The Fruit Of The Spirit Is Goodness

it's been a very hot, we Really hot. Thank you. Ask it was so hot at my house this week. I went outside and I heard our flowers around the mailbox whistling for a dog. Now, you know, it's hot. When the flowers start with me for dog. I don't you I tell you that. What's up? Alright. Well not for the hot. Jokes will save the cold jokes and when it gets cold, I guess that look, I know college football is closed. It's getting here. I'm not wearing this red shirt because I'm a wolfpacker some of yall already. See you today for South Eastern. That's not NC State. That sounds that's for Southeastern. So, so I'm not a wolfpacker anyway, so I'm looking forward to some college football. Well, it's good to be here this morning. I'm glad that you are here and we're going to continue in our series Victory in Jesus. We're looking at the Fruit of the Spirit. And what I want you to do is I want you to take your Bibles and do not turn the Galatians 5:22, cuz we going to put that up on the screen. I want you to turn to 3rd John now. Do you know where 3rd John is? Well, yeah, if you go all the way back to the Book of Revelation, then go to the next book before Revelation. That's Jude. And then one before Judas third John so that's the quickest way to find it. We're not going to look at it right this moment, but probably in about 10 or 15 minutes. We're going to look at 3rd. John. Well, the title of today's message is the Fruit of the Spirit. Is goodness and we're going to talk about. And I remember last week. We talked about kindness, today. We're going to talk about goodness now. What do you call a person? You know, we've all heard people say with such and such there's such a good person. So when you think of a good person, what do you what kind of characteristics do you think of? Why do you call someone good? Their kind considerate. We talked about that last week? Joyful Joyful. That's a good person. How about a person of Integrity? A person that tells the truth person. You can count on. In other words, when we think about a good person, what we think about is that person has a good foundation. They have good character about them. You can trust them. They're a good person. They have integrity well, but only one who ever in bodied all of that perfectly was Jesus Christ. So when we come to the New Testament today, and we're looking at this word goodness. There's a little overlap between that and what we started last week,, but the reason this word is a little difficult to Define unless you do some digging is because it only occurs three times in the New Testament. This word only occurs three times in the New Testament, and I looked in the Septuagint. Now. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It occurs 10 times in there, but not that's not that often as large as the Old Testament. So then I looked in secular Greek like Homer and some of the writers like that. I look to see how they use this word goodness in secular Greek. And I never found a single instance where they use this word. But we have to work on is the three scriptures that we find in the Bible. Now. Let me give you these three scriptures on, I don't know. I'm not going to put them on the screen. If you want to ride him down, you can but I'm just going to give them to you and tell you what it says, 2nd Thessalonians 2 17. Paul said this, he prays for his people that God will Comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. Well, there's not a whole lot. We can tell just a good word and work. Maybe someone that's encouraging season 5. 9 Paul says, the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness righteousness and Truth. Well, they don't tell us a whole lot and then Romans, finally Romans 15:14 Paul Wright set. Now I myself and confident concerning you. My brethren. That you also are full of goodness filled with the knowledge able to admonish one another and that's it. They say behind where are you going to preach a sermon on goodness when it's only used three of the times and these are just kind of General Uses of the word goodness. Well, when you study the Bible, if you can't find a particular words, meaning in isolation, what you do is you look at other words that is used with this word. So what are some other words that you use with goodness and this brings us to our first point? And it's simply this goodness and righteousness. The word goodness is often found in scripture with the word righteousness. And now I'm righteous. That's what does that mean? That means that someone who is just or does Justice, who who equality practice is equality? Or does the right action? Someone is righteous. That's what's right. They do the right action and often we see these two words together in the Bible, the righteousness, and the goodness of God, or the justice, and the goodness of God. And when we come to understand the word goodness, when we see it alongside righteousness. Somebody has said that Justice or righteousness. God gives us what we deserved but I am just so my works for you for 8 hours and you can pay them for eight hours. That's just you give them what they deserve but in this word goodness goodness goes beyond that. When it speaks of God and righteousness and it speaks that God gives us what we don't deserve. God gives us what we don't deserve. He gives us beyond what is due to us. So let's look at this word and I may have my pointer today. Let's look. Let me see if it's going to work. Yes, it is. Let's look at this word goodness. All right, here it is. There's goodness. And here's the Greek word behind the English word right. Now. Look at this gospel, Susan, a agathosune. Say that with me as soon as my phone soon as I hear what it means. It means uprightness. I'll talk more about that in a minute good-hearted. But here's the word. I want you to focus on generous when I say and uprightness. Now. Here's my definition of it. You won't find it Webster. This is my definition. Based on this word right here and uprightness of soul. That means what we talked about Earth, someone who's honest and integrity, someone who is a high-character person on the uprightness of soul. That is open-hearted open-handed with a spirit of generosity toward others. So I'm going to tell you what this word goodness actually means. And then I'm going to show it to you and then we going to go and look at a man who exhibited this characteristic. Goodness in the context of the fruit of the spirit means, a generous person person, who is open-hearted. Open handed, not not tight-fisted open-handed to people. And who treats people with generosity? The great characteristic of goodness is found with this relationship with righteousness. That is generosity. It is what a person gets when they don't deserve it. That's a generous person gives that is what God gives to a person that never ever could earn it like our Salvation, God's out. God's grace is undeserved, but he gives it to us anyway, so goodness, in the relationship of righteousness teaches us about generosity. Number two. There's another word in the Bible. That goes alongside good and that is good and evil. Now, the root word for goodness, of course is good. The great work good as I get boss. So if anybody ever asked you y'all have a good preacher Without You Grace. You say, we have a bag of ice preacher. A good preacher. I'm not going to tell you what the word for bad is in Greek. Some of you would answer that. Now you say, we have a 1/2 Osprey. We have a good preacher. Well, good and evil, quite often or contrasted in the Bible. What we're studying in Galatians 5:22. The fruit of the spirit, remember right before it says, but the fruit of the spirit, it talks about the works of the flesh is evil and and is striving and his jealousy. And it's all of this, all these evil things, and then the Bible says, but the fruit of the spirit is goodness. So it contrast, what is evil with what is good. Now. I want to give you a little illustration. And I want you to answer this illustration when I finish. Let's say. That I'm a farmer.

