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God is Gentle | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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  And so in Matthew 21, which is the reason for
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  Palm Sunday, arrangements were made. Jesus found
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  a donkey. Verse 4, all this was done that it
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  might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet
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  Joel. Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your
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  king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a
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  donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. And we
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  know that then this happened. And as they came
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  in, they waved the palm branches and they threw
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  them down and they threw their cloaks as well
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  on the ground. And they were preparing a way
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  for this king that was coming. A few moments
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  later, and I think this is perhaps the picture
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  most people have of God. Jesus went into the
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  temple and he flipped over the tables and he...
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  he was reclaiming the temple as the house of
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  the Lord. And we remember the moments that Jesus
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  is tough and strong and him shaking his fist
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  in the face of the Pharisees saying, you whitewashed
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  tombs. How many of you remember all those moments
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  of Jesus? And surely he is the soon -and -coming
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  king. The second time he comes, he's not going
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  to be riding on a donkey. He's going to be riding
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  on a white stallion with fire in his eyes, the
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  judge of the whole world. That is true. That
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  is true. And we see his boldness. so many different
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  situations. This week we'll be looking at the
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  moments of the cross and Pontius Pilate, he looks
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  at Pontius Pilate with all the calm and all the
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  reserve and he says, you would have no authority
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  over me if it were not granted you from above.
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  And Jesus, can I just... side note that's not
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  in my notes. Jesus is not insecure. Jesus is
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  not insecure. If you have parts of your personality,
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  and this is oftentimes compartmentalized in our
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  lives, there's things that we are insecure about.
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  You know, you hang out with Jesus, and you're
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  going to get secure like he is. Amen? And that's
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  good. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. But here,
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  Jesus does not come in a grand fashion. He comes
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  lowly. In fact, some of your translations say
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  gentle. Gentle. The Greek word is translated
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  meek. Meek. And it's found, this exact word,
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  although derivatives of it are more often in
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  Scripture, the fruit of the Spirit, one of the
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  fruits of the Spirit is gentleness, right? But
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  this exact word, four times in the Scriptures,
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  Matthew 5 .5, blessed are the meek, the gentle,
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  for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 11
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  .29, take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
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  for I am gentle. Gentle. 1 Peter 3, 3 and 4.
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  Speaking of women's attire, do not let your adornment
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  be merely outward, arranging of the hair, wearing
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  of the gold, or putting on fine apparel, but
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  let it be the hidden person of the heart with
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  the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and a quiet.
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  So those three times and then also this one.
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  Behold, your king comes gentle riding on a donkey.
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  Gentleness, a quality that Jesus embodies. And
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  I believe wants us to embody as well the spirit
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  of gentleness. Jesus got this. DNA of gentleness
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  from his father. Gentleness is a quality that
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  the father has. It was this quality that David
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  often wrote about. One of the, probably the most
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  famous psalm in all of the Bible. Shepherd. And
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  David understood the fierceness that a shepherd
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  had to have towards the enemies of the sheep.
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  But David understood the gentleness that the
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  shepherd had to give to the sheep. He was gentle
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  with them and he knew the Lord as somebody that
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  was my shepherd that was gentle with me. Gentleness.
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  The Lord is my shepherd. Psalm 1835 says, you
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  have given me the shield of your salvation. Your
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  right hand has held me up. Your gentleness has
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  made me great. David wrote that. Let's all just
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  say that together. Your gentleness has made me
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  great. I love that. That's a powerful, promise.
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  The gentle father. The gentle father. Can you
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  imagine with as much power as God has if he did
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  not also have gentleness? If he did not somehow
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  was able to contain all of that power and kind
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  of just hold it back, hold it back, hold it back
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  so that he could relate with you and me. Can
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  you imagine if every time we related with the
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  Father, if He unleashed all of His power upon
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  us? We would not be able to take it. There's
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  nobody that can stand in His presence except
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  that He's gentle. God is a gentle God. Isaiah
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  prophesies of the gentleness of God. He will
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  feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather
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  the lambs with his arm and carry them in his
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  bosom and gently lead those who are with young.
