Spiritual Growth: Self-Control

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Week number nine in our series entitled Spiritual

Growth. Let's jump right in. 1 Corinthians 2

.14 says this, The natural man... does not receive

the things of the Spirit of God, for they are

foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because

they are spiritually discerned. Let's move to

chapter 3 in 1 Corinthians. And I, brethren,

could not speak to you as spiritual people, but

as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you

with milk and not with solid food, for until

now you were not able to receive it. And even

now you are still not able. For you are still

carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and

divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving

like mere men? We could use that word from chapter

2 and say natural. Men. So here we find that

there are three types of people in the world

today. Everybody say three types. The reason

why I get you to repeat stuff is I keep you engaged

because it's easy to wander off mentally. Think

about something later today or be distracted

by somebody scratching their ear in front of

you or something like that. There are three types

of people. First type of person is a natural

person. Everybody say natural. A natural person

is a person who is not born again. They're unrenewed.

And the only thing they have to live their life

by is their sensual nature or their soulish nature,

we could put it that way, their flesh. So a person

without Christ, they just can live by what feels

good or what seems right in their own eyes. Then

we have a carnal person. Paul was talking to

the believers in Corinth. Everybody say believers.

He was talking to believers. But there were believers

in Corinth who were living according to their

flesh. They were carnal. You could see that by

the fruit of their lives. There was envy and

strife and division. Those are all results of

carnality. Now this is an immature Christian

who lives on a childhood level spiritually because

they're not feeding on the Word of God. They're

not growing. There's no spiritual growth taking

place. And then we find the third type of person.

That's a spiritual person. Everybody say spiritual.

A spiritual person is a Christian who is led

by the Spirit of God through the Word of God.

This is a growing... Christian, who regularly

receives the Word of God and walks in the Holy

Spirit. They walk with God. Now, let's get this

straight. A spiritual person has not arrived.

For you to say that you are a spiritual person,

it does not mean that you have arrived. I mean,

I've got it all down. I've got it all. No, none

of us have arrived. None of us will arrive. But

we all need to be growing spiritually. We all

need to be progressing. We all need to be moving

forward. The only people who think that they've

arrived are spiritual teenagers. Do you remember

being a teenager? All of a sudden you got to

a point where you thought you knew everything

and your parents didn't know a whole lot. Anybody

go through that phase? Okay, so some Christians,

and it doesn't mean that you're in your teens

as a Christian, but some Christians get to the

point where they think they've arrived. They

know everything they need to know. They have

no more room for growth because they are completely

mature. Well, that just tells you that they're

a spiritual teenager. And if they'll keep moving,

if they'll keep progressing, they'll find out.

That they didn't know near as much as they thought

they knew. But we're all in a process. We're

all in a process. We're not all on the same spot

of the spiritual gauge. But we all need to be

on it. And we all need to be progressing. If

we're going to be spiritual people, that's where

we are. So where does spiritual growth occur?

Where does it take place? How does that happen

in us? How do we grow spiritually? 1 Thessalonians

5 .23 is one verse that we pointed out. In the

first few weeks, we pointed out more verses than

this, but this one is clear enough for all of

us to take hold of it. 1 Thessalonians 5 .23,

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every

way. Everybody say set apart. That's what it

means to be holy. It means that we're set apart

for God. Now may the God of peace make you holy

in every way and may your whole spirit and soul

and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus

Christ comes again. So, we realize by reading

this verse and others that Individually, we are

a three -part being. We are a spirit. Everybody

say, I am a spirit. I have a soul. And I live

in a body. The scripture separates the three

right here. Your whole spirit and soul and body.

So that's what we're made up of. We are spirits.

We are spirit beings. When the Bible says that

we are made in the image of God, it's telling

us that we are a spirit being because God is

a spirit being. When we come into a relationship

with Christ, it's our spirit that is born again.

Our spirit comes alive unto God at salvation.

And at that point, at the point of salvation,

your spirit is united with Christ. You were immersed

in sin before then, and when you come to Christ,

now you are immersed in Christ. Somebody smile

or something. When we are immersed in Christ,

we're united with him, and we put on the righteousness

of God in Christ Jesus at that point. You are

right with God. Listen, no one can be right with

God based on their ability to keep the rules

or their ability to perform. No one can. A lot

of people try, but no one can. We're made right

with God because of what Jesus did on the cross.

