February 1, 2004 Galatians 5:22-23
“The Spirit-filled Life”
INTRODUCTION
Spirit-filled people overcome temptation.
“...live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify ... the sinful nature.” vs. 16
Spirit-filled people have to fight their natural desires.
We aren’t born patient, are we? When a baby wakes up in the middle of the night & is hungry, or its diaper is wet, it doesn’t lie there & think, "I know Mom & Dad are tired. So I’ll just wait until a more convenient time to let them know that I need something to eat or my diaper changed." No! That baby cries impatiently & continues to cry until it receives the attention it demands.
Have you ever traveled with a child? A little 4-year-old boy was traveling with his mother & constantly asking the same question over & over again? "When are we going to get there? When are we going to get there?" Finally, the mother got so irritated that she said, "We still have 90 more miles to go. So don’t ask me again when we’re going to get there." Well, the boy was silent for a long time. Then he timidly asked, "Mom, will I still be four when we get there?"
“They [the Spirit and the sinful nature] are in conflict with each other” vs. 17
Neither patience, nor any of the other 8 parts of the fruit of the Spirit are our natural reaction to the people and situations that we face. When we came to Christ, we received a new nature – but the old nature is there too. And they are constantly fighting against each other. They want different objectives. They handle things in different ways. So because these things are contrary to our nature, it’s not going to be easy to live according to these standards. But it is possible. And it even becomes second nature to us the more that we yield to God’s Spirit and put these things into practice.
Spirit-filled people don’t face judgment.
“...if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.” vs. 18
“...there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1,2
“Against such things there is no law.” vs. 23
Last week, using the examples of love, joy and peace, we saw that each of the parts of the fruit of the Spirit are based on our beliefs, are commanded in Scripture and are empowered by the Holy Spirit living inside of us. In our own strength, we cannot force ourselves to produce this fruit. Our responsibility is to yield to the Spirit and let Him produce godly character and actions in us.
As we examine three more aspects of the fruit today, our main goal is to see that each of these characteristics is a part of God’s character. They describe Him, and therefore, how He relates to us. Because it is our goal to become like God in His character, it becomes our responsibility to respond to people the way that He responds to us.
1. Patience is the power of the Spirit-filled life.
“...do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” Romans 2:4 (NIV)
That is why God doesn’t knock Osama Bin Laden into [the Crab] Nebula or send a lightening bolt to fry evil men, because He wants them to come to repentance and be saved. – Joe Bedy That’s why some of you who are sitting out there living in sin having yet faced God’s wrath. It’s not because you’re pulling something over God’s eyes or getting away with it. It’s because is more interested in redeeming you than in destroying you.
“He [God] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ... Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation,...” 2 Peter 3:9,15 (NIV)
There is probably no more patience requiring station in life than that of a parent. We, as parents, are required to suffer long.
A mom & dad had a son who was a freshman in college. He blew off his freshman year. He wasn’t very responsible, didn’t make good grades, squandered his money, & finally came back home. His parents told him, “If you go back to school you’ll have to pay your own way.”
So he had to work that summer & not go on the family vacation to Greece. That was part of his punishment. When the rest of the family went on vacation, mom sent him a postcard, “Dear Son,” she wrote. “Today we stood on the mountains where ancient Spartan women sacrificed their defective children. Wish you were here.”
When we look at our children and see their actions, it is easy to come to the conclusion that they are defective – something is wrong. And the truth is that they ARE defective – something is very wrong. They are sinners. From the moment that they come out of their mother’s womb, they evidence that they have a sin nature. When the Father looks down at us, His children, and sees all the stuff that we get ourselves into, it is evident that we are defective. Even beginning with Adam and Eve who had the only perfect Father in the only perfect environment, children have rebelled against their parents. But as parents, we choose to be patient with our children. We choose to suffer long. Why? Because we love them, and love is patient.
