SUNDAY 20TH DECEMBER 2020. MESSAGE DELIVERED BY Rev. Dr Francis Obed Fornah – Senior Overseer, GRACE Ministries international, Perth Western Australia.  Graceministries2017@gmail.com or info@graceministriesinternational.church THEME: Secrets of Self-Control part (2) and final SCRIPTURES: 2 Timothy 1:7” For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”  Proverbs 16:32 “Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.” INTRODUCTION: Last Sunday we studied about Self-control as one of the Fruits of the Spirit in the book of Galatians. We almost exhausted all the aspects that leads to sin because of lack of self-control. Part 2 and the final message on this topic is to give you more secrets and antidotes on self-control. The Bible warns us that if we do not have self-control, we will be slaves to what controls us. Food, lust, money, our words (Our mouths), we can find ourselves overwhelmed with the consequences of not having self-control in many areas of life. Being self-controlled is the very foundation for living a life of righteousness and selflessness that reflects Jesus and brings glory to God. We have the power to bring sins under control. (Tell your neighbour “Jesus did not come and die for me so that I could live a defeated life)  If you or someone you know is struggling with self-control it's time to get in the Word of God which is the sword of the spirit and allow Scriptures to change your heart and mind. The Bible has power and when you choose to meditate and memorize verses, you will be reminded of the truth in your moment of losing self-control and you will be able to make the right decision. THE MESSAGE The bible tells that having self-control and beginning to take small steps each day to bring your thoughts and actions into line with God's plan for your life will make you to live free and fully alive. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:25 “that Everyone who competes in the games 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.” As I said last Sunday, if the missing piece of puzzle between our knowledge and action is (Jesus). Then it is our responsibility as believers to put on the whole amour of God, as stated in Ephesians 6:10-20. WHAT IS THE SECRET AND FINAL ANTIDOTE TO SELF-CONTROL? Last Sundays, we will look at how to develop self-control and said that the first step: is to:

  • Accept responsibility for your lack of self-control.” (Jn 8:34 NIV). And secondly
  • avoid people lacking self-control. (2 Timothy 3:5).
And finally, today, we are going to talk about the imperishable prize we pay to redeem ourselves from this great monster called lack of self-control. Let us all read (Philippians 3:8) “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”. Notice that Paul doesn’t call their pursuit of reward wrong. Far from it. Paul shamelessly stated that the pursuit of a reward also fuels his self-discipline and should fuel ours. The only difference — and it’s a big one — was that the reward he pursued that was an “imperishable” headdress, which he describes in the scripture above? Gaining Christ through the gospel is gaining all of God and all his promises to his cross that reconciled us for all eternity and losing all sin and all death and all hell and all their accompanying miseries. This was the reward that gave Paul his laser-like focus and fueled his self-discipline. The power for self-discipline does not come from admiring self-discipline. It does not come from wishing we were more self-disciplined. It does not come from making new resolves, plans and schedules for self-discipline (though these helps when the fundamental motivation is right). It certainly does not come from hating our lack of self-discipline and resolving (again) to do better — and this time we mean it. The power for self-discipline comes from the prize we are ready to pay for whatever we really want, the reward we believe will yield us the greatest pleasure. Bad company, associating with the wrong friends, know that what you are doing is wrong and you still do it. Covering your wrong doings with bible scriptures. Pretending to be more church -like than any other person. Are you willing to trade our earthly actions to gain the imperishable prize? I leave that to you to consider. IF YOU NEED PRAYERS TO COMBAT SELF-CONTROL ON ANYTHING THAT IS TAKING YOU CAPTIVE, PLEASE COME FORWARD OR CONTACT US ON 0405125759 OR 0450206636. CONTINUE TO MEDITATE ON THIS AND GOD BLESS YOU