Sermon Notes for July 24, 2005

Sermon Series

Experiencing The Fruit Of The Spirit

In The Local Church

“Are You Out Of Control?”

Acts 24:22-26

Dear Dr. Dobson:

A few months ago, I was making several phone calls in the family room where my three-year-old daughter, Adrianne, and my five-month-old son, Nathan, were playing quietly. Nathan loves Adrianne, who has been learning how to mother him gently since the time of his birth. I suddenly realized that the children were no longer in view. Panic-stricken, I quickly hung up the phone and went looking for the pieces. Down the hall and around the corner, I found the children playing cheerfully in Adrianne’s bedroom.

Relieved and upset, I shouted, “Adrianne, you know you are not allowed to carry Nathan! He is too little and you could hurt him if he fell!”

Startled, she answered, “I didn’t, Mommy.”

Knowing he couldn’t crawl, I suspiciously demanded, “Well, then, how did he get all the way into your room?”

Confident of my approval for her obedience, she said with a smile, “I rolled him!”

He is still alive and they are still best friends.

Sincerely,

Introduction

The CONSTANT STRUGGLE For Self-Control.
Religion places a high value on self-control.
Buddhism - “Though one should conquer a million men on the battlefield, yet he, indeed, is the noblest victor who has conquered himself.”
Islam - “The strong man is not the good wrestler; the strong man is only he who controls himself when he is angry.”
Confucianism - “Attack the evil that is within yourself; do not attack the evil that is in others.”
Judaism - “Man makes a harness for his beast; all the more should he make one for the beast within himself, his evil desire.”
CAN ANYONE TRULY HAVE SELF CONTROL?
if people and every religion has been searching for self-control for thousands of years
WHAT CHANCE DO I HAVE TO ACHIEVE IT?
The CHRISTIAN’S STRUGGLE For Self-Control.
We continue our study of the fruit of the Spirit as found in Galatians 5:22-23 focusing on self-control today – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Yes, it is a universal struggle for self-control for Christians as well.
But . . . Christians have the solution for self-control as we shall see today.

Our text is focused on the Apostle Paul:
where he has the opportunity to speak directly about self-control to another person
ironically, he is speaking about self-control as he shares his faith with a non-believer

I. The CIRCUMSTANCES Of Paul’s Imprisonment.

Paul’s Attempt To SPEAK TO THE JEWS.
The Apostle Paul was in Jerusalem to preach the gospel to anyone who would hear him.
The Jews became very concerned about Paul’s being there and began to create a riot to distract him.
Roman soldiers came in to break up the crowd
and began to haul Paul off to jail thinking that he was a notorious Egyptian terrorist (see Acts 21:37-29)
As Paul was being dragged away by the soldiers, he asked to speak to the Jewish crowd.
he began to speak to them in Aramaic – the language of the Jewish people
and they listened until Paul said that he had come to bring the gospel to the Gentiles
upon saying that, the crowd went wild and the soldiers had to take Paul off for his protection
The Jews Attempt To KILL PAUL.
The next day, Paul was taken before the Jewish ruling body, the Sanhedrin.
during their discussion about Paul, the meeting became so heated that the Roman soldiers took Paul back to the prison
Paul was now in “protective custody”
However, these Jews who wanted Paul dead, vowed to kill him.
more than 40 men made a vow and even said that they would not eat until Paul was killed
what is interesting is that Paul’s own nephew actually heard about the plot to kill Paul
uon hearing of the plot from Paul’s nephew to kill Paul, the Romans decided to move Paul from Jerusalem to Caesarea.

Acts 23:22-23 - The commander dismissed the young man and
cautioned him, "Don't tell anyone that you have reported this to me."
Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, "Get ready a
detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two
hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.”

II. The CONVERSATION Of Paul In Prison.

Paul’s TRIAL Before Felix.
The past of Felix.

a. Paul would be taken to Caesarea where he would appear before the
Governor of Judea, Felix

b. Felix had a very interesting past

1. he was actually born a slave and became the only Roman slave
to ever become a Governor of Rome

2. Felix’s brother, Pallas, was a favorite of Emperor Nero, which
helped Felix become a free man

3. Felix had been Governor of Judea some 5 years

The politics of Felix.
Felix was known as being a crafty, corrupt politician
the Roman historian Tacitus described Felix as “a master of cruelty and lust who exercised the power of a king with the spirit of a slave”
The problems of Felix.
Felix was married to Drusilla

1. Drusilla was Felix’s third wife

2. Felix was Drusilla’s second husband

3. while both had been married to someone else, Felix and
Drusilla had an affair

4. Drusilla was barely 20 at the time. Kent Hughes said of
Drusilla: “Unusually beautiful, her ambition and lust
equaled that of her new husband.”

both Felix and Drusilla were power-hungry politicians who would do anything to get what they wanted

1. they knew nothing about self-control

2. in fact, it was a word that was the very opposite of who they
were in their personal lives

Paul’s TESTIMONY Before Felix.
Felix brings Paul in to hear his story.
Paul made a defense
and then Felix dismissed Paul back to a cell
However, because Felix knew about the Christian movement he sent for Paul for a private audience.
here Paul has a decision to make

1. will he take this opportunity to speak to a non-believer about
the gospel?

