Most boys and girls have been to the doctor for a shot. I can remember the fear that went with that experience. The stories that boys and girls like to pass around about long needles—needles so long that they’ll go clear through the arm and out the other side. Worst of all is that time in school when all the boys and girls are in for vaccinations. There are all kinds of needles going through the arm at that point. And the fear and the dread are too overwhelming! But the interesting thing most of us discovered was that the pain and the trouble anticipated was worse than when it actually happened.

When the moment actually came, we were surprised how easy it was because the doctors and nurses had learned how to do it right.

I had surgery one time, and the doctor said I could go home from the hospital early if I was sure to get an antibiotic shot every day. It was a joy to go home from the hospital, but after my wife’s first attempt and failure to give me the shot, and after her father tried a few times, and her little brother, I began feeling like a pin cushion or a dartboard of some sort. I grabbed the needle and pushed it in slowly myself. That was worse yet. All of a sudden the expert doctors and the nurses began to look pretty good.

When you try to treat yourself, whether it’s in the realm of physical medicine or in the realm of spiritual medicine, it doesn’t go so well. We need the great Physician. And really, that’s what part two of this study on preventive religion is about. Our premise is that the same eight simple remedies that the school of health and the preventive-medicine people use have their counterpart in the spiritual life. In physical life these eight simple remedies, God’s remedies, are the simple agencies of nature: pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, and trust in divine power. In this chapter we will cover the spiritual counterparts of abstemiousness, rest, trust in divine power, and sunlight.

Abstemiousness

Abstemiousness is a tough word. Let’s face it, a better word is temperance, and perhaps an even better word than that would be self-control. Abstemiousness or temperance and self- control are significant. We understand that self-control is the highest evidence of nobility in the Christian. It gets high marks. But what is self-control? Is it something we do ourselves, or is it the result of something else? This is a practical question to consider.

If you turn to Galatians 5, you’ll discover at least three of our remedies for today in the list called the fruits of the spirit: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance [or abstemiousness, or self-control]: against such there is no law“ (Galatians 5:22, 23). We notice in this list these three: temperance; rest, or peace; and faith, or trust. They are called “fruits of the Spirit.“ One of the first things we notice when we consider fruit is that fruit is the result of something else. You don’t really work on fruit. You work on what produces fruit, and the fruit comes. That’s why we’ve divided our list of eight remedies in the spiritual realm into two sections. The first four, which we discussed in the previous chapter, have to do with the cause, and the last four, which we refer to in this chapter, have to do with the result of time spent with God and fellowshiping with Jesus.

So, self-control is a fruit, or gift from the Holy Spirit. It is not so much something that we achieve as it is something we receive. I wonder how many of you have worked hard to develop more self-control. I wonder how many of us understand the difference between what we really have control over and what we don’t! May I remind you that everyone in this world is either under the control of God or under the control of Satan. There are no other options. There is no third choice.

The only control we have is which one of these two powers we want to control us. And that is hard for some people to accept, but it’s still the truth. Romans 6 makes it clear that we are either servants of God or of the enemy, and we are only servants. So how much deliberate control do we have over our lives? All we have is the choice of deciding to come into fellowship with the Lord Jesus, and choosing to continue or discontinue that relationship. If we choose not to put ourselves under God’s control, we will automatically be under the control of the enemy of souls.

The result of choosing to come under God’s control, which is always ours and is never taken from us, is something we should rather call “God control“ than “self-control.“ It’s true that God never bypasses our capacities. He works through us and never outside of us. But God’s control allows people like Paxil to say, It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me (see Galatians 2:20), and, “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do his good pleasure“ (Philippians 2:13). Therefore there are two kinds of control. One is the only kind we can choose, and we have to use whatever grit, backbone, determination, and self-control we have toward that. This choice is toward which of the two powers we want to control us. The other is something that is a fruit of the Spirit, the results of that choice. If we choose God’s control in our lives, we will receive something better than self-control. God will control our appetites, our passions, our thoughts, words, actions, our motives, our purposes, and all the rest of it.

The example of self-control that people bring up most is appetite. It would be well for us to take a look at how the control of our appetite really works. I wonder how many of you have ever tried to control your appetite. That is a foolish question, isn’t it? I suppose that even some skinny people are willing to admit that appetite can be a problem for them. I’ve heard a few of them admit it.

