Shalom and welcome to the last episode in this series, where we have been looking into the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians chapter 5 and we've reached the last fruit of the Spirit which is self-control. Looking deeper into how we can live out these fruit. As we have reiterated again and again, the fruit of the Spirit is only a result, a consequence of the Holy Spirit being in us or dwelling within us. Self-control or it's called as temperance in some versions is the ability to control oneself. It has moderation in it, involves constraint, it has the ability also to say no to our desires and fleshly lusts, it can involve discipline, restraint and also the ability to govern oneself in different aspects of life including our emotions or our impulses. Proverbs chapter 25, verse 28 reads, ‘a person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken down walls.’ The fruit of self-control is emphasized throughout the Bible for living a righteous and a godly life. It is seen as a characteristic of maturity, allowing people to resist temptation, making wise choices and really pursuing the will of God. All of us as believers need self-control because the outside world and our internal forces are in continuous attack. Like a vulnerable city, we must have defenses. A wall around an ancient city was designed to keep out the enemy. The sentries at the gates generally do not allow people in and those soldiers and the gates are those who that enforce that decision. So, similarly we are to have self-control. So, how do we live out the fruit of this of the Spirit? Self-control helps us to resist temptation and avoiding conforming to the things of this world. It guides our decisions and it shows how we can have other fruit in our lives. When we display self-control, we are responding rather than reacting to situations. When we react to a situation, we let our emotions take control, we are more likely to become defensive and say hurtful things. Responding involves developing a thoughtful response that is guided by reason more than emotions. So, when we use self-control, we respond rather than react and it is also a way to restrain ourselves in how we conduct ourselves, maybe in what we eat or how we speak or our actions or our behavior or how we spend money or our lifestyles. These are some of the ways that we can show out, live out the fruit of the Spirit. We see that Jesus Christ was the greatest and the perfect example of self-control because He lived a sinless life and possessed every fruit of the Spirit. Jesus demonstrated self-control because He was sent to the earth to carry out His Father's will. He lived a perfect life so that He could show us an example. Let's pray together, Heavenly Father, we pray and ask for your Spirit to work in us, especially in this fruit of self-control. There are many areas in our lives that we need to manifest this fruit. We pray that you will empower us, you will help us, you will spear us through, resisting temptations, urges, desires that are not in accordance to you. Thank you for your grace, may we live by the power of the Holy Spirit all the days of our life, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

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