That's what makes us right. And our righteousness,

the Bible says in the Old Testament, is like

filthy rags. But when we step into the kingdom

of God, we put on the righteous robe of Christ.

And guess what? You cannot grow in righteousness.

If you could grow in righteousness, you would

not need Christ. You can't grow in righteousness.

Because when God looks at us, when we're in Christ,

he sees us clothed in Christ. and it doesn't

get any more righteous than that. We are complete,

the Bible says. Our spirit is complete. Everything

that belongs to God belongs to us. We are heirs,

joint heirs with Christ. Our spirit is complete.

We have everything we need at salvation. You

are a spirit. You have a soul. Here's where the

problem comes in. Our soul is comprised of our

mind, which is our thought life, our will, which

is our desires, and our emotions, or we could

call them feelings. That's what our soul is.

And how many of you know when you came to Christ,

All of those things didn't just automatically

become holy. Some of you are looking at me like

yours did. Did your thought life just completely

become holy? The day that you accepted Christ?

Does anyone still struggle with their thought

life a little bit? Or a lot? What about your

will? Was your will transformed the day you became

a Christian? You no longer had any desires that

originated in the flesh? Just all those desires

just left? No? What about emotions and feelings?

Did anyone, you've never had anything but a holy

emotion since you came to Christ? This is where

spiritual growth takes place. It takes place

in the soul. It takes place in our thought life.

It takes place in the transformation of our desires.

It takes place in the transformation of our emotions.

That's where spiritual growth takes place. And

it takes place because now our spirit is alive

unto God. Our spirit is in Perfect communication

with the Holy Spirit, and it takes place when

we start living as a spirit being instead of

just living as a fleshly being or a soulish being.

That's where spiritual growth starts happening.

The difference between a carnal and spiritual

person is the spiritual growth or the lack thereof

of the soul. And here's what we need to know.

Spiritual maturity is not measured by how long

you've been a Christian. I've been a Christian

over 51 years. But that doesn't make me spiritual.

I know people who have been Christians longer

than me, and by the fruit of their life, by the

envy and jealousy and the division and the fighting,

people have been Christians longer than me. Are

very carnal. Has anyone ran into some carnal

Christians before? Has anybody grown up in church?

Spent any time in church? Have you ever met any

carnal Christians? Some of the meanest people

you'll meet go to church every Sunday. I'm just

telling it like it is. I've met a lot of them.

Because I'm a preacher's kid. I've met a lot

of mean Christians. I was on the road for 20

years, went to over 800 churches. I've met a

lot of mean Christians. I'm glad none of them

come to Elation Church. They haven't showed up

yet, but we'll run them off when they get here.

Spiritual maturity is not measured by how long

you've been a Christian. It's not measured by

how often you attend worship services. I mean,

some people think, well, if I go to church on

a regular basis, which in today's idea, that

means that you go to church one and a half times

a month, now you're regular. Regular used to

be Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday

night, you could consider yourself regular. Going

three times a week, you could consider yourself

regular. Does anybody know what I'm talking about?

But in our culture today, it's like, well, if

I go one and a half times a month, I'm regular.

I don't know how you can go half a time in a

month. I guess I need to say three times over

two months. How often you attend a worship service

does not mean that you're spiritually mature.

If you come every week, if you're here 52 weeks

a year, That doesn't automatically mean that

you're spiritual. It doesn't even matter how

much scripture you can quote. I grew up doing

Bible drills where you memorize scripture and

find them real quick and stand out and you know,

you got medals and all kind of stuff like that.

Anybody know what I'm talking about? But just

memorizing scripture does not make you spiritually

mature. Now don't get me wrong. It's good to

be a Christian. You're not going to be spiritual

without being a Christian. I'm not sure that

you could say that you were spiritual and you

neglected getting together with other believers.

It's important to worship together with other

believers. That's important. It's actually obedience

to God. It's great to be able to quote Scripture.

