Theology 101, Doctrine Review
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John 7: 9 – 17
John 7: 9 – 17
Introduction: As we begin this evening
Allow me to read you something
That I found
Written by A. W. Tozer
A preacher of the last century
he said
We have gotten accustomed to the blurred puffs of gray fog
that pass for doctrine in churches
and expect nothing better.
From some previously unimpeachable sources are now coming
vague statements consisting of a milky admixture of Scripture,
science, and human sentiment
that is true to none of its ingredients
because each one works to cancel the others out.
Little by little Christians these days are being brainwashed.
One evidence is that increasing numbers of them
are becoming ashamed to be found unequivocally on the side of truth.
They say they believe, but their beliefs have been so diluted
as to be impossible of clear definition.
Moral power has always accompanied definite beliefs.
Great saints have always been dogmatic.
We need a return to a gentle dogmatism that smiles
while it stands stubborn and firm on the Word of God
that lives and abides forever.
-And with that in mind
-Let’s read our text, For this evening
-Is John 7:9 – 17)
Speaking of Jesus, it says
When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee.
But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.
Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
-Let’s pray
-(Pray)And
I. Extensive review
Declaration
Now then
We’ve been studying
Theology 101
Since last year
And
During that time
We have learned a lot of things
But be that as it may
There are some
Who hear the word doctrine
And they think to themselves
Boring!
In
Their opinion
Doctrine is dry, Dusty
And in some ways
dismal
That
It has no relevance
In life in 2025
And therefore
Why bother with it
And as result
Some churches avoid doctrine
As though it were the plague
And instead
They preach
self-help material
They
Focus only
On societal issues
And by the way
Societal issues are important
But
Doctrine is important
And Let me tell you what the Bible says
In fact
Let me read you
What
The apostle Paul said
In the book of Acts
Chapter 20
As
Paul was about to leave
The members of the church of Ephesus
He said
In verses 22 – 27 (Acts 20:22 – 27
And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
And
An integral part of that counsel
Is the doctrine
And
Let me read you
A number of verses from our Bible
About the doctrine
in 2 Timothy 3:16
The apostle Paul wrote
- All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Likewise
in Titus 2:1 -
He said
But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
And
The word doctrine there
Means simply teaching
Or instruction
But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine
Paul said
And he told us why
In The book of Ephesians
And in chapter 4
He warned about the possibility
of false doctrine
He said (Ephesians 4:14
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
So
The fact is
Bible Doctrine
is very important
And
Notice our text
If you would again please
Here in John 7)
The Lord Jesus said
In verse 17 (John 7:17
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
And
I submit to you
That the Lord Jesus wants us
To know the doctrine too
The instructions of God
And
Since last year
We’ve been talking about doctrine
Discussion
And
As we began this study
We talked about
The doctrine of God
The teachings
About our God
And we read
In Genesis 1)
And in verse 1
(Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the truth is
All doctrine
Begins with God
God is the beginning
Of all things
And
As we studied the doctrine of God
We found that God
Has no beginning
God is!
That’s something
That the apostle John made clear
When he said
In the beginning
Was
The Word
In other words
When the beginning of time
Came around
God was
He was already there
He
Is the Alpha and Omega
The first and the last
God is in fact
Eternal
The Bible says
In Deuteronomy 33:27 – 28
The eternal God is thy refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms:
And he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee;
And shall say, Destroy them.
Israel then shall dwell in safety alone:
The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine;
Also his heavens shall drop down dew.
