Mike is handing out an outline here. This is actually the first of two messages. As I put this together, I realized that it was not going to happen in an hour or less. Let me start just by reading the one verse that's really gonna be the central verse that we're gonna study today. So turn to 1 Corinthians 6, if you will. I find an interesting verse in verse 12 that was going to be the central verse, but I'm going to need to give some context and talk about some other things before I get there. But it says there, all things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. So that's my central verse, and I'm titling this, What is Lawful and Who is in Control? And it comes from that verse. There's a similar verse in this that talks about Edify. I'll get to that in a minute. So, I want to give a brief introduction before I read the full passage that I want to cover. And before I even talk about that, I'll just remind you that it was Paul who started this church in Corinth. And while he was away, later on, there were various problems that developed in this very early and young church. And so the Holy Spirit led Paul to write a letter to address the problems. And the first one he deals with is a problem of division that had developed in the church. So early on in the first chapter it says, you remember this, I am of Apollos, I am of Paul, et cetera. And so there was this division. He was addressing that in the first chapter and a half or so. But this division also led to other problems as to who has the source of wisdom? Where does the source of wisdom come from? And so they needed direction to discern between worldly wisdom and wisdom that was the wisdom of Christ. And how do you find wisdom when they had this division? So chapters one through four cover those two main issues. And then in chapter five, he deals with a very serious behavioral problem within the church and the lack of discipline. And then we come to chapter six. And in the beginning of this chapter, he talks about the specific issue at hand, which is lawsuits being brought against one another within the membership to the Roman court. And in the first eight verses of 1 Corinthians 6, Paul actually poses eight separate questions. And by questioning the Corinthians in the way he does, he's hoping to help them clearly see that they should be ashamed as believers for going to secular courts to deal with matters of dispute that were coming up between them, rather than going to elders or others within the church. He opens with this rebuke, dare any of you Now that, today we'd say how dare you in today's language. He reproves them and gives them direction that when there is a conflict of some sort, it should be settled within the kingdom of God. And we learn in these first eight verses, I'm not going to read the first eight verses, but we read in the first, learn in the first eight verses that it would be better if you can't get a matter straight between fellow believers to allow yourself to suffer wrong, to be defrauded rather than to sue another brother in the court of law. Then in verse 7 he wants to consider that whatever they're hoping to gain by going to court to sue a brother, they're going to actually encounter a greater loss. So the word fault if you read verse 7, now therefore there's utterly a fault among you. And that fault really means in Greek a loss. There's a loss among you. So he's saying there may be a great thing that you might gain in your own mind by suing somebody, but you're going to lose something greater than that. So it's better to take the loss of an earthly thing, a worldly temporal thing, than to bring shame upon the church of Jesus Christ. It's better to suffer the loss of earthly things than to suffer the loss of heaven. So that's the first part of, to give us a context of where we are and when we come up to where I want to speak. In verse 9 he warns them not to be deceived either by false teachers or ill examples of unbelievers or even believers. Even in their own hearts they might be deceived. in their own opinions may be wrong. And he's trying to point that out in verse 9. So this is the context we find ourselves. And I want to begin by reading verse 9. We see that believers are not to be like unbelievers anymore. That's where we start here. And we shouldn't be suing each other and we shouldn't do anything else that is you see in other matters in a court of law or any other matters among unbelievers, that you see in a lot of the Corinthians. They seemed to imagine that their religious knowledge and their Christian-like conversation was enough, would suffice them to open heaven to them. But it was unbecoming of them because they were not distinguishing themselves from the unsaved by their behavior. They were acting a lot like the unsaved, and that's why Paul writes this letter. Now one thing I want to say before we get into this, you hear all this kind of warnings in verse 9. Paul isn't saying that believers who occasionally stumble in these things or intermittently commit the sins that we're going to read about, he's not saying that they're not saved or they could lose their salvation. He's really saying if your life is characterized by these things, then you probably weren't saved in the first place. So that's just, I just want to give that introduction so we know where we are in the whole letter. We're right in the middle of this letter. So, verse 9. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but you are washed, you are sanctified, you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God. And then we come to the verse I've already read, all things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought unto the power of any. So verse nine again, Paul makes it very clear, and for not only the church in Corinth, but us today, that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. And in so many churches today, that's not really brought out. They don't distinguish between unrighteous and righteous. They have no call to repentance, no call to follow any kind of moral standard or laws given to us in God's word. And there are many professing believers that believe we are no longer bound to any code of ethics. but we're released into liberty to do anything. But Paul calls this deception, be not deceived. If we think we can do anything simply because we think we're part of God's kingdom, then we're deceived. So it makes it clear that we have to abide within limits of what is lawful. And clearly you see the list. There's explicit unlawful things that he's listing in verse 9 and 10. And the specific ones that he lists are really representations of others like them. For example, for fornicators represents sins of sensuality. Idolatry covers a variety of things that can replace God. Not just physical man-made objects, but things like entertainment of various sorts, money, possessions, even family. Then the word revilers is another example. It's a representative sin of not controlling our tongue. So the specific list that you see, it represents a bigger whole of things that are unlawful, clearly outside the boundaries of Christian liberty. So he's pointing out there's a great danger in thinking lightly of those sins and we should seek to depart from those things because we're not washed, sanctified, justified. And in verse 10 he tells those in Corinth that they are now considered pure inwardly, that's justification. We should grow more and more into a state of holiness, there's sanctification. And our worldly affections are purged and our desires get a course correction. And that course correction is where we begin to control things that once controlled us. That's really where I'm getting at with the central part of my message. So we come to this. What does Paul mean when he says, all things are lawful unto me? I had that question years ago. What does he mean? How can all things be lawful when he just went through this list? Does he really mean that everything is permissible? The Greek word really means permissible. All things are permissible to me. Well, obviously he can't mean that. He just went through this list and he condemned all these things. There's other lists. Both Ephesians 5 and Galatians 5 also have a list of things that are clearly unlawful. So he clearly is not saying that everything is permissible, even though it sounds like it. So what does he mean? I think there are three main possibilities. Two are very similar, so I hope you can discern the difference. The first is he means that the former things that were forbidden, basically the ceremonial law that forbid certain things is now abolished and now they're lawful. And we have liberty in Christ to do those. And Paul actually said those very words. Let's turn to Romans 14. I want to touch on this a little bit. Because this Romans 14 passage bears both the first and second possible explanations of what this means. Let's start in verse 14, I think. I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus there is nothing unclean of itself. Well, there he is saying it. But to him that steameth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. Let not then your good be evil spoken of, for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. And he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things that make for peace and things wherewith one may edify one another. For meat destroyeth not the work of God, and here it is, all things indeed are pure. but it is an evil for that man who eateth with offense. So he's saying there that things that were formerly forbidden are now okay to use because Christ has done away with the moral law. Or I mean not the moral law, the ceremonial law. So the first explanation is what he's saying is he's instructing them to say these things are lawful that used to be forbidden. That's one possibility. And there's some support to that because later on in this very passage he's talking about meat for the belly and belly for the meats. Very similar to what we just read in Romans. So I think there's some weight to that explanation. But there's another one, a lot of commentators, Albert Barnes being one, he puts forth the notion that Paul is quoting the Corinthian church. Sort of like saying, you say all things are lawful to me, but I say, but all things are not expedient. And again, what I think, I like this one probably the best. What happens is he said that all things were indeed pure, and people said, oh, now everything's open to us, we can do anything. And he says, well, you say that, but you didn't really understand it, because there's some restrictions. So the first one is he's instructing them that all things are now acceptable that used to be forbidden. And the second explanation, he's quoting what he told them before in order to clarify, ah, but it's not really what you think. And another possible meaning proposed by some commentators, and he's saying that all things indifferent, that are not sinful in their nature, are lawful. You can use these things that are not clearly expressly forbidden as long as their use is in accordance with the word of God. So maybe it's a combination of all these three. I'll let you decide which one you favor. But what's clear is that Paul intimates that it is important to ascertain what is and what is lawful in our lives. Christian liberty does not allow for things that are clearly and absolutely wrong. And in indifferent matters or in things that were once forbidden and are now acceptable, there are limits. There are limits by other Christian principles. So the first one is clear. They're not, it must be expedient, as you see. All things are lawful to me, or I like to think, you say that all things are lawful to me, as he instructed him, but he's saying, but, but, all things are not expedient. Now the word expedient means helpful. They're not helpful. So this is our first answer to an objection, to the idea that anything goes. And we should, even if we admit that the practices are lawful, there are things that are not expedient. That is, they don't profit, they're not helpful, which is what the Greek word really signifies. They