Fruit of the Spirit- Gentleness

Galatians 5:22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness (kindness = NKJV), goodness, faith…”

1 Timothy 3:3, “not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;”

Titus 3:2, “to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”

James 3:17, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

Gentleness is kindness in the fullest sense of the word. 

- God is gentle, and to exhibit gentleness as a fruit of the Spirit is to honestly attempt to be like God

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Amen. All right, come on. Everybody stand for the word. Let's get to it. We have a long day today. Amen. We're coming back at uh if you're going to be in the classes, you're going to be here at 5. But we have service tonight here at 6:30. Amen. And so we're kicking off our district, the high desert district, where your pastor is the superintendent. And we thank God for the opportunity to serve. Amen. And so we're going to be also giving out some uh some appointments, some elevations, not only in our own local church, but in our district. And so it is a blessing and an honor to serve in that capacity. Amen. And we thank God for that opportunity. Amen. All right. So let's run over to Galatians. 522. Now you know what's interesting in some translations of the Bible, they they interchange gentleness and kindness. So I believe it's the King James Version that keeps gentleness in the spot that is in. That would be Amen. The fifth attribute of the fruit of the Spirit. Amen. But gentleness and kindness go, they run hand in hand. But that kindness is also one of the fruit of the spirit, and we'll talk about that in a couple weeks. But Galatians 5, 22. So we got a few scriptures to read. What we're going to do is read Galatians, and then you're going to take, you're going to go from Galatians, you're going to go over to 1 Timothy, and how you go. You're going to flip to the right. You're going to go to Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Amen. 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and then you'll be right there. 1 Timothy. And then you go over a couple more Bibles. You'll be over there in Titus. And then you flip over about three, four more books of the Bible, and you'll be right there in James. Amen. But they'll be up here on the screen. Amen. But we're going to read through them so that we can begin to get an understanding about gentleness. So come on, let's read. Let's read and get to it. Let me pray first. This is just on me. I just, Lord Jesus, I feel good this morning in my spirit. Galatians 5.22 says, I'm sorry, let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, Lord, we thank you. We bless you. We ask that you have your way with your people. That you strengthen us, that you allow us, Lord, to align with your will. We ask, Lord, that you allow our prayer lives to be able to communicate with you on a deeper level. We ask, Lord, that you have your way with us. We repent for anything that's not of you. Help us to put down our own will and pick up what yours is for our life. We thank you and we bless you right now. Touch a man servant, Lord, and word through him, orchestrate through him a word that people can understand that is clear, but is filled with power and conviction. Thank you, Lord, for your love and for your kindness. Jesus' name we pray, Lord. Thank God. Amen. Amen. All right. Galatians 5, 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness. Stop. That's where we're at. Amen. But like we said, now we're gonna flip over. Right? You're gonna run through Galatians, you're gonna run through Ephesians, you're gonna go through Philippians, Colossians, first and second Thessalonians, and you should land on First Timothy, the third chapter, the third verse. Amen. These are qualifications. Amen. Everything that we should have. This is definitely something, and especially if you don't work in ministry that you gotta have. Amen. Flip over to Titus three and two. God don't like no gossip. I'ma have some fun today. Evangelist boy, this sure was good. Where you at? It sure was good to see you up here singing. Now, this wasn't a one-time thing. Don't get me excited now, was it? You back? You good? Amen. Titus 3 and 2 says this to speak evil of no one. To be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. In other words, to everybody. You cannot pick and choose who you're gentle with. You can't pick and choose who you show kindness to. If you are a child of God, then your kindness has to reach every person you come in contact with. Amen. Run over to James three and seventeen. Willing to yield willing to yield. You might want to have your pen out so that you can make some notes for yourself. First thing I want to tell you is I heard a preacher say, fruit is grown in the valley, not on the mountaintop. Let me say it to you again so to sink in. Fruit is grown in the valley, not on the mountaintop. Let me say it again. Fruit is grown in the valley, not on the mountaintop. Ooh, Holy Ghost, have your way. In other words, the fruit is grown in a place where we go through things. Amen. Your fruit is developed as you go through life and experience things. And so we come up across this attribute today of God, of the Holy Ghost, which lets us know that you got to be gentle. These scriptures are not for people who operate on the mountain. It's for people who operate in the valley who are not perfect. My God. In other words, you can't treat people based on how they are as people. Look, not a whole bunch. It's okay. I'm gonna get to you. I'm gonna reach in your bag this morning. And so we come to this, to this fruit of the spirit that is often misunderstood at times. It's not it's not embraced as much, especially because people will equate gentleness with weakness. Uh-huh. They think that you being gentle, that you being weak. Look at somebody and say, I ain't no punk. Don't go. You got me messed up. Right? But it's okay to be gentle. Amen. Gentleness, brothers and sisters, can never be confused with weakness. Donald G tells us like this: he says, gentleness is power under perfect control. If I'm able to be gentle to you, it's because I have self-control over no matter what you do, I'm always in control.