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  Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Some verses that
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  remind me of God's gentleness. 2 Peter 3 .9 The
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  Lord is not slack concerning his promise. as
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  some count slackness, but as long -suffering.
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  That's a quality that goes with gentleness. Patience.
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  Long -suffering. Not willing that any should
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  perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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  Ezekiel 33, 11 says this. Say to them, as I live,
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  says the Lord, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure.
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  in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked
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  turn from their wicked ways and live. Wow. Turn.
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  Turn from your evil ways. And so his gentleness
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  calls them to repentance. Jesus tells a parable
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  that speaks of the gentleness of the Father.
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  If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them
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  goes astray, does he not leave the 99 and go
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  to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?
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  And if he should find it, assuredly I say to
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  you, he rejoices more over that sheep than the
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  99 that did not go astray. Even so, it is the
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  will of your Father who is in heaven that...
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  that not one of these little ones should perish.
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  Amen? Now when you have gone astray, aren't you
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  glad that the Father did not respond with harshness?
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  Think about your own life. Think about when you
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  went astray. The two of you in here that went
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  astray. You know who you are. No, we all have
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  a tendency to wander, don't we? Even as believers,
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  hopefully in lesser and lesser ways, the longer
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  we live for the Lord, hopefully we start learning
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  a thing or two, right? But we still have a tendency
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  to wander. Sometimes we don't like the path that
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  God has placed us on. And so how many of you
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  have tried to cut your own path? You've tried
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  to make things happen and force them down a certain
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  road and make them happen. It does not work.
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  And do you know what leads us back to repentance?
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  What the New Testament says? The New Testament
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  doesn't use the word gentle. The New Testament
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  uses the word kindness. It is your kindness,
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  Lord, that leads us to repentance. And because
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  Jesus is gentle with you, he leads you back from
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  your place of straying. Praise the Lord. Praise
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  the Lord. His gentleness. Glory to God. Glory
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  to God. The Father is in this room right now.
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  And He is gentle. And I want to speak just for
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  a moment to the fathers in the room. Fathers
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  in the room. It is important. That amidst all
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  of the other responsibilities that we have as
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  fathers, that we reflect our heavenly Father.
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  And that this quality of gentleness be something
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  that our children experience. Amen? Let me read
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  a couple verses to fathers. And you fathers,
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  do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring
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  them up. In the training and the admonition of
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  the Lord. Can you feel the gentleness, the gentle
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  heart of the Father in that instruction? Do not
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  provoke your children to wrath. Now, I have been
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  known to be provoking. I must confess. I must
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  confess. Are there any other provokers out there?
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  Yeah, we got some honesty going on now. Now,
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  the Bible doesn't say don't ever provoke them.
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  But you gotta know when to stop. Don't provoke
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  them to wrath. I believe in the fun of a family,
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  amen? But do not provoke them to wrath. Gentleness,
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  bring them up. In the training and the admonition
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  of the Lord. Here's another one. Fathers says
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  it twice. Paul said it to the Ephesians. That
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  first verse was Ephesians 6 .4. He says it again
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  to the church of Colossians 3 .21. Fathers, do
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  not provoke your children. Lest they become discouraged.
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  And so. we have to be careful even in correction.
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  Amen? Correction can lead to discouragement if
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  it's not coupled with gentleness and encouragement.
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  Amen? Reflect the heart of gentleness. Thank
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  you, Lord. Your fellowship with the Holy Spirit
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  will make you gentle. Your fellowship with the
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  Holy Spirit will make you gentle. It is true
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  that the company that you keep is who you become
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  like. That's why we've got to be careful who
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  we're friends with, right? Friendship with the
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  world is enmity with God. But friendship with
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  God is life forevermore. And when you hang out,
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  when you fellowship, when you regularly are connecting
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  with the Holy Spirit, gentleness becomes a quality
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  that grows in you. I already said that it was
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  a fruit of the Spirit. Let me read it to you.
