Joyce Meyer - The Gift of Self-Control

TOPICS: Spiritual Gifts, Self-Control

Well, thank you, for joining us today on, "Enjoying Everyday Life". Today, I'm gonna be continuing to teach on self-control, which I started yesterday. And I know you are just so happy to hear about this subject. And today, I'm calling the message, "The gift of self control". And you might think, "Well, I don't think it's a gift. I don't like it when I have to control myself". But actually, God has given us a spirit of self-control. And it is a gift. It is a great gift to be able to master yourself. Because if you can master and control yourself, there'll be many other things in your life that you'll also be able to master and control.

2 Timothy 1:7, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear or timidity or cowardice, but he gives us power, love, and self-discipline". We may not use self-control, but we do have it. If you watched the show yesterday, I challenged you to say five times, a day, "I have self-control and I discipline myself". Because you're never going to control yourself, if you don't believe that you can. No matter what God has given us, if we don't believe that we have it, we're not ever gonna make any real use out of it. Stop saying, "I just can't control myself". I don't like to hear people say things like, "If I eat one potato chip, I gotta eat the whole bag". No, you don't. You're full of the Spirit of God. You have power and authority over Satan, and all of his little, demonic forces.

Surely, if you have that kind of power, you cannot let a potato chip run your life. Paul used self-control to assure that he did what he was teaching other people to do. And you know, that's very important to me. I think it should be really important, to anybody, that's teaching the word. I don't wanna teach other people to do things that I'm not doing, myself. And so, it requires discipline and self-control, on my part, to make sure that I'm not being a phony. That I'm authentic. And that what I'm telling you, I'm living out in my own life. And to be honest, I'm really glad that I'm teaching on self-control, today. Because it's gonna help me, just as much as it's gonna help you. There are so many things, in the Word of God, that we need to be reminded of over, and over, and over. And you know, I love what the apostle Paul said, "I never get tired, or it's not irksome to me to tell you the same things over and over".

You know what? We need to hear things again, and again, and again, and again. And I believe that God gives me, when I'm doing my programs, every day, I trust God to give me daily, what people need for that day, and that time in their life. Parents need to do the same thing. You need to live out, in front of your children, what you're telling them to do. If you tell them to do something, and then they see you do the opposite, it's not gonna have any meaning to them. 1 Corinthians 9:25-27, "Everyone who competes in the game goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I don't run like someone running aimlessly: I don't fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body". And he didn't mean that he beats himself up. He's just saying that he takes control over himself, and doesn't just do everything he feels like doing. "And I make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize".

You know, you take something, like, the Olympics. Can you imagine how much training, people do before they ever, even get to the Olympics? And how much they do, in order, to win a medal that they can hang around their neck? And Paul is saying here, these people do all that training to win something that eventually, is gonna perish. But we, as believers in Christ, should be disciplining ourselves, and training ourselves. Because God is gonna give us a crown that will be everlasting. The phony pharisees told other people what to do, but they didn't do it themselves. And Jesus had some very, scathing things to say to them. If there was anything, that Jesus didn't care for, it was a phony. And I've been thinking a lot about authenticity, lately. And I think, we really need to be authentic people. We need to do what we say we believe. Not just say we believe it, and then not do it.

Matthew 23:3 and 4, Jesus said, "So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But don't do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, (loads) cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to help them". The pharisees were really good at acting religious, and telling other people what to do, but then, behind the scenes, they did not do it themselves. Let me say again. If you're going to tell somebody else what to do, make sure you're doing it yourself. "Being a living epistle, read of all men". Paul said to the people, that he was teaching, "You are living epistles, read of all men. You're my letter". It's like people look at your lives, and you're showing them what they should do. 1 Corinthians 6:12, and I love this. Paul said, "Look, I have the right to do anything". You know, we're not under the law anymore. "But everything is not beneficial".

So, to me, this is like a high form of self-control. Because he's saying, "I can do that if I want to, but it's not good for me. So, I'm not going to do it. I have the right to do anything, but I will not be mastered by anything". For example, I can be in so much debt that it's oppressive, or not take care of my health, or gossip, or be selfish. And those are not things that are gonna keep me out of heaven. But they will keep me from having the life that Jesus died to give me. The Bible says in John 10:10 that, "The thief comes only to steal to kill and destroy". But Jesus said, "I came that you might have and enjoy your life, (to the full, until it overflows.)" God wants us to enjoy every day of our life. He wants us to be successful. He wants us to prosper. He wants us to be in good health. God says, "I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you". Plans for your benefit, but there are things that we will need to do, and things we will need not to do, if we actually, want to walk in, what Jesus died to provide us.