Hello? I'm not against any of these things. But

just because you do these three things doesn't

mean that you're spiritual. Because spiritual

growth takes place in the soul. Luke 6, 43 and

44. Listen, for a good tree, this is Jesus talking,

a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does

a bad tree bear good fruit, for every tree is

known by its own fruit. So here's where we find

spiritual maturity. Spiritual growth is measured

by spiritual fruit. By spiritual fruit constantly

increasing in our lives. By spiritual fruit being

evidenced in our lives. That's when we become

spiritual. That's when spiritual growth takes

place. Now, this whole series has been about

self -examination. As you listen to the Word

of God today, I don't want you to start thinking

about somebody that you wish was here. Because

they really need to hear this. You know? My brother

-in -law really needs to hear this. I wish he

was here today. My uncle really, man, he really

needs this. No. Here's the deal. God knew that

your brother -in -law and your uncle, He knew

that they were not going to be here today. He

knew that you were going to be here today. So,

just go ahead and say, this is for me. This is

for me. God knew I was going to be here. And

this is what I needed to hear. God laid on the

preacher's heart what I needed to hear today.

Self -examination. We're all a work in progress.

Galatians 5, 22 and 23 gives us the fruit of

the spirit or spiritual fruit, but the fruit

of the spirit is love. You might have to go back

and listen to the other eight weeks, but what's

the measure of you walking in the agape love

of Christ? Not just the people that are easy

to love, but even with the people who aren't

so easy to love. What does your love life look

like? What is the measure of joy in your life?

What's the measure of joy? It's a fruit of the

Spirit. Are you experiencing the joy of the Lord?

Is it your strength? Are you living in the peace

of God that surpasses understanding? Does it

guard your heart and guard your mind in Christ

Jesus? What's the level of your peace? Not just

when everything is perfect. What's the level

of your peace? and joy when it looks like on

the outside, like everything's falling apart.

What's the level of your joy and peace? If your

joy and peace leaves quickly when things don't

go your way, that means you're just living with

natural joy and natural peace like the world

gives. Because the joy and the peace of God is

a lot different. And the joy and the peace that

the world gives. What's your patience look like?

This one's easier for us to see than all the

rest of them. I mean, all you have to do is drive

down 27 or I -4 and you can discover your level

of patience. And you might say, well, you know,

you're talking about spiritual things, so you're

talking about patience that I have at church.

No. I'm talking about love, joy, peace, and patience

and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and

gentleness that happens Monday afternoon, Friday

evening, Thursday at lunch. That's where you're

going to see if you're spiritually growing or

not. That's where it's got to be evidence. That's

where it has to be growing. And then today is

your lucky day. Because today, the last spiritual

fruit listed in Galatians 5, 22 and 23 is self

-control. The fruit of self -control. Somebody

smile. Look at the person beside you and say,

I'm really glad I came today. Because I needed

to hear this. Self -control. Here's the Greek

word. The New Testament is written in Koine Greek.

And here's the Greek word. I'm going to try to

pronounce it. I may slaughter it. That's okay.

See? It's hard to get the accent on the right

syllable, you know? Or syllable. That's just

putting it on the wrong. Thank you for getting

that. And kratia. Is that okay? Now, it's a compound

word. It starts with in, and it means in the

sphere of. In the sphere of. And then kratos

is dominion and mastery. So when you put those

two words together, make one word, here's what

it means. It means dominion within. Self -control.

And the sphere of your dominion within would

be in your thoughts, in your feelings, and in

your actions. Y 'all quit smiling. Self -control.

Strong's definition gives us three words. Temperance,

self -control, and continence. Temperance, self

-control, and continence. I had to look up those

words. Temperance, here's what it means. Temperance

means keeping your appetites, passions, and want

-tos in check. Should I say that again? That's

okay, you don't want to hear it again. I'm going

to tell you anyway. Self -control is keeping

your appetites, passions, and want -tos in check.

Because if you're not careful, your appetites,

passions, and want -tos can take over your life.

I'm glad some of you are agreeing with me. Because

there's a fight there, right? Continents. I mean,

I'm not having to wear the pin, but that's the

only time I've ever heard that word before. Continence

means to hold back. Why are you laughing? I heard

that word on TV. That's how I knew what that

word meant. If you're having incontinence issues.

It means you're having trouble holding back.

