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Okay, back to the fruit of the spirit. We looked briefly at these, at love and joy. Love being that decision of the will that commits ourselves to another for their benefit. And you know, if you think about that and you think about marriage, if in fact you had two people who were committed to the other person for their benefit, the other person's benefit, it should work well. Unfortunately, we know of too many cases where that's not. As far as joy, that quiet confidence, that gladness that we can have because we know the Lord, and we know he's on the throne, and we know that he loves us.
The third fruit, and these are also grouped, and I should tell you, and I'm not saying this is, I'm just saying many group the fruit of the spirit, the first three, love, joy, peace, they would say are Godward or relation to God. Uh, long suffering, gentleness, goodness is in relation to other people, and faith or faithfulness, meekness, and self-control is in relation to ourselves. That's where many break that down. In the world, peace is viewed as the absence of war or the absence of, of violence.
Uh, many would say two countries are at peace with each other, and what they mean is they're not fighting each other. Well, that's a, a very limited view of peace when spoken from a biblical standpoint. Um, go to Colossians chapter one. We'll just read some verses on peace. It is a case where the Lord Jesus has made peace. Colossians one twenty. speaking of the Lord Jesus, and having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say, whether they be things in heaven or thing- things on earth or things in heaven.
There was, uh, an animosity, there was a enmity between God and man, and man left God, and thus man needed to be reconciled to God. Scripture never talks about God being reconciled to man. God didn't go anywhere. It was man who left God, and so man had to be brought back to God, and peace had to be established. And obviously, when we think of our sins and our guilt and judgment, peace is made at the cross through the blood of Christ. But if you go to John sixteen, uh verse thirty three.
We'll read thirty two for connection. Behold, the hour cometh, yet is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Here the thought is peace in the sense of the absence of fear, of all that's happening in the tribulation and unrest. Uh, we as believers can have peace because we, again, know God and we know his purposes.
But there's more to peace than just being reconciled to God in the sense that, okay, my sins are forgiven, I've come back to God. That's part of peace. The thought of reconciliation is that I'm brought back into a place of harmony with God. I'm brought back to a place where I'm in tune and harmony with God. You can think of two countries that are not fighting each other, but you wouldn't say they're in harmony. You could say Cuba, United States. Well, we're not fighting each other, at least as much as you and I at this level know. We're not fighting each other, but we're certainly not in harmony.
And so there's a lot more to peace. You think of an orchestra. When they play properly, they play in harmony, they play together, they function together. At Greenwood Hills Board Retreat, I was, I was telling those who were there of a missionary who spoke about visiting a leper colony and looking out into the fields, and he saw a person on top of another person on their back, carried on their back. They were going through the field, and he asked the missionary what that was about, and they went closer. What they noticed was the man on the bottom had legs and no arms. The man on the top had arms and no legs, and he carried them, and the one on top would drop the seed, the other one would push it into the ground with his foot and cover it over.
That's working in harmony. And so when God speaks about peace, you know, it's just not that there's an absence of war. And that's true in our assemblies, isn't it? You know, we could say there's peace in the assembly. Well, maybe. Could be there's just the absence of war. Could be the lack of harmony, however, where each doing their own, working together, they're at peace. You think of the Godhead. There is perfect peace amongst the Godhead. There's perfect harmony. Every member of the Godhead functions in accordance with where they are and what they do. There's no seeking of another place. And we know, obviously, what God and the members of the Godhead, the Trinity, accomplish.
They work together in absolute harmony. So peace should mark our lives when we're led of the Holy Spirit. What should not be true of our lives, what people see, is confusion, chaos, and turmoil. There's a tremendous verse that if you'd like to memorize, I recommend it to you. It's Psalm, uh, Psalm, I'm gonna make sure I get Psalm thirty seven thirty seven Says this, Mark the perfect man and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.
