WEBVTT 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:08.939 I wonder if you'd bow with me in prayer. Would 00:00:08.939 --> 00:00:12.119 you join me, please? And let's just sing together 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:14.220 the prayer chorus that we've used from time to 00:00:14.220 --> 00:00:18.000 time. Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus. 00:00:18.500 --> 00:00:25.519 Let's sing it together. Open our eyes, Lord. 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:31.859 To that end, with that result, would you bless 00:01:31.859 --> 00:01:34.239 this service this morning as we wait upon you 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:43.019 in your holy word. Amen. We come today to Galatians 00:01:43.019 --> 00:01:46.859 chapter 5 one more time to talk about the fruit 00:01:46.859 --> 00:01:51.040 of the Holy Spirit. For the fruit of the Spirit 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:59.400 is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. goodness, 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:04.180 faithfulness, gentleness, self -control. Against 00:02:04.180 --> 00:02:09.560 such things there is no law. Can you imagine, 00:02:09.780 --> 00:02:16.919 can you imagine in your mind a life truly, consistently 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:22.520 characterized by these nine qualities? You say, 00:02:22.539 --> 00:02:24.780 well, I think it's really impossible for a life 00:02:24.780 --> 00:02:28.030 to be characterized that way. And of course that 00:02:28.030 --> 00:02:30.889 is true if we're thinking of those who are merely 00:02:30.889 --> 00:02:35.669 human. But if you can begin to imagine a life 00:02:35.669 --> 00:02:39.409 that is genuinely characterized by these nine 00:02:39.409 --> 00:02:43.830 words, then you can imagine something of what 00:02:43.830 --> 00:02:49.090 Jesus was like. I want you to notice that these 00:02:49.090 --> 00:02:53.409 nine qualities are called the fruit of the Spirit. 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:58.159 They are not called the fruit of nice people, 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:02.699 nor the fruit of religiously sincere people. 00:03:03.860 --> 00:03:06.900 They are not called even the fruit of a born 00:03:06.900 --> 00:03:12.599 -again Christian. But these qualities are called 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:17.419 the fruit of the Holy Spirit. No flesh can produce 00:03:17.419 --> 00:03:21.000 a life like this, not even the flesh of a born 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:25.060 -again Christian. Rather, it is the Holy Spirit's 00:03:25.060 --> 00:03:28.740 wondrous production within the life of the believer 00:03:28.740 --> 00:03:32.840 that is under His control. I'd like to reiterate 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:35.639 this morning that His control is not relative. 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:40.400 By that I mean that the Holy Spirit is either 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:44.300 in charge or He is not in charge in your life. 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:47.520 And if He is not in charge, then the flesh is. 00:03:48.840 --> 00:03:51.919 It is impossible for us to be 80 % controlled 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:54.979 by the Holy Spirit and 20 % controlled by the 00:03:54.979 --> 00:03:59.199 flesh. It doesn't work that way. Either one or 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:03.659 the other dominates us. The evidence of these 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:09.319 qualities, designated as His fruit, will be affected 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:13.580 by several factors, however, including one's 00:04:13.580 --> 00:04:18.709 personality or temperament. and also by the specific 00:04:18.709 --> 00:04:22.129 need for one or more of these qualities in a 00:04:22.129 --> 00:04:25.629 given situation. And so I think that it's fair 00:04:25.629 --> 00:04:28.990 to say that all of these beautiful qualities 00:04:28.990 --> 00:04:33.149 will not be seen equally at all times in every 00:04:33.149 --> 00:04:37.709 life. And yet the Holy Spirit does produce this 00:04:37.709 --> 00:04:42.069 fruit in the life of the believer under His domination, 00:04:42.430 --> 00:04:46.790 one who walks by the Spirit. We'll be characterized 00:04:46.790 --> 00:04:51.870 by these qualities, love, joy, peace, patience, 00:04:52.129 --> 00:04:55.410 kindness, goodness, and that brings us to our 00:04:55.410 --> 00:04:59.949 study today. We begin with faithfulness. What 00:04:59.949 --> 00:05:02.889 is faithfulness? I suppose most of us have an 00:05:02.889 --> 00:05:06.170 idea as to what it means. It might be defined 00:05:06.170 --> 00:05:11.310 as trustworthiness. Faithfulness is keeping one's 00:05:11.310 --> 00:05:16.189 commitment. It is dependability. It is loyalty. 00:05:18.949 --> 00:05:22.550 Faithfulness in a biblical context places a particular 00:05:22.550 --> 00:05:26.910 stress on the dependability of one's word and 00:05:26.910 --> 00:05:30.750 a promise being fulfilled by subsequent action. 00:05:31.649 --> 00:05:34.589 We see this, for example, in 1 Thessalonians 00:05:34.589 --> 00:05:39.610 5, 24, where just after talking about God's work 00:05:39.610 --> 00:05:42.649 of making us like the Lord Jesus Christ in body, 00:05:42.750 --> 00:05:46.050 soul, and spirit, The apostle goes on to say, 00:05:46.129 --> 00:05:50.389 faithful is he who calls you, who also will do 00:05:50.389 --> 00:05:54.009 it. So you see, it's not just a matter of a promise, 00:05:54.089 --> 00:05:57.410 but it's the fulfilling of that promise that 00:05:57.410 --> 00:06:01.870 is in view. Likewise, in Revelation 22 .6, the 00:06:01.870 --> 00:06:05.269 Lord Jesus speaks to the apostle John at the 00:06:05.269 --> 00:06:09.189 conclusion of this marvelous revelation of himself. 