unknown 10:52

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

No matter how you speak, no matter what you say, no matter what you do, I'm always in control. Had a situation at school on Friday, kids was fighting, and you know how when kids fight, the parents come up and want to get rowdy. Amen. Y'all ought to say amen because that's some of you when your kids fight. Uh-huh, uh-huh. I'm just being honest with you. I'm just being honest with you. I'm just being honest with you. Amen. And I gotta remain calm, trying to explain what's going on. They talking loud, they all this, all that, all this rebel rousing. I gotta remain calm to try to defuse the situation. If I match energy with them, then the whole thing blows up. Amen. Let that be a lesson. If you match energy with people and you think uh that that's okay, no, the whole thing is gonna blow up in your face. Amen. You welcome. Somebody said thank you. You absolutely welcome. Gentleness is the kind is kindness in the fullest sense of the word. God is gentle, and to exhibit gentleness as a fruit of the spirit is to honestly attempt to be like God. Amen. Look at Luke 6 and 35. I want you all to let this sink in today. Look at this. Well, some of us got problems with this. That's why I say have your pen out. Some of us got problem with this, some of us got a problem with this. In a world that says, hate those that don't like you, the Bible says, tells you something different. It says in Luke 6 and 35, but love your enemies. All right, do good and lend. Look at that. Wait a minute. Hold on, God. What are you telling me? That if they need something and I don't like them and they don't like me, I gotta give it to them. Yes, boy, y'all quiet. Hoping for nothing in return. If you can give it, don't ask for it back. And your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the most high. Look what the Bible says about God. It's a capital H. For he, God, is kind to the unthankful and evil. To those that don't even deserve it, he's still kind to them. That means who you think you are, who do I think I am being unkind to those that don't even like me? To those who are evil, to those who see, boy, you're quiet this morning. You we us have to be kind to those, even though we don't like them and they don't like us. Boy, you're quiet on me this morning. Y'all are quiet. Because the truth of the matter is, that just like every church, we got some people in here that don't like each other. But the Bible says that the God you serve, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is kind to those that are unthankful, to those that are evil. In other words, there are people that don't even say thank you, Lord, and he's still kind to them. I don't know about you. That used to be me before I knew Jesus. I didn't know to say thank you, Lord. I didn't know to give God some glory. I didn't know to give God some praise for the things that he has done for me, and he was still kind to me. He allowed me to come into the knowledge of him and understand that he saved my life. And when I understood that, I fell down on my knees and told God thank you. I tried to fight with him, but it was of no use. I lost that battle because I realized that he had saved my life from a child, from a baby. So there are some of us in this room that owe God a praise when you weren't able even to say yes, Lord. Thank you for what you've done. You couldn't even say, you didn't even know to say thank you, Lord. You didn't couldn't even think to say thank you, God. But when you realize it, you just say, oh Lord, I don't know what I was doing. I was outside my mind. But you came in like a flood, you saved my life, you brought me from a mighty long way, and you allowed me to get to a place where I can say thank you, Lord, for what you've done for me.

unknown 16:13

Thank you, Lord.

SPEAKER_02 16:17

And some of y'all today, your mindset is borderline. But if there's one thing you can do, I look, I'm gonna challenge you to say thank you, Lord. Let it come out of your mouth, let it come out of your mouth. Thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord. I didn't ask you whether or not you wanted you wanted to. I'm telling you. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord, thank you for what you've done for me. Thank you, Lord. Yes, gotta say thank you, Lord.

