We turn in the Word of God today to Galatians
5, verse 22, where we read these words, The fruit
of the Spirit is patience, kindness, goodness.
Of all that we can be thankful for today, the
personal and permanent indwelling of the Holy
Spirit must be high on our list. That indwelling
of the Holy Spirit sets us apart as believers
in this age as unique in relation to believers
of past ages. Not until Pentecost and after that
did the Holy Spirit personally and permanently
indwell those who believe by faith. It makes
us unique in the ages as the Church of Jesus
Christ. Furthermore, the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit assures the believer of God's ever -present
care in his needs and circumstances. The indwelling
of the Holy Spirit furthermore seals the believer
into Jesus Christ, guaranteeing his ultimate
glorification with his Lord. And the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit makes possible a life characterized
by the very likeness of Jesus himself. That is
the fruit of the Spirit. The life of Jesus is
manifested in us when the Holy Spirit dominates
our being. Either the flesh or the Spirit does
dominate. We need to underscore that in our minds.
One can turn on an electric light in a room.
In so doing, there is light and not darkness.
But if you turn off the light, darkness immediately
again dominates. So is the domination of the
spirit or the flesh. Either one or the other
does dominate us. We can't be dominated by both
the Spirit and the flesh. In other words, it
is not possible for us to be 60 % controlled
by the Spirit and 40 % controlled by the flesh.
It doesn't work that way. It's either or, all
the way. Either the flesh or the Spirit dominates.
When the Holy Spirit does, when He controls us,
When we walk or live in dependence upon Him,
then the Spirit produces His fruit. That He is
in control is proved by the fruit which we bear
in our attitudes and our behavior. The thing
that we've been saying now for several weeks
is this, that the Holy Spirit produces His fruit
in the life of the believer. who is under his
control. Now, having studied about love, joy,
and peace, let's go on today to talk about the
next three. First, patience. Someone has described
patience as that mosquito which sits on the bed
of an anemic person waiting for him to get his
transfusion. Indeed, that would be patience.
But biblically speaking, patience means to be
long -tempered. It means to be enduring under
injuries afflicted by others. The word patience
refers to a long holding out of the mind before
an action is taken in response. Dr. Hendrickson
said, It characterizes the person who, in relation
to those who annoy, oppose, or molest him, exercises
patience. He refuses to yield to passion or to
outbursts of anger. Does anybody annoy you or
oppose you or molest you? Patience enables you
not to... have an outburst of anger against that
individual. Dr. Vine put it this way, Long -suffering
is that quality of self -restraint in the face
of provocation which does not hastily retaliate
or promptly punish. It is the opposite of anger
and is associated with mercy. Patience. Patience,
of course, finds its most perfect illustration
in God Himself. For God has told us that one
of His attributes is long -suffering or patience.
Exodus 34 .6 God is patient. He displayed His
patience magnificently in the days before the
flood, according to Peter. 1 Peter 3 .20 When
the patience of God waited. While the ark was
being prepared for 120 years, God was patient
with wicked man. It is God's patience which causes
him not to will that any should perish, but that
all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3 .9.
That is the heart of God. Furthermore, it is
the patience of God which, according to Romans
2 .4, ultimately brings us to repentance from
our sins. Is there one of us today who does not
have to testify of the patience of God in his
life, either before conversion or after conversion,
or more likely both? God is patient with us.
If he were not so, he would strike us dead. God
is patient. He is long -suffering. We see it
again in the Lord Jesus, in his patience toward
the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote to Timothy and was
reflecting about his Damascus Road experience.
Looking back upon that time as he was heading
toward the city of Damascus to persecute Christians,
he remembered the light which appeared in the
heavens, which struck him. and threw him down
on his knees. And the voice said, Saul, Saul,
why do you persecute me? Saul was a broken man,
and he said, Lord, what would you have me to
do? And reflecting upon that, he writes to Timothy
that it revealed the perfect patience of Jesus
Christ. Being the blasphemer, persecutor, that
He was. The fruit of the Spirit is patience.
My friend, God needs to produce that fruit in
your life and mine. But corresponding to that
fruit is an exhortation from the Bible. An exhortation
that can be found in several places, but which
I'm going to look at with you, I hope, in James
chapter 5. The fruit of the Spirit is patience.
But notice this command in James 5, beginning
in verse 7. Be patient, therefore, brethren.
Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming
of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the
precious produce of the soil, being patient about
it. until it gets to the early and late rains,
talking about the cycle of rains in Palestine.