and I have, I have a 10 acre field.

And I'm getting ready.

The cut some hay. Now I have three deacons here. And you Grace. Baptist Church that are good. Fine outstanding me. And so, what I do is I get on the phone and I say Luis, and Pat and Keith. Would y'all be willing to help me Thursday? Because I'm going to get up. Hay and I need some help. Would y'all be willing to come help me? And we'll probably work somewhere between will start at 9 and will finish it for. Would y'all be willing to come help me if I would pay each of you $150? Don't look at me. Like I was like, well, good, good men or my aunt will help you $150. Yeah, that's pretty good. Money will help you if 467 hour $450, get up. Now. We don't have these big round bales of hay. We got those like rectangle, you know, like where you have to put on a trailer and then put them in the barn. So you have to walk behind the trailer. You have to load them. They said, yeah, it will help. So, I asked him about on Tuesday and then on Wednesday night. Let's play. Keith calls me. And he says, I might, he says, look, I just found out, I've got to work. I can't get there until noon and I say we keep, that's fine. You just come on because I need your help, you come whenever you can. So he comes at noon a couple hours later that night Pat calls and says mike Peggy has given me a really long honey-do list. And I cannot be there at 9. He said, I believe it's going to be around 2 before I get there and I say with Pat, that's fine. You come on, you come on at 2. I need all the help, I can get so thirsty. Come and Lewis. He shows up that morning at 9 and we start hauling hay and showing up around 12 1. Keith, just like he said and he helps out and then it to Pat shows up and he starts, helping us haul. Hay. And sure, enough at 4. We are finished and all three of them are standing there and I come up to him after I appreciate you guys. I want to pay you and I give Louis a hundred and fifty dollars. I said Louis I appreciate you working 9 to 4. Here's $150. I come in peace. I appreciate you working 12 to 4 Piers $150. And I say that I appreciate you working those two hours. Here's $150. What's wrong with that picture?

Play again. Nobody work, same time. All right. So who was I, who was I unconscious? All right. Now that's there's nobody and and Keith as Lewis. Alright, well Lewis work 6 hours. You got an hour for lunch, but he got $150. Now Keith works for hours and he got $150, was I being unkind? Who was, I being unkind to accuse us of being unkind of. You think I was being unkind by giving everybody the same even though Lewis worked alone.

Okay. Okay. All right, did you know?

