a spirit of sobriety

The Apostle Paul speaks of having a sober spirit in many different passages - 1 Thes 5:6 & 1 Peter 5:8, 1 Peter 4:7. In fact, of all the sermons I heard as a student in high school, I can only remember 1 or 2 of the messages. One of them was 1 Peter 4:7 - speaking of having a 'sober spirit'. I probably had no idea at the time what that even meant, but every now and then, you hear a message that brings this very spirit over you. Everything becomes clear. What is really important comes into clear focus.