There are many opportunities, and we know that our adversary is one who likes to take peace away and to create tumult and problems in our own lives and in the assembly. And what should characterize us is a peace. That's not saying that we compromise. That's not saying, well, you know, in order to be peaceful, we- we'll- we'll absorb erroneous teaching, and we won't say anything about that brother who's living in sin, and we don't want to... No, that's not what's in view, but the view is our lives are marked as those who are characterized by peace.
You know, it says Romans twelve eighteen, if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. I have to tell you this story because I had the greatest opportunity to violate that verse recently. I purchased a car from Ford Motor Company at an auction. It had a radio in it. It was a van, and in the ceiling of this van was one of those video players. I didn't really care about the video. I have no, it's hard to drive your car and look backwards and see the video, so that doesn't work. But my son-in-law and daughter decided they would like to have a van, so I sold it to them, and the video didn't work.
So I took it to a Ford dealer, and I said, why doesn't this work? And eventually they said to me, it has the wrong radio in it. You need a different radio that works with the VCR. I said, well, what are you going to do about it? Nothing. Why? You put that radio in there. No, we didn't. That's not original equipment. I bought three different radios from different junkyards around the country. Every time I took them, they didn't work. Finally, I went to the dealer and I said, well, what do I need? He says, you need a radio for three hundred ninety five dollars. There were times when I did not feel like someone that should make peace.
But I have to confess, and I'm thankful I can say, I knew it wouldn't please the Lord. I knew that if I were to blow up, two things might happen. One, I might harm the testimony of the brother who owns the dealership who allowed me to buy the car in the first place. Second, how would I ever have an opportunity to witness to anyone that I was dealing with? And lo and behold, at the end of all these transactions, I went out to my car to get something, and the man said to me, I'll trust that you come back and pay this bill. And I said to him, I'll be back, and I'll tell you why you can trust me.
So when I went back, I gave him a tract, and he read it, and he said, I know where I'm going. I said, how do you know where you're going? Because I trusted Christ as my savior. How would it been if in dealing with another Christian, who, by the way, I went to his boss and told his boss that he handled everything perfectly? He never raised his voice, he never got mad, nothing like that, and I told his boss that he handled it very well. What would it have been like if I had been a man of trouble and a brawler, the Bible says? No opportunity to be a testimony, and lo and behold, his fellow worker came over, heard the discussion, and read both of the tracks that I gave him.
Where that leads, I don't know. But you see, we have to be conscious of what pleases God. I don't mean to set myself up as the example, but we do have to be conscious of what I say and where I go and what I look at and what I'm, how I'm dealing with other people. You know, one of the qualifications of an elder is that he's not a brawler. You know that? He's not to be someone who immediately is ready to fight, immediately is ready to cause problems. He should be marked by peace. You think of the life of the Lord Jesus. He said, peace I leave you, my peace I give unto you.
Do we ever see the Lord Jesus perturbed? Do we ever see him lash out, other than in times of righteous indignation? Such as at the religious leaders who were leading many away from God, or the cleansing of the temple because of what they had made it into. When we look at the life of the Lord Jesus, we don't see a brawler. We don't see one who's always looking to be in argument or fight or cause problems. We see a life of peace, and in peace also in the sense that he knew, he knew God's will, and he knew he was in God's will, and he had peace.
You think of our lives as Christians. Many times we can be abused. We might be passed over for promotions because of our testimony. We might be pushed alone because of our testimony, but at all times we should be marked by peace. God is a God of peace, First Corinthians fourteen tells us. He's not the author of confusion. He's not the author of, of disharmony. God is the author of harmony. Think of creation and the harmony of the creation works. So we as Christians should be marked by harmony.
Whether it's in your workplace, in your school, in your assembly, we should be marked by peace. Long suffering. Slowness in avenging, avenging wrongs. Brother Vine puts 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 and is used of God. First Peter three twenty talks about when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah.
Tremendous, isn't it, God? Do you ever have days when you see things in the world? I'm sure you have. You wonder, how can God wait any longer? You, and maybe you look in our own lives, or you're looking at a life of an individual, you wonder, how could God go on with this so long? Because he's not one to hate, he's not hasty. He doesn't blow up in a fit of anger and rage. Go to First Timothy, chapter one. First Timothy chapter one verse fifteen, Paul was saying, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all.
