Participants: Magna Parks
Series Code: 13SCM
Program Code: 13SCM000006
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00:31 Oh, we've all been sitting here watching for the little fish
00:35 to jump up out of the water at the end of that 00:37 which is not a staged thing... it was a God thing. 00:41 We just want to welcome all of you from around the world 00:44 to 3ABN's 2013 Spring Camp Meeting. 00:47 Don't you just love Spring Camp Meeting? 00:50 Amen! And are you being blessed? Amen! 00:54 Amen. You know, I love all seasons. 00:57 They all represent something different. 00:59 But I'm the kind of person... I like the snow, 01:02 I like the Fall... I like Spring. 01:05 I like... Summer's probably my... I don't like it too hot. 01:09 But Spring always brings new life. 01:12 And what fun it is to watch as things are blossoming 01:16 and have the little baby birds who are building their nests, 01:19 et cetera. So we're just grateful. We're coming to you 01:22 live from the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church 01:25 or the 3ABN Worship Center I should say. 01:28 And what we have for you now is Dr. Magna Parks. 01:34 Dr. Parks is a precious woman of God. 01:37 She has been... She's taught at Oakwood University 01:43 so she's been in the educational profession. 01:46 She's also had her own practice as a psychologist. 01:50 And then she and her husband began doing health seminars. 01:55 She shut her practice down. 01:58 They began doing health seminars. 02:00 And unfortunately, her husband went to rest with the Lord 02:03 several years ago and Magna is continuing on 02:07 and God is using her. 02:09 Today she's going to talk on a topic that is going to 02:14 put me on the front row taking notes. 02:17 She's going to be talking about self-control. 02:21 And you know, God wants us to lead balanced lives. 02:26 The Bible says He's given us a spirit of self-control. 02:30 And we all need to be aware of that, do we not? 02:34 But before she does, we have our own precious Yvonne Lewis, 02:39 a special friend of mine, who is coming to sing 02:43 a medley of hymns. And the interesting thing is 02:47 she was going to sing something different 02:49 but God impressed her to start with I Need Thee Every Hour. 02:55 And boy, when it comes to self-control 02:58 how can we do it without the Lord's help? Amen? 03:01 So Dr. Yvonne Lewis. Thank you. 03:18 I need Thee every hour, 03:25 most gracious Lord; 03:31 No tender voice like Thine 03:38 can peace 03:41 afford. 03:46 I need Thee, 03:50 O I need Thee! 03:55 Every hour 03:59 I need Thee; 04:02 O bless me now, 04:06 my Savior! 04:09 I come to 04:15 Thee. 04:18 Oh-oh-oh... 04:22 I must tell Jesus 04:26 all of my troubles; 04:32 I cannot bear my burdens 04:38 alone; 04:41 In my distress 04:44 He kindly will help me; 04:50 He ever loves and 04:55 cares for His own. 04:59 I must tell Jesus! 05:04 I must tell Jesus! 05:09 I cannot bear 05:12 my burdens alone; 05:18 Oh no... 05:20 I must tell Jesus! 05:24 I must tell Jesus! 05:29 Jesus can help me, 05:34 Jesus alone. 05:38 Oh, I must tell Jesus! 05:44 I must tell Jesus! 05:49 I cannot bear 05:52 my burdens alone; 05:58 No... 06:00 I must tell Jesus! 06:05 I must tell Jesus! 06:09 Jesus can help me, 06:14 Jesus alone. 06:23 Jesus 06:25 knows all about our troubles, 06:31 He will guide 06:34 when the day is done; 06:39 There's not a friend 06:42 like the lowly Jesus, 06:46 No, not one! 06:50 No, not one! 06:54 Jesus knows all about 06:59 our troubles, 07:02 He will guide 07:05 when the day is done; 07:10 There's not a friend 07:15 like my lowly Jesus, 07:19 No, not one! 07:23 No, not one! 07:30 O bless me now, 07:34 my Savior, 07:42 I come 07:46 to 07:49 You. 07:55 Jesus, 07:58 Lord. 08:05 Amen! 08:13 Good afternoon everyone! 08:14 Good afternoon! 08:16 So good to be here with you at 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting 08:20 2013. Amen? 08:21 Have you been blessed so far? 08:23 Amen! Amen. The few things that I did hear 08:26 I was blessed. Thank you, Yvonne, for that wonderful song. 08:28 And I'm so grateful that she listened to the Holy Spirit 08:31 to change it because we need the Lord every hour, 08:33 don't we? Especially with this topic 08:35 that we're going to talk about. 08:37 You know, I'll share this personal thing. 08:40 C.A. Murray called me probably about 4 or 5 months ago 08:43 and said: "We would like for you to speak at our Spring 08:46 Camp Meeting. " I said: "Are you serious? " 08:50 I've been watching it on 3ABN but I never imagined myself 08:54 coming here to speak. 08:55 But the Lord opened up the door for me to do so. 08:57 Initially I was very nervous. 08:59 I sent him e-mails: "I don't know if I can do this. " 09:01 And he kept encouraging me and I'm here. 09:03 So you pray for me as I speak. Amen? 09:07 And let's pray together one more time. 09:08 Bow with me. 09:10 Father, we thank you so much for who You are 09:13 and for what You seek to do 09:15 through mere vessels such as myself and others. 09:19 And Father, as I stand before Your people I ask for Your 09:21 Holy Spirit to give me wisdom and direction. 09:24 And I pray that You may be with everyone listening 09:26 that they may be able to take one nugget 09:29 from this that will draw them closer to You. 09:31 We thank you for this privilege 09:33 of being able to come before You. 09:34 In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Amen. 09:38 Turn with me in your Bible... 09:39 It will also be on the screen but turn with me to 09:41 I Corinthians 9 verses 25 through 27. 09:47 I Corinthians 9 verses 25 through 27. 09:56 And it reads: 09:58 "And every man that striveth for the mastery 10:02 is temperate... " In how many things? 10:05 "all things. " 10:37 Paul is using the analogy of training and athletics 10:42 to help us understand part of the dynamics of 10:44 the Christian life. 10:46 In particular, he focuses on an ingredient that we're going to, 10:50 ingredient that we're going to talk about today. 10:51 He doesn't say the word but when he talks about 10:54 running, not as uncertainly, 10:57 fighting, keeping his body under subjection 11:01 what is he talking about here? 11:03 Self-control. 