Grace in Galatians (Part 151): You’re Not Supposed to Control Yourself — Here’s Why

https://youtu.be/c3op5tN7hHE?si=zTDJpqQXwkvolvLh

Note: Before I get into the message for this morning, I want to share a prayer for our troops. 

A Prayer for Our Troops ??

Father, I thank You for every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, and Guardian serving our nation right now. I thank You that Your Word is true and that Psalm 91 is not a suggestion; it is a covenant promise.

I declare that our men and women in uniform dwell in the secret place of the Most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I declare that You are their refuge. You are their fortress. You are their God, and they trust in You.

Father, You are their shield and their buckler. You are the defense they cannot see, but the enemy surely feels. You are the power behind every mission they fly and the strength that sustains them through every sortie, every patrol, and every watch. You are the wall around them that no enemy can penetrate. You go before them as their advance guard, and You stand behind them as their rear guard. They are covered on every side because YOU are on every side.

I speak to every theater of conflict, every hostile airspace, every danger zone: no weapon formed against our troops shall prosper. Not a missile. Not a bomb. Not a drone. Not an air attack. Not a scheme of the enemy. YOUR PROTECTION IS ALREADY DONE!

Father, I declare Your shield of protection over every pilot in the cockpit, every crew member in the air, and every Airman on the flight line. I cover every base, every installation, and every forward operating location with the Blood of Jesus. You are the defense around our air bases. You are the power behind our air defenses. No strike, no missile, and no attack will penetrate what You have already covered.

Father, Your Word says a thousand may fall at their side and ten thousand at their right hand, but it shall NOT come near them. I set my faith in agreement with that promise RIGHT NOW. I don’t pray this hoping You’ll hear me. I pray this, knowing You already provided the protection before they ever deployed.

You are their strength at 30,000 feet. You are their shield over the base when the alarms sound. You are their power in the command center when split-second decisions determine life and death. You are their defense in the night sky when the threats come fast, and the margins are thin. They are NEVER alone. The God of Angel Armies fights for them and with them. Your strength is made perfect in their weakness, and Your power shows up strongest when the pressure is at its peak.

I declare peace over every mind battling PTSD, anxiety, and the weight of what they’ve seen. I declare strength over every military family waiting at home: the spouses, the children, the parents who carry the burden of separation. Your grace is sufficient for them. Not because they earned it, but because You freely gave it.

I declare that our troops do not fight alone. The same God who went before Joshua at Jericho, who strengthened David against Goliath, and who shut the mouths of lions for Daniel; that SAME God has already gone ahead of our military. The battle is the Lord’s. The victory is already secured.

Father, I thank You that You give Your angels charge over our troops; to keep them in ALL their ways. I don’t ask You to send angels. I declare they are ALREADY THERE. Your power surrounds every aircraft. Your strength upholds every crew. Your shield covers every base. Your defense goes before every mission.

I cover our armed forces with the Blood of Jesus; spirit, soul, and body. Bring them home safely. And for those who have paid the ultimate price, we honor their sacrifice, and we lift up the families they left behind. Your grace is more than enough for them.

I pray this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now we transition into the message. 

Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.

As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.

Key scriptures for this year:

2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”

Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”

1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Scripture we will study today:

Galatians 5:23 TPT“…gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.”

Supporting scriptures:

Proverbs 25:28 NKJV“Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.”

2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

1 Corinthians 9:27 TPT“I don’t let my body and emotions be in charge of me, but I bring them into submission. I don’t want to be one who preaches to others about the prize but is not qualified myself to receive it.”

Setting the Stage:

We have arrived at the with and final expression of divine love: strength of spirit. Most translations call this “self-control,” but The Passion Translation calls it “strength of spirit,” and that’s a much richer description. Self-control implies that YOU are the one doing the controlling through willpower and discipline. But strength of spirit points to something deeper: the Holy Spirit empowering you from the inside out. This is supernatural inner strength that comes from yielding to the Spirit of God. Proverbs 25:28 says a person without rule over their own spirit is like a city with broken walls; there’s no defense, and everything is exposed. But a believer who walks in strength of spirit is fortified from within. 

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. Strength of Spirit Is Not Willpower; It Is Yielding to the Holy Spirit.

The world teaches self-control as a discipline you develop through willpower and habit. But biblical self-control, or strength of spirit, is a fruit of the Spirit. It’s produced by the Holy Spirit as you yield to Him. The difference is huge. Willpower runs out. It’s finite. You can only humanly will your way through temptation for so long before you break. But the Holy Spirit’s power is limitless. When you yield to Him, He gives you a strength that doesn’t run out.

How this applies to you:

— Divine self-control is not about containing yourself; it’s about yielding to the One who contains all things.

— Willpower has an expiration date (meaning that if you are fighting to control yourself with your will, your mental focus may break over time), but the Holy Spirit’s empowerment is without limits.

— The more you rest in God’s grace, the more naturally self-controlled you become.