unknown 17:04

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

Thank you. What you've done for me. Amen. Because he was gentle and kind. Amen. He was gentle, he was kind. I'm I'm I'm getting ahead of myself, I'm trying not to, but he was gentle and he was kind. You remember? Let me just run back for do you remember when you was out of your mind? Do you remember when you was doing, when I say out of your mind, no, you weren't crazy, you wouldn't losing it and nothing like that, but you were doing things that wouldn't align with the will of God, and he still was kind enough to you to not allow you to suffer the consequence that you so justly deserved. And he said, No, not you, because I'm gentle and kind, and I've got something more for you, and you now you didn't even realize it then. And you went all these years, and then finally you came into the knowledge of who God is. You ran into the blood, you ran in the waterfall of the blood of Jesus, and he washed you clean, he cleaned you up, he made your mind right, he brought you back to a place where you can say thank you, God. Amen. Hallelujah. And some of us went brought back, that was our first time being there. Hallelujah. And so, right now, I'm going to I'm not going to ever not give God thanks for the things that he has done in my life. When you look at this word gentleness, uh thoughts of a shepherd come to mind. Look what David says in Psalm 18 and 35. He says, You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand has held me up. Your gentleness has made me great. Yes, Lord. Yeah, yeah. It was the same gentleness that made David great. Not only great, but it led him to write one of the most famous psalms. Psalms 23, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Let me hear when I said uh that the fruit of the Spirit is born in a valley and not on a mountaintop, David was running for his life. Y'all ain't saying nothing to me. And he still was able to say, the Lord is my shepherd. Look at that verb there. Amen. Is is an action word. It's a right now situation that when he wrote that, he wouldn't say the Lord was. He wouldn't say the Lord might be. He's saying the Lord is my shepherd right now, right? Even though I'm in this cave, even though I'm running from Saul, even though I'm going through things, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want enemies. Since he's God, he maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters, he restores my soul. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for thou art y'all, ain't talking back to me. Somebody gotta help me preach this. So if you haven't heard nothing yet that has uh given you the opportunity to give God some praise, then that means that you gotta execute this plan yourself. That you gotta find something to give God praise for because he has been kind and gentle with you down through the years. You remember when you was hard-headed and stiff-necked, you remember when you were doing something you had no business doing. You remember when you was out there, you was living any old type of way, and he saved your life. He heard the prayers of your mama, big mama, grandmama. He heard their prayers and brought you back into the fold. And you sit right there like God ain't done nothing for you. You better praise God because he is worthy. I just need about five people that should praise God and knowing that they don't deserve that kindness and gentleness from God. I I just need five that can give God some praise. I only need about five. I don't need more than five that can praise God, and you know very well that you didn't deserve it. Look at somebody say, I didn't deserve what he gave me. I didn't deserve his loving kindness. I didn't deserve his gentleness. I didn't deserve for him to save my life. I didn't deserve none of this. But he was kind to me.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

I got a little bit more. We're gonna be finished early. I got a little bit more, a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02 22:45

