Sunday Inspiration: Sunday, August 25, 2024
Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control
Family Psychologists tell us babies love to play peek-a-boo because when you are out of sight, you are out of mind. When the baby can see you, you are there. When the baby can’t see you, you are gone. You no longer exist. So, when you reappear and say, “Peek-a-Boo,” the baby giggles and laughs because you are present.
Let’s practice. Turn to your neighbor, put your hands in front of your face, open your palms, and say, “Peek-a-Boo!” Do that a couple of times. It’s not as fun with adults. It’s actually kind of silly.
We don’t do it as adults because we have learned that just because someone is not standing in front of you doesn’t mean they don’t exist. We learn to deal with absence and time.
Or do we?
Time has a way of causing memory to fade. If someone stays gone long enough, we begin to forget things about them, like how they parted their hair or the color of their eyes. We forget their goofy laugh or how they said specific phrases.
After his resurrection, when Jesus told his friends that he would be leaving them, they were distraught. How are they going to continue without Jesus’ presence with them? How will they know what to do?
Jesus comforts them by saying, “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (John 14: 18 - 20).
Jesus’ answer to how he will dwell with them is through the gift of the Holy Spirit. He says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever” (John 14: 16). The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will help us as we navigate the Christian life. The Holy Spirit will direct us in the way of Jesus. We won’t have to rely on our strength or our wisdom. The Holy Spirit will guide us. Jesus again says, “You know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you” (John 14: 17).
Relying on the Spirit keeps us connected to the source of our life. In the next chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus encourages us to keep abiding, for it is in the abiding that we find our way. Jesus says, “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me” (John 15: 4).
We have discussed the fruit of the Spirit for the past few weeks. The apostle Paul lists them in Galatians chapter five as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Once again, I encourage you to say them with me: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
In the first week, we examined love, joy, and peace. We contrasted their fruits with the sense of entitlement that so many live with daily. We said that entitlement is a false freedom. It usually manifests as a byproduct of resentment, which occurs when opportunities become obligations.
We reversed that pattern and said life in the Spirit is grounded in love expressed in joy with a heart at peace. We challenged ourselves by repeating this regularly daily: I will walk in the Spirit, loving others by spreading joy and carrying peace in my heart.
Last week, we explored the following three characteristics of patience, kindness, and goodness. Our approach the previous week was to contrast authentic fruit with false fruit. We said, “Fake patience shows up through deliberate distraction.” We said that Fake kindness shows up as manipulative kindness. It is doing something for someone that makes you look kind but doing it to get something in return. We said that We see Fake goodness in moral posturing. Moral posturing is about projecting the image of goodness but not caring about the virtue itself. We challenged ourselves to be more patient with the difficult people in our lives, show kindness without expecting anything in return, and pursue goodness in both public and private. Let our actions reflect the true nature of Christ.
Today, we will explore three final characteristics: faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Faithfulness in the context of the fruit of the Spirit is about trust. Being faithful speaks to where we put our trust.
How many of you can name something or someone you are worried about now? How many of you have lost sleep in the past month because of a situation? How many of us have been distracted by worry?
In Matthew 6: 34, Jesus says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matthew 6: 34). I want to invite you to name your worry today. Go ahead and put a name to it. Write it down. Keep it in your mind. Ask yourself, “What does it mean to trust God with this worry?” When you begin to trust God with your life then you are considered faithful. The move from worry to faithfulness is learning to trust God in the process.
The next characteristic is gentleness. But before we look at gentleness, I want us to explore self-control. Self-control is the act of imposing limits on ourselves for the sake of a higher good.
Self-control can be challenging in a world that prides itself on instant gratification. Why should we put limits on ourselves? Why should we deny ourselves pleasures at the moment?
Proverbs 25:28 provides a vivid picture of the danger of lacking self-control: "Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control” (Proverbs 25:28). Take time to reflect on areas in your life where you struggle with self-control. Is it in your thoughts, your words, your eating habits, or your use of time? Acknowledge these areas and invite the Holy Spirit to help you develop self-control.
The final characteristic I want to speak about is gentleness. Gentleness, sometimes translated as meekness, is not weakness. Gentleness is strength under control. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
Clarence Jordan was a man who was always ready to give an account for the hope he possessed, but he did it with gentleness and respect. He was a man who exhibited strength under control.
Clarence Jordan Jordan attended the University of Georgia, earning a degree in agriculture. He later studied at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, earning a Ph.D. in New Testament Greek.
After seminary, he returned to Georgia, where he and his family started Koinia Farms in Americus, Georgia. The farm was a racially integrated community where white and black individuals lived and worked together, sharing resources and demonstrating an alternative to the segregated society surrounding them.
In this video, we see a description of the type of person Clarence Jordan was. (Show video)
Two things stand out that I think are important for us to live out the fruit of the Spirit. The guy in the interview said that Clarence Jordan returned to Georgia “not to pick a fight. But to demonstrate a different way of living.” Someone living out the fruit of the Spirit is someone who shows the world that there is a different way to live.
He was described as someone “you didn’t want to mess with because he was a man who came bearing the truth.” He lived with conviction, purpose, and a sense that his life was being guided by a force greater than himself. He tapped into the Source and found the fruit he came bearing was love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
So, one more time, say it with me: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
In Matthew 7:16, Jesus says, “By their fruit, you will recognize them."
Someone living out the fruit of the Spirit is connected to the source of the fruit's growth, and that source is Jesus.
Let’s commit to staying connected to the source, Jesus Christ. Let’s practice faithfulness by trusting Him with our worries, embracing gentleness as strength under control, and cultivating self-control in our actions and decisions. May our lives be a testimony to the world that there is indeed a different, more beautiful way to live—a way that reflects the heart of God.
Remember, we will be recognized by our fruit. Let’s ensure that the fruit we bear is abundant and true, showing the world that we are firmly rooted in Christ. Amen.
Pastor Jamey
(Click Here to Watch the Worship Service from Gainesville First United Methodist Church, Gainesville, Georgia)
Discussion Questions
How does faithfulness as trusting God challenge your current approach to worries and anxieties? Can you share a personal experience where trusting God helped you overcome a challenging situation?
How do you personally practice self-control in a world that often values instant gratification? What areas require more self-control, and how can you invite the Holy Spirit to help?
The sermon described gentleness as “strength under control.” How does this definition change your perception of gentleness? Can you imagine a situation where responding with gentleness might have a more significant impact than responding with force?
Jesus said, "By their fruit, you will recognize them." How do you think others perceive the fruit of the Spirit in your life? Are there areas where you feel your fruit could be more evident, and what changes can you make to bear more visible fruit?
Prayer
Gracious and Loving God, As we face the world's challenges, grant us the faithfulness to trust in Your promises, the gentleness to respond with grace, and the self-control to follow Your will above our desires. May our lives be a testimony of Your goodness and a beacon of hope to all who encounter us.
Lord, we dedicate our thoughts, actions, and lives to You. Empower us by Your Holy Spirit to live out the fruit of the Spirit so that Your love may be known through us.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our source and strength. Amen.
Benediction:
As you live out the fruit of the Spirit, may your life be a living testimony to the love and grace of our Savior. Go in peace, bearing much fruit, and may others know you by the Spirit that dwells within you. Amen.