can bring injury or hurt to somebody else. So we can't use our liberty indiscriminately. We have to consider possible and probable results. and look for unintended consequences and undesirable ends that could come from our use of something that we have liberty to use. So something may be lawful but it could injure yourself or it could bring scandal upon you or somebody else or more something you really need to watch for is it could cause others to offend or to stumble. And such was the case for the use of meats as we read in Romans and he talks in one of the verses in 13 in this passage about that same thing. So in 1 Corinthians 8, he said, wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. So is it expedient? There's a restriction. Some of our customs, we have to look at our customs. Maybe they're unlawful, but is our use of those customs injuring? Injuring our testimony or causing a brother to stumble? So we must discern when we might use our liberty to the disadvantage of others. So what are some ways we do that? I think there's, I brought out four questions I think we need to ask when we exercise our liberty in lawful things. And the first is what effect does it have upon me? Is it gonna help me? Is it gonna make me less useful or is it less helpful to me and it will make me less pleasing to God? Is it helpful in my walk in the Lord? So that's the first. Second is what will the effect be on other believers or even unbelievers? Will it help them or hinder them? And he covers this in depth later on in chapter 10. I'm not going to cover that. I'll just read a couple things. There's a very similar passage in chapter 10, verse 23. All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient. Sounds familiar. Then he says, all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. So there's another objection. We'll get to develop that a little bit. Edify means to build up. It's the idea of building a house. So he says in verse 24, let no man seek his own, but every man's another's wealth or profit. So you're looking for the profit in not just, that's not monetary so much, it's the profit of his soul, profit of that individual. So the actions of every one of us has an effect on somebody else, on others. Things that are innocent to us might not be so innocent to others. We can't use our liberty when doing so would put a stumbling block to brothers and sisters in Christ or cause unbelievers to find a fault in us. And so we are to seek the profit of others. So that's the second question. How does it affect others? But third, how will the use of something appear to God? because we know there are restrictions. We know the very familiar verse, again, in chapter 10, verse 31, whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. So another question we have to ask, how does this affect how God sees me? And then the fourth question is, what will this effect have on my self-control? So this is another objection to the idea that anything goes. I can do anything because God will forgive me. But here's a restriction. I will not be brought under the control of any. So will the overuse or misuse of some liberty that I have result in me becoming a slave to that thing, whatever it is? It may be lawful, but I can become a slave to that. So it is important to our Christian character that we don't become under subjection to anything that we can't control. And that is the message of the second part of verse 12. And I find it very interesting to think about that. I will not be brought unto the power or become a slave to anything. Obviously, meaning anything outside Christ having power over us. That's pretty obvious. Or us having power over our passions. So I wanna kinda go a little bit beyond the specific context that he has here. And I want to think about the things that can have power over us. So what does it mean when we're under the power of something? I think it primarily means that we don't have self-control over the use of something that is lawful. I think it also means, and Carmen has this on her website. I think it was on her website a couple years ago. It was a quote I think from John Piper that says, if something's got control over you, if you cannot give it up, you can't live without it. It controls your passions and your time. That's something that has power over you. So when something becomes necessary for your contentment, it has power over you. When your passions or desires or your emotions cause you to stumble, you're on the brink of something having power over you if you can't restrain those passions or desires. Of course, we're not talking about the zeal of the Lord here. We're talking about weaknesses of our flesh. So what are some things we need to think about that can have power over us? Well, I'm still working through this. So the second half of my sermon, we'll see what I come up with. But the three that I want to talk about today is first things that enter the body. And then what are the antidotes to that? Second, things that enter the mind. And that includes mostly what comes to our eyes, but also our ears. And then what's flowing out of us. And I think it's providential that Gary opened with the psalm that he did, and the song, because I'm gonna be talking about that same, some of those same passages. Our thoughts. You know, your thoughts control what goes out. So those things can have power over us. In the second part, it's mainly going to be talking about emotions. So obviously negative emotions is an easy area that can have power over us. But what about our habits? Gossiping, boasting, different things. That's another category perhaps. And a good indication if you have power over yourself is how do you spend your time. If you spend your time well and wisely, that's a good indicator that you have control over things and that you're not under brought into the power of anything. And I'll probably expand on that in the second part. So behind all these things that can control us, of course, is indwelling sin and Satan who seeks to control us rather than having Christ have