You too, he says, be patient. Strengthen your
hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Do not complain, brethren, against one another,
that you yourselves may not be judged. When we
become complainers, we put ourselves in the place
of potential judgment. Behold, the judge is standing
right at the door. So once again, he mentions
the coming of the Lord. He is writing to a people
that knew oppression and injustice, a people
suffering and persecuted. And he says to them,
brethren, be long -tempered. Don't strike out
in retaliation. The coming of the Lord is near.
The judge is standing at the door. When he says
that, it's very picturesque. You know, in our
courtrooms today, the official announces the
name of the judge, and he enters the room, and
everybody stands up. And so James is picturing
the judge at the door. His hand is on the door
latch, so to speak. And James says, the judge
is at the door. And it's as though everybody
stands up now. and is waiting for the judge to
enter the room. Jesus is at hand. He is coming,
and he's coming as the judge who will rectify
wrongs and release the oppressed. So be patient,
he says. As an example, brethren, of suffering
and patience, take the prophets who spoke in
the name of the Lord. Behold, we count those
blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance
of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's
dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion
and is merciful. He says, consider Job. Consider
the prophets of old, how they suffered and yet
were patient. And so that's what you and I are
called upon to do. Husbands, be patient. mothers,
be patient. Wives, be patient. Employers, be
patient with those who serve you. Employees,
be patient with a boss that's difficult to get
along with. Be patient in your circumstances
that grind against you every day of your life.
Be patient. Be long -suffering. The fruit of
the Spirit is patience. You say, well, I can
understand how the Holy Spirit can be patient,
but I can't. You know that's true, in a sense,
because in our humanness, none of us is patient.
Not one of us. But when you and I, as believers,
choose by faith to obey the Word of God, and
we say, Lord, I will be patient. with this person.
And we ask the Holy Spirit to enable us. Then
He is free to produce in us the fruit of patience.
Do you see how the two work together? It's not
a contradiction for us to read that the fruit
of the Spirit is patience and then a command
that we are to be patient. Because it is when
we obey the Word in the power of the Holy Spirit
that the Holy Spirit then enables us to carry
that out. It doesn't just happen automatically.
It takes a step of faith on our part, a step
of obedience. And then the Holy Spirit will do
what only He can do, and that is to enable us
to be patient in the biblical sense. Beloved,
some of us are too quick to give up. We are too
easily offended. We are too soon angry. Laman
Strauss said, Long -suffering will enable us
to pray for those who injure us and to wait patiently
until God has vindicated Himself. Is there judgment?
Is there justice that you need in your situation?
If so, then leave it to God. God has far better
ways. to carry out justice for you, then you
can carry it out for yourself. Be patient. The
fruit of the Spirit is patience and kindness.
What is kindness? Well, it may be defined as
a courteous, thoughtful, considerate disposition.
Dr. John MacArthur says, It is tenderness in
view of the weakness of human personality and
the depth of human need. In other words, the
fruit of the Spirit, kindness, enables one to
perceive the hurt, to feel the heartache, to
hear the personal cry of one who is suffering,
one who is oppressed, one who is in need. And
not only to do that, but then to respond to that
accordingly. Kindness may well be just the opposite
of the macho image that is so touted in some
parts of our society. It is the antithesis of
running over others to achieve personal desires.
The kindness which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit
is illustrated in Ruth. Do you remember Ruth
in the Old Testament? In chapter 3, verse 10
of Ruth, Boaz blesses her because of her kindness.
And in that verse, he refers to her first kindness.
And by that, he refers to the way that she treated
her mother -in -law, Naomi. Do you recall the
story? Naomi was destitute. She lost her husband,
her two sons. and was now on her way back home
to Palestine from Moab. And she told her two
daughters -in -law to stay in Moab with their
families. They had no obligation to her. She
could go back alone home. The one did that, but
Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave you. Made
those beautiful statements that are often made
by husbands to wives in wedding ceremonies. But
in that case, it was a daughter -in -law to a
mother -in -law. Don't make me leave you. Let
your own be mine, your family my family, and
so on. Boaz later said, Bless you, Ruth, because
of the kindness that you showed toward Naomi,
your mother -in -law. But then he said, Bless
you for this latter kindness also. What was he
referring to there? Well, you see, just in the
previous action in Ruth, she had properly, according
to the custom and the law of that time, asked
Boaz to marry her. Now, Boaz was a near kinsman
and had an obligation, according to the law,
to her. And he was willing to carry that out,
we read in the book of Ruth, because he loved
her. courteous and polite way, she had gone through
an action asking for him to fulfill his obligation
and to marry her. Now, you have to understand
that Boaz was a part of a different generation.
He was an old man, and Ruth was a young woman.
