The Holy Spirit is your control for bringing the life and ministry of Jesus into your life and ministry. As we learned in Romans 7:15-24, we are no match for our body, the world, and the devil. We need the Holy Spirit’s control so we can start living the life we have always wanted to live and doing the ministry we have always wanted to do.

Rom 8:6 (NIV) The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind CONTROLLED by the Spirit is life and peace.

Rom 8:9 (NIV) You, however, are CONTROLLED not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

Rom 8:14 (NIV) Because those who are LED by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

1 Th 4:3-5 (NIV) It is God’s will that you should be SANCTIFIED: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to CONTROL his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God.

1 Th 5:6-8 (NIV) So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and SELF-CONTROLLED. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be SELF-CONTROLLED, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

1 Tim 3:1-7 (NIV) Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an OVERSEER, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, SELF-CONTROLLED, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

1 Tim 3:8-13 (NIV) DEACONS, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

As you finish the major part of your training and move from a mentor, to a minister, to a world changer, you are going to need the self-control of the Spirit. As some read passages with the words “self-control” in them, they get the impression that it is self controlling self. However, Galatians 5:22-23 shows us that self-control is a manifestation of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Gal 5:22-23 (NIV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and SELF-CONTROL. Against such things there is no law.

He is giving us the kind of self-control we need. He is empowering us to bring ourselves under the leadership of Jesus.

With your free will always in play, you can yield to the Holy Spirit’s control and He will bring your body into a control that will make it come under your desires.

Rom 8:10-11 (NIV) But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, Who lives in you.

And, if your desires are to yield to the life and ministry of Jesus, then you and He will work together to use your body to live the life and do the ministry of Jesus. Let the Holy Spirit get you ready for this way of life.