00:06:09.970 --> 00:06:14.240 And he says, these words are faithful. and true. 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:18.220 What does he mean by that? Well, he means that 00:06:18.220 --> 00:06:20.779 everything that John saw was absolutely correct, 00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:23.500 and in addition to that, that everything that 00:06:23.500 --> 00:06:26.040 was promised to come to pass would. These words 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:31.199 are faithful. They are dependable. What has been 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:34.639 said that will come to pass will indeed happen 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:40.079 on the earth. There may not be a quality in the 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:45.740 whole list. of Galatians 5, 22 and 23, which 00:06:45.740 --> 00:06:49.579 is more in contrast to the characteristics of 00:06:49.579 --> 00:06:54.160 our age. Whether you talk about the vows of marriage 00:06:54.160 --> 00:07:00.420 or the use of credit cards or the promises that 00:07:00.420 --> 00:07:04.899 people make every day to one another, faithfulness 00:07:04.899 --> 00:07:10.019 is hard to come by in our age. Our age may be 00:07:10.019 --> 00:07:12.519 characterized by the words of David in Psalm 00:07:12.519 --> 00:07:16.759 12 .1 when he says, The faithful disappear from 00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:21.600 among the sons of men. And yet among the children 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:25.939 of God, faithfulness is a potential and a desired 00:07:25.939 --> 00:07:29.379 quality because the fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness. 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:32.939 Having defined it, let's think about an illustration 00:07:32.939 --> 00:07:37.279 or two of faithfulness. And to do this, I'd like 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:39.079 you to turn to the book of Hebrews with me, to 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:42.259 the third chapter, where we have two names in 00:07:42.259 --> 00:07:46.139 the same context. We'll look first at verse 5, 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:50.860 where the writer says, Now Moses was faithful 00:07:50.860 --> 00:07:57.759 in all his house as a servant. So Moses is lauded 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:01.279 here as having been a faithful servant in his 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:06.860 house, the house of Israel. This verifies exactly 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:11.180 what the Old Testament says. For example, in 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:15.480 Numbers 12 .7, God, in rebuking Miriam and Aaron 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:19.439 for their jealousy and their criticism of Moses, 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:24.339 speaks of him with these terms, My servant Moses, 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:29.540 he is faithful in all my household. Why then 00:08:29.540 --> 00:08:32.279 were you not afraid to speak against my servant, 00:08:32.419 --> 00:08:37.799 against Moses? And so God proclaimed to Moses' 00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:44.159 sister and brother, he is a faithful man. Likewise, 00:08:44.279 --> 00:08:47.039 when commenting regarding the completion of the 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:51.940 tabernacle, it says, thus Moses did, according 00:08:51.940 --> 00:08:56.220 to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he 00:08:56.220 --> 00:09:01.779 did. You see, that's faithfulness. That's dependability. 00:09:02.789 --> 00:09:05.889 It's doing all that one has been asked to do. 00:09:06.350 --> 00:09:09.929 It's fulfilling all that one has promised to 00:09:09.929 --> 00:09:13.769 do. But you'll notice in Hebrews 3 there is a 00:09:13.769 --> 00:09:16.509 greater example even of faithfulness in the next 00:09:16.509 --> 00:09:21.190 verse when it says, But Christ was faithful as 00:09:21.190 --> 00:09:26.690 a son over his house, whose house we are. Speaking 00:09:26.690 --> 00:09:29.870 of the redeemed in this age, the church of Jesus 00:09:29.870 --> 00:09:34.389 Christ. We are His house today. And it says here 00:09:34.389 --> 00:09:37.570 regarding our Savior that He is faithful as a 00:09:37.570 --> 00:09:41.090 son over His house. Now the real contrast here 00:09:41.090 --> 00:09:44.549 is to show the superiority of Jesus Christ over 00:09:44.549 --> 00:09:48.370 Moses in the theme and the argument of the book 00:09:48.370 --> 00:09:51.710 of Hebrews. But please notice that it says regarding 00:09:51.710 --> 00:09:55.330 the Lord Jesus that He too is faithful. And going 00:09:55.330 --> 00:09:57.929 back to verse 1 to pick up the context, it says, 00:09:57.990 --> 00:10:01.500 Therefore, holy brethren, Partakers of a heavenly 00:10:01.500 --> 00:10:07.100 calling, consider Jesus. Consider this man. Consider 00:10:07.100 --> 00:10:10.059 Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:15.779 He was faithful to him who appointed him, as 00:10:15.779 --> 00:10:20.279 Moses also was faithful in all his house. So 00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:24.659 