More Fruits

Sermons based on the Letter to the Galatians (VI)

Galatians 5:22-23

The next fruit I would like to explore is Gentleness (NIV) or Meekness (KJV) (Hezoutioun in Armenian). It reminds me of grapes.

Have you seen people who are experts in hurting others? They say things with good or bad intentions.

When I was teenage boy my I remember my mother reading a book called “Say it with Love”. She quoted it so often that I never forget her words. “Boys, if you want to say something, say it with God’s Love.”

There are people who say they cannot change. They were born this way.

How about allowing the Holy Spirit to mold our character? We all need personality and attitude checkups by Jesus. No exception. We all need change. One of the ways to know if you are walking with the Lord, is to examine the fruits of Spirit in your life.

So what is definition of Gentleness, or Meekness?

Webster dictionary: “The quality or state of being gentle; especially : mildness of manners or disposition.”

But the Greeks used this word in a slightly different way. Besides meaning “moral goodness and integrity”, it also meant “power under control.” -Jesus used this word in the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the MEEK.” (Paraus). It has two meanings. For the Hebrew society it meant to obey God. For the Greek society, it meant to be under control. They used the picture of a wild horse which has been tamed. An animal which has become completely controlled.

Can you see the big picture? -A controlled fire can be can give us a lot of energy

-Controlled water can give us electricity.

-A controlled gallon of gas can transport us 30, 40 miles in a good economic car. On the other hand, uncontrolled gas, fire, or water takes us to disaster.

When thinking about Gentleness, think about God who is on control of our emotions and minds. It is about obeying God and learning to use His wisdom in making decisions in everyday life. No wonder the “meek’ will inherit the world.

Like in the case of faithfulness, our role model is Jesus. Examine his life. He had a unique way in approaching people.

The Samaritan woman is one of the examples. The disciples were gone. Jesus was thirsty. He knew the background of this woman. He approached her with gentleness. “Would you give me a drink of water?” he asked. Those days men did not talk with women in public. You know the story Jesus walked with this woman how step by step. He confronted her with Gentleness. “You are married five times and the one that you live with now is not you husband.” Do you see how Jesus talks to her and eventually He offers her “the Living Water”. Jesus saw “real hunger” in this woman. Although Jesus was thirsty, yet he gave up his thirst because there was an emergency. The woman was more “thirsty” than him. How wonderful is God’s approach to us, “Meek and gentle.”

How about Zacchaeus? A man with whom no one wanted to associate. Jesus stopped from his journey, and gave attention to this man who needed God in his life. There was joy in that family that night. Examine how Jesus approached this man.

-When I was listening to Kevin who spent his summer in the inner city of Oakland with a Christian mission, I noticed he stressed that beside the financial (which is important) the most important thing is to be with kids, to play with them, to touch them, to give them attention. Approach the “needy,” the “unwanted,” the poor, the drug addict, the aids victim with “meekness and gentleness.”

The last fruit of the Spirit is Self-Control (NIV) or Temperance (KJV). We can call it the Mango.

A Biblical dictionary gives this definition: “The virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites.”

Webster dictionary: “Restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires.”

One word, LEARN TO SAY NO to yourself.

To say NO requires strength, discipline. Michael Phelps said, “I swim 5 hours daily.” Did you see how much food he eats? But he burns his calories.

My best teacher for self control is the Bible. There are many examples for self-control are from the Bible. Joseph is a good example. He had self-control when he was seduced by a desirable woman. Daniel practiced self-control when he refused eating the food that was offered to him. Jesus practiced self-control even on the cross when he asked his Father to forgive the people who crucified him. Paul had self-control, when he was in the palace “prison” as mentioned in Acts 24. He preached to Governor Felix and he did not compromise the gospel. He even challenged the governor about self-control. Listen to the Word of God: “24Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. 25As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you." 26At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.”

- In 1st Corinthians Chapter 9 Paul writes, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly.” (24-26)

Two important words for the one who is running: strict discipline, aim.

Here are some thoughts to chew on:

“· We know we want to have plenty of money to enjoy life, contribute to our church and other charitable organizations. But our financial goals are too vague or too unrealistic. We have no plan to help us reach our financial goals.
· We want to be healthy, but have no specific goals regarding our healthy. So, we fail to discipline ourselves.
· We want our marriage to grow from good to great, but have no specific goals to help us define what a great marriage is.
· We want to have a successful business, but without specific goals, it will never happen.
· We want to be Spirit led Christians, but without specific spiritual goals, it will never happen.” (By Jeff Armbrester)

A self-controlled life demands focus. It demands planning. It demands walking daily with the Lord and asking his will in your daily life: marriage, work, family, church, leisure- time, health, friends, finance. All aspects of life should be under the control of God who teaches us to be in self-control.

Tom Landry once said, (I used this illustration before and will use it again): “The role of the coach is to make men do things they don’t want to do to achieve the results they want to achieve.” (sermoncentral illustrations.)

Our coach is God. Our coach is the Holy Spirit. We have been given “costly grace”, as Bonheoffer put it. We don’t like discipline. We don’t like to bring our character to God to mold us through His Spirit. We want to be like Jesus, but we are not ready to go the tough road. Salvation is free. Paul argued with the Galatians about this. Laws and regulations will not save us. Yet, when we have been saved through Jesus Christ, God will change our life daily, when we walk in the Spirit. The Spirit will produce fruits. And all of us, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”(25) I think the secret is in this verse, we want the Spirit of God, but we don’t “keep in step with the Spirit.” Desiring is something, doing is something else.

I did not go over all the fruits, but each fruit adds a flavor in our lives (Tutti frutti). God gives us each fruit to mold our character so we can be Christ-like.

Next week we will go to chapter 6 and finish our journey with the Letter to the Galatians.

Please go over the notes of this sermon. You can also visit the website to read it again or listen. Examine your life. See which of these fruits are not in your plate. Ask God to produce them in you.

Amen.