Somebody ought to praise him. Because you remember. Hallelujah. How wild you were. Right? You remember. He allows you to get to a place. Amen. That's kindness and gentleness. I know I know I praise him. I know I praise him. Amen. I often, often, I don't know about you, but I often reflect on how God has protected me down through the years. Amen. And I do mean years. I'm not talking about days. I'm talking about years. Decades. Amen. I do remember from birth. Should have been cut open. Amen. I remember running down the street with them old Cadillacs, ran into it, should have lost my eye, instead got 10 stitches, amen. Got ran over by a motorcycle, broke both my arms at the same time. The doctor said it with my arms would have been my neck. Amen. I didn't been through a whole bunch of stuff. Amen. Wife was in an accident with Janae when she was 12 weeks pregnant. Car rolled over three times and she came out with a scratch on her finger. If you think that I don't have a reason to give God some glory, there have been some things. My son was born with four holes in his heart. I've been through some things, amen. And just like you, amen, I've give God some glory because he was kind and gentle. Even when I was mad with God, I'm bold enough to admit I had an attitude with God when my son was born with a heart defect. I said, God, what you doing? You promised me this, boy. He said, Boy, be quiet. I got this. Two months later, he was fully healed. Don't tell me what God cannot do. Yeah, you ought to think about how God brought you out and keep you grounded. Amen. Amen. Look at Isaiah 40. Look at Isaiah 40, verses 10 through 12. Amen. Look, look, look at this now. When we read the scriptures, scripture is so beautiful, especially Isaiah. It's not the easiest book to read, amen. Isaiah uh it's a whole bunch of chapters. Like, I don't even know how many, it's a it's a gang of chapters, amen. But when you read Isaiah, uh, you you at times have to know the history. Sometimes it's very literal, but then he's speaking historically, and you gotta understand Isaiah because it is a challenging book to read. But there is there is something right here that is very straightforward. Look what it says in Isaiah 40, verse 10 through 12. Behold, in other words, look the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. Look at this: with his strong arm, he will feed his flock like a shepherd. Look at this, he will gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom, and gently leave those who are with young, who has measured the waters and the hollow of his hand, measured heaven with a span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure. Weigh the mountains and scales and the hills. In other words, have you have any of y'all done that with God? If you haven't, but look at his strong arm. Look at that contrast. With his strong arm, he gently feeds us. Amen. That is my God. It's a contrast, it's an excellent contrast of gentleness and power. Amen? Under the control of perfect love. In other words, it's like having a hammer to crack a pistachio nut. Right? Take a hammer and you crack that pistachio nut. For those of us who are not gentle, you're gonna crush the whole nut. But for those of us who got control, that hammer is power. But when you hit that nut, it just cracks the shell off of it. Hallelujah. That's what God is like. God got the hammer, but he only cracks the outer stuff that's not of him off of us. He don't hit us with the whole hammerhead. Because if he hit us with the whole hammerhead, we'd be dead, showing up. But God only hits us enough to crack the shell from all of us that was hardened from life. We see it in Jesus. Right? The way he works with the sick, the poor, the young, even those who have fallen. Right? Everyone who was broken in the experience. Jesus experienced his gentleness and his kindness. Right? Let's go back. Look at the scripture where he's talking about J. Iris' daughter. Right? J. Iris' daughter was dying. You understand what I'm saying? And so he goes. He's supposed to be going to J. Iris' daughter. But on his way. The woman with the issue of blood. Touches the hem of his garment. Y'all ain't talking back to me. When they call him to go, the little girl is still alive. But she's sick. But on his way, somebody needs him. And this woman, y'all, I talked about this woman before. This woman didn't want to affect Jesus, didn't want to offend Jesus, didn't want to affect Jesus with her sickness. So she tried not to touch him, but even the hem of his garment carried his power. So when she runs by him and touches the hem of his garment, he stops for a second and says, Hold up some power without me. He looks around and the woman says, It's me. And she says, Be healed. He says, Be healed. Your faith has made you whole. And at that same time, the little girl dies. Y'all ain't talking back to me. So he says, Show me where you laid her. Because she's dead now. And just that quick, you know it don't take God long. So he gets there. Little girl is dead. And in the room, you got some professional mourners. You got people in the room that was waiting for you to die. Look at your neighbor and say, neighbor, get out of my room if you wait for me to die. Raise up. I don't need you in my room. That's a professional morning. They're in there crying and wailing. Jesus tells him, look, why y'all crying? Get out. Kick him out the room. He takes the mother and the father by the hand. So this let me tell you something. Let me just pull it on the curtain. Even though it looks dead, your situation might look dead. It might look like you ain't coming out. It might look like you ain't gonna come through. It might look like all life has been sucked out of you. It might look like you getting ready to fall off. It might look like that things about to cave in on your head. You look dead, you smell dead. Let me tell you, your very appearance says death. But you haven't tried Jesus yet. You got to try the Lord. Let the Lord get hold of your situation. So he kicks everybody out the room. Get out. Takes a mother and father by the hand, goes in there, he begins to pray for her. Now he's gentle. He grabs her hand, picks it up, and he simply says, Live. Arise. Right? He says, Arise. She gets up. And then he says something else. Because she had been dead long enough, in other words, sick long enough that she hadn't been eating. Y'all ain't talking back to me. And he says, Give the girl something to eat. So not only does he bring her back to life, but he gives her her appetite back so that she can eat right away. Don't tell me what God can't do. Don't tell me when he puts his hand on it that everything is not going to be all right. We serve a God that can't fail. And I don't know how we come in this house and don't give God some glory when we serve a God that cannot fail. You might be worried and stressed out, but we serve a God that will not fail, that cannot fail, that refuses to fail if you put your problems in his hand. Cast all your care on me. Why? Because I care for you. Cast it on him. He cares for you. This is this is his gentleness. Gentleness is the most important thing. Because you have to remember that our work in ministry is delicate. 2004 to 20, that'd be 22 years. It's 22 years. I've had people tell me over 22 years, Pastor, you ought to cut them off. Pastor, you want me to cuss them out for you? Pastor, you want me to get them for you? And I tell every time I say no, and people don't understand this, this is probably one of the only times I'm gonna give you, I'm gonna let you into the mind of Michael Richardson, the pastor. And what that means is uh there are when I say no, I don't get them, is because I got to be gentle with them. I got to be, I got to be gentle uh with people. Amen. They might be acting up, amen. Really, what they telling me is that they might be sick spiritually, and we'll talk about that. And with with sick people, amen, you don't hit them over the head with a book, amen. You don't hit them over the head with some harsh words. You're gentle with them, amen. Every time I get sick in my body, my wife is gentle with me. She brings me some food, some soup, she helps me to recover. She don't fuss at me for those days that I'm sick and I'm angry.