he was faithful, says the word of God. The words 00:10:24.659 --> 00:10:28.779 of Jesus himself in John 6 .38. when He said 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:32.919 that He came down from heaven to do the Father's 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:37.519 will. Once again, in John 8, 29, His testimony 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:41.679 was, I always do the things that are pleasing 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:46.240 to Him. That's faithfulness. You see, that's 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:51.679 following through. In John 15, 10, He says, I 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:57.080 have kept my Father's commandments. And in his 00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:00.019 high priestly prayer in John 17, 4, he says, 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:03.200 I have accomplished the work which thou gavest 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:06.840 me to do. Is it any wonder that the writer of 00:11:06.840 --> 00:11:10.980 Hebrews says he was faithful to him who appointed 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:15.019 him? The writer of this same book says in chapter 00:11:15.019 --> 00:11:19.360 2, verse 17, that he is now a merciful and faithful 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:24.220 high priest in things pertaining to God. So not 00:11:24.220 --> 00:11:27.279 only was the Lord Jesus faithful in his earthly 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:32.440 ministry, but he is faithful now in carrying 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:36.200 out his work as our high priest to intercede 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:40.700 perfectly for us on our behalf. And in the future, 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:44.440 when he comes to reign on the earth, Isaiah says 00:11:44.440 --> 00:11:48.200 that he will reign over the earth in faithfulness 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:53.100 and righteousness, Isaiah 11 .15. Or 11 .5, rather. 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:58.639 And so the Lord Jesus is, was, and will be faithful. 00:11:59.080 --> 00:12:02.360 He is the greatest illustration of faithfulness 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:07.799 that one could possibly point out. The fruit 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:11.379 of the Spirit is faithfulness. And that fruit 00:12:11.379 --> 00:12:15.740 was perfectly evidenced in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:12:16.700 --> 00:12:20.159 Now what about us today? Well, the fruit of the 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:23.720 Spirit is faithfulness in us, too. But corresponding 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:26.460 with that fruit, as we've noticed with all of 00:12:26.460 --> 00:12:28.480 the others that we've studied, there is a command, 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:33.720 there is an exhortation. We find one exhortation 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:36.860 in 2 Corinthians 4, 2, where it says that it's 00:12:36.860 --> 00:12:40.000 required of a steward that a man be found faithful. 00:12:41.980 --> 00:12:44.460 Now, the context there is talking especially 00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:48.409 about those who are Christian workers. Those 00:12:48.409 --> 00:12:51.009 who are the stewards of the gospel in that rather 00:12:51.009 --> 00:12:54.830 narrow sense. It's required in those that they 00:12:54.830 --> 00:12:58.830 be found faithful. But it applies to all of us 00:12:58.830 --> 00:13:01.710 likewise because we're all stewards in one sense. 00:13:02.750 --> 00:13:06.269 We're stewards of all that God gives us. Whether 00:13:06.269 --> 00:13:08.590 we speak about our spiritual gifts or the money 00:13:08.590 --> 00:13:10.649 that we have or the time that we're given in 00:13:10.649 --> 00:13:15.379 this world, we are stewards of that. And faithfulness 00:13:15.379 --> 00:13:19.100 is required. God requires dependability from 00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:23.700 us. Jesus remarks to his suffering servants in 00:13:23.700 --> 00:13:29.480 Revelation 2 .10, Be faithful unto death. In 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:32.360 other words, there is no point in life when we 00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:34.460 can say, Well, I have been faithful long enough. 00:13:35.899 --> 00:13:44.210 Jesus says, Be faithful unto death. The story 00:13:44.210 --> 00:13:48.629 is told about the Duke of Wellington. He was 00:13:48.629 --> 00:13:52.230 riding one day with a hunting party when he came 00:13:52.230 --> 00:13:56.149 to a gate that was shut. He said, open the gate, 00:13:56.210 --> 00:14:02.590 my boy. I'm sorry, sir, answered the boy, but 00:14:02.590 --> 00:14:06.289 my father sent me to say that you must not hunt 00:14:06.289 --> 00:14:13.009 on his grounds. Do you know who I am? No, sir. 00:14:14.629 --> 00:14:18.950 He said, I am the Duke of Wellington. The boy 00:14:18.950 --> 00:14:22.590 took his cap off to such a great man, but he 00:14:22.590 --> 00:14:26.070 did not open the gate. Rather, he said these 00:14:26.070 --> 00:14:30.830 words, The Duke of Wellington will not ask me 00:14:30.830 --> 00:14:36.750 to disobey my father's orders. The Duke of Wellington 00:14:36.750 --> 00:14:40.330 reached up and slowly took off his hat, put it 00:14:40.330 --> 00:14:44.490 across his chest. and said, I honor the boy who 00:14:44.490 --> 00:14:48.909 is faithful to his duty. And with that, he turned 00:14:48.909 --> 00:14:51.529 his horse, and the hunting party went another 00:14:51.529 --> 00:14:56.690 direction. Faithfulness. To the Colossians and 00:14:56.690 --> 00:14:58.870 to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul addresses 00:14:58.870 --> 00:15:04.330 his letter as to the faithful in Christ Jesus. 