Goodness Expressed
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Good morning! we are continuing this series on 9 Flavors 1 Fruit and we are talking about the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the Fruit of the Spirit is…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness..
In Africa…there was this common confession and response that was used to either start service or to start a sermon..… Our associate Kenneth…would often get up with a wide smile.. beaming.. and say...
GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME… and the CONGREGATION would respond with ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD.
Now what made this incredible is that life was really hard.....in Africa.
Everyone was facing food shortage…under the burden of hyper inflation… inconvenience of power cuts....l no gas.... long lines… High unemployment rates..
As you gather as a community and confess together...
God is Good all the time… All the time God is Good…
What does it do? It changes your focus… Instead of focusing on the difficulties of life.. It lifts you up ---elevates you above the circumstances… It changes your perspective..
When we use the word Goodness.. what does that mean?
The word ‘good’ is an adjective that we use to describe or modify a noun — We might ascribe goodness to person… John is a good man… or place… Paris is Good city… we might use it of an object.... a ‘Ford is a good car’...
When we say something is good giving Value to something… Whether its a person, place or thing..
When we say God is Good… we saying that God has worth....and value..
That is why Praise and worship is so essential in church… When we gather in worship… it’s more than to singing songs… more than ritual… Worship lifts our gaze from ourselves and our lives… to turn from those thoughts and worries …and to refocus…
Together we focus on the nature and Character of God… Worship reminds us who God is… When we glorify God we are not making Him more Glorious… but rather it is changing of perspective --- of God so that we are able to see his glory...
If we have allot of baggage we are caring it is going to prevent us from seeing the glory of God....
What we thing about God is important...
In his classic book - The Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer said,
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
Some see God as this old man upstairs.. not up to much… some see God as angry ..waiting to jump on us when we mess up… some might see God who is distant…
What the Bible tells us is that God is a Good God..
Tozer went on to say, “Man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God.”
When we Praise God… we are saying God your are Good…
Psalms 136 has 26 verses and every verse it says that God goodness endures forever… the first three verses are the same.. Give thanks to the Lord because his goodness endures forever....
Moses wrote a worship song about the greatness of God to teach Israel about God’s goodness and God’s faithfulness.
3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God!
4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
Moses Ascribes Value to God.. the Greatness of God..
God is like a Rock that is steadfast and can be depended upon … God character and ways are perfect… there is no deception or crookedness or character flaws… When we speak of Goodness in terms of God’s character we taking about perfection..
The Goodness of God also presents us with a problem because we can not attain the perfection… It is a higher standard than we can achieve. And if you try and attain perfection you will fail...
C.S. Lewis said: ‘No man knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good’.
What Lewis is saying that any efforts to reform our selves based on our own willpower and strength will never succeed… the reason is our humanity will always cause us to fall short and fail....
Goodness is about the process of transformation...
The difference between reformation and transformation.. Reformation is from the outside in transformation is from the inside out… Outward influences can reform but they can’t transform..
Our sanctification is not about reformation but about transformation…
This is a continual process.. You see the only way to be truly good is through the power of the Holy Spirit — where the fruit of goodness is produced.
It is through the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit will begin the process that ultimately produces fruit.
Jesus taught that his disciples would be known by the kind of Fruit that they produced....
Jesus said that good tree bares good fruit and a bad tree produces bad tree…
45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
We need to remember that it is not the branch that produces Fruit… in Mark 10:18 the rich young ruler comes to Jesus and kneels before Jesus and says Good teacher how can I inherit eternal life? Jesus asks him why do you call me good? Because no one is good except God alone… Jesus making a point that the Key to eternal life is really accepting that he is God… But he says no one is Good… (perfect) except God… Where does the Good
The good person gives out of the treasure of his heart…
What this means is that our actions (on the outside) show what (or rather who) is on the inside.
So if Christ, through his Holy Spirit, takes up residence in our lives, then more and more we begin to show the character of Jesus in the way we think, speak, and act. Not that we are ever perfect (in this life), but the fruit begins to grow.
There are going to be challenges and tests and life and many questions along the way.... One of the questions will be about the character of God... and especially the Goodness of God...
T/s God’s Goodness is a Gift and gives us three things..
