La lucha por el dominio propio

The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Therefore, go around the world teaching and preaching the gospel to all creatures, to the end of the earth. En Contacto, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. Today on En Contacto, the struggle for self-dominance. Is there any aspect of your life that you would consider out of control? What about your money management? Is there any lack of control? What about your moral life? Would you say that it is out of control? What about your relationship with other people? Is it out of control? What about the attitude you have towards some people, such as envy? When you think about your life, is there any aspect of it that you would say, well, I think it is out of control. For example, do you drink? And perhaps do you take drugs? Or maybe you bet a little, that's what you say. And what about gossip? What about having a critical spirit? What about being lazy? None of that fits with us. That is why the apostle Paul said to the Galatians, the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. So, when you consider your life, would you say that your life is out of control? Or would you say that certain aspects of your life,

without a doubt, are not out of control? Well, it is a struggle. And that is the title of today's message, the struggle for self-dominance. We all want to have control of our lives. That is why I want to say this. We want to have a relationship with God, a relationship of surrender to Him, to the point that we are not always struggling. Because, look, if things are not going well between you and God, it is like a tug-of-war. God wants us to do good. We want to, but we don't do it, and there is tension, stress, anxiety, and sometimes sadness, lack of peace, lack of joy, lack of everything that Pablo just mentioned. Look, we cannot live a life of disobedience to God and have love, joy, peace, kindness, and everything else. We cannot. You will say, well, I am half happy as I am half, but there is no real happiness, no joy, no peace, no true love, if we do not agree with God about our lives. So, I want us to think about this whole issue of the struggle for self-dominance in our lives, because we have all had a struggle, or we are in the middle of a struggle in the present. So, let us think about this. Would you say that your life is under control? That you have a somewhat healthy attitude about all of this?

The desire to win the acceptance of others. How great is that desire that you have to be accepted by everyone else? The desire to be loved by others. You want to be loved. Look, that is, to have a close relationship. What of the desires to have all kinds of pleasures characterize that? Whatever is fun, whatever makes you feel good, for the moment, that is what you are looking for. And the Apostle Paul lived in a society that was a septic pit of immorality. And Paul knew it. What of the desires for wealth and security? What rank does that have in his list of important things? Wealth and security. What of the desires for achievement and overcoming? Is that desire healthy? Or do you want to overcome others? Do you want to be better? Why others? What about the desire to have notoriety and fame? Look, that's why people commit atrocities like murders. They will have their name and photo on television and in the newspaper, but look how much it cost them. I would say that they have a great desire for happiness. If that's true, what does it do to be happy? What does it do to be happy? What about their desire for personal attraction? Is that bad? No, it isn't. But does it require a lot of their time and their mind?

Do they just want to look good or do they want to look good and better than anyone else? Do they feel that friction if they could just fix their hair like hers? Or if they could just dress like her or like him? What about the desire for control? Do they have the desire to control others? Somehow, they have to be number one. And in their business, they are not number one, but they would like to be, they want to be. Also, for example, a desire for self-acceptance. I just want to accept myself as I am. Neither you nor I will ever be someone else. Think about this. It doesn't matter who you are or how you perceive yourself or what you want to do in your life. You will never be. You will never be like someone else. God created you as you are. Now, whether we distort that by our actions or attitudes, that's another thing. But thinking about all of this, would you say that your life is under control? That you have a somewhat healthy attitude around all of these aspects? Now, let's talk about self-dominance. Self-dominance itself is to think before acting, which many people don't do, to think before acting, and to seriously consider the results that we will have. Would you say that this is true in your life? Your life is under control. Think before acting. It is about the struggle for self-dominance. From verse 19 of chapter 5, Paul prepares us for the fruits of the Spirit

by saying, in verse 19, "...and manifest are the works of the flesh." Now, notice what he says. There are fruits of the Spirit. In other words, what we have just mentioned, the love of the Easterly Father, these attitudes come from the work of the Holy Spirit in us. But notice how he contrasts that in verse 19. "...and manifest are the works of the flesh." Our actions of the flesh, our way of living, which are, and the first three have to do with sexuality. He says, adultery, fornication, immorality, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, quarrels, jealousy, disputes, dissensions, heresies, envy, homicide, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these about which we are honest, as I have already told you before, that those who practice such things