00:15:06.110 --> 00:15:12.480 Brethren, we need to be a faithful people. For 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:17.059 too easily are we deterred and distracted from 00:15:17.059 --> 00:15:21.580 our duty, from our aims. Too easily do we allow 00:15:21.580 --> 00:15:26.519 our priorities to be realigned incorrectly by 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:31.360 pressures that are placed upon us. We are called 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:36.639 upon by God to be faithful unto death. You say, 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:39.320 well, I don't have great gifts to be faithful 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:43.990 with. That is not the point. Someone wrote this 00:15:43.990 --> 00:15:48.230 simple poem. I cannot do great things for him 00:15:48.230 --> 00:15:51.850 who did so much for me, but I should like to 00:15:51.850 --> 00:15:56.549 show my love, dear Jesus, unto thee, faithful 00:15:56.549 --> 00:16:02.929 in very little things, O Savior, may I be. That's 00:16:02.929 --> 00:16:07.710 the point. It's not how much we have, or for 00:16:07.710 --> 00:16:10.649 that much, how little. It is that we are to be 00:16:10.649 --> 00:16:15.250 faithful with what we have been given. The fruit 00:16:15.250 --> 00:16:18.769 of the Spirit is faithfulness. Are you a faithful 00:16:18.769 --> 00:16:27.929 man? Are you a faithful woman? Are you a faithful 00:16:27.929 --> 00:16:35.070 student? Are you a faithful child, son, daughter? 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:41.840 Are you a faithful servant of God? The fruit 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:45.919 of the Spirit is faithfulness. And the fruit 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:51.080 of the Spirit is gentleness as well. A definition 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:56.559 of gentleness might be meekness. The idea is 00:16:56.559 --> 00:17:00.639 the same. It is a gentle submissiveness. The 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:06.900 root of the word is to suffer quietly. It is 00:17:06.900 --> 00:17:11.720 the opposite of vehemence, of violence, or outburst. 00:17:13.380 --> 00:17:19.140 And in relationship to authority, gentleness 00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:24.400 is the right use of it. Gentleness is the refusal 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:31.619 to assert authority for selfish purposes. Someone 00:17:31.619 --> 00:17:36.130 has said it simply and well. Gentleness is power 00:17:36.130 --> 00:17:42.069 under control. The picture of gentleness is a 00:17:42.069 --> 00:17:49.349 horse, strong, capable, powerful, submitted in 00:17:49.349 --> 00:17:54.490 a harness to do his work. Or to put it into the 00:17:54.490 --> 00:18:00.009 1980s, it is the picture of a robotic arm in 00:18:00.009 --> 00:18:03.009 an assembly line capable of lifting great weight. 00:18:03.589 --> 00:18:06.390 which is also able to reach out and pick up a 00:18:06.390 --> 00:18:11.269 crystal glass without breaking it. It is power 00:18:11.269 --> 00:18:16.190 that is under control. It is what we see when 00:18:16.190 --> 00:18:19.970 a powerful rocket lifts the shuttle into space, 00:18:20.190 --> 00:18:24.029 where instead of a violent outburst and explosion 00:18:24.029 --> 00:18:27.690 from all of that fuel, which is so volatile, 00:18:28.009 --> 00:18:33.000 it is controlled. So the result is that it lifts 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:38.200 the shuttle into space for its orbit. That is 00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:43.180 an illustration of biblical gentleness. In the 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:45.500 New Testament, there are several ideas that come 00:18:45.500 --> 00:18:50.200 along with gentleness. Gentleness embraces the 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:54.440 idea of teachableness. In James 1 .21, it says, 00:18:54.519 --> 00:19:01.549 In humility, receive the word engrafted. So teachableness 00:19:01.549 --> 00:19:05.289 is a part of gentleness. If I am a gentle person, 00:19:05.470 --> 00:19:08.750 then I will be able to receive instruction from 00:19:08.750 --> 00:19:13.089 others. Also included in gentleness in the New 00:19:13.089 --> 00:19:18.210 Testament is a spirit of agreement. As a gentle 00:19:18.210 --> 00:19:21.470 person, I am an agreeable person, and therefore 00:19:21.470 --> 00:19:25.230 there is no need for confrontation. This is what 00:19:25.230 --> 00:19:28.549 Paul suggests in 1 Corinthians 4 .21 when he 00:19:28.549 --> 00:19:31.980 says to them, Shall I come to you with a rod 00:19:31.980 --> 00:19:38.279 or with love and the spirit of gentleness? You 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:41.059 see, that spirit of gentleness, he is certain, 00:19:41.099 --> 00:19:44.380 will work cooperation and agreement so he doesn't 00:19:44.380 --> 00:19:48.720 have to come with a rod of harshness. And gentleness 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:52.900 as well includes forbearance. 