You're having trouble holding it all in. Why

are you so red -faced? I'm just saying what the

word means, right? To hold back, to have self

-restraint, to hold it all in. And we're not

just talking about depends here. We're talking

about life. We're talking about... Because if

you don't hold back, if you don't have any self

-restraint, sometimes we just need to hold it

all in instead of exploding. Has anyone ever

exploded before? Anybody think you need to hold

back every once in a while to have some self

-restraint? Self -control. It's the fruit of

the Spirit. And then self -control, I looked

that up too. It means self -mastery. It means

not being controlled by your flesh. Not being

controlled by your flesh. To have self -control,

we can say it like this. I control my body. What

I do. I control my mind. I control the thoughts

in my mind. I've said this a lot over recent

months, but listen, you're in charge of your

thought life. You may think that you're not.

Well, the only time that you're not in charge

of your thought life is when you just let it

run wild, when you have no self -control over

your thoughts. We've got this little picture.

I mean, we can't control. How many birds fly

over our head? But we can control how many birds

make a nest in our hair. You don't have to dwell

on and set your mind on every thought that comes

through your mind. You can take charge of your

thoughts. I control my mind. A self -controlled

person controls their body, what they do. They

control their mind, how they think. And they

control their actions, how they do what they

do. Now listen, just before Paul lists the fruit

of the Spirit, I don't know if you've backtracked

any in Galatians chapter 5, but just before he

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

lists this wonderful spiritual fruit that's going

to lead us to spiritual maturity, He gives us

a description of what it looks like when people

are out of control. Look at the person beside

you and say, don't get offended. He's just reading

the Bible. Galatians 5, 19 through 21. People's

desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy

thoughts, and shameful deeds. They worship idols.

They practice witchcraft. They hate other people.

Isn't it interesting how God puts hate right

there in line with worshiping idols and practicing

witchcraft? They hate other people. They're just

hard to get along with. I mean, you know, chances

are nobody's worshiping idols and practicing

witchcraft, but... How easy are you to get along

with? People become jealous, angry, and selfish.

They not only argue and cause trouble, but they

are envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild

parties, and do other evil things as well. I'm

looking at your faces. I'm just reading the Bible.

Look at the person beside you and say, he's just

reading the Bible. He's just reading the Bible.

Tell him, if you've got a problem with this,

take it up with God because he said this. The

preacher's just reading it. I told you before,

and I'm telling you again, no one who does these

things will share in the blessings of God's kingdom.

Listen. Carnal people will not experience the

blessings of God's kingdom the way, in the same

way or in the same level that a spiritual person

can. Who wants to experience the blessings of

God? Well, then we need to grow spiritually.

The more we grow, the more we're going to experience.

Proverbs 25, 28. Look at the person beside you

and say, listen fast. Y 'all got to listen faster.

A person without self -control is like a city

with broken down walls. So if we don't have self

-control, we're like a city that has no borders.

It has no... walls around it. Now, in ancient

times, walls protected cities from enemies. And

when there wasn't a wall, anything could enter.

Anybody could enter. Wild animals could enter.

Enemy armies could enter. And the Bible tells

us without self -control, we're unprotected.

Anything can come in. and try to destroy us.

Anything. If we don't have self -control. See,

many believers live spiritually exposed lives

because they lack self -control. Every emotion

winds up controlling them. Every temptation winds

up pulling them down. Every impulse directs them.

Self -control creates stability. We need stability.

When are we going to get tired of our lives being

like a roller coaster? When are we going to say,

no more, that's it? I'm going to grow spiritually

and become stable. Where I'm not tossed back

and forth and thrown with every little thing

that hits my mind and comes to me. It doesn't

spin me. In a relentless loop, just like, what

am I going to do? What am I going to do? Stability.

And it's available to everybody in the room.

Spiritual stability is available. Titus 2, 11

and 12. For the grace of God. The grace of God

means the kindness, the goodness, and the favor

of God. It's the activity of God showing us and

displaying to us His kindness and goodness and

favor. The grace of God has appeared that offers

salvation to all people. Listen. It teaches us

to say no. Somebody say no. Say it like you mean

it. No. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness

and worldly passions. And to live. Self -control.

Now, most of the time, when we look at self -control,

we think that self -control just has to do with

staying away from the negative stuff or staying

away from the bad stuff. But it's bigger than

that. It's not just about abstaining from access.

It also involves the positive mastery and direction

of one's energies and desires towards godly purposes.

Because it takes self -control for your desires

to change, for your actions to change towards

godly purposes. It takes self -control for that.