will not inherit the kingdom of God. Pay attention. Perhaps he is sitting here today, or wherever he is, and says, well, I suppose I will not go to heaven because I have done one of those things. The key word in the passage is, I have told you before, that those who practice such things. I will not go into detail about the Greek verb used here, but it means that it is a way of life. It is not that it has not happened in his life, because most likely, when looking at this list, it is that all, to a certain extent, sometimes, we have committed one or all of those. But it is not a practice, nor a way of life. By accepting Christ, none of that fits with who we are. By saying, those who practice such things, it is their way of life. Someone who drinks all the time, it is their way of life. Someone who is always in something sexual, it is their way of life. We can make a list. If that is their way of life, it is given to that, it says that they will not inherit the kingdom of God. We are not saying that someone who does something like this will not go to heaven. But if they have come to the point where they practice them, it is their way of thinking, it is part of their being, it is because they are not saved. They cannot live like this continually, being truly saved. They will say, well, they thought so. No, listen to what it says. Those who practice such things, no, will inherit the kingdom of God.

So those are our actions, but what about the fruit of the Spirit? Let's think about that for a moment and ask a few questions. When thinking about that, consider the society in which we live. Compare the fruit of the Spirit with what surrounds us. And ask yourself, would I consider myself a follower of Christ because of my conduct, what I do, what I see, the places I go to, how I spend my money? In other words, all that you consider important in your life, does it fit with who you are? By accepting Christ as Savior, we turn our backs to sin. It does not mean that we will not sin again, we turn our backs to sin. So our commitment to the Lord is to be obedient and to walk in his ways because we want the fruit of the Spirit in our life, love, joy, peace, benignity, kindness. And we want all these fruits because we will be more satisfied, we will be more secure. We will be able to identify with others in a very different way from how we used to do it. So, seeing your own life these days, would you say that you are walking in the Spirit? And your acquaintances, do they know you as someone who walks in the Spirit? Do you have something different? Or do they see in you that tension, that stress, that anxiety, like a loose tug-of-war, how you break that tension, that stress, and everything else, surrendering to the Lord, giving your life to him, saying, Lord, the way I have lived does not work, I do not want to live like this. I think of those who spend all their lives captivated by some sin, living in slavery in their hearts and minds. Many live and die without ever experiencing the love of God, the kindness, the freedom, the kindness, and the rewards of God. They spend all their lives without ever experiencing that. So, if someone told you, well, in this stage of your life, whatever your age, where would you say you are? Would you say that you are someone who experiences the love of God? Someone who recognizes that he is the source of everything? Would you say that you are someone who loves other people?

Are you glad to see other people be blessed? Are you glad to see that others are saved? Do you love to hear the word of God? Could you say that about yourself? Or would you have to say, I cannot explain it well, but I am very unhappy. I would like to be different. There are things in my life that I would like to eliminate, but there are some things that I cannot let go. Yes, I can. There is nothing in your life that you cannot let go. Whatever sin it is, if you are willing to give your life to Christ and say, my life is a disaster, I ruined it, I have hurt others, I have sinned against you and against myself, I have sinned against those I love most, Lord, can you help me? I give you my life. Will you help him? He will change his life. He will change his life. Lord, I would say that your life is under the control of God. If I may ask you, are you happy? You are not. Are you satisfied with how your life is going? No. You cannot live out of the will of the plan, the purpose of God for your life, and be happy. You cannot. Not the true joy, nor the real peace, nor any of those fruits of the Spirit. That is not in your life. The fruit of the Spirit, not of the flesh. And what concerns me most is how people live and when they see their past, they think, well, why did this happen to me?

Why, why was I not blessed? Was it not because I did not listen to God? If we live in disobedience to God, we will suffer the consequences. That is to say, all of us who say we are followers of Christ, there is no acceptable excuse for us not to try to lead a consecrated life in which the Holy Spirit controls our mind and our actions. When He has control, we think before we act. Our actions follow His purpose, His plan, and His will. for our life. So, what is the key to our self-domination? In this brief biblical passage, Paul gives us an opportunity to examine ourselves to see where we are in our relationship with the Lord. So, self-domination requires that we think before we act. That must be written. Self-domination requires that we think before we act. And the problem is this. People act before they think, and then they complain. So, we have to have a firm desire to obey God. Without a great desire to obey God, we will not lead a consecrated life. We will not overcome almost anything without that firm desire that God empower us. So, we must believe in our hearts that the Holy Spirit who dwells in us will empower us. Let us think about this. Jesus Christ knew everything about temptations, trials, and everything else. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit promised us, He knew how atrocious society was at that time. By accepting Christ as our Savior, the Spirit of God came into our lives to empower us, to live in any society we live in, to overcome all kinds of sins. So, it is not you alone against your environment, but you and the Holy Spirit who have promised to give you what you need to be victorious. You are there with only asking and giving your life. When thinking about this, consider that you have someone to help you overcome this. So, consider these questions very seriously. Think about it for a moment. Before doing anything, ask yourself, how will this affect me spiritually? Secondly, how will this affect me economically? And how will this affect my health? Many people today are where they are physically because they have broken the physical laws that God has given them. Then they wonder why they are where they are. So, it is often a violation of a principle that God has given them. Let us think about it. How will this affect me spiritually, economically, and in my health? How will this affect the way others see me? They will say, when they see him, she is very devoted to the Lord. I can perceive that he is very