That word
Eternal describes
That which has no beginning
And no end
But
Not only is God’s Existence
eternal
But the Lord’s love
Is everlasting
God
So loves the world
And because He does
He deals with us
Ministers to us
Via His attributes
Attributes like
His self existence
His omniscience (He knows everything)
His omnipotence (God is all-powerful
His omnipresence (He is everywhere the same time)
God’s immutability (He never changes)
Likewise
God is merciful
Where the sinner is concerned
And God is gracious
He
Is both merciful and gracious
Where the saints are concerned
as well
God
Is a God of justice
And truth
God is good
And God is kind
And
With all these attributes
God ministers to people
People
Whom God has created
In fact
The Bible says in Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
We
Also studied
Christology
The doctrine of Christ
And
As we have mentioned
Multiple times in the last few weeks
The Lord Jesus Christ is God (John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And of course
The Lord Jesus
Is the Word
He Became
The Redeemer of mankind
The Revealer
Of the Word of God
And He Himself
Is God’s Revelation
to man
We
Then moved on
To the doctrine of Bibliology
That is the study
Of the Bible
And we found
That the Bible
Is the Word
Of the eternal God
And
He wrote it
To help man Find the Lord
And then
Begin to live for the Lord
And
The Bible by the way
Is doctrine
We
Studied the doctrine
Of angeology
Or of angels
And
We found that angels are creations of God
and their primary function
Is to praise the Lord
And to do God’s bidding
But then
We moved on
To the doctrine of anthropology
The study of man
And we found that
While man was created in the image of God
he Chose to reject the Lord’s teaching
Adam did
And as a result
Of Adams rejection
Of God’s instructions
Man became sinner
Adam passed his sin nature down
To his posterity
And therefore
All men are sinners
And under the condemnation of their sins
Which is eternal separation from God
And
That led us
to hamartiology
or the doctrine of sin
Sin
Is a missing of the Mark
God’s Word is the Mark
It is the standard
By which all men are supposed to live
And
When men disobey that standard
They are sinning
And
Sin condemns
The soul that sinneth
It shall die
The Bible says in Ezekiel 18:4
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
But
While all men are sinners
Praise God
There is a Savior
Who
Provides salvation
For man’s soul
Salvation from the wages
Of his sin
And
That is the doctrine
Of soteriology
. (Ephesians 2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
And
Once man is saved
God has provided
In these New Testament times
A church for man to attend
And
That is the study
Of ecclesiology
of the church
And a church
Is
An assembly of believers
Who have come together
To do the Lord’s work
The work
Of evangelizing the lost
Edifying the saved
And exalting the Lord
Designation
And
After the Lord
Provided salvation for man
By dying on the cross
He
Made a promise
That He would not leave man comfortless
In fact
Keep your place here in chapter 7
Of the book of John
And turn ahead
To chapter 14
And
Read with me
Verses 15 – 18
The Lord Jesus said (John 14:15 – 18
If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
The word
Comforter
Here in this passage of Scripture
Is a word which means
One called alongside
To help
Jesus said
Though I’m going to leave you
I will not leave you
Without help
But I will in fact
Give you the Spirit of God
And
In our day and time
When a person puts their faith and trust
In the Lord Jesus Christ
God then
Gives them
Of His Spirit
The Holy Spirit of God
Comes to live
inside
Of that person
To
Not only seal them
Till they get into heaven
But to help them along the way
By providing
Instruction
Conviction
Encouragement
Enlightenment
Etc.
And
Part of the Spirit’s help
In our lives
Is to give us spiritual gifts
And
If you recall
We said that
In the first century
God give a total of 18 different spiritual gifts
That
The believer was to employ
To both edify the saints
And to evangelize the lost
But
At the end of the first century
When the Scriptures were complete
The sign gifts
That Jesus referenced in Mark 16)
In fact
Jesus said
In verses 17 – 18 (Mark 16:17 – 18
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
But
When the Word of God
Was completed
On the Isle of Patmos
Those sign gifts
Were done away
But today
God’s Holy Spirit
Is still giving spiritual gifts
To us
to Enable us to edify the believer
Gifts
Like exhortation
And evangelism
gifts like mercy
Gifts like ruling Or administration
Gifts like teaching
gifts like the pastor
Etc.