And so he said to her, Bless you because of this
kindness that you have extended to me. You see,
the kindness of Ruth is... is magnified there.
The kindness brought her blessing in return.
I think we see kindness illustrated too in David's
treatment of one of Jonathan's sons. After he
had come to the throne of all of Israel, David
sought for a son or relative of Jonathan, his
dearest friend who was killed, so that to that
person he might show kindness. because of his
great affection for Jonathan. A search was made,
and there was found one Mephibosheth, a son of
Jonathan, who had been able to live through those
difficult years. David, on behalf of Jonathan,
now deceased, brought Mephibosheth into his courtroom
and said, You eat at my table. I will care for
you the rest of your life. And the Word of God
says that was his kindness, tenderness with a
view to the need of Mephibosheth, thoughtful,
considerate, courteous action. But of course
it is once again God who most perfectly illustrates
kindness, who according to Titus was kind to
us in bringing us the Savior. Again, in Romans
2, 4, God in His kindness leads us to repentance
from sin. My friend, if it were not for the kindness
of God in doing that, none of us would turn from
our sin. And Paul, writing to the Ephesians in
chapter 2, verse 7, says, Throughout eternity
to come, God is going to display many kindnesses
toward you through His grace in Christ Jesus.
I don't know what that means. But there is going
to be one kindness after another that God is
going to extend toward us. Jesus, again, illustrates
kindness time and time again. I remind you of
the penitent woman of the street who entered
into that Pharisee's home to anoint him with
oil. The self -righteous Pharisee was offended
by... the likes of this woman coming into his
house and wondered how Jesus could indeed be
who he claimed to be, surely he knew what kind
of a woman she was. Jesus read all of these thoughts
in the mind of the man and then expressed kindness
to the woman and appreciation for her act of
devotion and love toward him, which he read as
being an act of repentance. and condemned rather
the self -righteous Pharisee. Do we not see the
kindness of Jesus once again in the woman taken
in adultery in John chapter 8? Why was it that
Jesus said to this adulterous woman, taken in
the very act, go and sin no more? Was he excusing
her sin? Was he overlooking it and saying it
wasn't really too important? No, not at all.
But there were two things that Jesus saw on that
occasion. First, he saw the hypocrisy of the
people who brought her to him for judgment. And
he said, you without sin cast the first stone.
And they all turned around and walked away. And
then he saw in her heart brokenness and sorrow
and repentance. And he turned to her and said,
now you go and sin no more. He was kind to her,
gracious. You know, folks, we're a whole lot
better at talking about people who've fallen
into sin than we are at being kind to them. We're
much more skilled at kicking them when they're
down than we are in reaching out a hand and saying,
can I help you? Aren't we? Because the fruit
of the Spirit is kindness, and that's not natural
to us as sinful human beings. Natural to us is
unkindness. The fruit of the Spirit is kindness,
but we have an exhortation that accompanies it.
I invite you to turn with me to Ephesians 4.
Now don't turn there if you don't want to be
under conviction, but if you'd like to feel a
little pain, go to Ephesians 4, verse 32, where
it says, And be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also
has forgiven you. And so accompanying the fruit
of the Spirit, kindness, is this command to us.
Be kind one to another. Notice that that kindness
is rooted in tenderheartedness. Where are the
tender hearts today? By all the violence that
we see on television, we read about in the paper.
By all of the garbage that floods into our homes
constantly through news and other reports, our
hearts become insensitive and we just callously
throw off things, don't we? We need to be careful
that in being a part of our age and keeping abreast
of things, we do not allow our hearts to become
seared toward the hurts, the cries, and the agonies
of people who are in desperate need. Tenderheartedness
enables us to be kind to people. And then it
says, forgiving each other. Kindness is especially
observed in forgiveness. Forgiveness that comes
from God, and which is like His forgiveness,
free forgiveness. Oh, I'll forgive, but first
He's got to do this. Oh, I'll forgive, but first
this has to be made right. Listen, my friend,
if that's the kind of forgiveness you're commanding
of someone else, then recognize that that forgiveness
is not the forgiveness of God. It's mere human
forgiveness. Because the forgiveness that we
are to evidence in our lives is just as God in
Christ also has forgiven us. Free forgiveness.
It doesn't make demands. Do you have some grudge
that you have put in a box and you're keeping
up on a shelf? Just waiting for the day to pull
it off the shelf and fling it out before somebody?