1. The Gift of Perseverance
1. The Gift of Perseverance
When we moved to Richvale several years ago.. We moved cross country from Charlotte NC to Richvale… We had sold quite a few things and just bought the bare minimum.. So, that first Christmas we decided a buy very practical things…things like beds and carpets… and trash cans… Well on Christmas day when the kids open up the presents and they got a trash can they weren’t very impressed with us… We explained that we were doing room make overs… Now just the other night the kids were saying to us that that was really a good idea....
When we thing about the Gift of Perseverance… you might have same kind of response…What kind of gift is that… How about a gift certificate to the spar… How about the gift of rest? James tells us that in God’s goodness --- He gives us the Gift of perseverance...
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
James says blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial… The word BLESSED means - Grace of Favored… by God… Grace literally means Gift.... “Gifted is the man who remains steadfast..”.
James has already taught that Christians should persevere when they encounter trials…
It ‘s important when reading the book of James to remember that this is a diaspora letter… It’s addressed the Jewish Christians who have been dispersed in the Roman Empire… they are being persecuted for their faith…
And in many ways we can relate to these Christians… because life can displace us… Thinks come up that throw a wrench in the works… and we at sometime in our lives will have this feeling of being displaced and uncomfortable… well James tells us how to deal with that… It has to do with this Gift of Perseverance… Now this is not the first James has taught this… He has already taught…
In
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
It the same idea.. Count it all Joy…when you meet trials.. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under the trial...
The reason Perseverance is a gift.. is because what it produces within us.. Testing of our faith produces endurance..… the ability bare up under difficult circumstances… often
Then James tell us if we allow steadfastness have its full effect… it will bring about perfection and completion… lacking nothing…
James says not only will it bring maturity it is going to leads you on this path of wisdom of eternal life.. James calls the “Crown of life.”
James tells us that Perseverance… keeping your eye upon the prize… We often struggle to look 5 years down the road… how about 10 or 20 years down the road… James tells us that wisdom… starts with eternal life…
In the parable of the talents… Matt 25:14ff Jesus tells of a master who gave three servants different amounts of talents… He gives 5, 2 and 1 Talent.. After some time the master returns… and each of the Servants had done something with money they had been given.. The servant with 5 talents makes a trade and doubles the investment.. The same with servant does something similar with the 2 talents…and makes two more... … the servant with 1 Talent…dug a hole in the ground and returned the 1 talent to the master… Two servants that did something with gift — the master rewards… the servant who buried his talent is reprimanded… and he takes the talent it gives it to the servant who had 10…
What is going on this verse? Two servants took a risk… two servants… persevered… under trial… went through the struggle… the wicked servant… took the path of least resistance… He literally buried his talent…
Can you imagine for one moment if this servant --- had started with the end in mind… If he had thought about the crown of life… He may have taken a few more risks.. invested more of his time, talent and resources.. into Kingdom of God..
Look how Jesus commended these two servants.. who persevered.
21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
Well done Good and faithful servant… Why were the two servants Good? Because they had submitted to the processes of being made complete..
Jesus says enter in to the joy of the Lord… The wise person is the own who looking to the “crown of life.”
T/s God’s Goodness is a Gift and gives us three things..
1. The Gift of Perseverance.
2. The Gift of Perspective
2. The Gift of Perspective
Many studies have shown that people tend to exaggerate their own positive characteristics and abilities. For instance, studies have shown that most drivers think they're a better-than-average driver. Psychologists call this the state of "illusory superiority" (explored in this illustration as well).
Recently (2014), a team of British researchers tested this common "better-than-average" tendency by surveying 85 convicts at a prison in South East England about their pro-social traits. The inmates were aged 18 to 34 and the majority had been jailed for acts of violence and robbery. The inmates completed questionnaires anonymously and in relative privacy. Here's what the study concluded:
Compared with "an average prisoner" the [convicts] rated themselves as more moral, kinder to others, more self-controlled, more law-abiding, more compassionate, more generous, more dependable, more trustworthy, and more honest. Remarkably, they also rated themselves as higher on all these traits than "an average member of the community," with one exception—law-abiding. The prisoners rated themselves as equivalent on this trait relative to an average community member.
James shows that God’s goodness gives us the gift of perspective… of ourselves..
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
What is being questioned God’s Goodness.
To understand this verse we have to go behind the text… and see what is going on with these early Christians...