That that same scenario happened in the Bible. Let's look at it in Matthew, chapter 20, and I want to show you something. Here. We are comparing good and evil, we're talkin about goodness here. Look at it in Matthew 20. And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a Denarius. So, the same thing happened, one man came in the morning and worked all day. So I'm came around and then they were some who came the last hour. But when the first came they suppose that they would receive more and they likewise received each other than are. So that would be like Louis saying. All right. Well, I'll to get more cuz I work you no more hours and they did. All right vs left. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner. Saying these last men have worked only one hour and you made them equal to us who have borne, the burden and the Heat of the day. It gets hot sometimes, and you get all that, and you start itching and all and coercing. Go home and take a shower, but it's hot getting out there Hall. And these guys here. Are you giving them the same thing? And we have borne the heat of the day. Same thing. All right, go ahead. But he answered one of them and said, friend. I am doing, you know wrong. Did you not agree with me for the naira? So I can say a Louis? I didn't, I didn't do you any wrong at all. Didn't you agree to work for $150 and I plainly said 9 to 4. I might even say well, but yeah, that's okay. Well, here's your hundred feet. I appreciate you working. That's what did you not agree with me for what course she did. I ain't next verse. Take, what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to these last man, the same as to you now. Watch What Happens here in verse 15? Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish for my own things? What's my money? Can I give my money to whoever I want to? I can now watch this, or is your eye evil? Because I am good. You see if you think that I mistreated Lewis if you think I wasn't kind to Lewis, the reason you think that is not because I was evil toward Louis you think that because I was generous toward Keith and Pat. You don't like my generosity. Is what it is. I gave Lewis exactly what I told Lewis. I would give him $150 and I'm sure he appreciates it. And Keith wasn't expecting a hundred fifty, but that's what they got. So if you say, I was unfair to Lewis, the reason you say that it's not because of my evilness or unfairness. It's because of my generosity. I can give whatever I want to whom, I want to give it to. What did Jonah do when God told him to go to them? And he said, I'm not going to never been shot before. He said, this is the reason I didn't want to go to them because you are a long-suffering slow to anger. God and a merciful and gracious. God, Jonah was mad at the Nana or mad at God, not because God was unfair, but because he was fair because he was gracious and good. You see how we put evil with goodness and goodness in that context, with righteousness and evil means generosity. I gave Keys $150 for 4 hours work and I gave Pat a hundred fifty for 2 hours work. And I did it because I was a generous man, not because I'm an evil, man. You see what the Bible says? That is goodness. It is giving someone something that they do not deserve. If not mistreating Lewis. I gave Lewis exactly what he deserved. I just gave the other two. Something they didn't deserve so. Who embodies generosity in the Bible 3rd? John? Let's turn their 3rd John. In the Bible. you say generosity is Think of it like this generosity Springs from the heart of kindness. God, didn't put us down here to see through people. He put us down here to see people through, that's what he did in 3rd. John. There's a record of a man. This man's name is gay us and the Book of 3rd. John was written by John to this man named Jazz. We don't know a lot about him, but we know he was even kind of probably was a bigwig if he will inside the church and he was a prominent man. And he was one of the leading members of the church and John is writing this letter to commend him on his generosity. And he says that this man gayest is a generous man because he received all these people in his home, either strangers or itinerant. Preachers going around preaching gayest would always take them in his home. To give them something to eat, give him somewhere to sleep and he would fellowship with him. He was just a generous. Man, so let's read what the Bible says. In 1st or 3rd. John chapter one is only one chapter here. And let's just read the first 8 verses to the Beloved. Guess who I love in truth. I love it. I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers. Broward Joyce greatly, when Brethren came and testified of the truth that is in. You just as you walk in the truth. I have no Greater Joy than to hear that my children. Walk In Truth as a parent. You can say that can't you if your children Walk In Truth as a parent. You have no Greater Joy than that, verse 5, beloved, you do Faithfully, whatever you do for the Brethren and for strangers. Who have borne witness of Your Love Before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner, worthy of God, you will do well. Because they went forth for his namesake taking nothing from the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such that we may become fellow workers for the truth. Let me give you six screws that we see in the life of gas. That point toward the benefits of generosity in the first one is this and we'll put them up on the screen. There. They are. The first one is when we're generous. We proclaim the truth to the lost. Now. This word truth appears seven times in about 12 verses in this book here. Gayest love the truth. And John said, inverse. In verse 1. He says to beloved guess who my love in true. John knew that Ministry was not about buildings and programs and budgets and committees Ministry is truth. Ministry is the word of God as it is preached and taught in the context of the church out, kinda in the highways and byways. So John is trying to say in the gas. He saying this, your gift, your generous, goodness, your open-hearted. That's your open handedness, if you will. Is really appreciated, he saying. Here you go and all these pilgrims and strangers, and then you have the itinerant preachers who would come and missionaries and you put them up in your house and you feed them and you help them and you pray with them. You are providing God's people a service, through your gift of hospitality and a giving through your gift of generosity. Now, one of the things in churches Sometimes some Churches make too much of the preacher. Now, we not to despise the preachers of course or the pulpit and I'll walk but the ministry is not the pulpit or what happens in the administrative offices of the church, God brings ministers to church to teach the people of the church, how to do the work of the ministry. John is saying that through gas generous hospitable attitude. He had become linked to the teachers in the preachers of the church in through his act of generosity. He was also sharing the gospel. He was linked to the preachers and he was sharing the gospel. So, that's one thing that we do when we have a generous spirit. We Proclaim truth to gloss be. When your generous you participate in the ministry of another person, look what verse 8 says, we therefore all to receive such that we may become fellow workers of the truth, and not a great title of a Christian. A fellow worker of the truth, saying that gas took people home. He ministered to him and gave him a place to sleep and you fed him and cared for him. He became a partner in Ministry. He was participating in the ministry of someone else, friends. When you take someone and you meant or someone or you counsel, someone, you know, what you're doing, you doing one-on-one Ministry, you are participating in the ministry of another person. That's a great thing in God's kingdom. We need more people who would do that. You see a lot of people circumstances. They can't be a missionary or preacher, you know, not many people are called to be a missionary or preacher in life. Sometimes. Put people Where you must have a secular job and you just work in