SPEAKER_01 35:35

Yes, I did.

SPEAKER_02 35:38

Ain't it funny, brother? Let me talk to the brother. Ain't it funny that every time your wife says, let's talk, it's something we gotta work on. Anyway, let me get back to the message. I've been opening a can of worms. I'm ready to be messy. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And if your wife is here, you don't want to say nothing. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I say it for you. Amen. But she is gentle with me so that I can't recover. She don't fuss, she don't get mad. Whatever I ask her for, she brings it and and and helps me to recover. And a lot of times that recovery is based on who you have around you to help you recover from the sickness that you're going through. So now let's transfer the physical sickness to the spiritual sickness. What about folks who are sick in the spirit, and we want to get mad and get and fuss at them and get mad at them and push them away and try to put on them some things that they're not ready for. We got to be gentle with them. And so that's what happens in 22 years of ministry. And the thing is, God already let me know you was like that before you became a pastor. That you was already gentle with people, so it's not a problem. And I can take when people say to me, Pastor, you ought to get them, you ought to talk to them, you ought to say something to them, you ought to growl at them. No, I ain't gotta do that. I'm gonna let you say what you gotta say, I'm gonna let you do what you gotta do. But I'm gonna help you, I'm gonna help you uh get healthy again spiritually, and I can't do that fussing at you. So those of us in ministry, ministry leaders have to be delicate with people because ministry itself is delicate. Amen. Even those who are not ministry leaders, we have to remember that we all have something to do with each other's soul. How we treat each other matters.

SPEAKER_03 37:53

Yes, it does.

SPEAKER_02 37:56

It matters because we have something to do with each other's soul. I ain't got nothing to do with them. Yes, you do. Yes, you do. Because if we don't, then what is the church good for? Right? We all, all of us need gentleness to keep us from damaging others. Ooh, Lord, have mercy. Let me say these with my eyes close. Because some of us got so much trauma that our first response is to lash out.

unknown 38:35

Right. Right.

SPEAKER_02 38:41

You heard the saying hurt people, hurt people. Amen. 1 Thessalonians 2 and 7, look what it says. But we were gentle among you. Just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. Look at this. And then you got this aspect that we have to be careful of. That those of us who are seasoned saints, that gentleness is essential for younger saints. We look, what do you mean, Pastor? I'm glad you asked. We cannot place unreasonable standards that only apply to mature Christians. Amen. We are levying these standards on people that may not be ready for it. They just need to be talked through some things first. Now, before I can feel your spirit, I am not lowering the standards of holiness. You still gotta be holy. Be ye holy. Why? Because I'm holy. That still stands. But there is room for a lot of gentleness with new believers in their new walk with Christ. Because lack of gentleness will send new believers back to the world. This is why, even if somebody does something publicly, I don't condemn them publicly, I talk to them privately. And people say, Pastor, did you see what they did? I saw what they did. And since you are not them, you are not privy to the conversation I have with them. See, some of us want public discrimination. Public, you know, you want to, you they did it publicly, did them, Pastor.

SPEAKER_01 41:02

Y'all ain't saying nothing back to me. Show your strength, Pastor!

