Weekly Sermon

1-22-12

 

With Kid Gloves, Gentleness

 

Last week we started a mini series about the fruits of the Holy Spirit. I want to recap over what we have talked about in order to bring us into this week. Last week we talked about three fruits of the Holy Spirit, Love, Joy and peace. Love, the agape, no matter what has every happened or been done, type of love that is so unconditional that no matter, it thrives and is ever lasting. Joy, an origin of divine nature and supernatural that no matter what we face in life it is with joy. Peace, a tranquil state of rest believing that no matter the stresses we rely 100% on the works of God and living in His presence.

 

If we can understand true agape love, total and supernatural joy and complete peace within the hands of an amazing Father, then we have to branch our inner lives within those around us. What I want us to discuss today is the next three fruits of the Holy Spirit. The next fruits of the Holy Spirit are patience, kindness and goodness. These three fruits can all be summed up in one word, gentleness.

 

When we think of the word gentleness what is it that we think of? Of course, we think of being loving and caring and that is why we must understand the love, joy and peace. All of the fruits, as I stated last week, play a major part in the next fruits.

 

What does it mean for us to show the fruit of gentleness? Do you know of folks in your lives that are known as "very draining people"? What I mean by this type of person is the ones that come to you and ask you things like, 'oh dear how much weight have you gained' or 'are you really going to wear that'? You know the type of people that really never have a positive thing to say to anyone. This type of people always use the excuse like, 'it is not my fault it is just the way I am', 'it is in my genes' or 'this is how my parents were'. We live in a society that is a no fault society. Our temperament, our personality or how we deal with people are someone else's fault.

 

Don't you just want to shake these people and say what are you thinking? Well guess what? If we would all display the fruit of gentleness we could change temperaments and personalities in so many folks. I want us to look at several stories, in the Bible, of folks that acted just the same way as the ones we just talked about, the no blame society people.

 

Before we jump into the stories I want us to keep in mind one question. If we had people like these people in our church, how would we treat them?

 

With that in mind, grab your Bibles and turn with me to John 4:7-14, "Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink." (8)He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. (9)The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?" (10)Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water." (11)"But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? (12)And besides, do you think you're greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?" (13)Jesus replied, "Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. (14)But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life."

 

We must know that in this time period men did not speak to women they did not know and Jewish folks most definitely did not associate with Samaritans. Both of these actions were strictly forbidden. There are a couple of things I want us to notice here. As we can this woman was offended that such a person would even approach her. She wanted nothing to do with a man that was, in her eyes, part of an opposition. 'Who do you think you are speaking to me, your a Jew and I am a Samaritan'. 'Do you think you are better than Jacob'? 'How dare you'! I also want us to notice how Jesus handled this situation. He wanted to give her a gift. He used His gentleness to make her an offer of eternal life. No matter how she treated Him, He kept His gentleness under control and offered her a true gift of love.

 

Turn with me over to John 8:1-11, "Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, (2)but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. (3)As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. (4)"Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the act of adultery. (5)The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?" (6)They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. (7)They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!" (8)Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. (9)When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. (10)Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?" (11)"No, Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more." 

 

This is a story of a girl that was being accused of a wrong doing in the eyes of the law. Look at the actions of the human mind in this story. 'Oh look how terrible she is and what wrong things she has done, we need to stone her to death'. Keep in mind that things with the people were not just a calm, walking up to Jesus and saying, 'hey this gal sinned, by adultry, and she is to be stoned, according to Moses law'. The folks were upset. You know what happens in upset situations, angers are flying, voices get louder, accusations get made, and words get said that sometimes are hurtful or not even true. So you can imagine the scene as more of a riot than a calm small meeting. Not only were these folks trying to accuse this woman, they were also trying to trap Jesus in a snare. Oh the human mind. How we try to find the wrongs in people or how we try to find fault in those who are trying to be good Godly folks. You would be surprised how often people, who get upset with me for one reason or another, immediately attack because they see the word pastor over my head. 'You call yourself a man of God'? Believe me standing up and being called the name Christian is a hard title to wear but it is all how you handle it that makes the difference. Remember Jesus was not a Christian, He WAS the Christ and He was ridiculed and demaened worse than any of us ever will be, but look how He handled things, in the loving gentle manner that He is as our Saviour.

 

Turn with me over to Luke 19:1-10, "Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. (2)There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. (3)He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. (4)So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore, fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. (5)When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. "Zacchaeus!" he said. "Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today." (6)Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. (7)But the people were displeased. "He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner," they grumbled. (8)Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!" (9)Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. (10)For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost." 

