Goodness-Week 2

What is goodness?

Goodness is being useful in bringing God’s justice through positive deeds

We need to remember that God’s justice brings about goodness in our hearts.

When we are good - we show the world that evil has been condemned.

When we aren’t good - we show the world that evil is alive and well.

How can we build more goodness in us?

Number 1 -

Focus on what pleases the Lord

Paul is talking to the ephesians about the kinds of things they shouldn’t be doing.

But then he drops this gem.

Ephesians 5:8–10 NIV

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.

So he says, because they were saved, because they are now acting as chidlren of God - we need to work on pleasing the Lord.

And he says, the light of the Lord in our hearts produces goodness, righteousness, and truth as it’s fruit.

So living as a child of God is the same thing as saying ‘Live to please the Lord’.

This is such good advice, BECAUSE,

Living to make people happy is unstable ground

We don’t hold up ‘making people happy’ as our gold standard of behaviour.

i hate to say this - but you’re a people. So you qualify here too.

Sometimes, goodness pleases someone. Sometimes, it doesn’t (I want you to react, I want you to get angry, I want you to support me in doing wrong).

Sometimes, goodness pleases you - and sometimes it doesn’t (passing on a good opportunity because you won’t do the wrong thing).

But in every circumstance, when you choose goodness, it always please one person - God.

Living to please God is about more than just ‘obeying the rules in the bible’.

God has a desire for your life - every day

Sometimes it comes in the general (WHAT’S IN THE BIBLE).

Sometimes it comes via prayer in specific ways.

But if our first and lasting question is - what can I do that makes God happy? Then it should produce goodness.

SIDEBAR - what if it doesn’t? What if doing what we think god wants spreads evil?

A lack of goodness is a time to take a step back and say - AM i doing the right thing?

Now, Goodness is expected of us as behaviour - but the presence of goodness is also meant as a metric for us to tell if we’re on the right track.

often times, we can find a scripture that we MISSED in applying some other verse. That’s why it’s so important to know the word well.

But other times - we have the body of believers around us, and the collective movement of the spirit through the ranks to help us figure it out.

Number 2 -

Understand how much your goodness isn’t your goodness

Philippians 2:12–13 NIV

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

STORY - my car accident. I came out of that very grateful for the saving grace and protection of God.

When the bible says ‘work out your salvation with fear and trembling’, it doesn’t mean ‘be scared of God’. It means - take seriously the idea that we’re the hopeless, lost, evil bad guys in this scenario, and that God has saved us and rescued us.

This is why the bible emphasizes so much how much this is all based on grace. Because we need to never lose sight of that.

And that our goodness isn’t a platform to stand on that puts us above each other. Because - we are not the good ones.

God is the good one - we are the grateful ones

Jesus tells us that we’re salt of the earth and light of the world.

Then he says this -

Matthew 5:16 NIV

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

We want to be the city so that people see US. The light so that people recognize US.

But Jesus says - when the world looks at us, they should naturally be able to conclude - God deserves the glory here.

Our opportunities to be good are really our opportunities to be grateful and show that GOD is good.

We feed our enemies because God fed us when we made ourselves His enemies. (ETC)

But we need to be clear about this priority in everything we do.

Being good involves a core prayer:

God, help me to make the good choice today - because I know I need it

So many factors in our lives and hearts compete against this

Desire for recognition

Desire for vengeance

Desire for the throne

The second we start thinking that the goodness we live is making US look better in some fashion - we’re off track, and we need prayer.

It doesn’t matter what came before - God can work with you right now

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

This process of becoming children of light - it’s both NOW and NOT YET.

And God can start that process in you RIGHT NOW.