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  Galatians 5 .22. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
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  joy, peace, long -suffering, kindness, goodness,
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  faithfulness, gentleness, self -control. Self
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  -control. Against such things, there is no law.
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  I believe that we as Christians should become
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  more and more gentle the longer that we walk
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  with Jesus. Praise God. Praise God. Gentleness
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  affects how we treat each other. Have you ever
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  seen somebody that you know is going the wrong
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  direction? Yeah. People in your life that have
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  gone the wrong direction. Paul says that when
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  we see people go the wrong direction, we have
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  a responsibility to go after them. Well, I don't
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  want to do that, Pastor. I'm a peacemaker. It
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  will cause ruffles. No, it will express your
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  love for them and your desire to see them in
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  heaven and your desire to not see the enemy snatch
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  away what God has placed in their life. You have
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  a responsibility to go after them. Listen to
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  what Paul told the Galatian church. Brethren,
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  If a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who
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  are spiritual, now this is not equivalent with
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  arrogance, please. We are not saying we are better
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  than you. You who are spiritual, restore such
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  a one in a spirit of gentleness. Considering
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  yourself, lest you also be tempted. That means
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  we can't come with pride. We can't come with
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  arrogance. In fact, you need to spend a moment
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  in prayer and you need to say, God, before I
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  go and talk to my brother and sister, clothe
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  me with gentleness. Make me more like you, Jesus.
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  Make me more like you. Gentleness is a part of
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  who we are. What does the gentleness of Christ
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  mean? The gentleness of Christ means that when
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  you are at your lowest, Jesus will not crush
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  you. Hallelujah. That's good news, friends. When
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  you are at your lowest, Jesus will not crush
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  you. Matthew 12, 9 says this, Jesus will not
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  quarrel nor cry out. nor will anyone hear his
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  voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will
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  not break, and a smoking flax he will not quench.
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  So if you are a bruised reed or a smoking flax,
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  if that's the season of life that you are in
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  right now, that's the way that you feel about
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  your life. I'm just bruised and a smoldering
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  wick that's not even producing any flame. It's
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  just smoldering and smoking and making the room
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  smell foul. That's the way my life feels right
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  now. Jesus will not break you. And Jesus will
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  not snuff you out. But rather, He comes alongside
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  of you until you receive justice, until He brings
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  you forth to victory in Jesus' name. He wants
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  you on the team, even though you're hurting.
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  The gentleness of God means that when you are
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  at your lowest, Jesus will not crush you. You
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  can turn to him. Secondly, it means the gentleness
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  of God means that God is knowable. Isaiah 55
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  says of the Lord, for my thoughts are not your
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  thoughts. Nor are your ways my ways, says the
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  Lord, for as the heavens are higher than the
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  earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and
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  my thoughts than your thoughts. Imagine if God
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  stayed in that place, never revealed anything
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  to us. What if he never gave us any revelation
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  about who he is? What if he never taught us?
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  But because he's gentle, God is knowable. He
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  makes it so that you and I can have relationship
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  with him. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to God.
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  He lowers himself. And Jesus did this. He humbled
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  himself. Philippians says he did not consider
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  equality with God something to be grasped, but
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  he humbled himself, made himself nothing, became
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  obedient even unto death. Why? So that you and
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  I could know him. Amen? God's gentleness means
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  that he is knowable. And finally this morning,
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  some of you cannot believe that I'm already to
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  my last point. And it's not even 1130. Oh, hallelujah.
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  Finally, the gentleness of God makes him approachable.
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  Makes him approachable. Hallelujah. Hebrews says
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  that we should come before him with boldness.
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  Come into his throne room with boldness that
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  we might find help in our time of need. And it
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  is Jesus. You remember when the disciples were
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  telling the kids, get out of here, don't bother
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  the teacher. And what did the gentleness of Christ
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  compel him to do? Let the children come to me.