That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Nevertheless, for this cause I obtain mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long suffering, for a pattern to them who should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Paul says, in essence, I'm an example. I'm a pattern of long suffering. Think of what God put up with in the life of Saul. Here's one who is actually committing Christians either to jail or to a death sentence, persecuting the church, tracking it down, stamping out the name of Christ.
And God put up with him, in that sense. God was long suffering. He says that's a pattern... of God. Remember David and Saul? David had, I think, two, maybe three opportunities to kill Saul. But he would not, because he saw Saul as the Lord's anointed. The truth is, God was finished with Saul. David was his man, but David didn't take it into his own hands. David suffered long, waiting upon God, and for God's purposes to be fulfilled.
I found it to be very practical, quite frankly, in the work world. There were people who were over me, like Saul was over David, in essence, who I really had no appreciation for in the sense that they were immoral people. They were not people that you would respect or, or certainly hold up as a model. But I remember looking at David, who wouldn't touch the Lord's anointed.
Sometimes you might be in that situation where the person over you is not the best, but God has placed them there. And maybe he's placed them there to teach you long suffering. Maybe he's put you there to teach you some things that would ultimately lead to the fruit of the Spirit. If they're over you and God has placed them there, then you need to respect them for the position, if not the person. Long suffering. Paul, second Timothy, chapter three, verse ten. Thou hast fully known my doctrine. Paul makes some tremendous statements concerning himself.
Thou hast fully known my doctrine. It's nice, isn't it, to be able to open yourself up to people and say, you know what I've taught. You know my manner of life. You know my purpose. You know my faith. You know my long suffering. You know my love. You know my patience. He could say that to these saints and to Timothy. You know my doctrine. You know the way I live. You know my purpose for living. You know my faith. You know my long suffering. I was not a person who hastily brought upon about punishment.
I took time, like God takes time. And so when we think of long suffering, it's the opposite of quick, explosive action, but rather a patience. The saints are told in First Corinthians thirteen four that charity suffereth long. Love suffereth long. We love a person. We have it in for their benefit. It isn't that we always just immediately bring about action. There may be a long suffering and allowing of time and God to work.
What about Christ? Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to judge us righteously. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be weary and faint in your minds. Long suffering, not taking quick action, a characteristic of God, a fruit of the Spirit. Gentleness, the word is kindness. One has defined it this way, the sympathetic kindness or sweetness of temper which puts others at ease and shrinks from giving pain.
It's often translated good in the Old Testament. Good. You think about these verses. Psalm one oh six one, Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good. It's not so much they're talking about his moral character. The Lord is good morally, but the word good has the thought of beneficial, a blessing. The Lord is good, meaning he blesses. Said of the Lord Jesus, he went about doing good. Tremendous testimony. Isn't it, isn't it amazing the way scripture takes... No, uh, Enoch had this testimony, he pleased God.
A lot wrapped up in there. Think of the Lord Jesus. He went about doing good. John says, we tried to record all the things he did, the world couldn't hold it all. Went around doing those things that are beneficial, those things that are a blessing. They were kind. Speaking of God, it says, he maketh his sun to rise on evil, on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Think of that. Doesn't pick out the heff farm and rain on it and ignore the neighbor next door. No, the neighbor next door might be an evil man. God in his kindness, God in his good- goodness, God in his blessings rains on the land of the just and the unjust.
Written to us as believers, you might want to turn to this one, Colossians three twelve. Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, tender mercies, kindness, humility of humil- humbleness of mind, humility, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one another and forgiving one another, even if a- if any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave ye, so also do ye. We're to be marked by being kind, doing good.
Be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as Christ, God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Kindness. It said of the Lord Jesus in Isaiah forty two three, I believe, a bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench. The thought is one of a soft touch, kindness, the lack of harshness, that the wick of a candle he wouldn't break or crush. You know how fragile that is. The, the wick of a candle that's been burnt, you know how easy you could crush it.