 

In this story we have a man who cheated people out of money for a living and became very rich from that job. He wanted to see Jesus because he recognized Him as the Saviour. Jesus went to his house to dine with him and the folks became furious. Even though Zacchaeus was a sinner and even though the folks were upset, look at how Jesus handled the situation, with gentleness. How would you handle dishonest business folks, immoral folks, women who have lived with many men, trying to find that right relationship, or just folks you feel have completely sinned against you or even God? It is all about loving the folks into the flock of Christ. It is all about our gentle personality that brings them to Christ.

 

You have chosen to be called Christian and God has called you to Him and there are ways you should conduct yourself as such. We have been called to duty, let us arm our selves and prepare for our battle.

 

Turn with me to Colossians 3:12-13, "Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. (13)Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." Notice how we are to clothe our selves in the working clothes of a Christian, love, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Look past faults and see the true soul that belongs to God. Do you know every soul belongs to God, whether that person wants to admit it or not? It was created by God and belongs to that Creator. What that person does with that soul is called free will and it is our jobs, as His disciples, to show them the love that God offers and lead them to that path of Salvation. This is truly loving your enemy or friends, enough to show them God, no matter what they have done in the past.

 

Just as it says in Proverbs 3:1-4, "My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. (2)If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. (3)Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. (4)Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation." If we show that loyalty and kindness, that fruit of gentleness, we will find favor with God and man.  

 

We have seen stories of Jesus displaying His gentle nature and those are really great life lesson stories, but in the reality of things most do not always view God as that gentle Father. Many, in our day and time, ask how is it that God would allow all this dispair and hardship to happen all over. If He was truly the loving gentle God then He would not allow those things to happen. I was watching a movie last night that really hit home on this particular subject. There was a gal that had those same feelings and thoughts and she was upset with God because of them. The man, who was not a minister of sorts, put it this way, 'if your own child was walking down the sidewalk with you and a car drove by and kicked up a rock and hit your child and put that child in the hospital how would you feel'? How would you feel if I came to you and stated that you were a terrible parent and person because you allowed this tragic event to happen in your child's life? You, as the parent, no more wanted that thing to happen than God wants bad to happen in our lives, but there is one source that does want those things to happen, satan. Satan does not want those things to happen because he wants to see you in pain or suffering or any reason other than for you to blame God. Do you realize that the true love of God is not to protect you from bad things happening to you, but His true love is to be there for you when they do. Once we realize this part of life, we can find that fruit of the Holy Spirit called gentleness and display that for all to see.

 

Let me just say that is what gentleness is all about, dealing with folks that have been broken, twisted, and mangled lives. We have all heard John 3:16, "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." But how many of us can quote John 3:17? It is probably, in my opinion, one of the most important verses in the Bible. "God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." If Christ, Himself, was not sent here to judge, then what on earth makes us feel we have any right to do so?

 

We have looked at many stories about Jesus and how He was not judging and was very gentle to the folks around Him, no matter what it was they had done, a woman living in sin, an adulteress, and a cheater. We have folks around us that are sinners, we have us around folks and we are sinners, we are all guilty of something, but it is our jobs to display that love, that peace, that joy, and that gentleness, in order to show them that we are Christ like, that we truly are a Christian. Oh but pastor how can we do this when they have done such bad things? How do we allow that kind of love and gentleness to eminate from us? I have one answer. Stop trying to do it in your human form and allow the Holy Spirit total control and let the Holy Spirit do it for you. The hardest part of anything we do is allowing someone else to have control over us. I am telling you, from personal experience, allowing God that control will elimate so much stress in your own life. You stop loving, you stop caring, you stop showing gentleness, and allow God to show these fruits through you with the Holy Spirit and you will be amazed at the results.

 

Are you willing to give God a shot? Are you really willing to step up to the plate and be called a true Christian? If you are then all you have to do to get started is to say a simple prayer with me.

 

Say this simple prayer with me, Dear Lord, I want you to be the Lord over my life, forgive me of my sins, and give me the gift of everlasting life. Amen.

 

If you have said this simple prayer, then we believe that you have received salvation. We would love to rejoice with you, so please drop us a note, in our link, to let us know and confess Jesus before man, so that we may send you a few things that we hope will help you in your new Christian walk.

 

With Love in Christ,

 

  Pastor Stone