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Gentleness: The Strength That Doesn’t Have to Shout · Fostering Faith

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  Welcome back to Fostering Faith. I am so excited
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  that you guys tuned in today and we are still
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  walking through the fruits of the spirit and
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  by now you are memorizing Galatians 5 22 and
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  it says because the fruit of the spirit is love,
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  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
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  gentleness, and self -control. Against such things
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  there is no law. And so we have been walking
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  through the fruits of the spirit and today we
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  have landed on gentleness. The strength that
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  doesn't have to shout. And so we are here at
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  Fostering Faith. We welcome you. Thank you so
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  much for tuning in today and spending a little
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  bit of your time growing closer to God and just
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  walking and fostering your faith. If you are
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  new to this channel, thank you for tuning in.
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  Thank you for giving us a chance to just spread
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  light and joy into your day. And if you are a
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  return listener, welcome back home and pull up
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  your sit down on the couch, grab some coffee,
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  walk on your treadmill, take some movement and
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  enjoy this episode. Today's today we're going
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  to be stepping into word that most people misunderstand,
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  overlook, or even avoid because they think it
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  makes them weak. But biblically, spiritually,
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  practically, gentleness is not weakness. Gentleness
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  is strength under control of the Holy Spirit,
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  which is like meekness, which was our word of
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  the year before meekness was just strength under
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  control. And so gentleness is not passive. Gentleness
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  is not timidity. Gentleness is not softness in
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  personality. Gentleness is not being a pushover
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  or a doormat or someone who never speaks up.
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  Gentleness is Christ -like strength governed
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  by love. It is courage with compassion. It is
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  power under submission. And it is truth delivered
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  with tenderness. It is firmness without cruelty.
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  It is conviction without aggression. It is authority
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  without arrogance. And I want to start off this
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  with if gentleness feels unnatural to you, that
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  does not mean that you're not that you're unspiritual.
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  It means that you're human. We naturally default
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  to self -protection, defensiveness, pride, harshness.
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  That's the flesh. That's the fall. Gentleness
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  is supernatural. Gentleness is a fruit. The fruit
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  of the spirit. The fruit is not manufactured.
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  It is not produced through it is produced by
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  abiding in Christ. And the Bible says in Galatians
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  5 22 through 23, but the fruit of the spirit
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  is love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
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  gentleness and self -control. Gentleness is not
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  a personality trait. It is a Holy Spirit product.
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  And so let's talk about Jesus, because if we're
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  going to understand gentleness, we have to see
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  it in him. And in Matthew 11, 28 through 29,
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  Jesus says, come to me, all who are weary and
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  burdened, and I will give you rest. And then
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  he says, take upon my yoke and learn from me,
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  for I am gentle and humble in heart. The only
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  place that Jesus personally describes his own
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  heart is right here. He doesn't say he is powerful
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  and humble. He says he doesn't say that he is
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  mighty and humble He says that he is gentle and
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  humble the savior of the world the one who commands
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  the storms with his voice The one who cast out
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  demons the one who holds the galaxy together
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  He describes himself as gentle Gentleness is
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  the heart of Jesus and because gentleness is
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  the heart of Jesus Gentleness becomes the mark
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  of someone who truly is walking with him And
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  this is why Paul in Ephesians 4 -2 urges believers
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  to walk in a manner worthy of calling with all
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  humility and gentleness. Not some, but all. Meaning
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  gentleness is not optimal for a believer. It's
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  not optional. It is essential. It is a calling.
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  It is a posture. It is a sign of someone who
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  has been walking with Jesus long enough that
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  his nature begins to shape theirs. But gentleness
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  doesn't mean that you avoid hard truth. Gentleness
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  does not mean tolerating sin. Gentleness does
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  not mean silence in the face of injustice. Just
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  gentleness is how you carry your strength. It's
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  how you hold truth. It's how you treat people
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  who are fragile, who are hurting, who are defensive,
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  who are struggling. And the Holy Spirit produces
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  a gentleness that allows you to speak with boldness
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  and tenderness at the same time. And let's go
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  through Proverbs because you know, that's where
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  I'm at. Um, between Proverbs and Psalms. And
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  so Proverbs 15 one, a gentle answer turns away
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  wrath, but harsh words stir up anger. Gentleness
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  diffuses what pride ignites. Gentleness disarms
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  what harshness provokes and gentleness softens
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  fear where it hardens. Gentleness opens what
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  hostility closes and gentleness can reach people.