11:05 I believe when Paul came up with this through the Holy Spirit 11:09 he thought about not only what we need to do in terms 11:11 of gaining eternal life 11:13 but Paul was also looking at 11:16 what we can do as we live on this earth. 11:20 Amen? Amen. 11:21 And self-control is very important. 11:24 Now I believe if I went through this audience and talked to 11:27 each one of you you could tell me one area 11:29 that you have problems with self-control in. 11:31 I myself am speaking to you about this 11:33 but there are areas in which I have self-control issues 11:35 so each time I preach this I'm also preaching to myself. 11:38 We live in a world today that tells us: "If you want it, 11:42 get it. " Things about resisting unhealthy desires, 11:46 emotions, habits... that's not encouraged 11:48 and the idea of self-control is foreign to many people. 11:52 We sometimes desire it but rarely are we successful 11:55 with it. God in His Word admonishes us 12:00 about self-control. The word self-control is not 12:03 used in the Bible but God admonishes us in different ways. 12:06 Let's look at some examples. 12:08 In Proverbs 25:28- you could read it with me: 12:21 When you can't rule your emotions, 12:24 when you can't rule your thoughts, your spirit, 12:27 it's like you have no defense. 12:29 Lack of self-control. 12:31 Another verse that we often talk about: 12:33 the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. 12:36 "But the fruit of the Spirit is... " 12:52 Some people use the word temperance and self-control 12:54 synonymously. They're a little different 12:56 but they're kind of the same. 12:58 We're told by the servant of the Lord that temperance is 13:00 abstaining from things that are harmful and using judiciously 13:04 those things that are good for us: self-control. 13:07 Now interestingly when you look at this verse 13:09 if you go through the verse before - 13:11 the words of the flesh - they all show a lack of self-control. 13:15 Adultery, fornication, idolatry, wrath, strife, 13:20 murder and drunkenness. 13:22 All of these works of the flesh show a lack of self-control. 13:27 So God wants us to have that control. 13:29 And then in Titus 2... I'm not going to read all the verses... 13:31 but in Titus when Titus gives the admonition 13:34 to the different age groups and to the different genders 13:37 you know that verse. He talks to aged men; 13:39 he talks to aged women; 13:41 young men; young women. 13:43 You remember that verse? 13:44 We won't take the time to look at it today. 13:46 But if you look at that verse there's a word that he 13:49 constantly uses for his admonition to each group 13:51 and that's the word sober. 13:53 He wants them to be sober... each group. 13:56 Now in order to be sober... 13:58 Sober refers to clear thinking. 14:00 And in order to exercise self-control 14:03 we must be thinkers. Amen? Amen. 14:07 Our desires, our urges, our tendencies must be approached 14:12 with careful, rational, clear thinking. 14:16 So when Titus is giving this admonition 14:19 he's saying: "Older men: I want you to be sober. 14:23 I want you to exercise self-control. " 14:25 "Young men: I want you to do the same: be sober. " 14:27 Young women... older women. He doesn't leave anybody out 14:31 when he talks about the idea of sobering themselves 14:34 and exercising clear thinking. 14:37 Now if we look at the Bible... and I wish we had time. 14:39 We could look at the biographies of many people in the Bible 14:43 and see that most of them, sadly, did not exercise 14:46 self-control. Amen? There's a few that did... 14:50 I'm just going to mention a few. 14:51 Esau. Remember Esau came in from working, was very hungry? 14:55 He exercised a lack of self-control 14:59 when he said to I believe it was Jacob 15:02 he said: "Please give me that pot of lentils. 15:05 I will do anything. I'll give up these blessings 15:07 for you to give me the pot of lentils. " 15:08 Example of a lack of self-control. 15:10 Another person who showed some self-control and who's one of my 15:13 favorite characters of the Bible is Joseph. 15:16 When Potiphar's wife came at him he fled. 15:19 One of the best ways to deal with self-control is to flee. 15:22 And he was successful with this. 15:25 Now Moses' biography is interesting. 15:27 Remember when Moses was ruling in Egypt 15:29 and he saw the Egyptian man doing something to the 15:32 Hebrew slave? He showed a lack of self-control 15:35 because he instantly went out and killed that man, didn't he? 15:38 Then he was sent for 40 years in the wilderness 15:41 to learn you need to control yourself 15:43 because you're going to be dealing with some hard-headed 15:46 people. And then for 40 years he dealt with Israel 15:49 and showed a lot of control 15:51 until the very end when he struck that rock 15:55 instead of speaking to it. 15:57 So Moses had an up-and-down history. 15:59 But God is so merciful. In spite of that 16:01 He still took him to heaven. 16:02 That's the merciful God that we serve. 16:05 And then with David... the history with Bathsheba 16:09 surely showing a lack of self-control. 16:12 Then we have Samson, the strongest man in the world 16:15 but also the weakest. 16:17 He showed a lack of self- control in choosing women. 16:20 He showed a lack of self-control... I believe 16:22 there was a riddle that he gave them to solve one day. 16:24 He thought that he was going to trip them up 16:26 and they deceived his mate at that time 16:28 and they were able to get the answer. Remember? 16:31 And what did he do? He killed several animals 16:34 and did several things showing his lack of self-control 16:38 so he could get the gifts... the garments that he offered 16:39 to them. And Daniel - another favorite of my characters - 16:43 purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. 16:46 And I could go on and on about the different characters 16:49 in the Bible but you get the idea. 16:51 Many of them suffered and struggled with self-control. 16:54 But we can also look through history. 16:57 Alexander the Great conquered all these nations 17:00 but I believe if history tells me correctly 17:02 he died in a drunken stupor. 17:03 Lack of self-control. 