DAY 1
1. READ
2. REFLECT
Personal Reflection:
Why does self-control come after faith, goodness, and knowledge, and before perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, then love?
In what ways have I not practiced self-control? What else has served as my master?
Communal Reflection:
In what ways does the church nurture the fruits of the Spirit?
Why does self-control scare us? Why don't people practice it more?
3. PRAY
Pray to ask God to reveal what areas of your life need more self-control and for God to send His Holy Spirit to help.
Pray to ask God to show you this week how you can help others practice self-control.
4. SHARE/CONFESS
Confess to God that you can't practice self-control without His help. Share with an accountability partner areas that you need help.
For Further Study (optional)
Read Exodus 32 to see how the Israelites and Aaron did not practice self-control.
DAY 2
1. READ
1 Samuel 24-David & Saul
Self-control to show mercy
David stood out when he demonstrated self-control in this story. In vs 4 and vs 8, his men encouraged him to kill Saul, and he instead spared Saul’s life. He said no to the desire to avenge himself in order to show mercy to King Saul (who you could argue didn’t deserve any mercy!)
2. REFLECT
Personal Reflection:
What areas in your life might you need to demonstrate more of this type of self-control in order to be more merciful/gracious toward those around you? (Example: maybe pursuing self-control could help you control what comes out of your mouth about someone or what you post about someone who might have hurt you in some way.)
Communal Reflection:
What areas as a church might we benefit from communally demonstrating this type of self-control that pushes toward having mercy/being gracious? What would that look like?
3. PRAY
How can you pray as a result of reading this story?
Ask God to help you demonstrate self-control in the areas you wrote down for yourself, and ask God to help our church in the areas you wrote down for our church.
4. SHARE/CONFESS
Share with at least one person in our church family about your reflections, what the Holy Spirit revealed to you, and what you prayed today. Practice these things today!
DAY 3
1. READ
Daniel 6- Daniel prays in direct opposition to the law.
Self-control to establish spiritual discipline and to maintain that discipline despite persecution.
Daniel, known for being “faithful, always responsible and completely trustworthy” (vs. 4) became so favored in the regime of Babylon that he became directly targeted by jealous officials and subsequently persecuted for his faith. Before King Darius’ decree went out, Daniel showed self-control in his discipline to develop a habit of praying daily, as well as his diligence in his work (vs. 10). That self-control did not waver in the face of persecution (literal deadly persecution designed to specifically target him). And through his witness, he and the people of Israel found favor with the Kings of Babylon, leading King Darius himself to issue a decree to the whole kingdom praising the living God (vs. 25-27).
1. REFLECT
Personal reflection:
How do you think Daniel’s self-control demonstrated itself within the various aspects of his life and personal witness to the Babylonians (professional, spiritual, relational, etc.)? Do you think his self-control to be “faithful, always responsible and completely trustworthy” played an important, if not equal, role in the outcome of this story? How can we demonstrate similar self-control in our daily lives (hopefully without being threatened by a slumber party with our local lion community)?
Communal reflection:
Is there anything we as a church can integrate into our practices to develop this type of self-control as a body of believers partnering together within our community?
2. PRAY
How can you pray as a result of reading this story? Ask God to help you demonstrate self-control in the areas you wrote down for yourself. And ask God to help our church in the areas you wrote down and what your role in that effort would be.
3. SHARE/CONFESS
Share with at least one person in our church family about your reflections, what the Holy Spirit revealed to you, and what you prayed today. Practice these things today!
For Further Study (optional)
Read the following passages from the New Testament and take note of what it looked like for Peter to not demonstrate self-control and how that affected others. Write down your observations comparing this story to the story of Daniel above.
1. READ
Luke 22:54-62- Peter denies Jesus after his arrest.
Self-control to stand firm in the face of persecution.