Just as much as it takes self -control to say

no to temptations. The same way that it's to

cast down imaginations that try to... some kind

of imagination that's presenting itself as more

important and more true than what God says. 2

Peter 1, 3 -8. Look at the person beside you

and say, this is good. By His divine power, God

has given us everything we need. Does it say

He will give us everything we need? Is that what

it says? No, it says He has. By His divine power,

God has given us, He's already given us everything

we need for living a godly life. And we received

all of this by coming to know Him. The One who

called us to Himself by means of His marvelous

glory and excellence. And because of his glory

and excellence, he has given us great and precious

promises. Thousands of promises in the scriptures.

Thousands. Because of his glory and excellence,

he has given us great and precious promises.

These are the promises. Listen. These are the

promises that enable you to share His divine

nature. Everybody say spiritual. To become spiritual.

These are the promises that enable you to share

His divine nature and escape this world's corruption.

It's caused by human desires. Natural desires.

Flesh desires. Soulish desires. In view of all

this, in view of everything He's given to us,

in view of all of His promises, make every effort

to respond to God's promises. See, we have to

respond to receive, just like salvation. We have

to respond to receive. And sometimes we think

that that's it, but... Everything we receive

from God, we receive it just like we receive

salvation. It's His grace gift and His grace

promise, but we're saved by grace through something,

and that is through faith. So we connect to these

promises. We respond to these promises with faith.

It just continues. Supplement that faith. supplement

your faith with a generous provision of moral

excellence and moral excellence with knowledge

and knowledge with self -control. Everybody say

self -control. And self -control with patient

endurance and patient endurance with godliness

and godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly

affection with love for everyone. Listen, the

more you grow like this, the more productive

and useful you will be in your knowledge of our

Lord Jesus Christ. Supplement your faith with

a generous provision of self -control. Everybody

say self -control. And that will make you more

productive and useful in the kingdom of God.

I know it lists a lot of other things, but we're

focusing on that one thing today. If you want

to be productive and useful in the kingdom of

God, you need to supplement your faith with self

-control. 1 Corinthians 9, 24 -27. Listen, don't

you realize that in a race everyone runs, but

only one person gets the prize? So run to win.

Look at the person beside you and tell them,

run to win. Run to win. Don't run just to be

at the back of the pack and not get swept. Has

anybody ever been in a... I'm glad they didn't

sweep the 5K that I did. That's about as far

as I've got. But if you go above a 5K, guess

what? There are people in the back. And if they

pass you, you're out. And some people just do

it just for fun and they don't care. And then

they get swept. No, we need to run to win. This

life, this spiritual life is like a marathon.

We need to be running to win. We don't need to

be running like... We don't need to strive for

a D -. We just don't care as long as we make

it. Run to win. Don't you realize that in a race,

everyone runs, but only one person gets a prize?

So run to win. Listen, all athletes are disciplined.

Guess what? That's the exact same Greek word

as self -control. Exact same word, just translated

differently in English. All athletes exercise

self -control. in their training. We're not just

talking about running a race. We're talking about

spiritual things. See, they do it to win a prize

that will fade away. But we do it for an eternal

prize. So I run. I live my life with purpose

in every step. I'm not just shadow boxing. I

discipline my body like an athlete, training

it to do what it should. Listen, this is a picture

of your spirit being in control of your soul

and your flesh. Self -control is essential to

live with purpose and to live in victory. I'll

say that again. Self -control is essential to

live with purpose and to live in victory. So

many people think that the solution to their

problems is for everybody around me to change.

Boy, if everybody around me would change. If

my situation would change. Boy, my life would

be amazing if it wasn't for all those people

and wasn't for all these situations that I'm

facing. Everything would just be amazing. Everything

can be amazing. No matter if anyone around you

changes. No matter if your situation changes,

everything around you can be amazing. See, we

can't control everything or everyone around us.

We can control ourselves. We can control our

thoughts. We can control our feelings. We can

control our actions. Listen, when we look at

Paul, Everything wasn't always peachy king. That

probably won't translate into Spanish or French.

When we look at Paul, everything wasn't a bed

of roses. He's in prison and he's writing about

the joy of the Lord. He was not defeated even

when he was shipwrecked. Even when he was beaten.

