Bella Vista Church of Christ

12/15/2019 A.M.

Pursuing The Good Life

Gentleness – Meekness –Humility

John 10.10 2 Peter 1.5-8 Galatians 5.22-23

Well… I hope we meant what we sang a few minutes ago… As we ask the Holy Spirit to change our life… Making us a Living Sacrifice.

This is what our Sunday Morning Series is about… The Spirit producing His Fruit in us daily.

Jesus came promising… The Abundant Life... Life above the ordinary…Life at its best.

Scripture describes this new life as… a life in Christ... Perhaps more ably… a life of Christ in us!!

Peter says... Adding these attributes to our daily walk...

• Will make our calling and election sure...

• Will help us participate in God’s Divine Nature...

• Will give us entrance into His eternal Kingdom.

Paul tells us that these Characteristics are the result of God living in us... Fruit of the Spirit.

We’re examining each of these in our Sunday Morning Series... Pursuing The Good Life.

It happened in Detroit in the 1930s...

Three young men boarded a bus and attempted to pick a fight with a black man sitting alone in the back of the bus. They insulted him time and time again... One insult after another... But the man said nothing in response... He just sat quietly... With no response.

When the bus came to the man’s stop... He pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to one of the young men… The card simply read... Joe Louis... Boxer.

These three young men had tried to pick a fight with a man who boxed from 1934 until 1951… And was Heavyweight Champion of the World for 12 years. He could have easily given these men the fight of their life... And no one would have blamed him... But he didn’t!!’

Joe Louis disciplined himself....

These three saw firsthand what Gentleness.... Meekness... Humility... Look like.

They witnessed power under control.

Church… We have allowed the world to force us into its mold... We want to be tough.

We want to be… John Wayne!!... Clint Eastwood!!… Rambo!!

But... But…

• When God lives in us...

• When we have the heart of Jesus…

We will produce a harvest that is just the opposite of arrogant toughness.

We produce a fruit of… Gentleness…. Meekness… Humility.

Listen… Are we willing to let God live in us... Producing the fruit... The walk... He wants... Or... Are we more interested in worldliness than Godliness?... Sobering questions... RIGHT?

The fruit of the Spirit is… Gentleness… Meekness… Humility….

We need a definition… What is Gentleness

Meekness is a passive trait... That causes us to be gentle with others... Even when they… Mistreat and Abuse us.

Meekness & Humility differ from Gentleness in that Meekness & Humility are inward feelings… Gentleness & Meekness are Heart Conditions… While Gentleness is an outward active behavior.

We feel Meek & Humble… We act with gentleness.

The dictionary defines our words as…

• Being kind…

• Tender hearted…

• Mild-Mannered…

• Considerate ofothers…

• Soft in our action and reaction toward them.

• Gentleness is a sensitive regard for others.

• Gentleness brings silence...Instead of laying on the horn... When someone cuts us off at the on the interstate or at the stop light.

• Gentlenessis saying nothing... When another steps in front of us at the checkout counter.

• Gentleness results in our being kind... When others are verbally abusive and ugly to us.

Gentleness is illustrated by the way we would handle a box of fine china... It’s the recognition that the human personality is… valuable...Vulnerable… often fragile... And must be handled with care.

Paul gives us an illustration of what our Gentleness should look like in First Thessalonians 2.6 & 7… We were not looking for praise from men…As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but… LISTEN NOW… But We were gentle among you… HOW?... How does gentleness behave?... like a mother caring for her little children.

The Greek words speak to us of Joe Louis’… power under control.

I understand that… In secular Greek... These are words used to speak of a colt that has been broken to ride or work... Power that was once chaos… is now under control… Power that was once useless is now made useful.

Meekness is holding back… Restraining our strength when we have the right and power to let others have it because of their behavior.

Gentleness…Meekness… Humility… Are not an indication of weakness… But an indication of strength… Of A strong discipline within.

You see… Anybody can lose their temper… But gentleness is a form of temperance or moderation that… Tempers… Smoothes… Cools… Reshapes our anger… Does away with our desire for vengeance… When we have been deeply hurt.

Gentleness… Humility… Keep us from kneejerk reactions… While entrusting God to repay.

So…Gentleness is a behavior resulting from an attitude of Meekness and Humility…And is the opposite of Pride.

Pride is a high or inordinate opinion of our own IMPORTANCE…

Pride is thinking we are SUPERIOR to others.

Pride is conceit and arrogance.

John Ortberg tells this insightful story of pride in his book… “Life Changing Love”…

A CEO of a Fortune 500 Company pulled into a service station… Went inside to pay…

When he returned… His wife was engaged in a discussion with the Service Station Attendant. It turned out that she knew him. In fact in High School… Before she met her eventual husband… She dated this man.

The CEO got in the car… They drove a couple of miles in absolute silence. Finally… Feeling Good... Feeling Superior… about himself… he spoke. In arrogance he said… I bet I know what you’re thinking… I bet you are glad you married me… A Fortune 500 CEO and not him… A Service Station Attendant.

The woman sat in silence… Then said… No… Actually… I was thinking that if I’d married him… He would be a Fortune 500 CEO and you would be a Service Station Attendant.

Ouch!!… The Fruit of the Spirit we are talking about this morning is wrapped up in a proper opinion of self.

It was Paul who wrote… Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment.

The New Living Translation reads… I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves… Measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.

