Control Your EMOTIONS

Renewing your mind, does not ONLY mean to discipline your thoughts, it includes your emotions. Paul says, “To be controlled by human nature (emotions) results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace. Those who obey their human nature cannot please God.” Rom 8:6, 8 (GNT)

We need to learn to control our emotions, otherwise our emotions will control us. Have you met people who are just entirely controlled by their emotions? They’re in constant turmoil, they are stressed, unstable and temperamental (90% temper and 10% mental).

Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that appears to be right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (NIV) The way you feel can easily lead you in the wrong direction.

Remember, before being born-again, you had a different nature, that of the old man, born of Adam. And the emotions we lived by before were earthly and sensual. James explains this well. “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” (Jam 313-17)

The devil really uses those emotions of the old man to try to control you. He will use fear, discontentment, worry and resentment, you name it… if YOU don’t control your emotions, they will control you, and you will be manipulated by your moods.  “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (NIV)

God cannot rule your life if emotions rule your life. If you make decisions based on how you feel, then you’ve made your feelings your god, and then God can’t be God in your life…

Many people have ruined their reputation because of something said in anger. Or missed a job opportunity because of their lack of self-control? “[People) will die for lack of discipline and instruction, and in the greatness of their folly they will go astray and be lost.” (Pro 5:23 AMP)

When you choose to follow Jesus, that decision includes yielding your emotions to the discipline of the Word. It includes yielding to the Holy Spirit. And Paul says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Gal 5:22-23) These are the NEW EMOTIONS we’ve been given in the new birth.

Jesus wants to be Lord of how you feel, not just what you think and do.“That you no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” (1Pet 4:2 )

God gave us a very simple solution to this dilemma… OBEDIENCE. Obedience is nothing more than yielding your will to His. “If you continue in My Word, then are you My disciples indeed.” (Jn 8:31) “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (Jn15:4) The key is to match our emotions to those of the life of JESUS.

If we follow the guidelines of the Word of God, our old emotions take the back burner. Jesus said that we must deny ourselves in order to follow Him. “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

In English, that means that If we’re not willing to deny ourselves, we can’t be a disciple. We must love Christ more than your mom, dad, and we must love Him more than our own life. We must be willing to die for Christ. It is either you are slaves to sin or you are a slave to Christ.

Check out these powerful verses: “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” (Lk 9:24-25)

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do  you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

Galatians 5:24-25 “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”

Ephesians 4:22-24 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Colossians 3:10 “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Romans 6:1-6 “What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”

Romans 13:14 “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”