2 Corinthians 10 00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:56.460 .1 talks about this kind of restraint. When the 00:19:56.460 --> 00:20:00.470 Apostle Paul says, I urge you. in the gentleness 00:20:00.470 --> 00:20:05.230 and forbearance of Christ. You see, he reaches 00:20:05.230 --> 00:20:09.470 out to them not to push them, but to take them 00:20:09.470 --> 00:20:14.309 by the hand to bring them along. There is restraint 00:20:14.309 --> 00:20:19.329 and forbearance with gentleness. Are you a gentle 00:20:19.329 --> 00:20:26.029 person? Could I point out Moses again as an illustration 00:20:26.029 --> 00:20:29.619 of this? Do you remember the words in Numbers 00:20:29.619 --> 00:20:34.460 12 .3 where this is said, Moses was very humble, 00:20:34.539 --> 00:20:38.960 more than any man who was on the face of the 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:46.039 earth. Here is a man who met with God face to 00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:52.359 face in a way that none of us ever has. Here 00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:54.940 is a man who knew what it was to throw a rod 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:58.200 down on the floor. and have him become a serpent 00:20:58.200 --> 00:21:01.180 and pick it up. Here is a man who knew what it 00:21:01.180 --> 00:21:05.039 was to watch the waters part before him and his 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:11.880 people. Here is a man on whose behalf God acted 00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:16.460 time and time again. But of this man who had 00:21:16.460 --> 00:21:21.140 such tremendous power with God and with men, 00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:27.329 it says that he was a gentle man. More so than 00:21:27.329 --> 00:21:33.250 any man on the face of the earth. But there was 00:21:33.250 --> 00:21:35.829 one born after him, of course, who surpassed 00:21:35.829 --> 00:21:41.369 him. And again I point to the Lord Jesus. For 00:21:41.369 --> 00:21:44.049 no one has ever walked on the face of the earth, 00:21:44.250 --> 00:21:48.170 or ever shall walk on the face of the earth like 00:21:48.170 --> 00:21:51.910 him. For the fruit of the Spirit, which is gentleness, 00:21:52.029 --> 00:21:56.609 was perfectly evidenced in his life. Thus he 00:21:56.609 --> 00:22:04.069 said, I am meek and lowly. He was not stretching 00:22:04.069 --> 00:22:08.890 the point. That was him. You say, but what about 00:22:08.890 --> 00:22:12.430 when he entered into the temple and cast out 00:22:12.430 --> 00:22:15.930 those who were abusing it? I'd like to suggest 00:22:15.930 --> 00:22:17.910 to you that even there, there was gentleness 00:22:17.910 --> 00:22:22.450 shown. For had he not shown restraint, he would 00:22:22.450 --> 00:22:27.690 have killed them all. But he restrained himself, 00:22:27.970 --> 00:22:31.809 cleansing the temple with his authority. And 00:22:31.809 --> 00:22:34.069 yet at the same time, there was definitely a 00:22:34.069 --> 00:22:38.289 restraint on the use of his power. But nowhere 00:22:38.289 --> 00:22:40.730 do we see it more in evidence than in his time 00:22:40.730 --> 00:22:45.490 of suffering. When he was cruelly treated and 00:22:45.490 --> 00:22:50.269 suffered unbelievably at the hands of the Roman 00:22:50.269 --> 00:22:56.009 soldiers, when he was taken before both... religious 00:22:56.009 --> 00:22:59.990 and civil leaders for trial. And when it says 00:22:59.990 --> 00:23:02.569 that he did not open his mouth in response, and 00:23:02.569 --> 00:23:06.029 when he did respond, it was carefully and gently 00:23:06.029 --> 00:23:11.650 that he responded. But even the next morning, 00:23:11.710 --> 00:23:14.549 we see it more graphically, when he was crucified 00:23:14.549 --> 00:23:20.829 and placed on the cross to die. But when he might 00:23:20.829 --> 00:23:24.400 have used his power to deliver himself, From 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:26.740 the cruelty, the injustice, and the suffering 00:23:26.740 --> 00:23:29.859 that he knew. He chose not to use that power. 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:35.740 He chose not to use it. But to suffer according 00:23:35.740 --> 00:23:41.859 to the will of God. Power under control. Gentleness. 00:23:43.460 --> 00:23:46.559 That is why in Philippians chapter 2, the Apostle 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:49.619 Paul commands us to have the mind of Jesus Christ. 00:23:52.680 --> 00:23:55.500 And then he describes in the words of an ancient 00:23:55.500 --> 00:24:01.259 hymn or poem the coming, the incarnation of the 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:03.980 Son of God as he came into the world in the form 00:24:03.980 --> 00:24:07.140 of man, in the likeness of man, in the form of 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:11.440 a servant. But then he concludes by saying, and 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:17.579 he was obedient unto the cross death. That kind 00:24:17.579 --> 00:24:22.640 of a death. Gentleness. Have this mind in you, 00:24:22.779 --> 00:24:27.940 which was also in Christ Jesus. And that is the 00:24:27.940 --> 00:24:32.079 exhortation. And is that exhortation ever needed 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:37.099 in a day like this? In a day when we are told 00:24:37.099 --> 00:24:42.359 to be concerned about self -esteem and self -actualization 00:24:42.359 --> 00:24:48.519 and the assertion of our rights. Do we ever need 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:53.829 this from the Word of God? Have this mind, the 00:24:53.829 --> 00:24:57.349 mind of gentleness, which was the mind of Christ 00:24:57.349 --> 00:25:02.789 Jesus. Galatians 6 .1, we are told to use it, 00:25:02.849 --> 00:25:06.829 use gentleness to restore those who have fallen. 