James’s readers were living in tough times. They were Jewish Christians who were being persecuted for their faith… It was causing some to doubt the go
Persecution posed many problems for these early Christians. One of those problems may be somewhat surprising to us.
Persecution constituted for many a temptation to sin! In what way?
First, many Christians were strongly inclined to reply in kind: ‘If they hurt me, I will hurt back!’ We might call this the ‘don’t get mad; get even’ temptation.
But temptation sprang from persecution in another way, namely, the inclination to use persecution as a justification for sin. In other words, some of those who were suffering for their Christianity were reasoning along these lines: ‘My life is so difficult that I am entitled to do whatever I can to make it more pleasurable.’
People have often allowed their difficulties to give them a sense of entitlement. Some of them have even allowed themselves to conclude that God is the source of their temptations. They may very well have reasoned along these lines:
• God has sent the trial.
• The trial has caused me to be tempted.
• Therefore, God has tempted me to sin
Some believers thought that since God allowed trials, he must also be the source of temptation. These people could excuse their sin by saying that God was at fault
James says be careful under presures to question the goodness of God...
It would be easy to say that God is trying to trip me up...
James is very plain and emphatic: ‘Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God …” ’ His reason is equally clear: ‘God cannot be tempted by evil …’ This means, as one writer puts it, God is ‘untemptable’.
We need to understand the difference between a test and a temptation… It is easy to get these two things wrong.. God did test people in the Bible.. He tested Abraham — last week look at a test where He took his only son Isaac to be sacrificed… test was that of Faith and obedience… We saw that Works completed Faith… willingness to obey God’s word.. God tested Israel by a having them leave pagan nations…
God may test or prove his servants in order to strengthen their faith, he never seeks to induce sin and destroy their faith.
Where does temptation come from? James tell us that temptation doesn’t come from God - What we might find surprising is that James doesn't point to Satan as the source of temptation… Peter describes Satan as roaring lion seeking who he can devour. But, according to James it is not the devil who is dragging off the unguarded believer into sin… It’s the believer who drags himself off into sin. Even though Satan is the tempter… He still cant make you sin…temptation is completed only when we act upon it.
Where is the origin of temptation? James give us detailed break down in verses 14-15 - It is like watching a replay on ESPN— Each nano second is examined… James tells us that the source of the problem is our own desires .. or our passion… We can use passion as positive word… but in this context it’s talking propensity towards sin… you could say our desire are our impulses…
These impulses/Desires comes from our lower nature… And are powerful… James uses two words to describe our desires…. James says each person is Lured and enticed by their own desire…
When our desires (passion) goes unchecked we can easily be pulled into hooked it leads us to towards sin… being lured and bated imagery is that of a fish swimming in a straight course and then drawn off toward something that seems attractive, only to discover that the bait has a deadly hook in it’.
Temptation is not sin… it’s the “precursor” to sin… “it’s the lead up” to sin.. We talk about “falling into sin” or committing a sin, depicting sin as though it is an event—something that just happens all of a sudden—rather than as a multistep process.
Recognizing this distinction has huge implications for how we combat our sinful desires!
James personafies the word Desire is pictured as the mother (epithymia is feminine), giving birth to sin, her child. And this child, if it is allowed to become full-grown, gives birth in turn to death.
WHAT JAMES IS SAYING IS THAT GOD IS GOOD...
God is good there is no evil intentions..
T/s God’s Goodness is a Gift and gives us three things..
1. The Gift of Perseverance.
2. The Gift of Perspective
3. The Gift of Purpose
3. The Gift of Purpose
I recently read the story of Jessica Meir who has been chosen to board the International Space station. Jessica grew up in a little town of Caribou just 20 miles from where we used to live in Maine....… What is intriguing about her story is that Jessica knew from the age of 5 that she wanted to be astronaut... it took a lot of hard work and perseverance… she went to space camps… did everything to prepare then in 2013...
It took Meir three tries to be chosen for NASA’s highly selective astronaut training program,…Jessica is now 41 years old and that dream is being realized…she holds dual citizenship and will be the first Swedish woman to go on a mission in space. Can you imagine knowing your purpose from the age of five and then pursuing that dream…
In the greek there is this word purpose - telos.. which mean aim, purpose or End… goal… The goodness of God points towards and moves toward God purposes… Someone has described telos as point where all lines converge or meet… Everything arrives a this point… The Westminister Catachisim… Say that the chief end of man is to Glorify God and enjoy Him for ever.....