The Lord has a touch that's soft and not harsh. Kindness should be one of the fruit, well, not one of the fruit, the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life and my life. You know, it it, when you're kind, it makes you different than the world around you. You know, if if you you think about it and think about what the world is grasping for, and what they're after, and how harsh they can be to get it. You know, being kind in your office and being kind in your work and being kind where you live and being kind in your home is very much a fruit of the spirit that is different than the lost around you.
Goodness. This is in the thought now of what you contribute. It's in contrast to evil and that which is harmful. We said of Dorcas that she was full of good works. She was one who was not full of evil, but of good works, works that contributed, that were beneficial. Titus three eight. This is a faithful saying, in these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they who have believed in God might careful, might be careful to maintain good works.
These things are good and profitable unto men. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now you are light. Walk as children of the light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth. We should be known and marked by those who are not evil. Think of that, not evil, and we think of the ways that evil is manifested, the desire to crush others, the desire to do harm to others. That should not mark us.
What should mark us is a goodness, a desire to contribute to the benefit of others, a wholesomeness, healthy. Acts ten thirty eight, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth unto the holy, with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him. Doing good. That should mark us. All of these things should characterize us. Faith or faithfulness. The character of one who can be r- relied upon.
The character of one who can be relied upon. A faithful man who can find. The Lord said, he that's faithful in little will be faithful in much. It's true in our assemblies, you know, the principle is that we do not give people large, great responsibilities in our assemblies. The biblical principle is we give them smaller responsibilities, and we see how they handle, how faithful they are with the little things. Because if they can't handle the little things, we don't give them larger responsibilities. And that's true with God. If we don't faithfully handle what he gives us, why should he give us any more?
Many times we have said to ourselves, and I have no doubt there have been Christians who have played the lottery, because they have said, if I had a million dollars, this is what I would do for the Lord. The Lord's not interested what you would do if you had a million dollars. He's interested in what are you doing with what you have already. How faithful am I? We think of stewardship. Stewardship is that something that belongs to someone else has been put in my care, and I will be faithful with it. I can name four; they all start with T's. Time, talent, gift, truth, and things have all been put into our hands.
The question is, are we faithful? Faithful in little things. The Lord Jesus was faithful. Hebrews three two, in contrast, speaking of Moses, but speaking of the Lord Jesus, who was faithful to him that appointed him. And the Lord Jesus said, I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do. That's faithful. We, we are typically as human beings, we do not finish what we start. But the Lord Jesus, he was faithful. What God gave him to do, he did. He did it perfectly. He did it wholeheartedly. He was faithful.
That should mark us. You know, if I went to your place of employment, and I said, can you tell me if so and so is faithful? And they said, well, we gave him some responsibility, and he didn't do very well. We sent him to a class in California, and he didn't go to class, he just toured California. Like a doctor's convention, you know what I mean. In Bermuda. But anyway, they would say that's not faithful. But there's other ways, isn't there?
Is he faithful with his time? Are we faithful to the employer with our time? Are we faithful with our employer in doing what we can really do to do the job right, and perhaps shorter than what we're taking it in, doing it? That's faithfulness. The Lord Jesus was faithful. Meekness. Gentleness of conduct, especially on the part of people who had it in their power to act otherwise. Gentleness of conduct, especially on the part of people who had it in their power to act otherwise. You're familiar with the general definition, power under control.
Meekness, power under control. It is a beautiful thing to behold, particularly in the person of the Lord Jesus. Here is God standing in front of his own creature, sinful creature, and these sinful creatures are ripping hair from his face, which means they ripped the skin off his face. They punched him in the face. They beat him in ways that you and I just can't envision.
So his back is just pure, open flesh. They hung him on a cross. They stripped him of his clothes. They spit in his face. He opened not his mouth. He could have said the word, and not only are those men gone, the world is gone. That's power. But that would not have been in keeping with the will of God. That never would have accomplished what he was sent to do if he had exercised that power.