Determination
But
While God’s Holy Spirit
Gives gifts
to the believer
In fact
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:7
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
But
While God’s Holy Spirit
Gives spiritual gifts to the believer
He Likewise produces
Fruit in the believer
But
In order to have that fruit
Produced in our life
We must follow the Lord Jesus’ instruction
He said
In John 15)
Verse 7 – 8
(John 15:7 – 8
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
And
The thought our Savior was conveying was
We need to stay close
To Him
In order to be fruitful
It is
As Paul said
In Galatians 5:16
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
By the way
In that same Passage
Paul went on to describe
The lust of the flesh
Or the works of the flesh
In
verses 19 – 21
He said (Galatians 5:19 – 21
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But
As we walk in the Spirit
Endeavoring to abide in Christ
He produces in us
The fruits of the Spirit
Which
According to verse 22
Are (Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Delineation
And last week
We began discussing
These Spiritual fruit
And we ran out a time
So
Let’s quickly review
What we talked about last week
And then
we will try to finish out this list
Now last week
We said that
As we walk in the Spirit
Which again
Means to accompany
God’s Holy Spirit
He will then produce
Perfect love in us
and the word love there
is Agape
It
Is the purest love
There is
But as we walk with the Lord
He will give us the capacity
To love the unlovable
To have love
that is unending
And
Without love
Our relationships can’t endure
We can’t in fact
Give of ourselves
Like we should
And
Because of our flesh
Which is selfish sometimes
It would behoove each of us
To
Walk with the Spirit
So that He can in turn
Produce love in us
And
oh how we need that
But
The
fruit of the Spirit
is love
And if God produces that in us
He then
Gives us the capacity
To practice the kind of love
That Paul talked about
In 1 Corinthians13:4 – 7)
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
But
Last week
We not only found that
As we walk in the Spirit
He produces love in us
But
He also produces
A second kind of fruit
In our lives
And that is joy
As
You allow God’s Holy Spirit
To control your life
He will produce joy
with in you
Which means
Cheerfulness
Calm delight
Exceeding great gladness
And that kind of joy
Has the Ability
To cause your enemies
To slink away
In fact
In the face of fear and loneliness
Trial and tragedies
Those who are having joy
Produced in them
Can conquer these things
But see
When you walk in the Spirit
He will then produce
Perfect love in your heart
Love
For your fellow man
And love
For your Father God
He
Will likewise
Produce joy in you
Just calm delight
Then
At the same time
As you accompany God’s Holy Spirit
Allowing Him
To control you
He then
Will produce peace
In your heart
An oh
What important fruit that is
In the day and time in which we live
Because see
We are living
In a society
That tends to create anxiety
Have you noticed that
It is a society
That can make you anxious
Anxious over finances
Anxious Over your health
And the many enemies to health
It
Can make you anxious
Over the state of the world
With all its immorality
And all the social upheaval
see..this world
Is an anxious place
. And
Even as a Christian
If you are not accompanying The Holy Spirit of God
You too
can become anxious
oh
But the apostle Paul wrote
In Phil 4:6-7
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Now
Did you hear that
It is the peace of God
Which helps us dispel
Those anxious feelings
And remember
That word peace
Means literally quietness
That
Regardless of tribulation
Or trial in your life
As your company God’s Holy Spirit
He
Can give you quietness in your heart
In the midst of the storm
And we
Made reference to an example
Of a comparison
Of two believers
In the book of 2 Kings
And in chapter 6
It was a time
When the king of Syria
Was warring against Israel
But during that time
Israel was blessed
To have the prophet Elisha ministering to them
And
As the Syrian invaders
Encroached upon the city
The Bible says about the king of Syria
In verses 14 – 16 (2 Kings6:14 – 16
Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
Now
Did you hear Elisha’s servant?
As the enemy surrounded them
He said alas master
Which is a statement of fear
But
What shall we do?
He said
but
With the peace of God
Elisha proclaimed
Fear not
For they that be with us
Are more than they that be with them
. And
My dear friend
God wants to give you
The same kind of perfect peace
In the midst of your storm too
And
Aren’t you so glad
For God’s Holy Spirit
Who can produce that in you
That as you walk with Him
Well even though trials and tribulations
Come your way
He can produce quietness
. In your soul
Delineation
There is yet
Another fruit
Thank God’s Holy Spirit provides
Or produces in us
As we walk with Him
And
That is Long-suffering
He produces love in us
And joy
And peace
Likewise
As we walk in the Spirit
Accompanying Him
He produces
Long-suffering in us
And
As a reminder
That describes forbearance
And patience
And
Have you ever wondered why
Some Christians have the ability
To be patient
In stressful situations
But others,
just aren’t patient
Well
It is because one Christian
Is walking with the Spirit
While the other Christian
Is controlled by their flesh
But
Let me say that
In this day and time
We absolutely need patience
Because
God has His own purposes
And Timeline
God’s way is perfect
And we just need to learn
To wait on the Lord
In fact
The prophet Isaiah wrote
In Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings as eagles;
They shall run, and not be weary;
And they shall walk, and not fain
David
Likewise wrote
In Psalm 37:7 – 9
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:
Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way,
Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath:
Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
For evildoers shall be cut off:
But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
II. Explanation of the revelation
Declaration
But as I once again
Try to bring this sermon series
To a close
In talking about Pneumatology
Or the Doctrine of the Spirit
Let me say that
As we walk with the Spirit
Not only does He produce
Love in our hearts
And joy in our soul
And
Not Only does God's Holy Spirit
Produce peace
Within our hearts
And long-suffering
Just the ability to wait on God
But
God’s Holy Spirit
Will produce gentleness in us
And
The word gentleness
Not only means moral excellence
And that is important
But it also carries the idea
Of kindness
See
When you are walking
With God’s Holy Spirit
He will give you the capacity
To be morally upright
And at the same time too
To be kind to others
But
May I say that
When someone lacks kindness
Where others are concerned
It is because they’re not
Walking in the Spirit
When
They are unkind
To their fellow believer
By not only...