dedicated to the Lord. They would never convince him to go to that place. They would never allow that in his life. That is, when thinking about your life, how do others see you? Not perfect. No one is perfect. But they see you, pay attention, they see you as a true believer. They see in you someone who not only says he is a believer, but a person who lives it. Not perfect, but they see the difference in you. So, ask yourself this question, all these questions, and ask yourself, what are the consequences of my actions? Do my colleagues at work see me as someone who has led a Christian life? Do my friends see me as someone who was sincere in this situation today? Do others see me as someone who is very foolish with money? Irresponsible with my moral life? Irresponsible with my attitude? In other words, it is the fruit of the Spirit, evident in our daily lives, every day. Let us think about this for a moment. God has provided the best of Him for us, and look, I have not said it is easy. It is not easy. Sometimes it is difficult to have the best of God, but let me ask you, what is better than the best of God? Nothing. So, when Paul wrote all this letter to Galatians, listen to what he says, for example, he says in the last chapter, do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked, for all that man sows, that shall also be sown. In all these six chapters, he encourages us to live as God pleases, and what does he say? Do not be deceived, that is, do not believe the lie of the devil. In other words, we cannot mock God and say, I do not believe in God and everything else. All that man sows, that shall also be sown, whether he believes it or not. God cannot be mocked, for all that man sows, That too shall come, period. Perhaps he will say, well, I don't think one always harvests what he sows. Then that would be to say that God lied. I will give you another reason to believe it. Look around you. Look at your friends who drink. Look at those who take drugs. Those who live in immorality on a daily basis. Those who deceive if they can, lie if they can, and make fun of it. Pray that kind of life because, look, we can't change God's law. We can't change it, and his law is that we harvest what we sow. Think about this. He has been sowing something all these years.

Now God says that he will reap a harvest. Perhaps something escapes God, no? Perhaps God is sententious, no? The problem is that we listen to what he says, but we don't believe it. For example, if someone told me, I would say something, Pastor, if you go down to here, this will happen. If you do it, your leg will be fractured. It wouldn't be sensible to see those four steps and say, well, I will do it anyway. You know what? That's exactly what people do when they hear the word of God, and then they say, well, I do believe that, but they go out and do the opposite. Now, pay close attention. It is a dangerous thing to listen to the word of God, and then disobey God knowingly and adhering to it. Dangerous. Because what man sows, that he will reap. We reap what we sow more, and after sowing it, we don't like that part. Just because he is not doing badly right now in his life, and he thinks he has gotten away with his sin, it doesn't mean he is not impudent. Tell him why. God loves him a lot to let him get away with his sin. He loves him a lot for that. Besides, he would go against himself. God has chosen the best for those who are ready to listen, to give up, and to walk in his ways. He has the best. Don't look at others or compare yourself to them. God has a plan for your life. He has the best plan for your life. Ask yourself, what am I doing in my life that, pay close attention,

what am I doing in my life that is robbing me of the best of God? What is it? What is it that is robbing you of the best of God? Creating stress, tension, conflict, a weak spot in your life. What is it in your life that you can't let go? What do you want? What do you want in your life and yearn for? But you don't have it. What are you doing in your life that has closed the door to God's blessings? Think about how wonderful and loving God is. And people listen to the truth and believe that there are no consequences. Listen very well. Pay close attention. The devil will hear you say, You don't have to believe all this. You don't have to believe all this. But on this side, God says, You will reap what you sow. The decision is ours. And I tell you, it is dangerous to listen to the Gospel. It is very dangerous to listen to the Gospel and turn it off, leave it, because then we are responsible for knowing the truth, denying the truth, and saying no to God. It is dangerous to listen to the Gospel. And it is wonderful to listen to the Gospel. It depends on how we respond, on how we react. Let us pray, Father, in the name of Jesus. What a critical moment this is. For those who are here, those who listen to us and see, may their eternity depend on their decision at this moment.

My God, may your love move them, may your love surround them and guide them, may your love surround them and guide them. to recognize that you are God, the only true God, Amen. and you have the best possible plan for them from now on. If you are willing to say, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord, in the name of Jesus, amen. Amen.