Flesh or Fruit: Gentleness/Self-Control
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Intro:
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
NKJV22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
NKJV22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
We are in a series on the Fruit of the Spirit entitled, [Flesh or Fruit]. The subject of today’s message is [Gentleness and Self-Control].
I enjoy reading and watching shows about history. I have shared that a few times in various messages. But there is a type of history that didn’t really happen, it is called, alternative history.
The premise is what would have happened if a historical event had not happened. What is Lincoln wasn’t shot? What if the Axis powers won WWII? What is JFK survived the attack?
I am sure some of you know this, but I am a thinker. I am of the opinion that life is not a series of unrelated events. Instead, everything is connected.
What we do today effects what will happen tomorrow. With this in mind, I have spent time running various scenarios in my head. What would have happened if I said or did this? What if I had not been at this specific place at this specific time?
There is no way to know the answer to these questions, but I enjoy reading an author’s interpretation and imagination of the supposed events.
I spend time running various scenarios in my head. I ask myself questions, what would have happened if I said or did this? What if I had not been at this specific place at this specific time.
Trust me, it can get a little intense and perhaps annoying, just ask Bekah! I read a story that goes along these lines this week:
I read a story that goes along these lines this week:
Not long ago, there was a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. He and his wife stopped at a gas station. As he filled the car, he noticed his wife in a deep conversation with the service station attendant.
It turned out they knew each other. In fact, they dated when they were in high school before she met her eventual husband.
The CEO got back in the car and the two drove in silence. He was feeling pretty good about himself when he finally spoke, “I bet I know what you’re thinking. I bet you’re thinking, I am glad you married me, a Fortune 500 CEO, and not him, a service station attendant.”
The wife replied, “No, I was thinking if I’d married him, HE would be a Fortune 500 CEO and YOU would be a service station attendant!”
Through the path of life we can trace back pivotal moments. We can see I have this today because I did that today. As I reflected our study of the Fruit of the Spirit, I had a thought I believe came from God.
If we will sincerely ask God to help implement these fruits in our lives, one day we will look back and think, that was the time my life changed for the better.
I wasn’t the most loving, joyful, peaceable, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, or disciplined Christian. But I asked Jesus for His help because I realized if I want to inherit the Kingdom of God I cannot walk in the flesh, but I have to display the fruit.
Because the fact is, the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write about the Fruit of the Spirit. These attributes of Christian living are not optional. If we want to fulfill God’s plan for our lives we HAVE to ask the Holy Spirit to help us.
Furthermore I have noticed, not only are other people happy when I display the fruit, I am a little more happy. Life is much better when we are:
It is easier to be l
loving and not hateful
joyful and not disgruntled
peaceful and not in turmoil
kind and not rude
good and not bad
faithful and not inconsistent
gentle and not brash
self-controlled and not unihibited
How then can we make our lives and the lives of those around us better? We must depend on God to make His fruit abundantly clear in and through us.
When we determine to seek God on depend on His help, He will make us who He wants us to become! But a consistent relationship with Jesus is imperative.
Without Him we will walk in the flesh, creating problems everywhere we go, but with Him we can do all things!
As one poet expressed:
Two natures beat within my chest;
The one is foul; the one is blessed.
The one I love; the one I hate.
The one I feed will dominate.
When we have a renewed hunger for God’s presence, word, and power in our lives, He will cultivate within us the Fruit of the Spirit.
Today, I want to conclude this series and look at the final two: gentleness and self-control as they often work together.
Gentleness is the power to control our reactions to different people and situations, humble, considerate, and submissive to God.
Self-control is restraint over sinful desires.
To see these two fruit play out in the life of Jesus, I want to go to and look at two stories: Jesus’ arrest and Jesus’ trial.
I have two points: [The Gentleness of Jesus] and [The Self-Control of Jesus].