What they say
And how they said
And what they do
well, it is because
They are being controlled
By their fleshly nature
But
The Scripture is clear
Where Gentleness Is concerned
In fact
The Bible commands us
To be kind
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Likewise
The apostle Paul wrote
In the book of Colossians
Chapter 3:12
And said (Colossians 3:12
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Now
Did you hear that?
Paul said put on kindness
Robe yourself
In kindness
And incidentally
Paul also said
That love is kind
In 1 Corinthians 13: 4)
But
My point is
As we walk in the Spirit
He will produce kindness
Or gentleness in us
It is a fruit of the Spirit
And
Before I move on
To the next point
Let me tell you a story
That I read
As I was preparing for tonight
It is a story
That I found in a Christian periodical
Called Today in the Word
The February 1991 edition
It said
British statesman and financier
Cecil Rhodes,
whose fortune was used to endow
the world-famous Rhodes Scholarships,
was
a stickler for correct dress
-but apparently
not at the expense
of someone else's feelings.
see
A young man was invited
to dine with Rhodes
and
he arrived by train
and had to go directly to Rhodes's home
in his travel-stained clothes.
and
Once there
he was appalled to find the other guests
already assembled,
wearing full evening dress.
But
After what seemed a long time
Rhodes appeared,
in a shabby old blue suit.
Later
the young man learned
that his host had been dressed in evening clothes,
but he put on the old suit
when he heard of his young guest's dilemma.
See
Cecil Rhodes
Practiced kindness
Where his fellowmen was concerned
He
Employed gentleness
And God wants us as believers
To be gentle with others too
And
If we should find
That kindness does not come Naturally
to us
All
We really need to do
Is to walk in the Spirit
And when we do
He will then
Produce love
Within our hearts
and joy
God’s Holy Spirit
Will produce peace
And long-suffering
And God’s Holy Spirit
Will produce gentleness
In us
Discussion
There is yet
Another fruit
That God’s Holy Spirit
Will produce in us
As we walk with Him
And
That is goodness
Again Paul said
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Now
I need you to pay attention
This is important
But
Goodness in man
Is not a mere passive quality
But rather
Goodness in man
Is the deliberate preference
Of right
Over Wrong
Let me
Say that again
To make sure we got it
Goodness
Is not merely
A passive quality
But
It is rather
The Deliberate preference
Of right over wrong
It
Is the firm and persistent
Resistance
Of all moral evil
And
The Embracing
And following
Of all moral good
Which
Remind me
Of something
Dr. Bob Jones Senior used to say
he said
Do right
He said
Till the stars fall
As believers
We should all choose
To just too good
But
Have you ever wondered
Why some believers
Have a difficult time
Choosing to do the right thing
But instead
It seems like they always choose
To do the wrong thing
I’ve known
Some Christians
Who just always seem
To make bad choices
When
They’ve had a choice
Between doing that which was right
And that which was wrong
It just seems like they always chose
so much of the time
they chose
That which was wrong
And the reason
Is that they simply were not walking
With the Holy Spirit of God
And therefore
He isn’t producing Goodness
in their heart and life
But
Inasmuch as Jesus
Always Went about doing good
Then we as His followers
Ought to have
A strong desire to do good
As well
But in order to accomplish that
We will need to be accompanying
God’s Holy Spirit
And if we will
He will then produce
The desire in us
To Deliberately prefer
That which is right
And to reject
That which is wrong
Deliberation
There is
Another fruit
That God’s Holy Spirit
Will produce in us
As we accompany Him
Again
Paul wrote
(Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
The
Holy Spirit of God
Will produce faith in us
And Faith is simply the ability
To trust the Lord
What
An important fruit
That is
In our day and time
Because let’s face it
This world is a difficult place
We have
Trials and tribulations
We must endure
There are tests
And turbulence
In this life that we live
And
Because that is true
We so need
To trust the Lord
In this life
Now
We are commanded
To trust the Lord
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;
And lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him,
And he shall direct thy paths.