17:06 And then we have, coming up to more contemporary times, 17:09 we hear of leaders falling because of different problems 17:13 with affairs. We hear of people having problems with drinking. 17:16 We can go on and on with history. 17:18 And then when we come closer to home 17:20 and look at our own lives, 17:22 some of us have problems with appetite. 17:24 Some of us have problems with this thing that I'm using 17:27 right now... the tongue. 17:29 Some of us have problems controlling our emotions. 17:32 The list goes on and on. 17:34 Self-control is a real issue. 17:36 And there are three main areas that are prominent for looking 17:39 at self-control. I'm going to just look at one today. 17:42 The main areas are behaviors and activities, 17:45 our words and our speaking. 17:49 There's also emotions. 17:51 But today I'll be focusing more on behavior and activities. 17:55 Now there was a study done by the Barner Group. 17:58 Have you ever heard of the Barner Group? 18:00 They're a group of people that conduct research 18:02 with a lot of Christians in the United States 18:05 and they studied the favorite sins and temptations 18:09 that people admit to in the USA. 18:12 I have the chart, but I wasn't able to show that. 18:14 Some of the sins that people admitted to 18:17 was eating too much. 18:19 Spending too much money. 18:21 Gossiping. 18:23 Feeling jealous. 18:25 Viewing porn. 18:27 Engaging in a sexually inappropriate behavior. 18:31 Lying; cheating. 18:33 You know, the interesting thing: the worse the temptation 18:36 got the fewer people admitted to that. 18:39 It's hard for us to admit to what we're having problems with. 18:42 And then they asked the respondents 18:45 "How do you resist temptation? " 18:47 "What do you do when temptation comes your way? " 18:49 And it was just interesting. 18% of those who responded said 18:54 that they pray. 12% said that they use 18:59 reason and reminders. 19:01 10% said they "Just say no! " 19:05 Do you remember Nancy Reagan having that campaign? 19:09 If you kept up to it you find out the campaign didn't really 19:12 work, did it? People became more aware of drug use 19:16 but it did not affect or decrease people using drugs. 19:20 3% used will power 19:24 which sometimes is also used synonymously with self-control. 19:27 And 1%... I thought it was cute... they said 19:30 they just go to bed. 19:31 That's how they resist. 19:33 OK. So there are different ways that we deal with 19:38 self-control. Now, psychologists have 19:41 become very interested in this area. You know, 19:44 the thing that I like about how God has led me... 19:47 I used to be in practice, and many of the things I did 19:50 in practice the Lord impressed me that some of those things 19:53 are not Biblical. I still believe in counseling 19:56 but we have to use God's methods. Amen? 19:58 But what I'm getting excited about 20:00 as I look at research I'm seeing that the rocks are crying out 20:03 and many of the things that God told us thousands of years ago 20:07 science is starting to show. 20:09 And psychologists have become interested in this whole area of 20:12 will power. Some of them use the word "regulation. " 20:15 Some of them use the word "self-control. " 20:17 But they are becoming interested in this. 20:19 And I'm going to share some of that with you today 20:21 if you don't mind. I am a teacher more than a preacher. 20:23 OK? So I'm going to share some of what I found out. 20:26 There was a study done way back in the 1960's 20:30 with several pre-schoolers by Dr. Walter Mischel. 20:33 And this is what he did. 20:35 He presented them with the choice of eating one marshmallow 20:39 now or two marshmallows 15... Some of you are shaking 20:44 your head... you probably heard of the study. 20:45 Fifteen minutes later. 20:47 So he said to the pre-schoolers: 20:48 "If you eat this one marshmallow you will only get one right now, 20:51 but if you wait I'll give you two. " 20:53 And it was interesting what he found because he followed 20:56 these people for decades later. 20:58 Look at what he found... you will see with me on the screen. 21:01 The ones who waited for 15 minutes: 21:06 they had better relationships. 21:10 I don't know if I'm reading it in the right order here 21:11 but it's up there. 21:26 That one little test of waiting for 15 minutes 21:30 determined how successful they were in life later on. 21:33 Psychologists have done research and they found two major things 21:37 that help people do well in life: 21:39 one is intelligence and one is self-control. 21:42 Which one do you think they found is the most important 21:44 of those two? Self-control! 21:47 When I read the research I said to myself: 21:49 this is why we see some very smart people 21:53 not doing well in life. 21:55 They lack self-discipline and they lack self-control. 21:58 It used to baffle me. I'd see people not doing well 22:00 and I said: "But he's so smart. " 22:02 "But she's so smart. " And then when I started to 22:04 study this I recognized the reason for many of them 22:07 is they did not learn how to be disciplined. 22:10 They have not learned how to control themselves. 22:12 And when they look at students they find that students 22:16 who exercise self-control do better in school. Why? 22:21 They are more likely to show up for class on time, 22:24 they are more likely to start their homework earlier, 22:27 and they are more likely instead of wanting to go and 22:30 hang out with their friends 22:32 they are going to do what they need to do for class. 22:35 All about self-control. 22:38 You all are seeing... Are you getting the picture 22:39 of how important self-control is? 22:41 Now Dr. Baumeister, he's a psychologist, 22:45 and he studied this topic for about ten years. 22:48 And he came up with some key ingredients 22:51 that if you're writing I want you to write these down. 22:53 You can use for yourself or share with other people 22:56 about ways that you can increase self-control. 23:01 One of the things he found - and it will ring familiar 23:04 with you as you think of Biblical principles - 23:07 he found that to develop self-control you have to have 23:10 a long-range focus instead of a here-and-now focus. 