that secular job and you stayed there and you just carry out the routines of life and living, but where these people can't go. Their money and their prayers and their generosity can go. That's why we give money to missionaries. That's why we support North American missions and international Mission. We can't go ourselves. God has called us to do that, but we can support them. We can support them financially and prayerfully and so that they can go. So we can given that support. What are we doing? We are making ourselves an ally to the truth. What we're doing here as like it says in verse 8, we have become federal workers of the truth. That's what we have done. So, You for playing true to the Lost? You participate in the ministry of another sea. You provide a financial base for the gospel through Gaius through his giving he provided a financial base for the gospel looking for 7 because they went forth for his namesake taking nothing from the Gentiles. And let me tell you what that means, that word Gentile there means pagans or unbelievers. In other words, these men were called to preach. And they left her home and they took nothing. From the unsafe, they didn't ask the unsaved to support them. Why wouldn't they do that? The unsaved don't want to support World missions before I was saying, I don't want to give money to a missionary. I didn't care where they went, what they did that matter to me. I'm not going to give money to a preacher. I didn't care about world of Angela zacian. I can care less about that. I just want to live my life and save my money so I can get that's what I would do. You see? But this here, he says, they took no assistance from the Pagan. John was reminding. Yes. That the church should not have to appeal to the world for support. We ought not to have to appeal to the outside the Heathen. They're not going to support missions and evangelization. If the generosity of God's people is not enough to meet the needs of God's program. Then there's no other place for us to appeal to other than each other, the church. And that's one of the greatest reasons. I believe that Christians are to be very careful and giving large sums of money. Tune on Christian Charities. You say well, why can't I give a lot of money to a non-Christian J where you can but what you're doing is you're taking away from the church. You see all these non-Christian Charities that corporations ain't go to, they got sports stars. They got entertainment, then get money from a lot of places where we going to get money from each other. We going to get money from the church. That's the only place that we have to appeal to the church has only her own people. So gas in his generosity was providing a financial base for the gospel. He didn't take any money from the Gentiles. He didn't spect that. It was he himself, who was The Giver letter d. It produces joy in Ministry. Looking first, three. John says, for I Rejoice greatly when Brethren Kane and testified of the truth that is in. You just as you walk in the true that word came as a present Parts. If you know what it means. It means the people kept coming over and over again. You say, what is John say? And he saying that whenever he ran into people coming out of that church, that all they wanted to do was come to him and talk about the generous Spirit of Gaya, anyone who had a need. They could get it mad at that church because of gas and sometimes people say, well, you know, I don't think we should take offerings for special group for special people. If we do that, then it's going to take away from our needs friends. Let me tell you what. I found out in a long, long time ago, the more you hold on to it, the less you'll see your needs met. But if you will be generous and give it away. God will continue to feel you with blessings. That's what he will do. I used to be a member. Yeah, I'm not talking about the church, but I'm just going to be a member of a church. That we had a cemetery fun with about $68,000 in it. They had $68,000 in the cemetery fine and we'd have, I was on the finance committee and we didn't have meetings and occasionally have them come up. I'd pop up and say look, if we want to do something. Let's take some money out of this Cemetery phone. Oh, no, we can't take money out of the cemetery for. We got to keep that place mole. We got to keep fresh flowers out. There. It cost money. I said it cost $68,000 to keep up the cemetery, say y'all people keep better care of the day and then you do the lemon. You doubt that just out. Not to be. So, don't be so, tight fisted. All we can't take money from there. I Cemetery phone. I mean, but so if you'll give it away. If you do, if you are closed Fist and you will find out that you will barely meet your own needs even with all that money. But if you open your hand and give it away, God will keep putting it back in your hand. Letter e in. It will prosper your own soul. Look at verse to the love. I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health. Just as your soul prospers. I don't know what gas is problem was but evidently he had a physical. He was not healthy. And and John says here, I pray that you may, he prosper in all things and being helped. He says, just as your soul prospers, so what John is saying here gas was already spiritually prosperous and this Prosperity was a result of his generosity with regard to those who were serving God. The Bible is filled with God's promises to those who reach out. And look for need and then need it. The world of people that we live in. Is looking at Christian people, Christian people ought to be the most generous people in the world because what we have received from God, we out to be the most generous people in the world and I believe, the only reason the god prospers, his children is so that they can use what he gives us to meet the needs of other people and I don't fall into the category of well, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give and I'm going to be generous because the Bible teaches that if I'm generous God is going to give it back to me. We're friends. He will. But it may not be financially. Don't think just because you spend your money and you give your money that God's just going to give you more money for you to be rich. That's not true. The Bible says that he has given us all spiritual blessings. Sometimes we give our money away. He's going to bless us. Lee. It's not a fact that just because I give money away. He's going to give me more money so I can be rich. That's the prosperity preacher. That's not real Biblical preaching there. That's not true. But he will prosper us spiritually and he may Prosper you financially, but it's not a given. So one more to go letter f. The reason we all be generous is because it pleases. God. Yes is generosity, please. God look at it. In verse five. Beloved you do Faithfully, whatever you do. So he says you're faithful and whatever you do, then never said you have borne witness of Your Love Before the church. So he is Loved Before the church and then look what what verse Levin says beloved do not imitate. What is evil? But what is, what good that is our word. See the contrast evil and good do not imitate. What is evil, but what is good? He who does good is of God, but he who does, evil has not seen God. In other words, what he saying is he? That is generous, is of God. If generosity is a part of your makeup, you are of God and you don't have to be rich to be generous. You just have to do right with what you have, but you don't have to have much. So we need to take a good long. Look at our lives and ask God. What is our attitude toward the needs of other people? And if we are protective, and if we are tight-fisted, and if we are closed hearted and closed handed, we need to ask God to give us the grace. Can make us a generous person to open our hearts to open our hands, and be willing to give and bear fruit in your life. The fruit of a generous. Why? Because the fruit of the spirit is goodness. The Fruit of the Spirit. Is Agatha soon? The Fruit of the Spirit. Is generosity. Let's pray. Father. We do. Thank you and Praise You. Lord. We love you today. Lord help us all to look at our life.