SPEAKER_02 41:08

Flex on them! God didn't call me to flex on people. He gave me a pastor's heart. Be gentle with them. Right? I can still tell you what I need to tell you, just like I'm talking to you now, just like this. I can say you had no business doing what you was doing. You was wrong as two left feet. You need to correct that situation. You need to find that person and go back and apologize to them. When you get it from the Lord. Don't go back because I said it, because it's not gonna be authentic. It's not gonna be genuine, it's not gonna be sincere. But when the Lord convicts your spirit, then you get up out of your chair and you go get it right with that person. And you can't move until you do that. I'll talk to the kids. I tell them the quieter I get, the more angry I am. But I'm gonna stay like this because you need to hear the words that are coming out of my mouth.

unknown 42:11

Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_02 42:15

So it's important that we deal with saints, especially those who are not mature enough to understand their actions have consequences, and that their actions are affecting other people, and that their actions are really uh putting them in a place where they could be ostracized, even in the church. We have to understand, we get we gotta, those of us, and not just me, I'm talking to all leaders, uh, I'm talking to all of us, amen. We have to treat those saints with gentleness, pull them to the side. That's why the mother's board is so important even today, because it's the mother's board that they can get that mothering, amen, that they may not have gotten, amen, even in their own family. The mother's board is that important. And so I tell the mother's board they have the ability and authority to pull somebody aside and get them straight. And so, mother Gamboa, she don't fuss. You don't never, I never heard Mother Gamboa hollering and screaming at somebody unless she's giving the Lord praise. But she will tell you where you're absolutely wrong is two left feet. Gentleness. Gentleness. Amen. And we gotta be careful not to rush somebody into a title.

SPEAKER_03 43:34

Oh, go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 43:37

Right? Gentleness, right? Right? We heard Brother Porter he was going in, right? And I I said, yeah, we got another one, but I know that comes with time. There are some of us who try to rush people in to something that they the Lord has not confirmed in them yet. You're not being gentle with them because you're trying to rush into where you see them. And that is wrong. That's actually a sin because you put your will above God's will. Boy, y'all are awfully quiet in here. You awfully quiet in here. You have to give people an opportunity to grow into what God gave them. Just because, listen, David was anointed at about 15. He didn't become king until some 15, 20 years later. God anoints you for the thing that you have to do, but it may not come to pass until you're ready to receive that uh that appointment after your anointment. It takes time. We have to be gentle with one another. Amen. Look at 1 Timothy 3, 6 and 7. Look, look what it is. Here's some qualifications again. 1 Timothy. Not a novice. What a novice is is somebody who's brand new and does not understand the ramifications of their anointing and where it's taking them. They're still novices and have to go through something to understand what and how to operate in ministry. I made that mistake early on because I myself was a novice. Didn't have friends, didn't have a whole bunch of people guide me along this pastorial road. But I've learned in the valley not to rush people when they say, This is my calling. I say, okay, I'm watching. And the reason you don't put a novice up, and this is why I have a problem with people who put children up to preach just because they can who're doing is opening up a target on their chest for the devil to get at them when you can't look after them. Oh, my child can preach. But does your child understand ministry? Not being a novice, less being puffed up with pride, he falls into the same condition as the devil. That's an interesting analogy. That's an interesting saying. In other words, when I read that, I imagine I'm thinking of the devil was not ready for the position he had over the choir. Because he got to a place where he thought he was equal with God. And God had to show him grown men's strength and kick him out of heaven and along with a third of the angels with him. Nah, brother, you ain't ready for this. This ain't your calling. Moreover, verse 7, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside. Outside of what? The church. Your reputation might be good here. What do people say about you out there? Oh, you holy inside the walls. But you full of hell outside the walls. Boy, y'all looking at me hard. Y'all looking at me crazy. Hallelujah. Yeah, hallelujah. Because inside the church, you don't get the same commercial. But outside the church. You coaching like you in the military. Outside the church, you doing things you have no business doing. Outside the church, you sleeping with people you shouldn't be sleeping with. Outside the church, you doing things that are not of God. But inside the church, you trying to be holier than them. That sleeps in the nostrils of God. The Bible says, be ye holy. For I am holy. It does not give you a day of the week. It does not give you a month. Be holy in March. Right? Be holy in, you know, birthday month. That's what kids do. Ain't that what kids do? Kids are good around Christmas and their birthday. Right? They don't want to get in trouble. When I'm talking to kids at school and I say, I'm gonna call your mama. Oh, Miss Richardson, please don't call my mama. This weekend is my birthday. I'm supposed to be going to Magic Mountain. Please, Mr. Richardson. Come on, man. Come on, man. I'm sorry. You know what I'm talking about? You know what I'm talking about? I didn't do that homework. Come on, Mr. Sims. Please don't call my mama.