00:25:07.990 --> 00:25:11.589 Ephesians 4 .2, with gentleness we are to keep 00:25:11.589 --> 00:25:17.900 unity in the church. In 2 Timothy 2 .25, With 00:25:17.900 --> 00:25:20.420 gentleness, we are to correct those who oppose 00:25:20.420 --> 00:25:24.920 the truth. Colossians 3 .12, we are to put on 00:25:24.920 --> 00:25:28.900 gentleness along with several other graces, kindness, 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:33.779 compassion, patience, and so on. In 1 Peter 3 00:25:33.779 --> 00:25:37.819 .15, we are told to give an answer to those who 00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:43.069 inquire about our faith with gentleness. And 00:25:43.069 --> 00:25:46.269 then those wives who are married to unsaved husbands 00:25:46.269 --> 00:25:50.009 are told to live in submission and gentleness 00:25:50.009 --> 00:25:55.250 before them as a testimony of their faith. Those 00:25:55.250 --> 00:25:58.809 are the words of God, my friend. They are not 00:25:58.809 --> 00:26:02.329 the words of our society. Because I think if 00:26:02.329 --> 00:26:04.750 you went down that list, you would find our society 00:26:04.750 --> 00:26:06.950 saying the opposite in every one of those circumstances. 00:26:09.549 --> 00:26:12.210 God's Word says that we are to bear the fruit 00:26:12.210 --> 00:26:18.609 of gentleness. And finally, the fruit of the 00:26:18.609 --> 00:26:24.289 Spirit is characterized as self -control. Self 00:26:24.289 --> 00:26:30.950 -control. Albert Schweitzer suggested that we 00:26:30.950 --> 00:26:34.470 live in the most dangerous period of human history, 00:26:34.650 --> 00:26:40.710 quote, because heretofore... Nature has controlled 00:26:40.710 --> 00:26:46.690 man, but now man has learned to control nature's 00:26:46.690 --> 00:26:50.950 elemental forces before he has learned to control 00:26:50.950 --> 00:26:59.009 himself. Self -control is, in the Greek language, 00:26:59.069 --> 00:27:02.390 a combination of two words simply meaning in, 00:27:02.529 --> 00:27:09.160 the preposition in, in strength. It means to 00:27:09.160 --> 00:27:15.160 be the master of oneself. It refers to the holding 00:27:15.160 --> 00:27:21.039 in of passions and appetites. Literally, it might 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:29.140 be rendered keeping oneself in check. The fruit 00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:34.480 of the Spirit, self -control, is the Holy Spirit 00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:40.380 enabling one to govern himself. This certainly 00:27:40.380 --> 00:27:46.380 includes sexual passions, which is something 00:27:46.380 --> 00:27:50.720 that all of us face, and especially in a day 00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:55.920 when, once more, our society exacerbates it, 00:27:56.160 --> 00:28:01.099 emphasizes it, and temptation is ever before 00:28:01.099 --> 00:28:05.299 us. The fruit of the Spirit is self -control 00:28:05.299 --> 00:28:10.819 when it comes to sexual passions. But don't limit 00:28:10.819 --> 00:28:17.220 it to that. For there are other appetites and 00:28:17.220 --> 00:28:21.160 passions that we have, which in themselves are 00:28:21.160 --> 00:28:24.980 not necessarily bad, but which have to be controlled. 00:28:27.319 --> 00:28:34.220 I refer, for example, to food. Shall I go on? 00:28:36.779 --> 00:28:41.579 I think I should. What about the desire and appetite 00:28:41.579 --> 00:28:49.240 for sleep? We need that. But we have to control 00:28:49.240 --> 00:28:54.240 it, lest we be lazy and slothful. What about 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:59.599 the desire and the appetite for security? That's 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:02.039 an important appetite that we have. We all need 00:29:02.039 --> 00:29:05.480 to be secure. But once again, that has to be 00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:09.690 controlled. Lest we spend our whole lives seeking 00:29:09.690 --> 00:29:12.730 for more and more and more and more security, 00:29:13.130 --> 00:29:16.890 whether it be in terms of relationships or in 00:29:16.890 --> 00:29:23.750 terms of finances, there's a limit. What about 00:29:23.750 --> 00:29:27.970 acceptance? We all want to be accepted. We have 00:29:27.970 --> 00:29:32.410 it built into our personalities to desire others 00:29:32.410 --> 00:29:36.819 to accept us for who we are. But how far will 00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:43.700 we take that? Are we willing to compromise our 00:29:43.700 --> 00:29:48.220 character, our morals, to be accepted? You see, 00:29:48.259 --> 00:29:50.319 we need to control our desire for acceptance 00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:54.400 and say, it's right up to this limit. And beyond 00:29:54.400 --> 00:29:58.900 that, it's sin. What about the desire for communication? 00:30:01.769 --> 00:30:04.569 One of the most terrible aspects of being confined 00:30:04.569 --> 00:30:10.549 in a solitary cell in a prison experience is 00:30:10.549 --> 00:30:14.130 the lack of communication. Some people, after 00:30:14.130 --> 00:30:17.869 a period of time, go literally insane because 00:30:17.869 --> 00:30:21.769 they have no one to talk with, communicate with. 00:30:21.930 --> 00:30:27.470 We have that appetite. But is there ever a more 00:30:27.470 --> 00:30:30.289 needy area that has to be controlled in our lives? 