OK…What Does Scripture say about this Fruit of Gentleness…

Philippians 2.3-5 says… Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit… But in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests… But also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4.5… Let your gentleness be evident to all.

Proverbs 15.1… A gentle answer turns away wrath… A harsh word stirs up anger.

1 Peter 3.15… Set Christ apart as Lord of your life... Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But… do this with gentleness and respect.

Listen to Ephesians 4.2… Be completely humble and gentle… Be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Matthew 5.5 reads… Blessed are the Meek… They shall inherit the earth.

Colossians 3.12-14 admonishes… As God’s chosen people… Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Next we note… examples of Gentleness?...

It’s interesting that some of the most humble men in Biblical History… Were men of courage and strength… Moses… David…Jesus… John the Baptist… Stephen.

Men who stood against great odds for what was right… strength in gentleness… Power under control.

For instance Numbers 12.3 tells us that… Moses was a very humble man… More humble than anyone else on the face of the earth… Yet he was a great leader of God’s people…

• He could be stern… He made the worshipers of the Golden Calf drink the dust of their idol…

• When his brother and sister… Aaron & Miriam… Reproached his name and character… Moses did not retaliate…

John the Baptist boldly labeled his audience a brood of vipers… As he called for their repentance.

Stephen prayed for those who stoned him… Asking God not to hold this sin of murder against them.

Jesus cleansed the Temple…

• At the cross… He could have called ten-thousand angels to deliver him… But didn’t!!

• He humbled Himself coming to this earth to save us… Humility is not weakness… Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!

Here is Jesus’ own invitation for us to join Him in this Fruit of the Spirit… Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits you perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.

As an application of our lesson…

How do we cultivate Gentleness?

First and foremost… We must start serving others…

Listen church… The concept of serving is found more than three hundred times in the Bible… It was Jesus who said… I am among you as the One who serves.

The abundant life… The good life… Becomes ours when we take our eyes and thoughts off ourselves and begin to be sensitive to the feelings and needs of others.

• Gentleness means we treat others with the sensitivity and tenderness of Jesus…

• Gentleness means we never do or say anything to intentionally hurt others.

• Gentleness means we become a people and person of genuine compassion.

It was Jesus who said… Whosever desires to become great among you… Let him be your servant… And whoever desires to be first among you… Let him serve.

Peter reminds us… Live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. (1 Peter 3.8).

William Barclay in his commentary on Mark says…

• Man’s economic problems would be solved if we lived for what we could do for others and not for self.

• Every political issue could be solved if our ambitions were to serve others... Instead of enhancing our own Palaces… Pleasure… And prestige.

• Divisions and disputes in the church would never occur if our only desire was to serve Jesus and His family… The church.

Secondly…We cultivate gentleness by being Approachable.

Jesus was approachable… We see this in His gentleness with…

• Children...

• Sinners...

• The downtrodden...

• The disenfranchised...

• The sick...

• The poor...

• And the lost.

Approachableness demands that…

• We be good listeners...

• That we never be critical & Judgmental of others... But find the good in them.

• That we never overreact when others disappoint us.

• It means placing the needs of others before our own.

• Approachableness means never looking down our nose at anybody.

• It means treating others as we would like to be treated.

Listen to Paul from Second Timothy two... as he speaks to Elders... And to us... The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome... Instead... He must be kind to everyone... Able to teach... Not resentful toward anyone.

We should… Keep company with humble people.

Listen to Paul… Do not set your mind on high things… But associate with the humble.

In his commentary on Romans… John R.W. Stott reminds us that… Few kinds of pride are worse than snobbery.

• Snobs are obsessed withstatus…

• They are acutely aware of upper and lower classes… rich and poor… educated and uneducated…. gifted & talented and average.

• Snobs divide people into their own respective groups and then treat them differently.

Social snobbery forgets that Jesus fraternized with social rejects…The Poor… Diseased… The Disenfranchised… And Sinners of His time.

Spend time with Children…

Jesus loved little children…

• He spent time with them…

• Welcomed them into His presence…

• Took them in His arms…

And commanded that we do the same with a warning…

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them… But the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this… He was indignant. He said to them… Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them… Knowing their thoughts… Jesus took a little child making him stand beside him… Said to them…Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. (Mark 10.13-16 & Luke 9.47-48).

Our son Keith said… Daddy… I can tell you who has the spirit of gentleness… I can tell you what’s in A man’s heart by the way he treats Children and dogs.

I gotta tell you… Even challenge you… To see if this isn’t true.

A man in the Village wrote in the newspaper voicing his being against building a school within the City Limits of Bella Vista… He said… I moved here to get away from children… They have no place in our city.

I gotta tell you… This man is not living the abundant life that Jesus came to offer.

Church… Look around… See those who are sensitive and kind to children… They are those who have a Jesus heart and attitude.

How do we treat Children and Dogs?

Than finally… Seek God’s help.

Gentleness… Meekness… Humility… Are difficult virtues to cultivate in today’s culture.

But God never asked of us… Something He was not willing to help us obtain.

Listen to these Scriptures…

Philippians 1.6… Be confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 13.20-21… May the God of peace… Equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

James 4.10… Humble yourselvesbefore God and He will lift you up.

This morning God promises the abundant full life to those who will walk in step with His Spirit…

• The first step we must take with the Spirit is to become His child by genuine New Testament Conversion…Being born again by… Faith… Repentance… and Baptism.

• The second step is for us to allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate His fruit in us.

May God help us accept His invitation and challenge as we sing this song together.