Peter, mentored by Jesus Himself throughout His earthly ministry, had some of the best opportunities to grow and develop self-control. Proclaimed by Jesus as “the rock on which [He] will build [His] church” (Matthew 16:18), Peter daily partnered with Jesus, saw His signs/miracles and demonstrated self-control in his willingness to abandon his vocation and follow Christ in His earthly ministry. But we see that in this instance, Peter did not demonstrate self-control. Just before this incident, Peter is even on record declaring to Jesus and the rest of the disciples that he was “ready to go to prison with [Jesus] and even to die with [Him]” (vs. 33). However, when the time came for Peter to stand on the convictions he so passionately proclaimed, he (literally) distanced himself from Jesus’ trial and then denied any association with him to anyone that even suggested otherwise. Other versions of this story in the Gospels have Peter calling a “curse upon [himself] if [he was] lying” (Mark 14:71).
2. REFLECT
Personal Reflection:
Though we may not directly identify with Peter’s situation in our current culture, in what ways have you “denied Jesus” in your daily life through a lack of self-control? When faced with any kind of persecution, how does self-control inform your ability to stand firm as a believer?
Peter, realizing what he had done, left weeping bitterly (vs. 62). But, through God’s grace, Peter ultimately reconciles with the risen Jesus (John 21) to become a pillar of the church following Jesus’ ascension into Heaven. Peter, much like ourselves, found healing in the forgiveness of his sins. Is there any situation in your life that needs healing through Christ’s forgiveness that is keeping you from developing self-control?
Communal Reflection:
How do we, as a church, exercise our own self-control to boldly claim Christ in our words and actions as a corporate body in the face of persecution? How can we support one another in this goal for the furtherance of the Gospel? What do you think the large-scale consequence would be if the Church did not effectively cultivate this kind of self-control? How would that damage our witness to the rest of the world?
3. PRAY
How can you pray as a result of reading this story? Ask God to help you demonstrate self-control in the areas you wrote down for yourself. And ask God to help our church in the areas you wrote down and what your role in that effort would be.
4. SHARE/CONFESS
Share with at least one person in our church family about your reflections, what the Holy Spirit revealed to you, and what you prayed today. Practice these things today!
DAY 4
1. READ
Self-control to show extravagant hospitality
We studied this verse together in one of Jonathan’s sermons in the series on Proverbs not too long ago! In this proverb, we see the general principle that a wise person has an abundance of resources and money because he does not foolishly give into his urges to consume all that he has. The ability to control your urge to spend all your treasure on things that gratify your urges is a prime example of self-control. One manifestation of walking in the fruit of the Spirit of self-control is denying ourselves from indulging SO THAT we can be extravagantly generous out of our saved-up abundance to those in need.
2. REFLECT
Personal Reflection:
Has there been a time in the past you can think of that you demonstrated self-control by denying yourself something you craved so that you could be generous to someone in need?
What is the hardest thing for you personally to deny yourself, so that you can have more to give away? Is it time, money or resources? What would it look like for you to practice self-control in that specific area, so that you can have MORE capacity to be extravagantly generous to others?
Communal Reflection:
There is something so powerful about being unified and exemplifying Christ all together. Because we want to focus on the impact of living this out communally and not just individually, how might it impact our church family and our city if our whole church chose to demonstrate self-control in our personal time management choices to serve others together? What would be the impact if only a couple people demonstrated self-control in their time management choices?
How might it impact our church family and city if our whole church demonstrated self-control in our personal spending habits to give generously through our church? What would be the impact if only a couple people demonstrate self-control in their spending habits, instead of all of the church together?
How might it impact our church family and city if our whole church demonstrated self-control in our use of resources to help others around us advance and heal instead of using them just for ourselves to enjoy?
3. PRAY
How can you pray as a result of reading this story?
Ask God to help you demonstrate self-control in the area you wrote down for yourself, and ask God to help our church demonstrate self-control in order to be extravagantly hospitable to each other and the world.
4. SHARE/CONFESS
Share with at least one person in our church family about your reflections, what the Holy Spirit revealed to you, and what you prayed today. Practice these things today!
FOR FURTHER STUDY
Read Proverbs 25:28 and describe what you think “a city broken into and left without walls” would mean in regards to a person without self-control. Write down your observations comparing and contrasting this Proverb to the wise man above.