23:16 You all following that? 23:19 If you know I would like to be a doctor, 23:22 I would like to be a lawyer, 23:24 a flight attendant, or whatever you would like to be, 23:27 and you keep that in your mind 23:31 you will be more likely to exercise self-control. 23:35 Do you see any analogies for the Christian walk? 23:38 If we live recognizing there's an eternal world, 23:42 there's an eternity, there's a time when we can live with God 23:45 and the things I'm doing now will either help me towards 23:48 that long-term goal or it will take away. 23:51 But if I just live for here-and-now, 23:53 I'm not going to exercise self-control as much. 23:56 That's one thing that Dr. Baumeister found 23:58 and he is not a Christian. This is just pure science. 24:02 Another thing he found that I thought was kind of Biblical: 24:06 he said: "Develop a self-forgetful attitude. " 24:12 Develop a self-forgetful attitude. 24:16 Distract yourself from your own desires and difficulties. 24:21 Remember that experiment I talked about earlier 24:24 with the young people... the pre-schoolers? 24:25 The pre-schoolers who waited... you know what they did? 24:28 The marshmallow was right in front of them 24:29 but the one who waited for 15 minutes 24:31 they looked around the room. 24:33 They sang hmm-hmm-hmm. 24:35 They looked away, covered their eyes from the marshmallows. 24:38 These were children... but we as adults need to do 24:40 the same thing when we are dealing with things that we're 24:42 struggling with. 24:43 It can't be just about focusing on that particular thing 24:47 you want or that you want to say or do. 24:49 You have to have a self-forgetful attitude. 24:54 Being too self-focused gets us in trouble a lot 24:56 brothers and sisters. I know I can say that 24:58 for myself... I don't know about you. 25:00 A third thing that he found was 25:03 to have what is known as a pre-commitment strategy. 25:08 You have to commit yourself about what you are going to do 25:12 especially when you know you're going to get into situations 25:15 where that temptation will be real for you. 25:18 That's what Daniel did: he purposed in his heart 25:20 that he would not defile himself with the king's meat. 25:23 He made that pre-commitment. 25:25 There's a story told about Henry Stanley. 25:28 I'm sure you've heard about David Livingstone. 25:30 David Livingstone went to Africa, 25:32 wanted to stop the slave trade and do some other things. 25:34 And for years no one heard from David Livingstone. 25:37 And Henry Stanley took a group of men 25:40 and he resolved that he was going to find David Livingstone. 25:44 Now during the time that he was looking 25:46 they ran across many things. 25:48 They ran across people getting sick and dying from malaria. 25:52 They ran across people who escaped from being killed. 25:56 People were just dying and getting sick 25:58 but nothing happened to Henry Stanley. 26:01 I shouldn't say nothing happened... 26:03 I should say he kept going. 26:04 And I'd like to read what he says. 26:06 He took a solemn oath and he says: 26:10 "While the least of hope remains in me I will not be tempted 26:16 to break the resolution I have vowed: 26:19 never to give up the search until I find Livingstone 26:24 alive... no matter what happens. " He wrote this 26:27 in his diary. And do you know Henry Stanley ended up 26:30 finding David Livingstone? 26:32 He made a pre-commitment strategy. 26:36 Brothers and sisters, we need to be making some strategies. 26:38 Lord, I'm struggling in this area 26:41 but by Your help I am committed 26:43 that I am going to address this in this way. 26:45 You may fail sometimes... that's OK. 26:47 But keep making those pre-commitment strategies. 26:50 Another thing that Dr. Baumeister and his 26:53 researchers found was: make your resolutions 26:56 in front of another person. 26:59 And that person has to mean something to you. 27:02 The research shows that when we make a resolution 27:05 in front of another person... "You know, I have this problem 27:07 in this area and I am committed to doing something 27:11 about this. " That person also becomes what we call 27:14 an accountability partner. Have you heard of that? 27:16 Very helpful in dealing with issues 27:19 that you're struggling with. 27:21 Another thing that he said was 27:24 set up clear rules 27:27 for whatever tempts you. 27:31 Set up clear rules for whatever tempts you. 27:35 It's interesting what he says... and I have to read this. 27:37 He says: "If you are a smoker or a drinker... " 27:41 And this can be applied in any case 27:42 but I'm just using these two examples. 27:44 "Promising yourself to drink or smoke moderately 27:49 is not good enough. 27:51 This is a fuzzy boundary where there is no obvious point 27:55 at which you go from moderate to excess. " 27:57 He says you have to set a clear line: zero tolerance. 28:03 You can't say: "I'm struggling with sweets. 28:06 I'm just going to eat one sweet today 28:09 and one tomorrow. " Until you get the victory over that 28:12 you have to set a clear line - no sweets - 28:15 until I get the victory over that. 28:17 You all following me? 28:18 A no has to be a clear line. 28:21 And Romans tells us this. Actually, Paul tells us this 28:24 in Romans: "Make no provisions for the flesh 28:27 to fulfill the lusts thereof. " 28:29 Many are the times we make provision for the flesh. 28:32 You've heard of the story with Johnny. 28:33 You've heard of the story with Johnny? 28:35 Johnny's mother said: "Johnny, do not 28:37 go swimming in the pool. " 28:39 Right? One day she came home... Johnny came home wet. 28:42 And the mother said: "Johnny, what did you do? " 28:44 "Well, I brought my bathing suit in case I wanted to swim. " 28:48 He made provision for the flesh. 28:50 We're laughing but we do that in our own lives sometimes. 28:53 We have to set that clear rule. 28:56 Now this next step is the last one I'm going to mention. 28:58 There are many others. I'm going to talk about 29:01 a few others things after that but he says: 29:03 "Become more consistent... " 29:07 Now realize this is a secular psychologist. 29:09 He's looking at the research. 29:11 "Become more consistent with religious activities. " 29:15 I thought that was so interesting. 