It takes more strength to control power than it does to use it. It takes more power to control it. Here's two men, they're weightlifters. They can each press four hundred pounds. So you dare them. Let me see you lift the four hundred pounds. The one is anxious to demonstrate his power. And he picks it up and he shows you, and the other one quietly says, you know, I- I don't have to show you. I don't, I- I'm not boasting that I can do it. I know I can do it. And I don't, I don't have to demonstrate my power to you.
I'm not trying to raise my level of respect before you. It takes a lot of control to do that, you know, because the flesh is known by pride. It's characterized by pride. But meekness is when we are buffeted, and yet we have the power and the authority to respond, but we don't because it would not be in keeping with God's will. Think of a child. Child says to the parent something awful and nasty and repulsive. Obviously, the parent is more powerful. Obviously, the parent could tear the child apart, and unfortunately, in some cases, it's happening.
But which is better? To exercise your power or to control it? Obviously, to control it. The Lord Jesus said, take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. Meekness, one of the beauties of the Lord Jesus, should be seen in our life. Temperance, self-control. Robinson says this, it means to hold himself in. Thayer says, one who masters his desires and passions. For sake of time, we'll just read what Vine says.
It follows knowledge in two Peter one six, suggesting what is learned requires that we put it in practice. And they that of Christ have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts. We live in a world that is not e- exhibiting self-control hardly at all, and almost not at all. Everything around us is just do your thing. And we see the, the, the level to which people go to fulfill the desires of their flesh. That, that's not the fruit of the spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is a controlling, a not fulfilling of all the desires of that which are in me.
Think of the Lord Jesus. Did he live to please himself? Was he here just to fulfill some passions that he had, which he didn't, other than love for us and saving us? No, he lived for God. In summary, the Christian is in Christ, and the Christian is in the Spirit, and the Spirit is in the Christian. The Christian is indwelt by the Spirit and is not under law. In contrast to the works of the flesh, which are harmful and dishonoring to God, the Christian is to manifest the person of Christ, and by so doing, bring glory to God, please God, and be beneficial and a blessing to others.
We can only bear fruit as we abide, as we have communion, fellowship, and in the Lord Jesus. As Christians, how much of our day do we spend communing with the Lord Jesus? I don't mean praying necessarily. How many times a day do we just speak to the Lord Jesus? How many times a day do we just speak to him about what you enjoy about him, and what you see in him that's so wonderful, or sit and listen to his word?
That's fellowship. The secret is the heart occupied with Christ, the soul dependent on him, himself the object in all trials, difficulties, and duties even, so that through a given thing, though a given thing be a duty, it is not done now barely as such, but with Christ before the eye of faith. William Kelly. The secret is the heart occupied with Christ, the soul dependent on him. Let's close in prayer.
Gracious God and Father, we come to thee in the lovely name of your son, the Lord Jesus. And truly he is lovely. He's precious. Out of the whole mass of humanity, no one pleased thee until thy son came in the likeness of man and walked in the scene and in every way pleasing thee. Always conscious of thy will. Always desirous of doing thy will.
Always responding in the proper way with the proper word. Always being in the right place at the right time. Always in tune and in fellowship with thyself. Truly is lovely. And as we think of these things that have been brought before us, the fruit that the Holy Spirit would desire to produce in us, so that Christ would be seen in us, we would ask that you would help us to die to self, to yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit through thy word, that we might in truth, walk through the scene manifesting the person of Christ.
So we pray that we might grow, and there might be more fruit that comes from our lives that please thee, that glorify thee, that are a blessing to others. We thank you now for the food thou has provided. We ask your blessing upon it, our time of fellowship, as we partake of it together. Thank you for those who are laboring and working to prepare it. We ask your blessing and encouragement upon them. Thank you for this day. Think of many who have traveled a distance to be here. We pray you would give them journey's mercies and be with them, and may they enjoy their fellowship, one with another, as they go along their way.
So we commend all to thee now as we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.