DAY 5
1. READ
Self-control to resist sexual temptation
2. REFLECT:
Personal Reflection:
When confronted with sexual temptation, what specific actions did Joseph take to practice self control? And why were those actions notable?
What were the results of these actions?
Why was Potiphar’s wife so persistent? And in your own life, what social or power dynamics inform some of the temptations Christ-followers face today?
Communal Reflection:
What ways can our church help one another struggling with sexual temptation?
Why would it be important for the church (married, single, everyone) to stand out from our culture by having self-control when it comes to lust?
3. PRAY
How can you pray as a result of reading this story?
Ask God to help you demonstrate self-control in the areas you wrote down for yourself, and ask God to help our church in the areas you wrote down for our church.
4. SHARE/CONFESS
Confess to God for any times you have not had self-control when it comes to lust, and ask Him to strengthen you and guide you in exercising self-control in the future.
Share with at least one person in our church family about your reflections, what the Holy Spirit revealed to you, and what you prayed today. Practice these things today!
FOR FURTHER STUDY
Read 2 Samuel 11 about the story of David and Bathsheba. Compare how David handled his sexual temptation with how Daniel handled the sexual temptation he found himself in.
DAY 6
1. READ
Self-control to pray
Self-control to be obedient
Self-control to resist temptation
Self-control to demonstrate submission to God’s timing
Self-control to resist indulgence
Jesus Himself demonstrated self-control while He walked the earth.
-We see Jesus resisting his fleshly urge to sleep in order to pray in the garden of Gethsemane. -During His time of prayer, he submits to the Father’s will instead of His own desire to not have to go through what He’s about to go through.
-When He’s about to be arrested, He admits that He could save Himself, but refuses to, in order to fulfill His Father’s plan for Him and show mercy to the world.
-When Jesus fasts in the wilderness, He has self-control by withstanding all Satan’s temptation.
-He has self-control by saying no to Satan’s offer of all the Kingdoms of the world—that He had a right to—and instead submitted to God’s timing and way.
-He had self-control in abstaining from turning rocks into bread to eat when He was literally starving, in order to be spiritually strong to start his 3 years of ministry.
2. REFLECT
Personal Reflection:
List the outcome of Jesus’ self-control in each of these passages; what do you think motivated Him in each scenario?
There are several instances where it wouldn’t have been wrong for Jesus to indulge Himself. It’s not a sin to eat bread. It’s not wrong to sleep when it’s super late. What do you think is YOUR motivation to choose self-control or not in the gray areas of life? (Example: it’s not wrong to go purchase Starbucks, but how do you decide when you’re going to deny yourself and when you’re not, and what motivates that decision?)
Is your motivation for denying yourself/displaying self-control ever for God’s Kingdom rather than just self-betterment? (Jesus was not fasting so he could lose weight; he was not denying himself sleep to get a better grade on a test for his career; He did not resist saving himself so that he’d gain his friends’ loyalty-he did all these things for the Kingdom of God to be established and so that the Father could have mercy on the world.)
What is one thing God has spoken to you through this whole fast that you want to act on personally/see a change in yourself?
After studying examples in the Bible all week of self-control and lack of self-control, how would you describe what self-control is to someone?
Communal Reflection:
What ways can the Church, when demonstrating self-control as a community, usher in the Kingdom of God?
What’s something that can help remind our community on a regular basis to keep our motivation to be building God’s Kingdom together rather than just individual self-betterment?
What is one thing God has spoken to you through this fast that you want to encourage the church in/see growth in our community as a whole?
3. PRAY
How can you pray as a result of reading these stories?
Ask God to help you change/act on the one thing you wrote down that God spoke to you through this fast. Ask God to help our church in the one thing God spoke to you through this fast you wrote down for our church to grow in.
4. SHARE/CONFESS
Share with at least one person in our church family about your reflections, what the Holy Spirit revealed to you, and what you prayed today. Practice these things today!