Let’s begin
1. The Gentleness of Jesus
1. The Gentleness of Jesus
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. 3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” 5 They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
During the Last Supper with the disciples, Jesus identified Judas would betray Him. Judas left and went to the Jewish officials. They agreed on the price of thirty pieces of silver, now Judas had to deliver.
Jesus finished dinner and went with the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. Under great stress, He submitted to the will of the Father, and no sooner than that He and the disciples see the lights of the torches of those coming to arrest Him.
Judas was not alone, he brought 600 soldiers along. They had clubs and swords in their hands. Judas told the religious leaders he would kiss the one who was guilty of the supposed crime.
Jesus knew Judas’s plans. He walked up to Him and kissed him. First, before we go any farther, can we see Jesus’s gentleness? Most people would have decked Judas, he literally sealed Jesus death with a kiss.
Instead, Jesus was humble and controlled his reactions. Surrounding him are 600 troops, officers, and Pharisees. Jesus asked them a simple question, whom are you seeking?
They wanted to see Jesus of Nazareth. Humbly, quietly, and gently He answered, I AM HE. By that point Judas moves backward and joins the crowd who wants to arrest Jesus.
Notice verse six, when Jesus answered them with those three words, I AM HE, they fell to the ground. Why did they do this?
Jesus did not have to get loud to show His authority. There are many people who get angry, raise their voice, and make a scene trying to get people’s attention.
But Jesus had the Fruit of the Spirit. He was gentle. Declaring I AM HE was a spiritual answer that had supernatural results. Remember how Moses felt when he heard God speak from the burning bush, I Am who I Am.
Now the I Am stands before them and merely speaking with gentle authority caused the men to fall. They were armed with swords and weapons, but the weapons of Jesus’ warfare was not carnal, but mighty through God pulling down strongholds.
After gently answering them three times, one of Jesus’ disciples takes matters into his own hands. Any guess as to who it was? Peter. Irrational Peter gets involved.
10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”
We talked about Peter, but notice how odd this was. He is surrounded by hundreds of people with clubs and swords, and Peter decides he will fight them all.
He takes the sword and cuts of the ear of Malchus, the servant of the High Priest who was about to sentence Jesus to death. Did Peter’s rash behavior sway the gentleness in Jesus?
Did the Lord allow those around Him to change Him? Or did He show them a better way of living?
52 But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? 54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”
Matthew 26:
Jesus gave Peter a glimpse into what God was doing behind the scenes. At any moment, Jesus could leave. Instead, He submitted to the Father’s plan for His life. Then He did something remarkable.
50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.
Jesus healed the ear of the man who was there to arrest Him. When we walk in the fruit of the Spirit, we will have supernatural power to control our reactions.
What would have happened if Jesus had snapped at that moment? If He had told Peter, you missed, give me your sword, and cut off the Malchus’s head?
People would have shook their head and thought, “hmm, and He claims to be a Christian.” See why gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit?
2. The Self-Control of Jesus
2. The Self-Control of Jesus
33 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
After a couple of illegal trials, the religious leaders take Jesus to Pilate. Pilate was a Roman Governor. He was responsible to keep the Jewish people under control.
The religious leaders knew if their religious problems got out of control, they could have problems with the Roman Empire. They used this against Pilate to get involved.
They told Pilate Jesus and His followers claimed He was king. If He was king that meant people were not loyal to Caesar, which would cause problems for Pilate.
First, Pilate questioned Jesus as King of the Jews. In his mind, this was a religious disagreement and the Roman Empire wanted to stay out of the problem.
Jesus explains his kingdom is not of this world. In other words, I have a kingdom, but it is not on earth. If my kingdom was on this earth, I would call my subjects to take arms and fight on my behalf.
Think about it, Jesus already acknowledged He could call twelve legion of angels. A legion is 6,000 soldiers. Therefore, He could have called 72,000 angels to save Him from the cross.
Yet Jesus displayed self-control. He knew His assignment therefore, He would not call on help from heaven or earth. Jesus’s answer piqued Pilate’s attention.
