Walking in the Spirit: Part 7 Gentleness

Off the oxygen. Lord. We know so many who have been impacted by covid-19, the lingering effects of getting over it. And Lord, we pray that you will just continue to strengthen him daily and where the help him to get to that point that he does not have to rely on that oxygen. Lord, we pray for so many others on our list that are going through different things. And Lord. You are the great physician. And you know what, each and every one of them need and Lord, I pray that you will help. All those people murdered in their healing and give them the patience in the courage to deal with whatever you're leading them through. Are we just thank you for your provision in that road. I pray that you'll be with those who are living in our Nursing Care Facilities. Lord, help them as they have to deal with the back-and-forth status of. Can people visit can people not visit and look for the workers, all the different things they have to do to deal with the covid-19 or help them. Through that and help them Lord, to be able to respond in a patient and loving way also to all of those challenges. The Lord. As always, we thank you for those who serve our nation and Lord. I pray that you'll be with each of them and keep them safe and be with Bryce as he is there serving as a Chaplain this weekend. Lord, we pray that you will give him the words. You want him to speak. And bless the services he leaves today. Thank you for blessing our community. Lord, and we pray that you will continue to be with those who are on our football team and Lord that you will help them to continue to be good role models for the upcoming generations of future jets. And Lord. We thank you that we have the school that we do that. We have the coaches that we do in. Lord. We thank you that we have the boys and girls that we do on our teams. Or we pray, you're blessed and keep them safe and Lord above all. We pray that you'll be honored and all they do. And Lord as we come to you today, we pray that as we continue to explore the Fruit of the Spirit. That you will help us to hear what it is that you have for each and every one of us to learn today. We pray this in your most. Holy name. Amen.

Well, you know, it's I've been looking at all these different words. It's kind of interesting because if you go back and forth between different translations of scripture, sometimes words bounce back and forth of which particular word is used and With gentleness, some translation. Translate that as meekness instead of gentleness and you know that has a little bit different idea to it. But when they're talking about gentleness here, you know, this word is meant to mean more than just a person outward Behavior. It's meant to be more than just what their natural disposition is, you know, or how they relate to people. You know, we might say, oh that person has a gentle kind spirit and that's kind of getting at it. But by gentleness pause referring to a Grace of special beauty that has been delicately enter woven into the fabric of our soul. John MacArthur said it that way and I thought that was just an extremely good description of it, you know. He's talking about that. It's not just how we handle things with other people, but it's also kind of that temperament of our sole of. How do we deal with and accept the things that God does in our life when God deals with us? You know are we gentle to receive what he's putting in our life that may not necessarily be what we wanted at that time, but it's what we need it. Yeah, it means that we accept whatever God allows in our lives without disputing it with him, without resisting it without arguing in any way, they accept, whatever he allows as part of God's plan. Let me know that as long as it's a part of God's plan. Then it'll be okay. But, you know, being able to accept the good and the bad like that is only something that we can do. When we are living in the power of the Holy Spirit.

And in regards to our attitude towards our fellow man, you know, it's that humble and gentle attitude that is, you know, patiently submissive with people. Patiently, submissive to every offense while being free of any desire for revenge or retribution.

you know, it's when someone is being painfully annoying or painfully picky about something and You know, I heard on the radio station the other day, when I was lift, listening the Lima radio station. It was saying that they were looking for a woman who assaulted a McDonald's employee because it took too long to get her fries.

I mean, really? But you know, it's the person that even when stuff's going on say if you were that McDonald's employee that you would still respond with Grace. That's the type of gentleness that it's talking about here. And we know that that sort of thing is only possible when were allowing the holy spirit to guide us.

No, the New Testament. This idea of gentleness or meekness is used to describe three main attitudes and we're going to look at each of those quickly. The first one is submissiveness to the will of God. In Colossians, 3:12, it says, so as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved put on a heart of compassion. Kindness humility, gentleness and patience.

