that’s you today, pray this prayer. Say:
I repent. I’ve changed my mind. I’m changing my direction, and I’m gonna live my life for you. Jesus, be the Lord of my life. Be the Lord. Take control of my life. I surrender my life completely to you because you’re the Son of God. You are the Son of God, and you rose from the dead. And today I put my faith and my life in you. In your name I pray, amen.