I gave the example, yesterday, that you can get a new program for your computer that just has all these amazing things. I can use myself as an example. My computer does all this stuff that I have not taken the time to learn how to operate. And so, therefore, it does me no good. I have it, but I'm not using it. Well, we often do the same thing, in our walk, with God. We have so many things made available to us, but we either don't believe they're available, or we don't know they are, or we won't discipline ourselves, and do what we need to do, in order to have them. Do you know how much your life would change if you would just diligently, regularly, take 30 minutes every day, hopefully, first thing, in the morning, spend some time with God? Pray, which is just talkin' to God. Tell him you love him. Thank him for what he's done in your life. And then, study the Word of God for a half an hour.

If you did that, every day, very diligently, you disciplined yourself to do that, I can guarantee you that a year from now, your life would be so much better than it is, right now. But maybe, you get up in the morning, you're like, "Well, I know, I should, but I just don't feel like it". Well, you have a spirit of self-control. And let me just say, with all sincerity, anyone who lives by their feelings is not going to be successful in life. Before you can master anything else, you have to first master yourself. I can worry and still go to heaven, but it's not gonna help my life here. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul talked about sexual immorality. And boy, there's a lot of that goin' around today. And he said, "Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own: you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies".

Now, you know, sexual lust can be a strong passion. But it's not something that you can't control, because God has given you a spirit of self-control. So, be sure that you don't do things that are dishonoring God. How do people respond to teaching on self-control? Well, even here, in the studio, when I got done with my first teaching yesterday, some of the people went. 'cuz you know, when we hear teaching like that, it's like, we think of so many things that we're gonna need to change, or so many areas, in our life, where we need to have more self-control. Well, you don't need to have more self-control. You've got all the self-control you need. You need to uuuuuse more self-control. And you know what? People probably think, "Well, life is not gonna be any fun at all, if I just have to control myself, all the time". You know what? Your life will be so much better, if you do control yourself. You might not end up having that instantaneous pleasure that you think that you want. But boy, later on, you are gonna have an absolutely, wonderful life.

I've talked about my husband, and how he has diligently, worked out, with weights, for 62 years, of his life. Sixty-two years, that's a lot a diligence. But boy, does he look good! And you know, people just don't believe that he's 81, when he tells people how old he is. He's had people call him a liar, wanna see his driver's license. Well, you know, he's enjoying the fruit of all those years of being diligent, diligent, diligent. The diligent man is the one who will prosper in his life. People respond to teaching on self-control with a. But they really should say, "Oh, man, I'm glad Joyce is teaching on this, today. This is gonna strengthen me, and remind me of the things that I need to do".

Do you know when you hear preaching or teaching on a subject, I believe there's an anointing on that, that will help you do it? If you open your heart, and you take this with a good spirit today, I believe many of you are gonna be able to do things that you were having difficulty with, previously. Whether you need to discipline your eating, or you're spending, or what you're watchin' on TV, or how you take care of your car, or what you say with your mouth, or your thoughts, or whatever it is, you can do it because you have a spirit of self-control. How do people respond to teaching on self-control? Well, felix was asking Paul, to teach him some things. And in Acts 24:25 it says, "As Paul began to talk about righteousness, self-control and the judgment that was to come, felix was afraid and said, 'that's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it is convenient, I will send for you'".

I love that scripture. I mean, it says it so plainly. Felix wanted to hear Paul talk about, I don't know, maybe, how God would bless him, and the favor God would give him, and how God would prosper him, and help him succeed. But when, Paul started talking about the things that would actually, make that happen, then Felix became afraid. You know why he became afraid? He was gonna have to give up some things that he didn't wanna give up. Let me ask you a question. Are you willing to sacrifice now, in order to have a better life later on? Or are you gonna be the kind of person that wants everything instantaneously, and not care about the future? You know, the Bible says in Romans 14:12 that, "We're all gonna stand before God, and give an account of our lives". And you know, once you get to that point, it's too late to go back and start changing things. So, I wanna encourage you to start controlling yourself. Pray, ask God to help you. I'm not saying that you can do any of this just by self-will and self-effort. But God's not gonna do it all for us, without us making any effort, on our part. Start doing the things that, you know, you need to do, now. And later on, you're gonna have a great reward for doing that.

You know, we have a wonderful ministry. But I don't even know how to tell you, how hard we've worked, over the last 45 years, and the things that we've had to go through and stand firm, and be diligent. And I'm not saying it, as a matter of, trying to get somebody to feel sorry for me. I'm just saying that I know what we have now, and I know what we've had to go through to get it. And I wonder how many people had the same, or similar, opportunities, but they gave up, somewhere, along the way. You know, when life gets hard, it's easy to throw the towel in, but that's the time to stand firm. That's the time to be steadfast, and to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Some people don't like teaching on self-control. But people who wanna be spiritually mature, they love this kind of teaching. They don't wanna just have dessert teachings, all the time. They want the meat of the word. They want the stuff that's maybe, not gonna be real easy to do, but they know it's gonna produce great benefits, later on, in life. You know, we call Jesus, "Lord". And I heard this, recently, and I thought it was so good. If Jesus is your Lord, there's two words that never go together, and that's, "No, Lord". If God puts something on your heart to do, or not do, if you say, "No, Lord," then he's not your Lord. Because if Jesus is your Lord, then the only thing you can say is, "Yes, Lord, if that's what you want me to do, I will do that". "If that's what you don't want me to do, then I won't do that".