00:30:30.940 --> 00:30:35.160 and this little member in our mouths. Our tongues 00:30:35.160 --> 00:30:38.640 and our ears both need the control of the Holy 00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:43.759 Spirit. What about pleasure? Nothing wrong with 00:30:43.759 --> 00:30:46.859 pleasure in itself. God has created us with the 00:30:46.859 --> 00:30:51.440 need to have pleasure. But there has to be control 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:55.099 placed upon that, you see. The fruit of the Spirit 00:30:55.099 --> 00:31:05.400 is self -control. The fulfilling of these must 00:31:05.400 --> 00:31:10.680 neither control us nor get out of balance, lest 00:31:10.680 --> 00:31:14.079 they become sin. And that is where the Holy Spirit 00:31:14.079 --> 00:31:18.960 enables us. I believe that we see this illustrated 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:21.339 in the Apostle Paul when he says in the context 00:31:21.339 --> 00:31:26.619 of 1 Corinthians 9, 24 -27, I buffet my body 00:31:26.619 --> 00:31:32.599 and keep it in subjection. Lest after I have 00:31:32.599 --> 00:31:37.559 preached to others, I myself should be cast away. 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:42.279 By that he means set on the shelf, unuseful anymore. 00:31:44.059 --> 00:31:46.660 He's talking there about the discipline of his 00:31:46.660 --> 00:31:52.259 body, his appetites. He says, I bring it under 00:31:52.259 --> 00:31:56.720 control. I enforce discipline on this body of 00:31:56.720 --> 00:32:03.369 mine for the sake of Jesus Christ. But again, 00:32:03.569 --> 00:32:07.690 we can do no better than to point to the perfect 00:32:07.690 --> 00:32:12.630 example of our Savior. One of the clearest evidences 00:32:12.630 --> 00:32:15.210 of self -control must surely be His wilderness 00:32:15.210 --> 00:32:25.390 temptation. When after fasting for 40 days, both 00:32:25.390 --> 00:32:30.450 His body and soul had natural appetites that 00:32:30.450 --> 00:32:35.400 were crying out, And all that was human about 00:32:35.400 --> 00:32:38.460 him was then confronted by the devil head on. 00:32:40.119 --> 00:32:43.319 At that moment when in his humanity he cried 00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:51.220 out with need, he was self -controlled. He withstood 00:32:51.220 --> 00:32:57.299 temptation without yielding to it. He experienced 00:32:57.299 --> 00:33:01.779 a degree of temptation that you and I have never 00:33:01.779 --> 00:33:05.680 experienced. However sorely we may feel we've 00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:10.579 been tempted. And His humanity felt that completely. 00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:16.920 But He did not sin. Perfectly self -controlled. 00:33:17.619 --> 00:33:22.299 Because He was God. My friend, as God, He dwells 00:33:22.299 --> 00:33:25.279 in you today in the person of His Spirit. And 00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:28.619 He's able to bring you under control as well. 00:33:30.670 --> 00:33:32.470 You say, you don't know the battles I've had. 00:33:32.509 --> 00:33:34.130 You don't know the appetites that are stirred 00:33:34.130 --> 00:33:38.569 up in my life. But I know one who does, my friend. 00:33:39.349 --> 00:33:43.049 I know one who does. And he is the one who has 00:33:43.049 --> 00:33:46.349 written to you and to me, too, and who has said 00:33:46.349 --> 00:33:50.170 the fruit of my spirit in your life will be self 00:33:50.170 --> 00:33:55.849 -controlled. We are exhorted in 2 Peter 1, verses 00:33:55.849 --> 00:33:59.779 5 and 6, with these words. Applying all diligence 00:33:59.779 --> 00:34:04.779 in your faith, supply moral excellence. And in 00:34:04.779 --> 00:34:07.059 your moral excellence knowledge, and in your 00:34:07.059 --> 00:34:13.320 knowledge, self -control. In Titus 1 .8, self 00:34:13.320 --> 00:34:16.940 -control is laid down as a qualification for 00:34:16.940 --> 00:34:20.019 one who is a spiritual leader in Christ's body, 00:34:20.099 --> 00:34:24.219 one who is an elder. And yet in Titus 2 .2, it's 00:34:24.219 --> 00:34:27.650 broadened. to say that all of the older men in 00:34:27.650 --> 00:34:31.630 the church are to live with self -control and 00:34:31.630 --> 00:34:35.929 thus set an example for all of the rest to follow. 00:34:37.150 --> 00:34:42.750 And so all of us are expected by God to control 00:34:42.750 --> 00:34:48.610 ourselves. One young lady was talking to another 00:34:48.610 --> 00:34:51.429 on an occasion and she said to her, you have 00:34:51.429 --> 00:34:54.769 the most even temperament. of anyone I've ever 00:34:54.769 --> 00:35:00.130 seen. I don't know how you manage it. Manage 00:35:00.130 --> 00:35:04.809 it, her friend replied. I have to. I have to. 00:35:05.590 --> 00:35:08.610 Maybe you don't know that I come from McGreevy's, 00:35:08.610 --> 00:35:12.570 in a little town we used to live in. The children 00:35:12.570 --> 00:35:15.269 would run indoors when they saw my father coming 00:35:15.269 --> 00:35:20.269 down the street. My grandfather struck my grandmother, 00:35:20.469 --> 00:35:24.090 whom he adored, in a wild fit of temper. so that 00:35:24.090 --> 00:35:27.989 she was crippled for life. He never smiled again. 00:35:29.510 --> 00:35:32.090 With a history like that, what could I expect 00:35:32.090 --> 00:35:36.030 but a life of insane rages? But I wouldn't be 00:35:36.030 --> 00:35:39.570 like that. I went to Jesus Christ and I said, 00:35:39.630 --> 00:35:42.590 Dear Lord, I know that I can't control my temper. 