29:17 Studies show that for the most part 29:21 religious people - when you compare them to non-religious 29:24 people... This is not saying religious people don't struggle 29:26 with self control... But when you compare them with 29:29 non-religious people they tend to exercise more self-control 29:32 and there are several reasons for this. 29:34 For one, religion - the research shows - 29:38 builds the power to resist. 29:40 They studied children who go to Sunday School 29:43 and this was interesting. 29:44 Children who devoutly attend Sunday School - 29:48 and we can add Sabbath School - 29:50 they score higher on tests of self-discipline. 29:54 They also found that religious devout children 29:58 tend to be less impulsive. 30:02 Religion also improves the monitoring behavior. 30:06 Not only are we thinking 30:07 "There's a God who's watching us" 30:09 but being in a religious group also keeps us alert for 30:12 in case we see such and such, Sister Such and Such, 30:14 at the store, you know? It gives us a group that 30:18 kind of monitors our behavior. 30:21 And people tend to exercise less self-control 30:25 when they feel that no one is watching. 30:29 And so the idea of having... The fact that there might 30:33 be a God or supernatural being paying attention to what you do. 30:36 Now you have to have that in perspective, because 30:38 some of us grow up with this idea that God is checking off 30:40 every time we do wrong. I'm not saying that. 30:42 But understanding that He's watching and that there are 30:45 things He requires of us and doing it out of love 30:47 because it's with love that we obey God the best. 30:50 Another thing they found with religious people 30:53 is that prayer helps. 30:55 Again remember, these are secular psychologists. 30:58 Prayer helps because it forces people 31:02 to interrupt their daily activities in order to pray. 31:08 So when you have that habit of interrupting your daily 31:11 activities to pray that develops some self-control with you. 31:15 And interesting... I heard a pastor talking one day. 31:18 I think it was Richard O'Ffill. 31:20 He met a woman who he had known for a while 31:22 and he noticed that she lost weight. 31:23 And so he said to her: "What did you do? " 31:25 And she said: "I prayed. " 31:27 And at first it didn't make sense to him, 31:29 but he said: "I'm going to go home and I'm going to 31:31 you know pray myself. " And he found as he prayed 31:34 his self-control increased. 31:36 He started to do more things in different areas. 31:39 So prayer is very important. 31:41 And when neuroscientists observe people praying 31:45 or meditating, they see strong activity 31:48 in parts of the brain that is also important for self-control. 31:53 Isn't that interesting? 31:54 When they measure the brain and you pray 31:56 activities are going on in that area of the brain 31:59 that also helps you with self-control. 32:01 So praying is really something. And one psychologist, 32:03 Dr. McCullough, says: Prayer and meditation 32:07 are a kind of workout for self-control. " 32:10 See, psychologists can't run any more from the importance 32:13 of religion. When I was going through graduate school 32:15 religion was poo-pooed. That was 20-something years ago. 32:18 You know, "Oh, Magna, you're a religious person. 32:20 Bless your heart. " But now psychologists can no longer 32:22 run from that because the research is screaming 32:25 that we have to look at religion. 32:27 Now this was really interesting. 32:29 The study showed that the reason that you attend church 32:34 can also affect your self-control. 32:37 If you go to church because you want to have a good time, 32:41 if you go to church because you want to see your friends, 32:45 versus going to church because of a relationship with God 32:49 the studies show you will have less self-control. 32:54 Isn't that interesting? 32:55 The reason for which you do these activities, 32:58 the reason for which you attend church, 33:00 can have an impact on how well you can control 33:03 your different things that you're struggling with. 33:06 And the studies go on and on. 33:08 They showed... They also looked at glucose levels 33:11 and they found that people who are struggling with 33:15 hypoglycemia or their sugar levels are always high 33:18 they have a problem with self-control too. 33:19 Actually they did a study with prisoners and they monitored 33:22 their glucose levels. And the prisoners who had the lower 33:25 glucose levels, they were less likely 33:27 to come back into the prison. 33:29 It's so interesting, and all of this is related to self-control. 33:31 Now we are talking about religion, and the servant 33:34 of the Lord way before the psychologists started to 33:37 find out about the importance of religion in self-control 33:39 she said something - and you'll see it on the screen - about 33:42 religion. She says: 33:54 I thought it was interesting that she just didn't say 33:56 "religion teaches self-control. " Right? 33:59 She says: "True religion teaches self-control. " 34:03 I have another one that she has... you'll see on the screen. 34:05 In Desire of Ages she says: 34:20 Now I've talked about all these strategies. 34:22 I've talked about pre-commitment strategy. 34:25 I've talked about setting clear boundaries, 34:28 you know, and talked about other things. 34:30 But brothers and sisters, this is only the human part 34:34 of self-control. 34:35 True self-control only comes 34:38 when God's Spirit reigns within us. 34:42 That's what Galatians 5:22 says. 34:44 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, 34:47 temperance... " When God's Spirit dwells within 34:50 that's when we get the true self-control. 34:52 And this is true because when you look at... 34:54 You've heard of different people exercising self-control 34:57 and doing these powerful feats like somebody stayed in an 35:00 ice place for so many hours and did all these things. 35:03 But when you look at their lives 35:05 they lack self-control in other areas 35:08 because that spiritual piece is missing. 35:11 So even though I shared all of these things 35:13 I want you to understand that in the long run 35:16 unless we look to God 35:18 we will not have that true self-control. 