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  without shouting what shouting will never do.
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  Think about Jesus when he caught the woman in
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  adultery in John 8, the crowd was ready to stone
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  her. They want judgment, exposure, shame. They
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  dragged her out of the temple as for humiliation,
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  as entertainment. And Jesus knelt down. He lowers
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  himself. He positions himself below her shame
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  and he writes in the dirt. He silences the accusers
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  without a single harsh word and when he finally
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  asks her speaks to her he says Neither do I condemn
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  you go and from now on sin no more That's gentleness
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  truth without a humiliation correction without
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  condemnation and holiness without harshness We
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  think that we need harshness to produce holiness
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  in people But Jesus used gentleness. And let's
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  take another moment. In a moment when Peter,
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  after the resurrection in John 21, Peter failed.
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  Not small, not privately, but he denied Jesus
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  three times after promising he'd die for him.
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  And Jesus appears again. He doesn't say, Peter,
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  explain yourself. He doesn't say, prove you changed.
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  He asks only this. Do you love me? Three times.
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  For each failure. That's gentleness. Restoring
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  someone without reminding them of their shame.
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  And the Holy Spirit wants to cultivate this in
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  you. Not a personality version. Not a quiet version.
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  Not a soft spoken version. A Christ -like version.
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  A gentleness that is strong enough to stay calm
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  in conflict. A gentleness that speaks truth without
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  cruelty. A gentleness that corrects without crushing.
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  A gentleness that listens without assuming. And
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  a gentleness that loves without controlling.
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  And hear me, gentleness is not weakness. Gentleness
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  requires strength. It takes strength to hold
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  your tongue, which I am still working on. Strength
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  to remain calm. Strength to choose patience.
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  Strength to bless instead of curse. Strength
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  to answer softly when you want to shout. Still
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  working on that. Strength to forgive whenever
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  you want to fight. Strength to trust when you
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  want to take control. Weakness reacts. Strength
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  responds and gentleness chooses the response
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  that honors God. And so let's talk about Proverbs
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  16 32. He who is slow to anger is better than
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  the mighty and he rules his spirit than he who
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  captures a city. According to scripture, self
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  -control and gentleness are greater vectors than
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  conquest. God doesn't measure strength by domination.
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  He measures strength by self -governance. The
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  strongest person in the room is not the loudest.
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  It's the one whose heart is ruled by the spirit
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  instead of emotion. Think about what Paul writing
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  to Timothy in 2nd Timothy 2, 24 -25. He says,
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  the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome,
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  but be kind to all, with gentleness, correcting
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  those who are in oppression. Gentleness corrects.
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  Gentleness confronts. Gentleness sets boundaries,
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  but gentleness does not, but does it with honor,
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  clarity, and compassion. Gentleness does not
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  crush. Gentleness carries. And some of you listening
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  today, the Holy Spirit is going to speak something
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  very specific. You're not harsh because you're
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  evil. You are harsh because you are hurt. Harshness
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  is often a shield, a protector, a reflex, a defense
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  mechanism. The way that you control that because
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  you are afraid that it might spiral. Gentleness
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  doesn't come naturally because gentleness feels
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  vulnerable. It feels like you're giving up power.
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  But the Holy Spirit isn't asking you to give
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  up power. He's asking you to surrender to His
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  power. Gentleness is evidence that you trust
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  God to be your defender. And if we go into Psalm
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  1835, David says, Your gentleness makes me great.
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  God's gentleness towards you is what elevates
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  you, what shapes you, what restores you. God's
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  gentleness is not passive. It is powerful. And
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  God's gentleness breaks chains. God's gentleness
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  draws you to repentance. And Romans 2, 4 says
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  it plainly, the kindness of God leads you to
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  repentance, not fear, not shame, not punishment,
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  kindness and gentleness. And now let's make this
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  personal. How is the Holy Spirit calling you
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  into gentleness today? Maybe it's how you talk
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  to your spouse. Maybe it's how you respond to
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  your children. Maybe it's how you deal with disappointment.