00:35:43.510 --> 00:35:50.409 Take control of my life for me. And he has. What 00:35:50.409 --> 00:35:55.070 is the insane rage? in your life that needs his 00:35:55.070 --> 00:36:02.070 self -control. It is impossible, you say, for 00:36:02.070 --> 00:36:04.710 me to imagine myself living up to such qualities 00:36:04.710 --> 00:36:07.630 as these. It is absolutely impossible for me 00:36:07.630 --> 00:36:13.530 to do it. I want to congratulate you on your 00:36:13.530 --> 00:36:19.869 keen insight. You're absolutely right. It is 00:36:19.869 --> 00:36:23.440 impossible for you and for me, too, to live up 00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:26.940 to these qualities. That's why God never asks 00:36:26.940 --> 00:36:33.360 us to. We're simply told to live them out as 00:36:33.360 --> 00:36:37.719 the fruit of the Spirit. To obey, but then trust 00:36:37.719 --> 00:36:40.300 the enabling of the Holy Spirit that we might 00:36:40.300 --> 00:36:45.260 do it. But my friend, you cannot do it if the 00:36:45.260 --> 00:36:50.309 Holy Spirit is absent from your life. You are 00:36:50.309 --> 00:36:53.210 now, and unless you yield to Jesus Christ, you 00:36:53.210 --> 00:36:57.789 will forever be the victim of yourself and your 00:36:57.789 --> 00:37:02.349 sin. Instead of through Jesus Christ being forgiven 00:37:02.349 --> 00:37:06.210 of it and being the victor over your flesh by 00:37:06.210 --> 00:37:10.969 His Spirit. If you are without Jesus Christ as 00:37:10.969 --> 00:37:13.670 your Savior, you are without the indwelling of 00:37:13.670 --> 00:37:17.739 the Holy Spirit. And such a beautiful life as 00:37:17.739 --> 00:37:20.860 described in these nine words is truly impossible 00:37:20.860 --> 00:37:26.000 for you. Your need today is to respond to his 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:30.460 gracious call. Do you hear his voice today calling 00:37:30.460 --> 00:37:36.940 you to himself? On a stormy January day in 1850, 00:37:37.159 --> 00:37:43.940 a young Englishman... but 15 years of age, was 00:37:43.940 --> 00:37:45.860 starting to go down the street to his regular 00:37:45.860 --> 00:37:52.300 place of worship. Instead, he turned into a small, 00:37:52.400 --> 00:37:56.599 primitive Methodist chapel on Artillery Street. 00:37:58.739 --> 00:38:01.780 The regular preacher did not appear on that stormy 00:38:01.780 --> 00:38:05.159 day, and a man who to this day is still unknown 00:38:05.159 --> 00:38:09.039 stepped into the pulpit and took his place. These 00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:11.179 are the words of the young man himself as he 00:38:11.179 --> 00:38:15.139 wrote some years later. Six years ago today, 00:38:15.300 --> 00:38:17.579 as near as possible at this very hour of the 00:38:17.579 --> 00:38:21.539 day, I was in the gall of bitterness and in the 00:38:21.539 --> 00:38:26.519 bonds of iniquity. But had yet by divine grace 00:38:26.519 --> 00:38:29.559 been led to feel the bitterness of that bondage 00:38:29.559 --> 00:38:33.239 and to cry out by reason of the soreness of its 00:38:33.239 --> 00:38:38.269 slavery, seeking rest and finding none. I stepped 00:38:38.269 --> 00:38:41.550 within the house of God, and as I sat there, 00:38:41.590 --> 00:38:43.849 I was afraid to look upward, lest I should be 00:38:43.849 --> 00:38:47.329 utterly cut off, and lest his fierce wrath should 00:38:47.329 --> 00:38:51.150 consume me. The minister rose in his pulpit, 00:38:51.210 --> 00:38:53.489 and as I have done this morning, read this text, 00:38:53.869 --> 00:38:58.309 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of 00:38:58.309 --> 00:39:02.230 the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. 00:39:03.969 --> 00:39:07.960 I looked at that moment. The grace of faith was 00:39:07.960 --> 00:39:11.760 vouchsafed to me in the selfsame instant, and 00:39:11.760 --> 00:39:15.719 now I can say with truth, ere since by faith 00:39:15.719 --> 00:39:21.780 I saw the stream thy flowing wound supply, redeeming 00:39:21.780 --> 00:39:25.820 love has been my theme and shall be till I die. 00:39:27.099 --> 00:39:30.159 The young man who gave that testimony was Charles 00:39:30.159 --> 00:39:34.639 Haddon Spurgeon. who even yet is unequaled as 00:39:34.639 --> 00:39:38.719 a preacher in the English -speaking world. It 00:39:38.719 --> 00:39:40.880 may well be that there is one here today like 00:39:40.880 --> 00:39:46.659 Spurgeon. And as you sit there, you are enslaved 00:39:46.659 --> 00:39:53.980 to sin. Afraid almost to look up, lest the wrath 00:39:53.980 --> 00:39:57.739 of God should come upon you. My friend, in this 00:39:57.739 --> 00:40:02.079 moment, the Spirit of God calls out to you. And 00:40:02.079 --> 00:40:07.739 He says, look unto Me and be ye saved. Will you 00:40:07.739 --> 00:40:15.599 do that today? Let's bow together. Lord, we thank 00:40:15.599 --> 00:40:19.679 You for Calvary, for Your precious blood was 00:40:19.679 --> 00:40:23.679 shed so that sinners like us could be redeemed 00:40:23.679 --> 00:40:28.980 from the bond of iniquity and the gall of bitterness 00:40:28.980 --> 00:40:34.630 and sin. Lord, I pray that that one today who 00:40:34.630 --> 00:40:37.230 needs to trust the Savior will do it ere he leaves 00:40:37.230 --> 00:40:43.210 this building. In your grace, reach out to that 00:40:43.210 --> 00:40:45.570 one and call him to yourself and enable him to 00:40:45.570 --> 00:40:50.150 respond in faith to this saving gospel in Jesus 00:40:50.150 --> 00:40:54.530 Christ. And Father, may every one of us who has 00:40:54.530 --> 00:40:59.539 come to that point also come to the point. We're 00:40:59.539 --> 00:41:03.320 saying, Lord, in ourselves, we cannot live up 00:41:03.320 --> 00:41:07.440 to the standard. But through your spirit, we 00:41:07.440 --> 00:41:12.340 can live it out as fruit. And may that fruit 00:41:12.340 --> 00:41:15.340 be evidenced in us in all of our relationships. 00:41:16.300 --> 00:41:19.539 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.