Yeah, when I first read that first, I thought oh, well, here we go with another list from Paul. But if you look a lot of that list is very similar to the list of the Fruit of the Spirit. If you look in this chapter of Colossians earlier in this chapter, Paul is talking about the Believers new identity in Christ. That once we become a Christian, once we put our faith in him. Your first Paul talks about the behaviors that we need to get rid of the things that we got to let go of the things that we got to put down and put them aside. And then he starts to discuss the behaviors that we need to start to pick up as a Christian. The behaviors, we need to put on as we live out this Christian Life and then to tie it all together Paul describes what God has done for those who believe in him. And then in this verse, you know, Paul is describing that after we put some of those things down, after we picked up some of the new things. I may have had gratitude for what God's done for us. These are the character traits that God expects from Believers in response to what he's done for them. Nopales, explaining to us that our new righteous identity in Christ should begin to be reflected and New Righteous behaviors. People should be able to see a difference. They should notice a change in our lives. You know, these behaviors are outward signs of that inner transformation.

And it is the only sure proof that other people are going to have that something has changed that something has taken place.

You know, like I said, you know, a lot of the things that we've been studying in Galatians show up in this same list. And you know, one thing we know about gentleness is that gentleness is closely related to humility.

You know, if you throw that word meekness in there, the reason I don't like that translation as much as gentleness and some others don't is because when we think of meekness we start to include, you know ideas about weakness or spinelessness or things like that is what our society associated with it.

But really gentleness is talking about that willingness to suffer injury to suffer. For the right reasons, instead of the desire to inflict injury.

You know, I'm Paul is talking about that when we possess that gentleness. You know, we've come to that point where we recognize our own moral failings in life. And we realize that we are just one Center among other centers. You know, or as I've often heard the illustration said, you know. One, beggar telling another beggar, where to go and find Brett. We're no different. We're all searching for the same thing. We all need the same thing. We all suffer from living in the same sin filled world. And we all are the product of a lot of those things. And it's because we understand our Depraved condition. That's because we understand that. We're no better than our fellow, man. We might just have live through different circumstances is why we're in this place and they're in that one.

That's what gives us this gentleness is that understanding that we've all fallen from grace that we all struggle with sin in our lives and that we all need the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to deal with any of it. That's what allows us to respond in this way. And that is the type of gentleness, that should be evident in Christians all the time. That we realized that daily were striving to be a better person. We're striving to overcome the sin in our own lives and that person who's a little bit annoying or grumpy with us. They are too. They're just dealing with different stuff than we deal with. So we should have Grace with them. We should have gentleness with them.

You know, instead of getting impatient or annoyed with that person. We should be trying to think. How can I help them? Or can I help them to see? The better answer to this with my Jesus.

And that brings us to the second quality that or attitude that usually there in that is teachable, Miss.

No, James, 1:21 says, therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness in humility, receive the word implanted which is able to save your souls.

You know, the keyword there in that verse is to receive. Or some other translation, say to accept their. But before God's work can produce hit righteousness, Ennis. We must renounce and put away the sin in our lives. That stands between us and that righteousness.

Yeah, how can we expect to possess this Holy Spirit and power gentleness? If art life is still filled with sin? If we are still trapped in our sins and struggling with those things, which When we struggle with them, that's what stirs up turmoil and strife and anger within our own Souls because we know we shouldn't be living this way or we shouldn't be doing these things in that upsets us. It's what comes out in other people when they have ugly reactions to things.

Cuz, you know, our sinful nature fight against fights against those things, all the time. That's why we have to be asking the Holy Spirit to help us be able to do those things cuz we can't do it on her own. You know, our Shelf selfish ambition, which is a part of all of us. Doesn't want to put others first doesn't want to think about the needs of others. So that's why we must work. Moment-by-moment. To lay those things down to put our sinful nature down. and by the power of the Holy Spirit within us, begin to pick up the behaviors that God wants us to Nepali isn't that same figure several times and some of this different letters just a couple examples and efficiency Chapter 4 verses 22 through 24. It read. In reference to your former manner of life. You lay aside, the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of Deceit and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self. Which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and Holiness of the truth. Or Colossians chapter 3 verses 8 through 10. It says but now you also put them all aside anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices and have put on the new self, who is being renewed to a true knowledge, according to the image of the one who created him.

You know, this versus make it clear that we cannot expect to begin to live that way without the power of the Holy Spirit. We can't do it on our own. We have to be asking God to fill us with that Spirit. If there is any chance.

That we are going to be able to resist the filth in the evil in this world.

If we try it on her own, it's simply not going to happen. We aren't strong enough. We can't do it.

The second part of James 1:21 there that verse it says, he know, in humility receive.