Felix wanted to put the teaching off on self-control, until later. Don't always wait, until later, to do the hard stuff. Do the hard things early. Do the hard things, the jobs that you have to do, do the hard things early in the morning, get 'em done, get 'em over with, so you don't have to dread them all day. You know, dread is a close relative of fear, and it just drains your energy. It helps you, self-control is a gift. Because it helps you to do, what you don't wanna do. So, you can have, what you say, you want to have. That's a lil' somethin' that God gave me many, many years ago. And I wanna repeat it again. Self-control helps you do, what you don't wanna do, so you can have, what you say, you wanna have, later on. How about one more time? "Self-control helps you do, what you don't wanna do, so you can have, what you say, you wanna have, later on".

You say, "Well, I'd really like to lose 50 pounds". Well, you're not gonna get it, just by praying. You're gonna have to use some control, and be uncomfortable for a while, and be hungry. And it's gonna be chAllenging, when you have to say, "No," to certain things. But later on... If you're in deep debt, and you wanna get out of debt, then you might have to cut up your credit cards. You may have to stay out of the shopping malls for a while. If you can't resist buying things, when you go to the mall, then don't go to the mall. Sometimes, we need to get a little bit tough with ourselves, and we need to say, "I'm gonna take control here, and do the things that I know, that God wants me to do". Don't groan when your pastor, or your Bible teacher says, "I'm gonna teach on self-control, today. Or I'm gonna teach on discipline". Oh, you should clap and cheer, and say, "Oh, I'm so glad, because I need that kind of teaching".

Self-control is very valuable. What did Peter have to say about self-control? 2 Peter 1:3-7, are some very important scriptures, in the word, of God. And really, to digest them properly, you have to take some time with 'em. So, I wanna encourage you, even after this program's over, to get out your Bible, if you don't already have it out, and really take some time, with 2 Peter 1:3-7, and read it over, and over, and study it, and really think about what it's saying. "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him". Wow. I want you to say, right now, "I have everything I need to live a godly life". But see, it comes through the knowledge of him. You have to know you have it, or you won't act on it. And so, here again, we have to use some self-control and discipline, to diligently, and regularly study the Word of God, so we can know what God has given us.

You see, I really want people to live the life that Jesus died, for them to have. I don't wanna spend my life just talking about the things that Jesus did for me. I wanna, actually, live them out, in my life. "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life 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 participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires". Now, listen to this, "For this reason", because God has given us so much, because he has done so much for us, because he has provided such a great life. Now, listen to this, "For this reason, now you make every effort", uh-oh, effort, I gotta do something, "To add to your faith goodness", be good to people, "And knowledge", keep growing in the word, keep studying, "And self-control", uh-oh, there it is, right in the middle of this scripture, "And to self-control, perseverance".

Say, "I'm not gonna quit. I'm not gonna give up. I'm gonna keep doing what's right, until I get a right result in my life". "And to perseverance, Godliness: and to Godliness, mutual affection: and to mutual affection, love". You know, the main theme in the Bible is love. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And you shall love your neighbor even as you love yourself". So, love should be the end goal, of where we wanna come to, in our life. To love people, to love ourselves, because God loves us. And when I say, "Love yourself". I'm just talking about receiving the love of God. "And to love God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength". To love him. Not just use God to try to get what you want. Not just go to God when you're desperate, and you have a desperate prayer, you're in trouble, and you need help. But to love God and to walk with God, and to spend time with him, on a regular basis. And to always have, in the forefront of your mind, wanting to do what you believe that God wants you to do.

"For this reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness: and to goodness, knowledge: and to knowledge, self-control: and to self-control, perseverance: and to perseverance, Godliness: and to Godliness, mutual affection: and to mutual affection, love". Spiritual maturity requires self-control. God doesn't do everything for us. He gives us the ability to do some things. He gives us the grace to do it. And grace is his power, his favor, his ability. I always like to say, we're partners with God. He has a part and we have a part, we cannot do his part, and he will not do our part. God will give you the ability to control yourself. But you still will have to make the effort to do it. And I'm not gonna tell you it's gonna be easy all the time. Matter of fact, I'll tell you that it won't be easy all the time. Especially, today, in our world, people have an entitlement attitude. They want other people to do, for them, what they should be doing, for themselves. And I really wanna encourage you, not to be that kind of person.