2. or will he spend more time defending himself before Felix

3. whatever Paul says, he realizes that he is standing before the
man who can free him from his prison

so . . . what does Paul do?

1. PAUL DOES NOT BACK DOWN!

2. Paul uses the opportunity to share the clear gospel to Felix and
Drusilla

a. and, as we will see, it was not only clear but convicting
as well!

b. much like another Godly preacher who faced a similar
situation as Paul – the 16th Century English reformer,
HUGH LATIMER

c. Hugh Latimer, the English Reformer, and Chaplain
of King Henry VIII on one occasion offended the king
with his boldness. So he was commanded to preach the
following weekend and make an apology. On the next
Sunday, after reading the text, he addressed himself as
he began to preach:

“Hugh Latimer, dost thou know before whom thou art this day to speak? To the high and mighty monarch, the king’s most excellent majesty, who can take away thy life if thou offendest; therefore, take heed that thou speakest not a word that may displease; but then consider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou comest; upon whose message thou art sent? Even by the great and mighty God! Who is all-present, and who beholdeth all thy ways, and is able to cast thy soul in hell! Therefore, take care that thou deliverest thy message faithfully.”

He then gave Henry VIII the same sermon he had
preached the week before with even more energy!

3. notice what Paul tells them as they meet privately

III. The CONTENT Of Paul’s Conversation In Prison.

The POINTS OF CONVICTION For Felix And Drusilla.

Vs. 25a As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come.”

FIRST, Paul talked to them about their spiritual POSITION before God – righteousness.
KNOWING that Felix and Drusilla would not be able to stand before a holy God, Paul talked FIRST of a person’s need to be righteous before a holy God
NO ONE can simply walk into God’s presence on their own merit. God is holy and we are not!
this is the way that Paul evangelized and this should be the way that we should evangelize

1. Paul is making the clear point to Felix and Drusilla THAT,
compared to the perfection and holiness of God, THEY ARE
NOT RIGHTEOUS!

2. this is how we can use The Ten Commandments to make the
same point as Paul did to Felix and Drusilla

a. the demands of The Ten Commandments

1. ask a non-believer if they think of themselves as
a good person – they will say that they are good

2. then ask them what they think of God: i.e. He is
holy, perfect, etc.

3. then ask them if they have kept God’s Ten

Commandments

a. Third Commandment – “Do not take the
name of the Lord thy God in vain.”
Have they ever taken God’s name in
vain?

b. Fifth Commandment – “Honor your
father and mother.” Have they ever
disobeyed their parents?

c. Eighth Commandment – “Do not steal.”
Have they ever stolen ANYTHING?

d. Ninth Commandment – “Do not bear
false witness.” Have they ever talked
negatively behind the back of another?

e. Tenth Commandment – “Do not covet.”
Have they ever wanted what someone
else had?

b. the dilemma of The Ten Commandments

1. NO NON-BELIEVER, IF HE IS HONEST,
CAN ANSWER YES TO ANY OF THESE
QUESTIONS – AND THIS IS ONLY HALF
OF THE COMMANDMENTS!

2. one of the purposes of The Ten Commandments
is to use them with non-believers to show them
how unrighteous they truly are!

3. THIS IS EXACTLY what Paul did with Felix
and Drusilla and obviously, they fell far short

SECOND, Paul talked to them about their personal PROBLEM with God – self-control.
why in the world does Paul speak to Felix and Drusilla about self-control here?

1. why doesn’t Paul speak to them about the holiness and
sovereignty of God, how God created the world or about the
truth of Scripture?

2. BECAUSE, if a person is not saved, born-again, resting on the
righteousness of Christ, you will see it in a person’s lack of
self-control

a. the typical non-believer’s life is spent saying:

1. “I can’t believe that I just did that.”

2. “I will never do that again.”

3. “I have got to get control of my life.”

4. “I can’t say no to anything.”

b. Felix and Drusilla’s lives were the illustration of
unbelievers; they lived on feelings, lust and power
and couldn’t get enough of it

c. Paul knew EXACTLY what he was asking!

1. Paul went from the theological – about God’s
righteousness – something they could not
really understand

2. to the practical – to something that they clearly
understood – their own lives being OUT OF
CONTROL!

what do we need to understand about self-control?