unknown 50:03

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 50:04

Because they don't want to get in trouble because there's there's an external reward waiting for them. But we have to get to a place where it's not the external reward, it's the internal realization of a God working in our lives. Amen. Then it says, those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. That means the enemy can get you caught up. Right? Let me help you all understand something. And I don't even share this with everybody. I got a season in my life right now. Y'all know my wife, but it's more than that. I got a season. My whole family's under attack. So anytime you operate for God, you gotta get ready from if God did, because the devil don't know you like Job. But God says, have you considered my servant Job? In other words, he's considering him for elevation. And I'm giving you permission to take him through. Hallelujah. The only thing you cannot do with Job is kill him. So he takes his family. Y'all ain't saying nothing back to me. Takes his possessions, all his belongings, and even gives him boils on his body. And what the devil says, he's gonna curse you to his face. And God says, I know who I got in Job. He's saying the same thing about you. I know who I have in you all. You can triumph. They will they will pass the test. And at the end of that story in Job, the Bible says that God gave Job double. Some of y'all be reading your Bible for his trouble. But some of y'all are still in the middle of being considered for this test. And you got some friends that say you should curse God and die. Do not get rid of those friends. Do not kick your haters out. Let them sit there and see God restore you. He prepares a table in front of my enemy. Let them sit at the table and see God bless you. Look at your neighbors and neighbor, you can come to my table. That's what you tell them. Folks that's hating on you, tell them you can sit at my table. Come on, sit at my table. Sit at my table. Just the last thing, and then I'm I'm I'm finished. I got about five minutes. We got some Christians that are sick spiritually. Let me give you some of the symptoms that maybe you can recognize some of the sickness. Always irritable. Right? Everything you say to them is a problem. You ain't gotta say nothing to nobody, though. Just tap them on the leg and say, I'm praying for you, baby. I'm praying for you. Extremely sensitive. Sensitive to everything. Right? You come in the house, go to the bathroom, put your stuff down, and since they didn't, since you didn't say hi to them, what's wrong with you? You ain't gonna speak to me. You see me right here, right? Always something going on. You really, I'm just trying to get to the bathroom. I can speak to you after I come out the toilet. Let me get to the bathroom first. I got to go to the bathroom. Right? Easily offended. Easily offended. Everything gets to them. They think there's a conspiracy against them. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. We got some people even in the church. They think everybody's against them. Somebody don't like me. They hating on me. You think that on the job. That's why you all by yourself. That's why you eat lunch in your cubicle. That's why folks don't even know your last name. Because you always think there's a conspiracy out to get you. Don't like to work. These are symptoms. Right? And what I'm telling you is when you send somebody with those symptoms, rough words don't help. Fussing at them doesn't work. Right? I don't think there's anybody in this room that like to be talked too crazy when you're going through something. If you do, raise your hand so I can see who you are because you're anomaly. You different. Let me see. When you're going through something and you sick spiritually, the last thing you need is somebody fussing at you about what God said. Get up! God says you're gonna make it. I'm gonna hit you over the head with this Bible. I'll be back in an hour. There is a ministry in just listening. Dietrich Bonhoffer said it. He said there's a ministry in listening. Where you just listen to that person. Let them get off of their chest what's what's bothering them. Right? Because rough words don't do it. You have to give them information at a rate that they can receive it. And you fussing at them. I'm figuring that you, some of y'all like me, fussing at me is not gonna get my attention. Because I can fuss back with you. But I'm gonna tune you out because I figure you really don't know what you said because you lost me by fussing at me, by talking to me crazy. That's the first thing I tell parents that. I tell parents that. Who you talking to? I'm talking to you. No, you ain't, Click. Call back when you feel like you got some energy. We can talk, you know. So rough words don't do us any good. Then there's a temptation to get mad and push people away. I don't need nobody around me. Right? It kills me when people say, Pastor, I love your preaching, but I can't stand your members. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You might be the issue. Wait a minute. So we have to be like craftsmen skilled at gentleness. Because everybody's not able to perform gentleness. If that's not you, then we're going to right look at James is my last scripture, and then I'm done. James 3 and 17. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure. Impeaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated entreated full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without a party. Is your wisdom from the Lord? Or are you operating under what you think is right? Before you give anything to anybody out of your mouth, you need to be praying and say, Lord, is this what you need me to say to that person? Amen. Come on, everybody standing. I'm finished.

unknown 59:49

Come on, come on, come on, come on.