35:22 That's why the Bible says 35:23 "I can do... " How many things? All things. 35:26 "through Christ which strengtheneth... " us. 35:29 I can resist that piece of cake. 35:32 I can not talk about people as much as I do. 35:36 Whatever problem you have 35:38 you can do it all through Christ which strengtheneth you. 35:40 I don't know why I keep talking about cake. 35:41 Maybe that's a problem for me, I don't know. 35:43 But that's the only example I keep thinking of. 35:45 And then Philippians 2:12 says: 35:47 "For it is... " who who works in you? 35:49 "God who worketh in you both to will and to do 35:54 of His good pleasure. " 35:55 So God has to be within us in order for us to really 35:59 have that true self-control. 36:01 And then we are told by the servant of the Lord again, 36:03 she says: 36:05 "The will power is to be under God's control. " 36:10 I read somewhere where someone said 36:13 the writer pointed out that regarding self-control 36:16 there's a difference between godly self-control 36:19 and worldly self-control. 36:21 All of these things that I just gave you 36:23 earlier, the different tips for self-control? 36:26 If you do that, you will have worldly self-control 36:29 and that can make you successful in life. 36:31 But we want self-control that will not only help me 36:34 resist cake, do well in school, 36:37 adjust well, but we want that self-control 36:40 that will glorify who? God. 36:42 And that's what we have to keep in mind as Christians 36:44 as we're striving for the self-control. 36:46 "Father, I don't want to glorify me. 36:48 I don't want to glorify Magna; I want to glorify You. 36:51 And so I want to put away these things 36:53 because I want to be a better witness for You. " 36:56 And that's what we must ever keep in mind. 36:57 Now the most... Sometimes we feel really overwhelmed 37:03 with this thing about self-control. 37:04 But God can be... He can be there for us 37:07 and He can help us if we will yield to Him. 37:11 Listen to this quote as you read it on the screen: 37:51 I'm talking about will power and self-control today, 37:53 but there's a slight difference between the will 37:55 and will power. The will has to do with making a decision. 38:00 Some of us have problems with making a decision. 38:02 Have you ever met people like that? 38:05 They also too might have problems with self-control. 38:08 But God wants us to make decisions and not waffle. 38:12 And He says here that if we keep that decision-making 38:15 power He's given to us on His side 38:18 He will help us in the area of overcoming those things 38:22 that tempt us. 38:24 Now who was the ultimate model of self-control 38:27 that we know that's ever lived on this earth? 38:29 Jesus Christ... the ultimate model of self-control 38:34 throughout His life. Can you imagine being brought 38:38 before rulers, being spit on the face, 38:43 torn... clothes torn off 38:45 and just standing there and doing nothing? 38:47 Talk about self-control! 38:49 Especially when You have the power to call angels 38:53 to Your side and just demolish these people. 38:56 Ultimate model of self-control. 38:58 And throughout His life He was mistreated 39:00 but He showed self-control. 39:02 Especially in the wilderness He came and overcame 39:07 in appetite and pride of life in various areas. 39:10 He did what our... He took over where our father Adam 39:14 failed, especially in the area of appetite we are told. 39:17 And one of the keys to the self-control that Christ 39:21 exemplified was the fact that the glory of His Father 39:25 was more important than what He desired 39:28 or than what He wanted. 39:31 The glory of the Father was more important 39:34 than what He desired and what He wanted. 39:37 Oh, I long to get to that point, don't you? 39:40 Where all the decisions you make 39:42 you're seeking to glorify God more than self. 39:44 This is not something that will come overnight, brothers 39:46 and sisters. Every single day you have to make that decision: 39:50 "Am I glorifying God or am I glorifying self? " 39:53 In everything that we do. 39:55 Listen to this quote... you'll see it on the screen: 40:21 I tried to imagine what kind of self-control that is 40:24 that's stronger than hunger and death, 40:25 and my mind couldn't really wrap around it. 40:28 But I believe these words because they're inspired. 40:31 That He endured... or He exercised a self-control 40:36 that is stronger than hunger or death. 40:40 And He did it on our behalf. 40:42 Self-control is at the root of so many of our difficulties. 40:45 There are people who come and smile 40:48 and you see them happy but in the deep dark recesses 40:52 of the night or behind close doors some people are 40:55 struggling with some things. 40:57 Some of you might be sitting out right today 40:59 in the audience... some of you may be listening, 41:01 you're struggling... I pray that something that I shared today - 41:05 one thing - you can start working on and asking God 41:08 to help you develop more control in your life. 41:12 He can do that. Do you believe that? Amen! 41:15 If you're sitting today, I want you to just think to yourself 41:17 and make that pre-commitment in your heart even now. 41:20 "Father, this is an area I want to give to You 41:23 because I'm struggling with it and I believe that You can 41:26 give me the power to overcome. " 41:27 Make that commitment in your heart today. 41:29 Even as I talk, each one of us have an area that we have to 41:33 work on. It may be our emotions I mentioned earlier. 41:35 For some it may be our diet. 41:37 Lunch is right after this. As you go through the line 41:40 self-control. 41:43 Some of us it may be our thoughts. 41:45 I've gotta be honest: one of my problems is words. 41:48 Sometimes I speak before I think. 41:51 And you know, you can hurt people. 41:53 Self-control with your words. 41:56 Even... I mentioned our thoughts. 41:58 There are certain habits that we have to get rid of. 42:00 It might be different areas 42:02 but all of us are dealing with things. 42:04 Be not discouraged, though, for Christ said 42:06 "I have overcome the... " What? 42:08 The world. "the world. " We can be overcomers as well. 42:11 The Word of God tells us: "Submit yourselves therefore 42:16 to God, resist the devil and he will... " Do what? 42:19 "flee. Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you. " 42:24 James tells us that in chapter 4 verses 7 and 8. 42:27 We must make that determination in our hearts 42:31 and ask God to give us the strength that we need. 42:34 Do you believe God can give you the strength that you need? 42:37 Amen. Bow with me as we just close. 42:39 I'm ending a little early but just bow with me 42:41 'cause I want to pray for anybody here who's struggling 42:43 with self-control including myself. Bow with me. 42:46 Father, you know Your people. 42:49 They're precious people who are sitting before me today, 42:52 who are listening out in the world of television, 42:56 who are struggling with things... 42:58 habits that they want to overcome, Father, 43:00 desires that they're struggling with. 43:03 words that they need to get control of, 43:05 emotions, appetite. You know what those things are. 43:08 Lord, I plead for each person today 43:11 that they may make a commitment in their heart, 43:14 make that resolution, find someone that they can work with 43:17 to overcome the areas that they struggle with. 43:21 Father, we believe that all things through You are possible 43:24 and we believe that when we ask this You will do it for us. 43:27 So I present my people before You 43:29 and I thank you for what You've given us in Your Word 43:32 to overcome. And may we believe Your promises 43:34 and trust that when we submit ourselves 43:36 the devil will flee from us. 43:38 Be with our precious people today 43:40 and thank you for this time to share. 43:41 In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. 43:44 God be with each of you. 43:46 Thank you, Magda. 43:49 Self-control... how do we develop self-control? 43:53 By the grace of God. 43:56 It is only by God's grace that we can. 43:58 And when you think about it 44:00 what are the three most important gifts of grace 44:03 that God has ever given to mankind? 44:06 "For God so loved the world He gave 44:09 His only begotten Son 44:11 that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish 44:14 but have everlasting life. " 44:15 And do you realize that is God's greatest gift of grace? 44:19 Who is the second greatest gift of grace? 44:23 The one that Jesus said "Go and wait 44:27 until the Father... wait in Jerusalem until the Father 44:31 pours out the promise from on high. " 44:33 The Holy Spirit living in our hearts 44:37 is God's second greatest gift of grace. 44:40 And what is the third greatest gift that God has ever given 44:44 to mankind? He gave us all of this Word by inspiration. 44:50 And when we think of grace, 44:52 grace is Jesus living in our hearts through faith. 44:57 Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit. 45:00 This is how God works in us to will and to do His 45:03 good pleasure. Grace is this Word planted in our hearts 45:07 that has the power to save our souls. 45:10 And boy I'll tell you to make no provision for the flesh. 45:14 You know what our flesh is? 45:15 You know why Jesus isn't back here yet? 45:18 Because our flesh is self-seeking. 45:21 Self-seeking. What is our destiny? 45:24 Romans 8:29 says our destiny is to become 45:28 like Jesus. And what God is waiting for 45:34 is for us to open our hearts to Him. 45:38 And Romans 5:5 says He will shed abroad 45:41 His love into our hearts by the power of His Holy Spirit. 45:47 And as that love... See, we only love by grace. 45:51 As God gives us that gift of love 45:55 guess what? Instead of self-seeking 45:59 we become self-sacrificing. 46:03 And think about this for just a minute: 46:07 the Holy Spirit... God is holy; God is love. 46:12 The Holy Spirit is not just the spirit of holiness 46:16 He is the spirit of love. 46:18 And when the spirit of love is in us 46:22 as God sheds His love abroad into our hearts 46:25 we will learn to keep those two greatest commandments 46:28 as Mark 20:30-31 says. 46:31 We will learn and be empowered. 46:34 Beyond learning we will be empowered 46:36 to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, 46:39 soul, mind, and strength. 46:41 And what is the second most important commandment? 46:44 To love our neighbor as ourself. 46:47 See, self-control is... We're going to take this 46:51 a step further... 46:53 is to overcome our self-seeking nature. 46:58 We can only do it by God's gifts of grace. 47:02 We can only do it as the Lord works in us 47:07 to will and to do His good pleasure. 47:12 And you know, this is two different steps. 47:17 God first works in us to line up our will with His. 47:23 But as He changes our desires 47:26 He doesn't necessarily - or He never, actually - 47:31 forces us to do. 47:34 I'm going to tell a story on myself. 47:36 When I first started watching 3ABN 47:39 I was ill at the time. 47:42 And have you ever noticed when you get sick 47:44 how you want to exercise? 47:46 Anybody else? When I get sick it's like 47:49 "Oh I can't wait to get well 47:51 so I can get out there and really start exercising. " 47:54 But then guess what happens when you get well. 47:56 You get busy and you forget about that strong desire. 48:01 You forget about the privilege of taking care of your body 48:04 that way. So it was funny 'cause I would watch 48:07 Dick Nunez on Body and Spirit. 48:10 I'd sit there; I'd just really discovered 3ABN 48:12 and I'm like: "Ah, boy, yeah, that looks good. 48:14 I need to do that exercise when I get well. " 48:17 Then when I got well guess what I found a few times? 48:20 That I'm sitting there and I'm watching Dick Nunez 48:21 and I'm thinking: "Yeah, God's giving me a desire 48:24 to exercise. " He was working in me to line up 48:29 my will. But see, it says that He works in us "to will 48:35 and to do His good pleasure. " 48:38 So what happens? First He changes our will 48:42 lining up our will with His. 48:44 We have to take that first step of action. 48:51 And when we do the power of the Holy Spirit 48:55 shows up: you take that step of faith. 48:58 The power of the Holy Spirit shows up 49:01 and God works in us to do. 49:05 I want you to open your Bibles to I Thessalonians 49:09 if you will, please. I Thessalonians. 