1. Biblical self-control is not human self-discipline

a. self-discipline is the work and effort that we each
express when we:

1. say no to chocolate

2. try to lose weight

3. take your foot off of the accelerator

4. self-discipline is something that we do for and to
ourselves

5. notice that you cannot self-discipline yourself
into spirituality

a. you cannot “discipline yourself” to be
holy

b. you cannot “tell yourself” to love others

c. you cannot “stop yourself” from being
bitter with another person for wronging
you

d. this is commonly seen in Alcoholics
Anonymous – a “dry drunk”

1. a dry drunk is not drinking . . .

2. only because he is self-disciplined

3. BUT HE WANTS A DRINK
AND WOULD TAKE IT IF HE
COULD!

2. Biblical self-control is about God’s help with self-control

a. first of all, look at the Greek words used here – to
make up one word – self-control

1. en – in, inside of

2. kratos

a. strength, power

b. dominion

3. these two Greek words together mean:

a. inner strength

b. this speaks of the inner strength
provided by the Holy Spirit WHO
ENABLES YOU TO HAVE
CONTROL IN YOUR LIFE!

1. David Sustan – “A spiritual
person is not so much a person
possessing a strong spiritual
character as he is a person filled
with the Holy Spirit.”

2. Phillip Keller – A Gardner Looks At the Fruit Of The Spirit– This so called “self-control” is not the wordling’s concept of being a stoic. It is not being a stern spartan. The picture here is not the grim, rigid idea of setting the jaw, steeling the will to endure life with cold cynicism. It is not a case of “grin and bear it.” Self-control for God’s person does not imply that with severe self-discipline I can control my conduct.

No, no, no! The Answer does not lie there.

Self-control for the Christian means that my ‘self,” my whole person, my whole being, body, soul, spirit comes under the control of Christ. It means that I am an individual governed by God. My entire life, every aspect of it – whether spiritual, moral or physical – has become subject to the sovereignty of God’s Spirit. I am a “man under authority.” The running of my affairs, my attitudes, my actions is a right which has been relinquished and turned over to God’s Gracious Spirit.”

b. two – notice that self-control is a FRUIT OF
THE SPIRIT

1. not a fruit of “your spirit”

2. but a fruit of the Holy Spirit

3. so . . . A PERSON CANNOT HAVE
THIS KIND OF SPIRITUAL SELF
CONTROL WITHOUT THE HELP OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT INSIDE OF THEM!

4. a most beautiful example of this was seen
in the book and movie – “Lord of the
Rings”

a. for those who don’t know, J.R.R.
Tolkein wrote the fantasy about a
ring – that represented, in my
opinion, sin

b. a young, small hobbit by the
name of Frodo, was given this
ring to take it to a hellish place
called Mordor to destory it

c. as Frodo kept the ring, the ring
began to consume him, so that he
could not control it

d. look at the conversation between
Frodo, and his spiritual leader
Gandalf:

“If you had warned me,” said Frodo, “or even sent me a message, I would have done away with it.”

“Would you? . . . Try! Said Gandalf. “Try now!”

Frodo drew the Ring out of his pocket, again, and looked at it . . . He had intended to fling it from him into the very hottest part of the fire. But he found now that he could not do so, without great struggle. He weighed the Ring in his hand, hesitating, and forcing himself to remember all that Gandalf had told him; and then with an effort of will he made a movement, as if to cast it away – but he found that he had put it back in his pocket.

Gandalf laughed grimly. “You see? Already you cannot easily let it go, nor will to damage it. And I could not ‘make’ you – except by force.”

Paul knew that Felix and Drusilla WERE NOT ABLE to control their passions – another evidence that they were spiritually lost

THIRD, Paul talked to them about their personal PUNISHMENT – the judgment to come.
just as Felix and Drusilla are getting over the fact that:

1. they are not righteous before God

2. and their lives are spiritually indicating that by a lack of self-
control

3. Paul delivers the “knockout blow” there is more disturbing
news – THERE WILL BE A JUDGEMENT DAY TO
DEAL WITH AND YOUR UNRIGHTEOUS LACK OF
SELF-CONTROL!!

we must realize that our lack of righteousness and self control is not just: being unspiritual or “sinning a little bit”

1. THIS LACK OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND SELF
CONTROL WILL ONE DAY BE JUDGED BY A HOLY
GOD!

2. Paul was saying . . . “Felix and Drusilla, you will one day have
to pay eternally for your actions and deeds!”

3. THIS IS THE COMPLETE GOSPEL!

a. and it’s not all spice and sugar

b. Paul’s message to Felix and Drusilla bear ETERNAL
CONSEQUENCES!

The PAIN OF CONFUSION For Felix And Drusilla.

Vs. 25 - As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come,
Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it
convenient, I will send for you."

As a result of Paul’s presentation of the gospel, they were terrorized.
the Greek word is emphobos – from where we get phobia
they were wide-eyed and frightened to death
BUT . . . despite the truth of Paul and their terror . . . they tarried.
they dismissed Paul and told him they might call him back later
notice what eventually happened to Felix and Drusilla:

1. some two years after this conversation, Felix ordered his
soldiers to put down a riot in Caesarea