You know, humility includes that very important quality of teachable.

Despite what you might think? No one knows everything.

We like to think it.

When we go to our teenage years, our parents are the dumbest people on the planet, right? When they don't know anything.

Yeah, it's when they get older or as we get older that we begin to learn. I remember one time when Lily came home and she's like, thank you for teaching me this stuff. You taught me.

Is that she got out on her own and learn some things. We might know a thing or two.

But, you know, it's also very important, not just in life, to be teachable, but in hearing God's word. When we read God's word for ourselves. When we hear someone talk about God's word. Are we willing to hear? What is being said there? And act on it. Are we willing to be humble enough to say, you know what, I could do better in that area?

We have to be teachable if we're really going to hear God's word. That's why you know, the faithful Christian is to receive the word implanted with a submissive gentle and teachable spirit cleansed of pride. resentment anger and every form of moral corruption,

You don't? We all know that we haven't arrived there yet. As we read through that, we know that they're still areas, we all struggle in and that's why we must continually receive it. That's why we must continue all of our lives here on this Earth to be teachable. you know, in the sense that were willing to allow God to direct and control our lives that we let him guide us and what we do. The third attitude. That's a part of this gentleness is consideration of others. Ephesians 4:2, it says be completely humble and gentle be patient bearing with one another in love.

Pretty obvious. What the key phrase? Is there a bearing with one another in love? But what does that mean? You're Peter, Peter, put it another way, when he wrote and 1st Peter, 4:8 above all love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins.

I love the way that one commentator wrote it when he said love throws a blanket over the sins of others.

Not to justify or excuse them but to keep the Sims from becoming any more knowing than necessary.

You know, that's why I was watching the football game Friday night. I thought How different would the world be if we all had whistles and yellow flags in anytime we saw someone else then we could throw a flag. How to make life interesting, wouldn't it?

I'm sure Jeff would need more than one flag at school some days, but

You know, we have to get to that point where we think about others enough that like I said, we recognize the struggle. They might be having isn't all that much different than our own struggle. So we can respond with gentleness. We can think about. Okay, what's going on in their life right now? I need to have a little more understanding here. I need to offer more help to them. Instead of throwing the yellow flag and blowing the whistle and telling everybody else. Look what she just did. Or did you see that?

But that's our human tendency. We want to do that because we always want to show that we're better than someone else. Right? So we want to point out the faults in them cuz that makes me looks better. That's not part of the gentleness that Christ is talking about.

And you know when this verse as to love each other deeply, it's referring to this. Holy Spirit. Empowered type of love that. We've been getting out with all these virtues with all these characteristics. It's that love that. Love people so deeply that it's willing to take a lot of unjustified. Sinful abuse from others. While continuing to love them the whole time.

Something that we can only do in the strength of the Holy Spirit. But something as I've said, every week that we saw model perfectly in the Life of Christ.

He died for our sins, while we were yet. Sinners as it says there in Romans 5:8.

Because he loved us that much. He was willing even though he knew not, all of us would accept him. He knew that we would continue to struggle but he did it anyway.

1st Timothy 6:11 says, but you man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, Faith, love endurance, and gentleness.

You know, it amazed me that a lot of these different scriptures have different list but gentleness seems to be one. That's a part of a lot of them. So that tells me how important it is. And if we truly want to exhibit gentleness or any of the other fruit of the spirit that are to characterize us, as Believers of Christ. We have to actively pursue those things. We have to actively want to change things in our lives. So that we have room. Forgot to teach us those things so that we have room to be able to do those things.

You know, the truth is in any relationship in your life. If it's a friendship or even, just a relationship with a co-worker or if you're pursuing the person, you hope to marry. You have to actively pursue the relationship.

If you're going to maintain your marriage throughout your life, you still have to continue a to actively pursue that person all throughout your life. It's no different with our relationship with God. It's not a pray, the prayer once and forget it. I'm good from here, on out. We have to actively pursue that relationship and that's how we learn to grow in the Holy Spirit.

No, we must continually ask Jesus to fill us with that spirit and Something that we struggle with the humblest. To know that we need it and to know that is only through the power of the holy spirit that we can ever. Hope to achieve any of these things. Please by, with me in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we come to you today Lord and me. Thank you for the blessings. You give us. Lord, I pray that You will help all.