“Love is patient, love is kind.” 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV)
Different people have tried to come up with definitions for patience. “Patience is self-restraint which does not hastily retaliate against a wrong.” “Patience is the ability to accept delay or disappointment graciously.” – as quoted by Melvin Newland The human definition that I like the best is “Accepting a difficult situation [or person] without giving God a deadline to remove it.” – Joe Bedy The best definition of all though is the one that God gives in Eph. 4:2.
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)
God’s kind of patience doesn’t come from our own efforts to just grin and bear it. It comes from God’s Holy Spirit. It is empowered by Him.
“...being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience...” Colossians 1:11 (NIV)
As a parent or as a pastor, there is a part of us that just wishes that people would grow up overnight. But it just doesn’t happen quickly. It takes time. That’s why Paul told Timothy...
“Preach the Word...correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.” 2 Timothy 4:2 (NIV)
There is a church in Florida that advertises 22-minute services. Go there & they promise that in 22 minutes it will all be over, & you’ll be out of there. The sermons are only 8 minutes long. Now don’t get your hopes up. It’s not going to happen here. Change takes time, and if you try to shorten the process, you will not end up with the result that you were seeking.
We have to be patient with people even as God has been patient with us. How long-suffering has God been toward you in your life?
"The servant fell on his knees before him. ’Be patient with me,’ he begged, ’and I will pay back everything.’... "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ’Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ Matthew 18:26,29
Do you see that when you are patient with someone who deserves to be hit in the head with a ten-pound hammer you are like God and your patience shows them the God who lives in you and leads them to God? – Jeff Armbrester
Patience doesn’t mean passivity. You don’t just sit by and watch things happen waiting for everything to work itself out and holding on until the day that they get a clue on their own. Without some intervention, they won’t get a clue, and the day of resolution will never come.
“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Hebrews 6:12 (NIV)
That passage is dealing with Abraham and his receiving of the promised son – Isaac – 25 years after the original promise was given. Though Abraham was patient, he didn’t just sit around and wait for his son to magically appear. He had to take some action. The birth of a child follows actions on the part of their parents. And if you want the birth of laughter into your difficult situation, you too must take action, believe in God’s promises and patiently wait for God to do what He alone can do in the lives of the people around you.
2. Kindness is the attraction of the Spirit-filled life.
God freely doles out His kindness whether people deserve it or not.
“He [the Father] causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matthew 5:45 (NIV)
The fact is that none of us deserve God’s kindness. We all rebelled against Him in our sin. It is only because of God’s unmerited kindness – something the Bible calls grace – that we even had the opportunity to receive forgiveness of our sin and begin an eternal relationship with Him.
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy...” Titus 3:4,5
“...warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ...always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.”
1 Thessalonians 5:14,15 (NIV)
A moment ago we talked about patience. The verse we just read ties patience and kindness together. Patience leads to kindness. Impatience leads to harshness and rude behavior.
A man’s car stalled in heavy traffic just as the light turned green. All his frantic efforts to get the car started failed, & a chorus of honking horns behind him made matters worse. He finally got out of his car & walked back to the first driver behind him & said, "I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to get my car started. If you’ll go up there & give it a try, I’ll stay here & honk your horn for you."
“ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. ...he [the Most High] is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” Luke 6:35 (NIV)
Almost two decades ago, a movement called Random Acts of Kindness began. The missions was simple: to perform acts of kindness at random, whenever an opportunity presents its self. About the same time, pastor Steve Sjogren wrote a book titled, A Conspiracy of Kindness. Sjogren called kindness, servant evangelism. Servant evangelism is a simple, straightforward approach to sharing God’s love in simple, practical ways. In 1984, founding pastor Steve Sjogren and several people from the Vineyard Community Church loaded up bags of groceries and bought Christmas trees and took them to housing projects on the north side of Cincinnati. Out of this action was born a vision to reach the city of Cincinnati and the world by serving others with no strings attached
What kind of response have they gotten from their servant evangelism? Check out this letter:
“I just got back from McDonalds on Nilles Road in Fairfield. It’s Christmas Eve and I literally counted change from couch cushions and my car to buy some lunch for my son. When I got to the window the lady there told me that the man in front of me had paid for my food, and asked that she give me this card. It was a card for The Vineyard (a local church). That man in front of me didn’t know that I was a single mom, or that I’m not exactly the best, most sin-free person in the world. He just wanted me to know that God loved me. I needed this more than he could have possibly known. Regardless of what I get for Christmas this year, I will consider that reminder the best gift. Since he drove off before I could thank him personally, I just wanted to thank the church he came from for everything you do. Merry Christmas, N.N.” www.kindness.org
People expect rudeness. They expect people to push them to the side, to yell at them, to give them rude gestures. When we are kind, unselfish and caring about others to the point that we generously meet their needs, it tells them that we are different. And it attracts them to us and to our savior. It is God’s patience that holds open the door to salvation, and it is God’s kindness lived out through us that draws men to repentance. – Joe Bedy
I don’t usually quote Greek words or talk about what something that a word means in the Greek, but I found something this week that I have to share with you. In the Greek, the word for kind is “chrestos”. And the Word for Christ is “christos”. In the first century, the believers who were called christians were so kind that many people did not know whether their title meant “follower of Christ” or “follower of kindness.” - Jim Westervelt My prayer is that I and all the members of this church will be known as both a christian – a follower of Christ – and a chrestian – a follower of kindness.
3. Goodness is the goal of the Spirit-filled life.
“Sandra came home from the ball game, jubilant with the victory and her contribution of a two-run base hit. "Good play," her coach had said. The foreman slides over to the service bay and inspects the job of his new mechanic. "Good work, Bruce. You handled that difficult transmission job nicely." David receives a warm hug from his wife. "That was such a good meal. Thanks for cooking it."
“GOOD - doing things in the right way, the appropriate way, the way [that their inventor meant for them to be done]. Sandra hit the ball in a way that it was meant to be smacked. Bruce put the transmission together in the right way. [David’s wife made the meal according to the recipe.] They carried out GOOD.” – Ken Gehrels
If we follow that same line of reasoning when it comes to us and our goodness, then we must go back to the Designer of men in order to understand what goodness means for us. We must go back to God.
God is the judge of what is good. I am not the judge.
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
God is the standard of what is good. I can’t compare myself to other people to see if I am better than they are and determine by that whether or not I am good. The question I have to ask myself is, in comparison to God, where do I stack up?
“... the LORD is good ...” Psalm 100:5 (NIV)
God is the source of what is good.
“He [Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” Acts 11:24 (NIV)
I am supposed to do good things – what the Bible refers to as good works. It was what I was created for. It is the goal of my life. But it is not those good things that make me good. It is because I have God’s goodness living inside of me that enables me and provokes me to good works.
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Romans 12:20,21
“...as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10 (NIV)
“For we are ...created in Christ Jesus to do good works...” Eph 2:10 (NIV)
“...make every effort to add to your faith goodness...” 2 Peter 1:5 (NIV)
It is our doing of good, or our failure to do good that indicates whether or not we have a relationship with God.
“... do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God.” 3 John 1:11 (NIV)
Apart from God, there is no goodness in us.
“...there is no one who does good, not even one." Romans 3:12 (NIV)
CONCLUSION
“Pause right now and ask yourself - Who is that God has given me, placed in my life that I need to be more patient with- If you are here [today] and you are married - you probably do not need to think very long. If you have children at home - you do not need much time,... If you have a job,…” - Joe Bedy
Who have you been harsh to because of your impatience with them? You need to seek God’s forgiveness and you need to seek theirs. Who have you had opportunity to do something good for, but you let the opportunity pass you by?
Someone here is living in sin – maybe you don’t think it’s a big sin, but then remember – you’re not the judge of good and bad. God is. And God says that all sin falls short of His standard of perfection. God has been patient with you, waiting for you to come to Him in repentance. He has sent people into your life and circumstance to get your attention and bring you back to Himself. He has been patient – long suffering with you. But His patience WILL come to an end. Why don’t you take hold of His kind gentle hand today and let Him create goodness within you?