And Lord to examine ourselves and our own hearts. Are motives behind what we do?

Lord help us as a church to look at herself and ask the question. Are we a generous Church. Am I a generous? Church member? Even though I can't go, I can't preach and I can't be a missionary. Am I willing to support those? Who do? Both prayerfully and Financial. When I see a need in my community.

Do I have that generous spirit? Can it be said of me? That Mike is Agatha. Mike is good. He's up, right? He's open-handed and open-hearted. A generous spirit. Toward other people Florida for not that way. Help us to be that way. Give us the grace that we need. Lord, help us to change and become more like Jesus Christ, because no one was. That's generous. Or exhibited, the spirit of generosity more than Jesus Christ, for he gave us. What? We could never learn. He gave us, what was not due to us. Lord. We thank you for your generosity. We thank you for each one. This here, this morning in Christ's name. I pray, amen. All right. Well, thank you for being here today. And will will come by Wednesday night. And I told you Wednesday night that we tie the bow around Zacharia and finished it. Well, I just untied it the other night. And so, we're going to go back to Sakura because I think we can kind of go a little faster and we can finish Zakaria up. So we going to do the whole book of Zechariah. And then when we come back next Sunday, we're going to talk about another fruit of the spirit, and I remember we talked about 6 so far. We've looked upward to God. Love, joy and peace. We've looked outward to man, long-suffering, kindness and goodness. And next week. We going to look internally to ourselves to see if we are meet and see if we are faithful and see if we are self-control as brother John, if he would be closer to where the fair.