control over us. So all of us should be laboring to be under the control of Christ. I think that's pretty obvious, and I don't really want to dwell on that too much. So I want to cover these three categories, what goes into our bodies, what goes into our mind, and what flows out. So let's begin with what goes into our bodies. So in Proverbs, Solomon says in Proverbs 23, 19, hear thou my son and be wise and guide thy heart in thy way. So there's instruction to guide thine own heart, be controlled. Be not among winebibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh, for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. This isn't a big problem in our church, but I think it's, you know, there may be others listening to the sermon, so I will talk about this a little bit. Obviously, we're to keep away from those things, from those who are guilty of gluttony. But what does that really mean? Well, the word glutton here means a riotous eater, as he says in verse 20. A riotous eater is somebody who's controlled by food or alcohol or controlled by something. And that's what they live for. That's really what the meaning of the word riotous eater means. So in scripture you often hear about drunkenness and gluttony. You see them a lot together. And I'm gonna use those as what's a word called synecdoche. Some of you have heard that word before. Synecdoche is a figure of speech that means you're taking a part and substituting it for a whole or a bigger picture. So I'm going to use drunkenness as a synecdoche for other things like alcohol, or not alcohol, for drug abuse for example, and other things that we can bring into our bodies that can affect us, and we can lose control over those things. So Paul is talking about a life of drunkenness, and that is a sin, and that can keep us from inheriting the kingdom of God. Actually, Galatians 5 talks about that. And we see examples of drunkenness, not as a life, but as a momentary stumble. Noah, in Genesis 9. in Lot in Genesis 19. They were both guilty of drunkenness, but it didn't define them. So yeah, they were guilty maybe of a temporary sin there, but when Paul says drunkards are not going to inherit the kingdom of heaven, he's talking about a life of that. A life that's driven by intake of something that you enjoy. Galatians 5.19 says, Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envies, murders, and then drunkenness. and revelings and such like, of which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do these things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. So make it clear that it's a life of that. It's not if you stumble into that. So if you stumble into that, be careful that that doesn't become your life, because that shows that you will not inherit the kingdom of God. And Romans 13 says, let us walk honestly, as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. So again, riotous, that idea of your life being defined by just a desire for bringing food into your body and think that's what your life is defined. That becomes an idol to you. So if a fellow Christian falls into these sins of drunkenness or drug addiction and remains in it, the body of Christ is commanded not to associate with that brother, as we see in 1 Corinthians 5.11. But now I have written unto you not to keep company. If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one not to eat. And Jesus also warns his followers to be on guard, Luke 21, in verse 34. Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life. And so that day come upon you under wares. The word surfeiting is talking about consuming something too much. whatever that thing is, and has the idea of squandering a resource. Surfeiting, that's, there's a thought there. You're wasting something in order to consume something too much. So, in our case, probably, in alcohol, for example, you're spending money unwisely on something that can easily control you. That's the synecdoche of some other examples. So, you know, there's some people who can fall into a drunken state maybe once in a while, and these things are sinful, and it's a violation of the will of God. It leads to other sins, lack of self-control, failure to be a good example to your family, to others. It could harm your own physical health. You're not being good stewards of your money. So there's, and there's, you know, alcohol is a good example. It brings all kinds of forms of violence. So is there hope for somebody like this? Well, yes, there is, of course. For after stating that sinners, including drunkards, will not inherit the kingdom of God, Paul says, such were some of you. So he's talking about, hey, you have brought out of that, you were like that, but there's a way out. You were washed, you're sanctified, you're justified, how? in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. So some of the Corinthians had committed these sins, but they were forgiven and began to live a new life. I don't think anybody's here that I can address here, but in case somebody hears this, if you're an unbeliever and thinks God can't save you, it's how it's worse some of you, and the list there is pretty damaging. So how does someone overcome this? Well, it gives us an antidote in Ephesians 5 and 18. Be not drunk with wine, so there's a command, wherein is excess, but be filled instead with the spirit. Speaking to yourselves, here's some tools to use to fill yourself with spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Singing and making melody to your heart to the Lord. So if you struggle with this, I don't think anybody here does, but seek to replace those things that fill you with something bad, such as drugs and alcohol, with something good, the spirit of God. If you're filled with the spirit of God, you'll be able to overcome such things as addictions. Through the Holy Spirit, one can put to death the deeds of the body, including drunkenness. In Romans 8, 13. For if you live after the flesh, you shall die. But if ye through the Spirit do mortify or have the power to put to death, to subdue the deeds of the