Do you have a quiver of arrows on your back and
each arrow is tipped? With the poison of bitterness
and every chance you get, you fling an arrow
at somebody. Oh, how harmful that can be for
you as well as for others. My friend, there is
not time enough in our short lives for us to
nurse those kinds of things. We need to get them
out of our lives. The fruit of the Spirit is
kindness. It's rooted in tenderheartedness and
it's evidenced in forgiveness. Forgiveness. Be
kind one to another. Who is it that you need
to forgive? Who is that person that haunts you?
Whose ghost is it that comes to your mind when
you try to grow spiritually? but there is this
thing that happened. You say, well, I can forgive,
but I can't forget. Then, my friend, you have
not forgiven. But you say, I can't take things
out of my memory. True. But you can forget the
offense toward you that that incident brought.
You can. You can neutralize that in your mind
and forget it in that sense. No, the memory of
it may forever be there. But that part of your
memory that holds the grudge, that's angry and
bitter, that, you see, can be removed. Forgiveness
involves forgetting that offense, just like God
has forgiven us for Jesus' sake. was a French
-born Quaker. In the French Revolution, he was
arrested and was due to be executed, but somehow
escaped his executor and ultimately came to the
United States. He became a preacher and a philanthropist.
He traveled throughout the United States, Canada,
Haiti, Europe. He visited mines, hospitals, prisons,
and asylums. And wherever he went, he sought
to preach Jesus Christ and to improve social
conditions. He died 130 years ago. Stéphane Grillet
is best remembered not for all of those deeds
of kindness, but for a statement that he made.
which most of us have heard sometime. He said,
I shall pass through the world but once. Any
good that I can do or any kindness that I can
show to any human being, let me do it now and
not defer it. For I shall not pass this way again.
The fruit of the Spirit is kindness. Who is it
that needs your kindness? Is it your wife? Your
children? Your husband? That secretary? The neighbor
across the street? That one who pesters you with
long telephone calls that go on and on and on?
Be kind. one to another. The fruit of the Spirit
is patience, kindness, and goodness. Goodness
may be defined as an active, energetic, and beneficial
force. It's a little hard to put a knife down
between kindness and goodness and get a straight
cut. But I think we can say that goodness is
that which is morally pleasing to God. It is
honorable. Again, Dr. Hendrickson says it is
moral and spiritual excellence, generosity of
heart, and action. Bishop Trench, who is well
known for his study of synonyms in the Bible,
suggests that goodness is not necessarily gentle
in its manifestations. He calls it the firm side
of kindness. So if you want a distinction between
kindness and goodness, let it be that. Goodness
is the firmer side of kindness. It is illustrated
in Jesus Christ coming to his Father's temple
and seeing it abused, entering in, overthrowing
the tables, and cleansing it. That is the goodness
of Jesus Christ manifested. That is active, energetic,
honorable force, which is morally pleasing to
God. We see him as well denouncing the scribes
and the Pharisees in the 23rd chapter of Matthew.
Again, the goodness of Jesus Christ manifested.
The firmer side of kindness. Of the Roman Christians,
the Apostle Paul wrote, You yourselves also are
full of goodness, being able also to admonish
one another. The firmer side of kindness. And
there are exhortations in the New Testament which
correlate to this fruit of the Spirit. We're
told to prove what is the good and acceptable
and perfect will of God. Romans 12, 2. We're
told to cling to that which is good, Romans 12,
9. To do good, Romans 13, 3. But perhaps a key
passage, and the one we'll turn to, is in Galatians
6, verses 9 and 10. The fruit of the Spirit is
goodness, but it says here, and let us not lose
heart in doing good, for in due time we shall
reap if we do not grow weary. So then while we
have opportunity, let us do good to all men,
and especially to those who are the household
of the faith. So we are to do good to fellow
believers, but to a broader circle than that,
to all men. We are to do good, and we are not
to grow weary in that. It's easy to grow weary
when we are not getting some response out of
another person, or when there is not appreciation.
We are commanded to do good and not grow weary
and faint -hearted. John Wesley, the founder
of Methodism, wrote these words, Do all the good
you can, by all the means you can, in all the
ways you can, in all the places you can, at all
the times you can, to all the people you can,
as long... as ever you can. The fruit of the
Spirit is goodness. Be good to those who are
the household of faith and those who are outside.
I do not want to confuse anyone here this morning
unless you think that by being patient, kind
or good. You will earn your salvation. Let me
underscore a truth to your mind. These things
that we've talked about today are not the cause
for salvation. God does not look down upon humankind
and see those who are patient and those who are
good and those who are kind and those who are
loving and those who are joyous and those who
are peacemakers. and say, well, you fellows are
trying hard down there. I'm going to take you
up to heaven someday. You see, being this way,
living this way, does not make one a Christian.