— You don’t have to force yourself to do what’s right. As you yield to the Spirit and your mind is renewed by the Word of God, Godly behavior flows naturally. Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. The more your mind is renewed, the more the things of the Spirit become natural to you; not because you are trying harder, but because you are thinking differently (learning to think like God).

— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that the key to self-control is not trying harder; it’s surrendering more.

— When your spirit is strong, your flesh loses its ability to dictate your decisions.

— Strength of spirit is the evidence that you’ve learned to let the Holy Spirit lead your life instead of your emotions.

2. A Person Without Strength of Spirit Is a City Without Walls.

Proverbs 25:28 paints a vivid picture: a person without rule over their own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls. In ancient times, a city without walls was completely defenseless. Anyone could walk in and take whatever they wanted. When you lack strength of spirit, your life is exposed to every attack, every temptation, and every distraction the enemy sends your way. But when the Holy Spirit produces strength of spirit in you, He builds walls of protection around your life.

How this applies to you:

— Without strength of spirit, your life is an open target for every temptation and every distraction.

— The Holy Spirit builds spiritual walls around your heart, your mind, and your decisions. He is your defense system.

— You can spend years, even decades, building a life, a family, a career, and a reputation, and then lose it all in a single moment of reckless, unguarded behavior. This is why strength of spirit matters. When you yield to the Holy Spirit, He becomes the guard over everything you have built.

— Strength of spirit protects your relationships, your reputation, and your divine assignment.

— I remember walking into a room where my wife was teaching a Bible study for women. She did not know I was there. I heard her explain why she is not a jealous wife. First, she said she is simply not wired that way. But second, she said she knows how much I value the anointing on my life. She knows that I know if I were to violate my marriage covenant, I would run the risk of destroying everything that God has invested decades building in my life. I value the anointing too much. That is strength of spirit. It is not willpower keeping me in line. It is the understanding that what God has built in me and through me is too valuable to lose in a moment of reckless behavior.

— In leadership, your self-control sets the standard for your team. A leader who can’t govern themselves will have a hard time governing others.

— Your emotional discipline in high-pressure situations earns the trust of those watching. They see someone who is Spirit-led, not emotion-driven.

— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that the true walls of strength around your life are not built by willpower; they’re built by the Holy Spirit as you yield to Him.

3. Your Emotions Don’t Control You; You Are Led by the Spirit.

One of the most powerful applications of strength of spirit is emotional mastery. This doesn’t mean you suppress your emotions or pretend they don’t exist. It means your emotions don’t have the final say. The Holy Spirit does. You can feel angry without acting in anger. You can feel disappointed without making decisions from disappointment. You can feel afraid without being paralyzed by fear. The Holy Spirit gives you the strength to acknowledge your emotions without being controlled by them.

How this applies to you:

— You can feel the emotion without letting it dictate your actions. That’s the strength of spirit.

— Spirit-led people process their emotions through the filter of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit before they respond.

— When someone triggers you, the strength of Spirit gives you the power to pause before you react.

— Your children need to see a parent who can manage their emotions. Strength of spirit becomes a legacy you pass down.

— The enemy uses emotional manipulation to get you off track. Strength of spirit is your countermeasure.

— God gave you emotions on purpose. They are not the enemy. Joy, grief, compassion, even righteous anger are all part of how God designed you. He is not asking you to become emotionless. He is asking you to be Spirit-led.

— The goal is not to eliminate your emotions but to submit them. Feel what you feel, but let the Holy Spirit have the final word on what you do with it. When your emotions are submitted to the Spirit, they become a tool in God’s hands instead of a weapon in the enemy’s hands.

4. Strength of Spirit Is Love Yielded and Unshakable.

When you are secure in God’s love, you don’t need to lash out, overreact, or lose control. God’s love stabilizes you. Love grounds you. Love gives you a foundation that nothing can shake. When you are deeply rooted in God’s love, you operate from a place of inner security that the world cannot provide and the enemy cannot touch.

How this applies to you:

— When you are secure in God’s love, you don’t have to prove anything, defend your ego, or react out of insecurity.

— Love makes you unshakable. The deeper your roots in God’s love, the less the storms affect you.

— Strength of spirit is the culmination of all eight fruit. When love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, virtue, faith, and gentleness are flowing, the strength of spirit holds it all together.

— This is the fruit that ensures all the other fruit remain active in your life.

We have now completed our study of Galatians 5:22-23, the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit. We started with the foundational truth that love is the root, and we traced every expression of divine love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, virtue, faith, gentleness, and strength of spirit. These are not qualities you manufacture; they are fruit that the Holy Spirit produces as you yield to Him.

That’s enough for today.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You for the strength of spirit that the Holy Spirit produces in me!

I declare that my self-control is not based on willpower; it is a fruit of the Spirit produced by Your grace!

My life is not a city without walls; the Holy Spirit has fortified me from the inside out!

My emotions do not control me; I am led by the Spirit, and I respond with wisdom and purpose!

I am fully yielded to You and completely unshakable because I am rooted in Your love!

Love is the root, and joy, peace, patience, kindness, virtue, faith, gentleness, and strength of spirit are the fruit that my life produces!

I am living from the inside out, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!