People will never be truly temperate until the grace of Christ is an abiding principle in the heart. All the pledges in the world will not make you health reformers. No mere restriction of your diet will cure your diseased appetite. You will not practice temperance in all things until your hearts are transformed by the grace of God. Circumstances cannot work reforms. Christianity proposes a reformation in the heart. What Christ works within will be worked out under the dictation of the converted intellect. The plan of beginning on the outside and trying to work inward has always failed and always will fail. God’s plan with you is to begin at the very seat of all difficulties, the heart, and then from out of the heart will issue the principles of righteousness. Reformation will be outward as well as inward.

So of all things, health and diet and appetite are classic categories in which we see that our only hope is in the fruit of the Spirit. If the self-control you have been using for years is the fruit of the person, then the person gets the glory. Strong people who live a life apart from Jesus, and whose whole religion is made up of trying to do what’s right and thinking they succeed—these people will discover sooner or later that that kind of self-control is not enough. It will not carry them through. But when we accept self-control as a fruit of the Spirit instead of a fruit of the person, then we discover the kind of control that comes from God, which deals not just with outward actions, but with the inward heart and motives and purposes and feelings and inclinations as well. Then it’s worth something.

I’d like to invite you to circle this, whether you’re talking about Peter’s ladder in 2 Peter 1, or temperance, which is part of growth in the Christian life. Whatever you call it, it is a fruit of the Spirit, not a fruit of the person. Let’s also allow for growth. Baby Christians who discover problems with their self-control probably ought to remember that babies in the physical realm don’t have much self-control, either. That’s why we have Pampers and things like that, and that’s why babies are forgiven when they throw things. Self-control is part of the growth in the Christian life, and I’m thankful that God understands that as well, aren’t you?

Peace

Next I’d like to remind you of another fruit of the Spirit in the list of Galatians 5 called peace. Elsewhere in the list of preventive remedies it is called “rest.“ In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.“ It’s a gift. And exercise demands rest.

I have a friend who was right up where he should be on his diet, and right up where he should be in terms of exercise. He thought he was in top shape until he went in for an examination and discovered that he had to have three to four bypasses. He was in trouble! Why? Because he lived a life of constant stress, and stress can do that to your heart. Our world is full of it. Think of it in the physical realm. Californians are known as people who always drive in the fast lane. Californians still exist for the same purpose that got California started—the gold rash.

I’ve had the privilege of moving a time or two from California to Oregon and to Colorado. In Oregon, if someone misses a day of work, they don’t worry about it. They have some canned fruit down in the cellar. They can sit on the back steps and watch the sun go down. They have time.

I remember the first day I was in a town in Colorado. I found myself waiting behind a man who waited for the green light to turn red! I about had a heart attack. Suddenly it hit me. It was beautiful that anyone could do this. The pace was slower. People could see people on the street and say Hello. So I tried waiting through a green light for a red one, but that caused more stress, because there was someone behind me, and I think he was from California.

We ought to have the privilege once in a while of slowing down and getting away from the mad race. All of us need that. But we need it most in the spiritual realm.

What is spiritual stress? The heaviest stress that plagues Christians everywhere, including our own subculture, is: “Am I going to make it?“ “Is my eternal destiny certain?“ “Will I be in heaven?“ “How can I know that I am right with God?“ And this kind of stress, we are told, is not necessary. Did you know that? We should not make self the center and indulge anxiety and fear as to whether we will be saved. If a person gets bogged down in whether or not he is going to be saved, he is making self the center. We’ve done a great deal of that—wondering whether or not we can be certain of our own salvation. All this turns us away from the Source of our strength. Let’s commit the keeping of our soul to God and trust in Him.

Talk and think of Jesus. Let self be lost in Him. Rest in God. He is able to keep that which you have committed to Him. If you will leave yourself in His hands, He will bring you off more than a conqueror through Him who has loved you.

So, if we pay attention to the first four remedies, personal fellowship with Jesus, time in His Word and time on our knees, and time day by day in service and outreach, the Holy Spirit will give us the certainty that all is well, that Jesus has made a more than adequate sacrifice, that the cross is the assurance of God’s love for each one of us, and that He is more interested in getting us into heaven than He is in keeping anyone out. Do you have rest on that level? Have you accepted that rest? Isn’t this what Jesus is inviting us to? Don’t labor and be heavy-laden concerning this one. Rest is a gift. And it’s yours, as long as you keep yourself in His hands day by day.