It does not make one right with God. These kinds
of actions do not gain merit before Him. We cannot
be saved by our works. We are saved through faith
in Jesus Christ alone. We are saved by the one
who came into the world and went to the cross
and shed his precious blood to buy us from our
sin, to redeem us. That is alone how we are saved.
Do not be confused about that. But having come
to the cross, having trusted the Savior, we are
now commanded in the word of God to live this
kind of a life. Having been saved by grace, we
are now created unto good works, Ephesians 2
.10. And so do the good works and allow the Holy
Spirit to produce His fruit through your life.
What we're talking about is the proof and the
aftermath of salvation, not the cause of it.
And only the Holy Spirit can produce that in
us. These weeks we have been talking about this
very simple statement, that the Holy Spirit produces
His fruit in the lives of believers who are under
His control. And so the real final question I
want to ask today is this. Are you under the
control of the Holy Spirit? You say, well, partially.
No, no, no. If that's what you think, you've
missed the point. We cannot be partially under
the control of the Holy Spirit and partially
under control of the flesh. We are either under
the control of the flesh or we are under the
control of the Spirit, one or the other. There's
no middle ground. The light is on or it's off.
Are you under the control of the Holy Spirit?
When we walk about under the control of the Holy
Spirit, We are going to see people as they really
are and seek to meet their needs. I'm going to
do my best to read a poem. It is a poem written
by a woman who died in a geriatrics ward in a
hospital in England. These lines were found among
her possessions after she was deceased. From
the sound of the poem, I would guess that she
was a woman who did not know the meaning of personal
salvation in Jesus Christ. She writes here as
an old woman, and she writes to her nurses. Indeed,
this poem was addressed to her nurses. I'd like
you to put yourself in that room and listen to
this woman. Cry out from inside as she writes.
What do you see, nurse? What do you see? Are
you thinking when you look at me, a crabbed old
woman, not very wise, uncertain of habit with
faraway eyes? Who dribbles her food and makes
no reply when you say in a loud voice, I do wish
you would try. Who seems not to notice the things
that you do and forever is losing a stocking
or shoes. Who resisting or not lets you do as
you will with bathing and feeding the long day
to fill. Is that what you're thinking? Is that
what you see? Then open your eyes, nurse. You're
not looking at me. I'll tell you who I am as
I sit here so still. As I move at your bidding,
eat at your will, I'm a small child of ten with
a father and mother, brothers and sisters who
love one another. A young girl of sixteen with
wings on her feet, Dreaming that soon a love
she'll meet. A bride at 20. My heart gives a
leap, remembering the vows that I promised to
keep. At 25 now, I have young of my own who need
me to build a secure, happy home. A woman of
30. My young now grow fast, bound together with
ties that should last. At 40, my young sons have
grown up and gone, but my man's beside me to
see I don't mourn. At 50, once more babies play
around my knee, and again we know children, my
loved one and me. Dark days are upon me. My husband
is dead. I look at the future, I shudder with
dread. For my young... are all rearing young
of their own, and I think of the years and the
love that I've known. I'm an old woman now, and
nature is cruel. Tis her jest to make old age
look like a fool. The body, it crumbles. Grace
and vigor depart. There is a stone. where I once
had a heart. But inside this old carcass, a young
girl still dwells. And now again my embittered
heart swells. I remember the joys. I remember
the pain. And I'm loving and living life over
again. I think of the years, all too few. Gone
too fast. And accept the stark fact that nothing
can last. So open your eyes, nurse. Open and
see. Not a crabbed old woman. Look closer. See
me. My friend. This week you are going to run
across the path of scores of people who could
write a poem like that. And by their obnoxious
actions and their unkind words and the way they
treat you, you will be tempted to look one way
at them. But what they're really saying is, see
me, I'm hurting. I need you. You know, we can't
do that. We cannot do that unless we are controlled
by the Holy Spirit. We're walking by the Spirit.
And He's producing the fruit in our lives that
people can reach out and partake of and have
their needs met. I hope that's your desire this
week. You can walk. by the Holy Spirit and thus
be available to Him to meet the needs of people
who are crying out. Let's pray together. Lord
Jesus, help us to see people as You see them.
We so easily... go on our ways, living in the
flesh, meeting no needs of those around us. When
there are people crying out to us, as did this
dear woman, look and see me. Help. Help me. And
Lord, we recognize that only as we're walking
by the Spirit can we be of any help and will
we have any fruit that will satisfy those cravings
in their hearts. And so, blessed Lord, this week
we pray, teach us further what it means to be
dominated by your Holy Spirit and produce in
our lives the life of Jesus. the fruit of the
Spirit. Amen.