49:13 I'm going to share what has become... there's certain 49:18 scriptures in my life that kind of have become a banner 49:22 over the ministry that God has given to me. 49:26 And Magna was talking about how amazing it is. 49:30 She didn't think she would be here at 3ABN 49:33 to be actually on 3ABN. 49:35 She's watched Camp Meeting for so many years. 49:37 I have to tell you: it's just constantly 49:42 I think: "Lord, who am I 49:45 that You would give me this opportunity? " 49:47 "Who am I? " I've had the privilege, 49:51 the blessing, to minister on seven different continents. 49:55 I was nobody living in the little town of Coleman, Texas, 49:59 and God just raised me up in a ministry 50:03 and He just thrust me out here. 50:06 And it just astonishes me. 50:08 Do you have any idea how humbling it is 50:10 to speak on behalf of the Lord? 50:12 Because if what you're saying brings life, 50:17 who gets all the glory? 50:18 God gets all the glory! 50:20 If what you're saying doesn't bring life, 50:23 it's because you aren't surrendered to God. 50:27 So at first the banner over my ministry 50:31 was Psalm 138 verse 2. 50:32 That God exalts His name and His Word above all things 50:36 and He magnifies His name even above His Word. 50:39 But now - although that's still extremely important to me - 50:43 this scripture more than any other has become 50:48 a passion for me and I want to share it with you. 50:51 Let's look at it. 50:53 It's I Thessalonians 3. We're going to begin 50:56 with verse 12. Paul... I love how 51:00 the pastoral heart that Paul had 51:05 for the people and he says in I Thessalonians 3:12. 51:09 He's always praying and telling them how he's praying for them. 51:14 And here he says: 51:16 Ah, "May the Lord make you increase and abound. " 51:22 Let's stop there. Who's going to do this work 51:24 that Paul's about to tell them? 51:26 The Lord. "May the Lord make you 51:30 increase and abound in love. " 51:36 Paul's saying: "Oh, may God 51:40 increase and give you the ability, 51:44 empower you to increase and abound in love 51:48 to one another and to all 51:51 just as we do to you. " 51:53 Now, Paul's getting ready to tell them 51:57 why this is so important. 52:01 "So that... " he says in verse 13 52:05 May God do this action "so that... " 52:08 for the purpose of... 52:13 "so that He may establish your hearts 52:18 blameless in holiness before our God 52:23 and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 52:26 with all of His saints. " 52:28 Do you see what Paul is saying here? 52:32 Paul is saying that as we grow in love 52:38 we will grow in holiness. 52:41 Remember we talked about that this morning. 52:44 Holiness and sanctification are synonymous. 52:47 They're one in the same. It simply means to be set apart 52:51 for the purposes of God. 52:53 To be set apart from sin. 52:56 See, self-control will only come 53:00 when we surrender control of our lives to the Lord. 53:05 Let Him be in control and just say: "Father, 53:08 fill my heart with the spirit 53:13 of holiness - Your Holy Spirit - 53:17 who is also the spirit of love. " 53:21 "Cause me to increase and abound in love 53:25 that I may increase and abound in holiness. " 53:30 Everything that God teaches us, 53:36 everything that God gives us 53:37 including His Ten Commandments - 53:40 are all about love. 53:42 Did you know that the Ten Commandments... 53:46 If you read the original Hebrew, it is written 53:50 in a future tense. 53:54 It is written... It can be seen as a double negative 53:57 or as a promise. God was saying to His people... 54:01 How do the Ten Commandments begin? 54:03 "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt. " 54:09 He is saying: "I am your Deliverer. 54:11 I am drawing you close to Me 54:16 so that we may have a relationship. 54:19 And because we are in this relationship 54:23 I promise you these things: 54:27 You will have no other gods before Me. 54:30 You will not bow down to idols. 54:33 You will not take My name in vain. 54:35 You won't be able to wait till Sabbath comes 54:39 that we can spend this time together. 54:41 You will honor your mother and your father. 54:44 You will not commit murder. 54:47 You'll not commit adultery. 54:49 You will not steal. 54:51 You will not bear false testimony. 54:54 You're not going to covet. 54:56 Why? Because being in relationship with Me 55:01 is what it's all about. 55:03 These are the things I am going to do for you. 55:08 These are the things I am doing for you. " 55:12 So as we grow in love 55:16 for God, we will keep His commandments. 55:20 Amen? We will be just like Jesus. 55:24 The self-control will come when we say: "Oh Lord, 55:30 I want to do everything that pleases You. " 55:32 "I want to be like Jesus 55:36 who was the epitome of self-sacrificing love. " 55:42 "I'm not going to put my desires above what You have asked me 55:46 to do, Lord. I'm going to seek to please You 55:51 by the power of Your Holy Spirit. 55:54 And guess what else? 55:56 I'm going by Your power to learn to be self-sacrificing 56:02 toward others. That self-sacrificing love 56:05 that will do for others. " May I share this with you? 56:11 That's what God is waiting for. 56:14 God is waiting for a people who will open their heart 56:19 to Him, allow the Holy Spirit to pour out 56:23 the very nature of Christ 56:26 which is self-sacrificing love. 56:30 He is waiting for us to say: "OK, I'm going to give all this 56:35 self-seeking up. Lord, pour out Your Spirit 56:39 in me. Let me become like Jesus. " 56:41 Someone asked me: "How do you know if you're filled with 56:44 the Holy Spirit? " Let me tell you something: 56:47 you can find and point out people who are filled with the 56:51 Holy Spirit because they become so loving. 56:57 So what God is waiting for 57:00 is for a people to stand up and develop this love. 57:05 And when we do I guarantee you there won't be an empty seat 57:10 in the churches because we will be out 57:13 loving others... loving them into the truth. 57:17 Not banging them over the head with the Bible 57:20 or Sr. White quotes to prove... 57:22 you know, with all of our proof texts. 57:24 But we will be loving them and God will draw them 57:29 with His everlasting cords of love. |
Revised 2014-12-17