The other aspect of rest comes from knowing that God is able to finish what He has started. It is the security and the peace that we can have knowing that God is still in charge, that He is still the One who sits on the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers when it comes to hindering His plans. It is knowing that God’s plans still know no haste and no delay.

This includes His plans for the church as well. I’d like to remind you of the deep conviction some of us have that God is still in charge of this work. I think that I have been as cynical as anyone about the great white elephant called organization. But I’ve been watching it, and more and more I am convinced that God is in charge, and that we can trust Him. Here’s something from the days of our pioneers:

Do not worry. The work is under the supervision of the blessed Master… . All parts of the work—our churches, missions, Sabbath schools, institutions—are carried upon His heart. Why worry? The intense longing to see the church imbued with life must be tempered with entire trust in God, for “without Me,“ said the great Burden Bearer, “ye can do nothing.“

Let no one overtax his God-given powers in an effort to advance the Lord’s work more rapidly. The power of man cannot hasten the work; with this must be united the power of heavenly intelligences… . Man cannot do God’s part of the work… .“ He is not to feel self-confident, for thus he will exhaust his reserve force and destroy his mental and physical powers. Though all the workmen now bearing the heaviest burdens should be laid aside, God’s work would be carried forward (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 298).

That’s interesting.

You can trust God. You can have peace. It’s a gift of the Spirit if you keep close to Him. Accept His peace, and rest concerning His power and ability to finish what He has started.

Trust

Our next remedy is trust in divine power. Trust is a synonym of faith. In fact, it’s probably the best definition of faith. Where does it come from? It’s a fruit of the Spirit. Everyone is given enough to begin with. And Ephesians 2:8 reminds us that it is a gift: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God.“ If your faith is the fruit of the person, then all you have is positive thinking. If your faith is the fruit of the Spirit, then what you must have is a relationship with God from which trust comes. And it’s always trust in Jesus, not in ourselves and what we can do.

The genuine Christian, living close to God, distrusts himself, even though he knows he is of value, eternal value in the eyes of heaven. And he trusts only in Jesus. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool (see Proverbs 28:26). But the one who trusts in Jesus will be strong and will do mighty things.

Sunlight

Finally, if we make use of the simple remedies—the study of His Word, prayer, Christian service in reaching out toward others, and receiving the fruits of the Spirit—Jesus, the Son of righteousness, is going to be central in our focus. Malachi 4:2, speaking of Jesus and sunlight, says, ‘But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.“ We all know the good that sunlight can do. Many of us try to make it to the beach or to the mountains at least once a year to take in a little sun. At least we should. The doctors recommend it. The suntan lotion people love it. And we know the healing elements of the sunshine. The sunshine that expels the darkness and melts the dew and the mist, and takes away the fog. Sunshine—that’s what we think of when we think of Jesus.

“The Sun of righteousness.“ Why? Because His righteousness is glorious like the blazing sun. And His righteousness surrounds the earth with an atmosphere of grace that each one can choose to receive or not. I’m thankful for the “true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world“ (John 1:9). I’m thankful that Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.“ I’m thankful that we can see Jesus through all of these remedies.

What great name but the name of Jesus can help men to live in peace? Oh, that our world could discover that. What great name but the name of Jesus helps men die in peace? Millions of persons have passed into the valley of the shadow of death with the name of Jesus on their parched lips, and for them the valley has been transformed with light and glory, and the shadows have fled away, as the “Sun of righteousness“ has lighted up their last moments with resplendent color. Jesus is the supreme figure of the ages and is growing more mighty every day. Kings, potentates, and crowns are failing rapidly. Great names, one after the other, go out and are soon forgotten. But the name of Jesus is ever increasing in might and glory.

Jesus, how wonderful and how precious is the name. He is the Prince of peace, the mighty God, and the coming King. When we think of Him who was born in a stable and died upon the cross, who divides the centuries in two, and about whose name all history revolves, who lifted empires off their hinges and tinged the stream of time with His own blood, and at the same time binds up the brokenhearted and speaks peace to the troubled breast, may we not exclaim, “All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.“