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  Maybe it's how you deal with negative conflict,
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  how we navigate through conflict. Maybe it's
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  how you speak to yourself. Maybe it's how you
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  talk to God. Gentleness isn't something that
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  you perform. Gentleness is something that the
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  spirit forms. And let's take you into the last
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  scripture, into Philippians 4. Let your gentle
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  spirit be known to all man. The Lord is near.
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  Your gentleness reveals something that God is
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  close. Gentleness is what happens when your heart
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  is so aware of God's nearness that it doesn't
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  need to defend itself. And so how about some
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  actions to go with this? And so, one. Slow before
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  you speak. Gentleness begins with pace. Before
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  you answer, before you react, before you defend
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  yourself, take a deep breath and sit silently.
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  and say, Holy Spirit, help me respond and not
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  react. Gentleness is the spirit interrupting
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  your reflex so he can shape your response. Proverbs
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  15 .1 teach that a gentle answer turns away wrath,
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  but a gentle answer often starts with a pause.
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  Two, lower your volume and raise the love. Gentleness
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  is strength under control. You can say the same
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  truth in two tones one wounds and one heals Ask
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  yourself. Am I trying to win the argument or
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  win the person? The Holy Spirit can lower your
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  volume and raise your love So your words carry
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  life and not injury in any of my kids that are
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  potentially listening to this We always talk
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  about edifying edify Your words and so our words
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  are meant to raise up people and not tear them
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  down. And so three, treat people according to
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  their wounds and not their words. Hurting people
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  often speak from pain and not clarity. Gentleness
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  sees past the reaction and recognizes the wound
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  beneath it. Instead of responding to someone's
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  harshness, ask, Holy Spirit, help me see what's
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  broken in them, not just what's allowed in them.
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  And that's how Jesus responded to the woman caught
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  in adultery, to Peter after the denial, and to
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  all of us every day. Gentleness doesn't excuse
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  sin, but it refuses to crush the wounded soul.
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  And so say this out loud today. Holy Spirit,
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  rule my tone, shape my words, guard my reactions,
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  and make gentleness my strength. And so we would
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  love to pray for you guys today. And so, dear
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  Heavenly Father, thank you for today. Thank you
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  for these listeners. Thank you for the Holy Spirit
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  that has already softened what is hard. Thank
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  you for calming what was anxious. Thank you for
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  restoring life, what that was bruised. Thank
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  you, Holy Spirit, for the softened hearts. Thank
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  you that... where harshness was taken root, you
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  uprooted. Thank you that the fear that was created
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  by defensiveness, you bring peace. Thank you
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  for the pain that was created for sharpness,
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  but you're bringing healing. Thank you that you're
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  producing gentleness that looks like Jesus. Thank
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  you for the strong but tender truthful. Thank
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  you for compassion. Thank you for boldness that
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  is humble. Thank you for the words that carry
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  grace. Thank you for the tone that carries love.
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  Thank you for the presence that carries peace.
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  Thank you for making us gentle. and not in just
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  something that we're doing, but something that
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  we're becoming. Thank you for all that you are
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  doing. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen. And I hope
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  that this message inspired you, that we take
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  a reflection in what we are. And God is just
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  teaching me as much as he is teaching you. And
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  so if we sit in his presence and we have our
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  hands open handed and we are listening and learning
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  and leaning in into the correction and just as
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  many times as we need to just to see the wrath
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  of God. Just how many times? Every time that
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  we ascend the wrath of God, I mean, so we cannot
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  be in his presence, but his gentleness, his grace,
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  his mercy is just there every day. And so he
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  shows us his gentleness every day because we
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  deserve so much more than what we get, that he
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  is just so gentle and kind and he's just so loving.
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  And so we are to be his reflection of him every
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  day. And so I hope that this lesson is just this
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  gets you back into scripture and to give you
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  just to walk into his presence. We hope this
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  message encourage you. If it does, please send
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  a review. Rate us on the podcast or whatever
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  you're listening on and leave us a comment. We
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  love you guys and see you guys next week.