Gentleness (7 of 8)
Series: Fruition
Dave Gustavsen
Matthew 11:28-30
We’re taking this fall to talk about the fruit of the Spirit. Not the fruit of our best efforts; it’s the fruit of the Spirit—the things that the Holy Spirit produces through us, if we let him. Which is so important, because left on our own, we tend to make a mess of things. And the only power that can overcome that sinful nature that we all have is the power of the Spirit. In other words…
The pull of sin is strong
But the living Christ is stronger
So open yourself to his Spirit
And you will bear his fruit.
And that’s what this series is all about.
So today we come to the eighth fruit of the Spirit, which is gentleness. Now: some of you hear that word, and it sounds really unappealing. Right? It sounds like softness and weakness. In fact, if you’re reading this in the old King James, you know what word it uses? Meekness. Oh man—who wants to be meek, right? It sounds mousy, and cowardly, and spineless. But that is a complete misunderstanding of the word.
The Greek word is praotes. In English we translate it gentleness, meekness, or sometimes humility. The ancient Greeks used this word to describe a wild horse that had been tamed. So instead of being impulsive and violent and out of control, it was now under the control of its master. It calmly followed where the master led. That’s how they understood gentleness: strength under control. And I’m telling you: I cannot think of a virtue that’s more needed in today’s world.
Last week, I asked the guys in my men’s group: what’s the opposite of gentleness? What does it look like when we don’t have this fruit of the Spirit? Here’s what they said: Forceful, harsh, controlling, domineering, demanding, and severe. Think about that. Does that not sound like so much of today’s social media? Political discourse? Forceful and harsh. Some of you have a boss like this, or a teacher. Some of you were raised by a parent like this, right? D ...
Series: Fruition
Dave Gustavsen
Matthew 11:28-30
We’re taking this fall to talk about the fruit of the Spirit. Not the fruit of our best efforts; it’s the fruit of the Spirit—the things that the Holy Spirit produces through us, if we let him. Which is so important, because left on our own, we tend to make a mess of things. And the only power that can overcome that sinful nature that we all have is the power of the Spirit. In other words…
The pull of sin is strong
But the living Christ is stronger
So open yourself to his Spirit
And you will bear his fruit.
And that’s what this series is all about.
So today we come to the eighth fruit of the Spirit, which is gentleness. Now: some of you hear that word, and it sounds really unappealing. Right? It sounds like softness and weakness. In fact, if you’re reading this in the old King James, you know what word it uses? Meekness. Oh man—who wants to be meek, right? It sounds mousy, and cowardly, and spineless. But that is a complete misunderstanding of the word.
The Greek word is praotes. In English we translate it gentleness, meekness, or sometimes humility. The ancient Greeks used this word to describe a wild horse that had been tamed. So instead of being impulsive and violent and out of control, it was now under the control of its master. It calmly followed where the master led. That’s how they understood gentleness: strength under control. And I’m telling you: I cannot think of a virtue that’s more needed in today’s world.
Last week, I asked the guys in my men’s group: what’s the opposite of gentleness? What does it look like when we don’t have this fruit of the Spirit? Here’s what they said: Forceful, harsh, controlling, domineering, demanding, and severe. Think about that. Does that not sound like so much of today’s social media? Political discourse? Forceful and harsh. Some of you have a boss like this, or a teacher. Some of you were raised by a parent like this, right? D ...
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