37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.”
First Pilate asked if He was King of the Jews. Jesus’s answer baffled Pilate, now he wanted to know, is he a king?
It is likely Pilate saw Jesus come into Jerusalem, watching as the crowds waved palm branches crying out Hosanna, blessed is He comes in the name of the Lord.
Now Pilate wonders, are you saying you are a king? Finally Jesus confirms He is a king, and whoever accepts Him will know the truth.
I can’t help but notice the differences in Pilate and Jesus. Pilate had legal authority to kill Jesus and he used his authority. Jesus had spiritual authority over all the world, yet He chose self-control.
Imagine one of us having that type of conversation with Jesus. We know Him to be the King over all the earth, the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Jesus knew His role in earth and heaven, yet He showed restraint. He would not be glorified as King until He rose from the death, victorious over Satan.
Therefore, when everyone wanted to know the truth of His position, He told them, anyone who believes in me will learn the truth.
Is Jesus king? Yes. But for humanity to know Him as King required His life. Therefore, He restrained Himself choosing to let people come to that understanding without Jesus forcing His position on them.
Close:
Initially I planned to preach two separate messages on gentleness and self-control. However, I noticed how these two fruit compliment each other.
Jesus showed gentleness and self-control in the Garden with those who wanted to arrest Him and under trial with Pilate. From early in His ministry to the very end, Jesus displayed the fruit of the Spirit.
Love- He set the example for unconditional love in the way He treated His disciples and those He met
Joy- through His birth, death, and resurrection, He exuded supernatural joy
Peace- more than once the disciples were stressed and Jesus called out, PEACE BE STILL
Patience- remember His encounters with Peter. Over and over He was patient with Him.
Kindness- He preferred others over Himself in all He did.
Goodness- when everyone hated Zacchaeus, He shifted the hostility from Zacchaeus to himself.
Faithfulness- even in the worst of situations, Jesus was faithful to the reason God sent Him here.
And now we wrap up the nine fruit with gentleness and self-control on the night of His arrest and trial.
What I want us to notice though, going through His life and seeing these principles in action are great, but there is much more Jesus did.
The reason we have Him as a model is not just in the way He depicted the fruit of the Spirit. We can look to Him and ask God to help us live like Him because of what He did on the cross.
Had Jesus not died and rose again, we would have the story of a perfect man whose life, though admirable, is unattainable. But on the cross, as He struggled to get breath, He uttered out three final words, IT IS FINISHED.
37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. 38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
1 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. 2 Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.” 3 And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. 4 Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!” 5 But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled. 6 Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. 7 And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. 8 Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. 9 But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. 12 Pilate answered and said to them again, “What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” 13 So they cried out again, “Crucify Him!” 14 Then Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, “Crucify Him!” 15 So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified. 16 Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. 17 And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, 18 and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. 20 And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him. 21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross. 22 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. 24 And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. 25 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. 26 And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS 27 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. 28 So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.” 29 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him. 33 Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 35 Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” 36 Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.” 37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. 38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” 40 There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, 41 who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem. 42 Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. 45 So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.
37 Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
When the veil was torn, the presence of God, the Holy Spirit, was released into the earth. Now, what was once unattainable lives and dwells within us!
Therefore, when we get saved the Holy Spirit takes residence in our hearts and lives.
When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, He takes possession, empowering us with the same power Jesus had.
NOW, we can look to Jesus and know the same Spirit He had lives in us, therefore, we can do what He did! It is what He promised:
12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
We cannot go around thinking, well that is good Jesus displayed the Fruit of the Spirit, but He is Jesus and I am not. True, but He has given us the same Spirit He had to do the same things He did!
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
If Jesus was loving, joyful, peaceable, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled, we can be too. He knows what we face, because He faced it on earth.
In Him we have a MODEL. He left us an example and the power to follow His example. The question I want to close this series with is, what do we want the Lord to say?
When our lives are over will be people who walked in the flesh or the fruit?