So
We are commanded
To trust the Lord
But have you ever wondered
Why
Some believers
Seem to be able to trust the Lord
Even in times of hardship
Yet others don’t?
In fact
I’m reminded of Elijah
And the widow of Zarephath
Do you remember
Her dilemma
She was living in a Drought plagued society
There was no rain for three and half years
And as a result
All of the crops had died
much of the livestock
Had died
And
She and her son
Only had enough food
For one more meal
But
Elijah taught her
To trust the Word
Of the living God
In fact
Look quickly
in 1 King 17)
And read with me verses 8 – 14
The Bible says (1 Kings 17: 8– 14
And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.
See
Because Elijah
Was walking with the Lord
he Then trusted God
And not the brook
Elijah trusting God
And not the barrel
And
That’s what we need to do
But let me ask you
Are you trusting the Lord tonight
That
As you face trial
And tribulation
As you face the turbulent world
Are you
Trusting the Lord
By faith
Through whatever you’re going through?
Well
If you’re allowing your flesh
To get the upper hand in your life
You might not be trusting God
So let me encourage you
To do as Paul said
In Galatians 5:16
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
And if you will
He will produce in you
Love and joy
Peace and long-suffering
Gentleness and goodness
And faith
Discussion
Then
As you walk with the Spirit
He will produce Meekness
In you
(Galatians 5:22 – 23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Meekness
By the way
Has been defined
As calm temper of mind
Not easily provoked
And let me say that
Meekness is not weakness
But it is rather
Power under control
As A matter of fact
A. W. Tozer once wrote
The meek man is not a human mouse
Afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority
Rather
He may be in his moral life
As bold as a lion
And as strong as Sampson
But
he is no longer being fooled
About himself
He has accepted
God’s estimate of his own life
he Knows he is as weak and helpless
As God declared him to be
And paradoxically
He knows at the same time
That he is in the sight of God
Of
More importance
Than angels
In himself
Nothing
In God
Everything
so the fact is
Meekness is a good thing
Jesus was in fact meet
He said of Himself
(Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
So
When you are meek
You Are in good company
But
For some
Meekness does not come naturally
And for those
For whom it doesn’t
All they need really do
Is to walk in the Spirit
And
When they do
God will produce the fruit
Of the Spirit in them
And
The fruit of the Spirit is love
and joy
It is peace
And long-suffering
It
Is gentleness
And goodness
And faith
And meekness
Determination
But there’s one
Final fruit
Of God’s Holy Spirit
And that is temperance
(Galatians 5: 22 – 23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
The
Where temperance
Simply means self-control
and you
Show me the Christian
Who allows their flesh
To have the upper hand in their life
And I’ll show you the Christian
Who is lacking
In self-control
They
Will have difficulty
Controling their passions
Their preferences
Their personalities
And even their politeness
But
Those who walk with the Spirit
Will have Temperance
Produced in them
God
Will give them the ability
To control their passions
Their preferences
Their personalities
And even their politeness
So
let me ask you Christian friend
Are you walking in the Spirit
If you are
You won’t fulfill the lust of your flesh
God will then
Produce the fruits of the Spirit
In your life
So
Is He producing love in you
Love for the people of the Lord
And for people who are lost
And for the Lord Himself?
Is
He producing joy in you
And peace
Peace in the midst of storms
Is God producing Long-suffering and you
Just the ability to wait on God
What about
Gentleness (Kindness)
Goodness and faith
Is God producing meekness
In your heart
Is
He producing temperance
In you
If not
Maybe you need to come to the altar
When the invitation begins
And determine
That
From this day forward
You’re going to walk with the Spirit
(Galatians 5:16
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
And
The Bible says
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But
It goes on to say
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
So
If you need to come to the altar
To make a commitment
To walk with the Spirit
Then
When the invitation begins
And the music starts to play
I want to invite you to come forward
And let the Lord work in your heart
Conclusion: Let’s close in prayer