James tells us that God Goodness is leading us to his purposes...
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Don't be deceived.. Why? because
God is Good… in his Character… and He is also good in his actions… Every good gift comes from the Father… Because ultimately God is Good… Jesus said when it comes to prayer… in Matt 7:7 Ask and it will be given… seek and you will find… knock and the door will be open to you
9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
Perspective matters…
From Earths perspective… we are constantly subjected to changing light… The sun rises and sets.. the moon constantly moving from shadows to a full crescent---From Earths Perspective.. light is being reflected and refracted differently moment by moment..
James gives us a different perspective — Heavenly perspective . God “does not change like shifting shadows!” God’s goodness is always at high noon…
When we take it from the long view… telos… where all the lines in history is going to merge… We are going to see the goodness of God… James constantly, reminding these Christians to live in the light of His coming..
When it comes to God purposes there are no shifting Shadows...
There is the story of an old music teacher was once asked in greeting, “What’s the good news today?” The old man, without saying a word, walked across the room, picked up a tuning fork, and struck it. As the note sounded, he said, “That is A. It is A today, it was A 5,000 years ago, and it will be A 10,000 years from now. The soprano upstairs sings off-key, the tenor across the hall is out of tune.” He struck the note again and said, “That is A, my friend, and that’s the good news today!”
The Good News to day is that there is no shadows of change… God is not shifting with culture… He is not a relativistic God who is constant flux.. God is not reinventing himself… changing his image to fit the times…
If you are going through something James would say to your hold on… if you find that you feel like you are loosing your grip and things are falling apart… tie a knott and hold on… Because everything is working towards his purposes… in Christ.... From the Macro level James says look at the heavens --- Be reminded of God’s unchanging nature… Then at this micro level… of personal faith...
At the end of the book of Genesis - There is this moving scene between Joseph and His brother…A lot of water had gone under the bridge.... and it the scene of forgiveness.. and restoration… Joseph brothers did terrible things to him… threw him in to a pit… told his father he had be mauled by a wild animal… they then sold him into slavery..
Joseph says to his brothers…
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
What powerful words!! .. What you meant for evil --- God meant for Good...
These are five words that can change your life… God meant it for Good… The whole time you had regret… the whole time you has shame.... whole time you felt guilt… Guess what… there was telos… God appointed end....
“God meant it for good in the life of Joseph in order to … preserve whole nation..” Joseph literally saved the whole region through the seven years of famine.
Think through the chain of events that Joseph was encapsulating in that verse, and think how they worked out for good:
• Had Joseph not been sold into slavery, he would never have ended up in Egypt.
• Had Joseph not ended up in Egypt, he would never have gained distinction in Potiphar’s house.
• Had he not gained distinction in Potiphar’s house, he would never have been falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife.
• Had he not been falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, he would never have ended up in jail.
So far, things do not seem to be working out for good! But think on …
• Had Joseph not ended up in jail, he would never have interpreted the cupbearer’s dream.
• Had he not interpreted the cupbearer’s dream, he would never have been called upon to interpret Pharaoh’s dream.
• Had he not interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, Egypt would never have been prepared for the coming famine.
• Had Egypt not been prepared for the coming famine, many in Egypt would have died—and so would Joseph and his brothers!
• And had Joseph and his brothers died, there would have been no Israel and, therefore, no Messiah!
Joseph’s whole life is one long trail of evidence that demonstrates how God uses the worst of circumstances to turn our lives into something useful and profitable! And the profit of Joseph’s suffering continues down to this very day! As believers in Jesus, we benefit from the fact that Joseph’s suffering kept the family tree of the Savior alive!
Even when we don’t understand… we can say that God meant it for Good
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Conclusion...
The best thing we can do in the midst of difficulty is simply agree with God’s word.
Palms 107 --- Great psalms …that celebrates God’s goodness towards us in the midst of the challenges of life.... In every situation that Israel faced God rescued them…
1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble
What do we do when we hit difficulties we need remind ourselves.. we need to stop focusing on all the things that are wrong… stop looking at the whole in the donut and focus on the goodness of God
“God's Goodness is the One Constant in an ever Changing world.”
The psalmist says.. We need to agree with God…
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so..
God is good all the time…all the time is God is Good…
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