Help! I’m Out of Control - Greater Reward Part 1

Choosing What You Want Most Over What You Want Now

Scripture References

• Romans 7
• Galatians 5:16
• Galatians 5

Overview

Craig opened the new-year series by naming what most of us feel: “Help—I'm out of control.” We all want something in 2021 to be different, yet good intentions and resolutions collapse quickly. Drawing on Romans 7 and his own life, he showed that will-power alone cannot free us; only a Spirit-empowered new identity in Christ can. Discipline, then, is “choosing what you want most over what you want now,” and that choice becomes possible when we belong to Jesus and walk habitually by His Spirit.

Main Points

1. We All Want Similar Things—But Live Very Different Results

• Everyone longs for a healthy body, a strong marriage, financial freedom, deeper intimacy with God.
• Desire alone changes nothing; “desires don’t determine who you become, disciplines do.”
• Hoping for a better life won’t bring it—habits that honor God will.

2. Paul’s Honest Struggle Gives Us Hope (Romans 7)

• “I want to do what’s right, but I don’t do it…oh, what a miserable person I am!”

• Even the apostle who raised the dead and wrote a third of the New Testament battled self-contradiction.
• His question, “Who will rescue me?” leads directly to the gospel answer.

3. Redefining Discipline

• Definition Craig uses:

  “Discipline is choosing what you want most over what you want now.”

• The phrase moves discipline from drudgery to gift; it’s attainable when powered by God.

4. Why Will-Power Fails

• Will-power acts like a muscle: work it long enough and it fatigues.

• Illustration: Office doughnuts—first pass confident, fifth pass you’ve eaten the whole thing.

• Before sin, the enemy whispers “It’s no big deal.” Afterward he shouts “You’re worthless,” tying failure to identity.

5. The Cycle of Shame

1. “I’m bad” →
2. “I’ll try really hard” →
3. Will-power wanes →
4. Inevitable failure →
5. Guilt and shame reinforce “I’m bad,” and the loop restarts.

• Breaking the loop requires a new identity, not more effort.

6. Identity First: “I Belong to Jesus”

• You are not what you did, what others say, or even what your condemning self-talk says.
• In Christ you are forgiven, free, an ambassador, righteous, an overcomer.
• Craig invited listeners to whisper and internalize: “I belong to Jesus.”

• Story: His own addictive family history and fear of unworthiness were reversed by daily declaring, “I am disciplined; Christ’s power in me is stronger than the wrong desires in me.”

7. Walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16)

• The flesh (sarx) = sinful nature; we place no confidence in it.
• “Walk” (peripateō) is present-tense, continuous action—step after step of dependence.
• Christian-ese often speaks of “a big step of faith,” but Scripture calls for thousands of ordinary Spirit-steps every day.

8. Immediate Payoffs vs. Greater Reward

• Sin offers instant gratification (cookie now, porn now, angry text now).
• The greater reward—godly marriage, legacy, freedom—takes time and steady Spirit-walking.

9. From Shame-Driven to Spirit-Led

• New loop:
  1. I belong to Jesus →
  2. I walk by His Spirit →
  3. His strength enables right actions →
  4. Results reinforce identity →
  5. Faith grows, cycle repeats.
• Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, not a product of human grit.

Key Truths

• Discipline is Spirit-empowered choice, not self-powered effort.
• Will-power fatigues; identity in Christ endures.
• You can’t modify behavior until God transforms identity.
• The Spirit produces self-control; we cooperate by walking step by step.
• Freedom begins by declaring and believing, “I belong to Jesus.”

Response

• Name exactly what you want most this year—be specific.
• Declare daily: “I belong to Jesus,” letting identity precede activity.
• Start each morning inviting the Spirit to guide thoughts, words, and choices.
• When you fail, run to God, confess, and resume walking—no hiding, no shame spiral.
• Replace isolated “big steps of faith” with continual Spirit-steps throughout the day.

Closing

Craig ended by reminding listeners that the “something” we’re missing is actually a Someone—Jesus. In Him the old is gone and the new has come; the same Spirit that raised Christ now empowers us to choose what we want most over what we want now.

“Thank God—the answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Prayer

Craig led the congregation in a salvation prayer, inviting those ready to belong to Jesus to surrender their lives, receive complete forgiveness, and be filled with the Holy Spirit for a brand-new start.