body, you will live. So those are some passages that can be used to bring into your mind when you're struggling with something that you can't control, that you wanna bring into your body. So the next category of things that can have power over us is what goes into our minds. And much of what enters our minds comes in through our eyes. And that's what I'm gonna use again as a synecdoche. So besides eyes, how do things enter into us? Well, ears, what we hear, and in all our other senses. So Psalms 101 verse 3 says, I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. Many professional Christians today are setting wicked things before their eyes. They're not discerning about problematic shows that they might see on television or what they read. They're allowing children to watch these programs that have immodest dress or vulgar language or unnecessary violence. You know, if it's a war movie, there's going to be some violence. But there's often, in so many things, unnecessary violence. They depict drug addiction and drunkenness and the glorification of man. And worst of all, the blasphemy of the Lord Jesus Christ. But Paul, I mean, James 1. 14 to 16 warns us, every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. And then when that lust has conceived, it bring forth sin. And sin, when in his finish, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. So do not let the things you see in here draw you away of your own lust. Those things that can tend to draw you in the wrong direction, those things, will tend to give you a lack, a loss of self-control. So Paul is instructing us in 6.12 to have power over what we allow into our minds. So what's the antidote to temptations of letting vain things into our minds? Well, I think the best antidote, again, is go to the scriptures and bring to those scriptures into your mind those that speak to this issue. and ask God in prayer to help you in those times where you struggle with these things. So the first thing we should do is flee from those things that might draw you into a thought life that you might lose control of. So don't get as close to something without touching it. You want to flee. 1 Corinthians 6.18 in this very chapter, flee fornication. It doesn't say get as close to it without touching it. Get far away from it. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body or sins against somebody else. But he that committh fornication sinneth against his own body. In Psalm 19.37, this is a good verse. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me in thy way. So flee, turn away, that's the first thing. Turn away, flee. But then, Not just turn away, but run towards something. Flee from something, run towards something. So a good verse for this is 2 Timothy 2, verse 22. 1 Timothy 2, 22. Flee youthful lust. There's the flee. But follow or pursue righteousness. So you're going away from something, but you're going towards something else. Pursue righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. So flee first, run towards something. But third, make a covenant with your eyes or your ears or whatever it is. As Job did in chapter 31, verse one, I made a covenant with mine eyes. Why then should I think upon a maid? In verse six, let me be weighed in an even balance. Let me have an even control of my own thought life, and my members that allow things to come in. If my step hath turned out of thy way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands, then let me sow, and let another eat. So the idea here of sow is insecurity. Let me have insecurity, let somebody have security in having something. So Leviticus 26.17 says, you shall sow your seed in vain, so that your enemies shall eat it. So it's this idea of Job is calling for calamity or insecurity on himself if he becomes controlled by what enters in through his eyes. You see that? He's calling upon God, if I lose control of these things, then I need calamity to correct me. And then fourthly, as the fourth antidote, so the first was flee, second was run toward, third was make a covenant with your eyes. Make a covenant with yourself about what you're drawing in. And fourth, about losing self-control of what enters into your minds is accountability. Have accountability with those who call the Lord with a pure heart. When we associate with God's people, they can help us to be intentional in our self-control. James 5.16, confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. And in Hebrews 1.24, let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking yourselves, not forsaking the assembly of yourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. What goes into the mind through our eyes and ears impacts our thoughts. And that's the next category. So this is, I thought it was providential how you opened, Gary, because some of these verses will come into play that you talked about. You and I have thoughts. We all have thoughts. That's part of what makes us human beings. And we all have to admit that we sometimes fall into thoughts that are not the highest and the most noblest, the purest, or they're not loving. So we have to admit that our thought life sometimes includes evil things. The Lord says, from within, out of the heart, or out of the mind, really, or the inner self, out of the heart of men proceedeth evil thoughts. And these evil things come from within and defile the man. That's from Mark 7. Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. And that comes from Proverbs 4. As he thinks within himself, so he is. That's in Proverbs 23, 7. Our thought life can bring bad or it can bring something good. And we have the power and the choice To think of things that either defile ourselves or things that are helpful and edifying to ourselves and to others. How far short we fall in this, I think. I can speak for myself. Matthew 12, 35. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things, but an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. Thus our thoughts and our words reveal what's in our heart or what's in our minds. In Matthew 12 again, O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Our thoughts come from the mind, or our heart, and God tells us that the heart is deceitful and above all, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? And the word heart is so often used by scripture to mean our minds and our passions within it. So think of all the sins that originate with the thought life. Envy, for example, is an inward sin but arises from our thoughts. We see that from Galatians 5. Jealousy, envy is something that you, somebody has that you want. Jealousy is something you have that you don't want to give up. That's the difference. But jealousy also comes from the heart. We see that talked about in 2 Corinthians 12. Hatred comes from the heart, Titus 3.3. So does lust, Matthew 5, when he talks about lust, you lust after one, you're committing adultery. Thought life is causing you to commit a sin. Impurity, anger, malice, all these things are sins that have their source in the human thoughts. And we just read a whole list of sins earlier in Ephesians 5 when I read that, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, et cetera. We hear so much today, black lives matter. Well, our thought lives matter. Evil thoughts are responsible for many external sins. For corrupt heart and mind produce corrupt thoughts that manifest themselves in our deeds. And this is why Paul says that we are to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so you can prove what is the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect, comes from Romans 12. So let's be sure one thing, we're not gonna be held accountable only for our actions, our deeds, and our works, but we're gonna be held accountable for our secret things. In Revelation 22, Verse 12, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me. To give every man according to his work shall be as well as our words, as we had just read in Matthew 12, but we will also give account for our thoughts. God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. And that's in Romans 2. So on the last day, Christ will bring the light of things hidden in the darkness and make manifest the things of the heart. That's in 1 Corinthians 4, same book we're reading. We have so many examples of lack of controlled thoughts in scripture, and the earliest one I think is in Genesis 6. Genesis 6, then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart. So there's thought, every thought of his heart was evil. Bad, wrong, evil thoughts can be hazardous to our spiritual health. And God destroyed the world, or most of it, because of the imagination of man's thoughts, which reflects their hearts. So it's vital for our spiritual, our mental, our emotional, and sometimes even our physical hearts that we get control over our thought life. And this is the passage we read this morning from Psalm 139. David says, thou knowest my down-sitting, my uprising, thou understand my thought afar off. And then later in 23, search me, O God, know my heart, try me, know my thoughts, and see if there's any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. David is calling for God to help him control his thought life. That's why he's saying, if there's anything in me, my thought life, lead me away from that. Lead me in the way. And most of that chapter is talking about having self-control of your thought life. So are we prepared for God to examine our thought life? Are we ready for that? Well, what's the antidote? How do we help ourselves get control of our thought life? Same thing. There are scriptures that can help us. First, Philippians 4 verse 8. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. So there it is. There's a verse that can help us think of the things that are true, pure, lovely. If we have that in our heads when we start thinking of things that are not so, that can help us get control of our thought life. How about 2 Timothy 1, verse 7? For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and a sound mind. So God has given us If we're one of his, we have the power. We have to recognize we have the power because God's given it to us through his spirit to have a sound mind and control of our minds. I read this before, Romans 12.2, be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. How do you renew your mind? By scripture, by assembling together once a week. that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Fourth verse, Proverbs 4.23. Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. I read that before. Another one, 2 Corinthians 10.5. He gives us, he gives the Corinthians a command, cast down imaginations and everything that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. So these verses can help us as we, if we are having trouble with our controlling our thought life. So that's the first really main part of the sermon. The second half, Lord willing, when that happens, I'm gonna talk about how emotions primarily. And we're gonna look at examples in scripture of men who didn't have control of their emotions. Some that did. David's an enigma. Sometimes he did, sometimes he didn't. So that's gonna be what I cover next time. But in conclusion, I wanna just cover a few things here. Second Peter chapter one in verse five, Paul says, give all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtual knowledge, and to knowledge temperance. So the word temperance means self-control, self-mastery. Do you have self-mastery? Some people have self-mastery, but it's limited because it's not given to us by the divine power. And he goes on, to temperance, you get patience. To patience, godliness. To godliness, brotherly kindness. To brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. So much of it begins with self-control and self-mastery. It's a fruit of the Spirit, isn't it? Self-control, temperance. Temperance is a fruit of the Spirit. It's a virtue that the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and our life. You can see that in Galatians 5 as well, in verse 22 and 23. Even the apostle talks about elders and their qualifications, and one of them is self-control. For obviously, that's a quality that's needed in somebody who's gonna lead others, self-control. And the word of God clearly warns us against the lack of self-control. Jesus charges the Pharisees in, I don't remember where this was, I didn't write, I think it's in Matthew 23. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you may clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. And that excess is the idea of lack of self-restraint. Self-indulgence is how it's translated in NAS. They're full of extortion and self-indulgence. And Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 7, next chapter. Defraud ye not the one other, except it be with consent for time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency, Well, that word incontency is the same word as excess that we just read in Matthew 23. It's the mean of self-indulgence, lack of self-control. So do these things so that Satan doesn't tempt you to lose self-control. Paul warns of times, difficult times in the last days when men would be lovers of self, lovers of money and without self-control. And that's becoming more and more defining in our times. He uses the word incontinent in 2 Timothy verse 3 as when he's talking about the last days, the perilous last days. He uses the word incontinent. Again, that same word means excess, self-indulgence. We see today people eat what they want no matter how it harms the body. Eat and drink or ingest drug, whatever. They do these things without thinking, without thinking how it can control them. There's so many things that our nation is turning to that exhibit lack of self-control. So how do you define self-control? Self-control and self-discipline go so much hand in hand, don't they? I would say discipline is training oneself. So think of the Olympics. In the Olympics, these athletes, even in the Olympics of the times, they were known, these men, it was men only, they were required to discipline their body and their mind. It talks about running and race, but in the Greek, in the modern Greek, when it talks about running and race and that passage that talks about that, the Greek word today really means wrestling match. It's, I don't know if the word meant that back then, could have been running a race or, basically, it's an example of the type of Olympic Games. So, these men would watch their diet very carefully. They'd make sure they get enough sleep. They'd do very specific exercises. They'd bathe a lot. And, obviously, they have to do their physical disciplines to prepare for the Olympic Games. So, likewise. If we're disciplined Christians with self-control, we must guard our life that we will win, not an Olympic prize, but an incorruptible prize. Paul says, I therefore so run, not as uncertainly. Now where am I? Well, I didn't write it down. I think I'm in 1 Corinthians 9, if I remember right. He says, I run so that I'm not uncertainly, or without aim is what he's talking about. He said, I run, I therefore so run, so that I'm not running without an aim. And that's how it's translated in the NAS. So fight I, so here he's talking about boxing. So fight I, not as one that beateth the air. So if you're boxing somebody, you're aiming for somebody. You're not just flailing around without aim. So we have to keep our eyes on the goal and we won't be deterred from our quest, our goal to be with Christ in heaven. So finally he says in verse 27 of of 1 Corinthians 9, but I keep my body under subjection, lest by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. There's another verse, keep yourselves under subjection. Have control of your speech, your eyes, your mind, your passions, and your appetite. So how do we develop this internal self-control, this self-mastery? Well, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit, that he may produce self-control in our life. We must be willing to set our mind on things of the spirit, put to death the deeds of the body, so that we may live. And all these come from different passages. We should consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive to Christ, in Romans 611, and present ourselves As members of an earthly body, yes, but we must be dead to immorality, to impurity, passions, evil desires, and things that are deeds of the flesh. So let us not only have self-control, but let us be controlled by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All I've been talking about is self-control, but we really need to be controlled by Jesus Christ. So let me close with three passages. Proverbs 25, 28. He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls, easily penetratable. Proverbs 16.32, he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty. He that rules his spirit than he that taketh a city. So it's very, you're a mighty person if you can have control of your spirit. So what should have power over us? Colossians 3.15, let the peace of God rule in your hearts to the which also ye are called in one body and be ye thankful. So let the peace of God rule. Let peace, let God rule your hearts. Let God help you have control and let him be in control and then you'll have self-control as well. Let us pray as we close my message. Our Father in heaven, we do, we thank you so much for your word that you've given to us and for these passages that teach us that we are to have self-mastery over those things that might control us. and help us to steer clear of the things that we know each one of us struggles with, that we might lose control. But you have given us a means to help us, to give us strength. That means is your Holy Spirit. Help us to rely on the word you've given us that help us to bring to mind those things that can help us control, the things that can have power over us. And we just thank you that you have given us your word, and you have given us your son to die for us, that our sins may be eradicated. And we are pure in your eyes, and we are justified. We pray that you would this week help us to grow and be sanctified evermore. And we pray these things in your son Jesus' name, amen.