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  Let them come to me. I know I'm a rabbi. I know
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  this isn't normal for rabbis. But I want the
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  kids to come around me. I want to touch them.
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  I want to bless them. And the kids had no qualms
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  at all about approaching the King of Kings and
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  the Lord of Lords because He was approachable
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  by everybody. You think that Jesus is only knowable
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  and only approachable by the religious people.
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  It is not the truth. He's humble. And he invites
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  you to come. And I read, I quoted a part from
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  Matthew 11, but I want to read verse 29. I want
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  to read it to us. I'll back up. Come to me, verse
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  28. All who labor. and are heavy laden, and I
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  will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and
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  learn from me. There he is, knowable, knowable.
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  Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
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  and you will find rest for your souls. For my
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  yoke is easy and my burden is light. I want to
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  just take a moment this morning and I want to
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  thank God for his gentleness. I want to thank
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  God for his humility. I want to thank God for
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  his patience. I want to thank God for this soft
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  side that He has that makes it so that we can
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  come to Him. When I was an assistant pastor in
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  Galesburg, I got it over and over and over again
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  from our young people. They were afraid of me.
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  I kind of liked it. I don't know. But I realized,
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  They don't want to come and talk to me because
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  they're afraid of me. And I don't know if it
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  was the position or what or the way I carried
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  myself then. I don't know what it was, but they
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  had this fear. I wasn't very approachable. I
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  don't want to be like that. And I remember not
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  just one of them, many of them were like, I don't
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  want to be like that. I hope that you don't want
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  to be like that. Jesus is not like that. Now
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  there are times when he reveals himself that
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  all we can do is tremble and fall down at his
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  feet as though dead. In all of his glory and
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  splendor. But there are so many times when he
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  just says, come to me. I am meek. And I am lowly.
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  And you can come. You can come. So Jesus, we
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  thank you this morning, even as we just pause
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  here for a moment here in your presence. And
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  we just recognize your humility. We recognize
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  your compassion. We recognize your gentleness.
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  And we ask God that you would do two things this
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  morning. One, that you would help us to experience
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  your gentleness. You would help us to experience
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  who you are, more of who you are. You are gentle.
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  God, when we are like a bruised reed, When we
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  don't understand what is happening in our lives
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  and we respond in a way that draws back, I thank
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  You that You do not draw away from us. You do
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  not cut us off. You do not say, I don't want
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  You. Lord, even when we fail, even when we sin,
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  You don't turn away. We become like that one
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  wandering sheep that has gone astray. But Lord,
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  it is your gentleness that comes after us. It
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  is your kindness that leads us to conviction
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  and repentance. And we turn back. And so Lord,
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  I pray that your gentleness will just hover over.
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  Lord, it's the secret place that Pastor Cammie
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  has been talking about through this whole season.
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  It is the secret place we find refuge under your
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  wing. It is a place of gentleness. God, I pray
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  that somebody, even just one in here, will experience
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  the gentleness of Christ. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
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  Would you come and play He Loves How He Loves?
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  Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. We thank you
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  for your gentleness. We thank you for your touch
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  in this room right now. We look to you, Jesus.
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  God, the second thing I want to pray is that
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  you would just keep working on me. Keep working
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  on us. God, I just, in preparing this message
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  and in preaching this message, see so many rough
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  edges in me. And I want to clothe myself in gentleness,
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  and I want to clothe myself in humility. God,
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  I want to be like you. I want to be like you
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  to the people around me, to my family. I want
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  to be like you. Jesus, transform my life. Transform
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  my life. Make me like Jesus. God, I just freely
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  confess my need. I just sense repentance just
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  happening around the room right now. Sometimes
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  we don't like what we see when we look at our
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  own personalities and our own lives. God, we
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  just come before you and we lay our lives on
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  the altar. We say, God, have your way. Make me
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  like Jesus. Make me like Jesus.