Even when he was in prison. Even when a group

of people said they're not even going to eat

until they kill him. He was still living an amazing

life. I'm not asking you to sign up for those

things. But I'm telling you, if you'll have self

-control over your thoughts, and over your emotions,

and over your flesh, if you'll have self -control

over those things, you can rise up no matter

where you are. No matter what you're surrounded

with, you can rise up. I love this in the HELPS

Word Studies, looking up this word self -control.

Listen, self -control comes from within yourself,

but it's not just by yourself. Somebody say,

I'm not alone. I'm not alone. I'm not telling

you today that you just need to pull yourself

up by your bootstraps and work harder. That's

not what I'm telling you. Self -control is a

fruit of the Spirit. It does come from within

yourself, but you're just not by yourself. Spiritual

fruit naturally grows. Where a healthy connection

exists. Jesus said this in John. He says, I'm

the vine. You're the branches. If you'll abide

in me. Everybody say abide. That means live.

If you don't just come visit me every once in

a while. But if you abide. I'm not sure we'll

ever get everything God has for us just by coming

to visit Him on Sunday morning. If we abide in

Him, His Word abides in us, what's going to happen?

He's the vine, you're the branch. What's going

to happen on the branch? Fruit's going to start

coming out. Because you're connected. You're

abiding. And fruit is going to grow. The branch

doesn't go. The fruit flows through the connection.

True mastery from within can only be accomplished

by the power of the Lord. God's going to help

us. But we have to cooperate. We have to set

our sights on this spiritual fruit. And then

we have to yield. We have to cooperate. We can't

just say a prayer on Sunday morning. And not

acknowledge God until, I don't know, what is

that, one and a half times a month. You can't

wait three weeks later to acknowledge God again

and expect any spiritual fruit to grow. Self

-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Holy

Spirit, listen, here's... We've shared verses

in the series. As you know, it's time for me

to be quiet, but listen. The Holy Spirit is God

taking hold of the things that God has for us.

All those promises, all those things, the inheritance.

The Holy Spirit takes hold of those things and

declares them, intensifies them, makes them known

to us. He is the connector. He's the connector.

That's why self -control is called the fruit

of the Spirit. He is the connector. Self -control

is a vital part of the Spirit -filled life because

our actions and our thoughts begin to align with

what God wants instead of just what we want.

Starts aligning with God's will. Starts aligning

with God's word. Self -control is cooperating

with the Spirit of God to change the way you

think. To change the way you live. And he does

this through the word of God in such a way that

we start becoming led by the Holy Spirit. We

become spiritual people. Instead of being led

by our flesh all the time and being a carnal

Christian. So how are we going to grow spiritually?

This has been our end every week. It's not by

self -effort, self -determination. Because all

of us have tried that before. Has anybody tried

that before? Just try to do it in your own strength.

I've got to have self -control. Come on. Why

do I not have self -control? I really want to.

I've got to do it. I've got to be better and

do better and do better. It's not about self

-determination. Because spiritual growth is going

to flow. Through abiding in Christ. It's going

to flow when we start acknowledging the indwelling

presence of the Holy Spirit. We have to acknowledge

Him. And walk in the Spirit. There shouldn't

be any area of our life that God is not involved

in. That the Spirit of God is not involved in.

We should yield to his leading. Listen. The Bible

says those who are led by God are the sons of

God, daughters of God. We need to live our lives

led by the Holy Spirit. The level of our self

-control. Self -control of our soul, our mind,

our will and emotions, our body and our actions,

our flesh is a good measure of our spiritual

maturity. I want to leave you with this picture

one more time. Did anyone grow up having a doorpost

in a room where at different ages your parents

would like stand you up at the doorpost and maybe

mark a mark on the doorpost? And write your age.

And if you had other brothers and sisters, they

might even put your name and your age. And then

you'd come back next year and stand at that same

place and put another mark. And then you could

see how much you've grown in between last year

and this year. I mean, look how much I've grown.

I've grown like three inches this year. Well.

The fruit of the Spirit. I want you to picture

it that way. As your love walk grows, you're

growing. As your joy grows, and peace, and patience,

and kindness, and gentleness, goodness, as those

things increase, You're growing spiritually.

Self -control. Is that increasing? Is your self

-control increasing? That's a mark of spiritual

growth. That's a mark of spiritual maturity.

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