The Power of Gentleness

In this message we explore Philippians 4:5 and the call to let your moderation be known unto all men. In a culture marked by extremes, outrage, and constant noise, Scripture calls believers to a different spirit, the power of gentleness.

Using Paul’s imagery of the Christian life as a race, we examine how spiritual maturity requires temperance, patience, meekness, and gentleness. Moderation is not weakness or passivity, but Christlike strength under control, fair minded, steady, and gracious in judgment.

Through passages such as 1 Corinthians 9, James 1, Titus 3, and Psalm 18, this message shows that the Spirit produced life is marked not only by conviction, but by a visible calmness and humility toward others. David’s testimony reminds us that it is God’s gentleness, not power alone, that shapes and transforms His people.

Ultimately, this sermon challenges us to live in such a way that Christ’s character is seen clearly in how we speak, respond, and relate to others, because the Lord is at hand.

Thanks for listening to the Living Faith St. Louis podcast. This episode is part of our weekly sermon ministry from Pastor Blade Sbisa, with occasional guest speakers and special series.
 For more information, visit the LFSTL website.

Transcript

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Running a marathon is an amazing feat. And the reason I bring that up is because yesterday this you know St. Louis hosted a marathon, and Marcy, who's downstairs right now with uh her kids, just actually ran her first marathon. And I I uh was intending to congratulate her, but before you guys, I just want to say it's an amazing uh thing to be able to complete a marathon. I was looking up some statistics, and I think less than like 0.5% of the world will ever run a marathon in their life. And I think, and that's conservative, I think a more accurate figure is something like 0.1% of the world will run a marathon. In other words, if you filled this whole room, say 200 people, um, you you maybe have one person who's gonna do something like that. And it really is an amazing feat. Uh, have any of you run more than 10 miles in your life before? Maybe it was in the prime of your your youth or something like that. More than 10 miles. I know John's a big runner. When I was in track, that was like my my max, that's like as far as I would ever run. And uh I did it like once or twice because my my big brother uh coaxed me into it. He's like, we're gonna run and and you're not gonna stop until I'm done. Uh and I wasn't gonna be weak before my my older brother. I gotta show, you know, show him up. Uh so running is just uh one of those experiences in uh life that most people don't actually uh enter into for various reasons. Maybe it's health reasons or um just lack of interest. But there are some major uh spiritual types and illustrations and skills that a runner learns that we have to learn in the Christian life. And I just want to uh commend Marcy and uh and her completion of the marathon. It just truly is an amazing uh feat. You know, running a marathon takes a lot of repetition, a lot of repetition, a lot of practice. You've got to actually dedicate uh yourself for that and you have to strive for that mastery. It takes endurance that is built over a long period of time and it takes a lot of sacrifice. Now, sacrifice at some level of your body and your energy and your emotions, but also just sacrifice of time. It takes a lot of time to put in the work to be able to run that far. It takes a lot of skills. A good runner, as you may observe, them is physically strong, but they're also capable mentally. It takes a great deal of mental aptitude to be able to run a marathon. I mean, you have to you have to work for it and you have to prepare how to think uh while you're running some 26 miles, 26.2 or something in that in that range. It's a long way. Uh and in this way, I want to just express one of the key challenges of being a successful runner is knowing your pace and keeping it. And that is that is bi-directional, right? That's knowing how fast you ought to run so that you don't get ahead of yourself, but also so that you don't move so slowly that you're actually not successful in the race. And that delicate balance of that push and pull to press forward, but also not be too restful is is a very difficult skill, one that I just barely know of having run track for my high school years. Moreover, one of the most needful qualities as a runner is temperance. You have to know how to temper your pace, especially in a race, because you get excited, and in a long race like that, you have to temper it so that you don't get ahead of yourself. And to and to do this, you have to know your capacity and your limits to push yourself in moments of exhaustion forward, to say, yes, I'm I'm weary, but I'm not going to give up. I'm gonna press on. That's a needful mindset you have to have as a runner. But equally, as I just mentioned, an equally important task is remaining steady in moments of great excitement to push ahead. In the moments that you want to get going and you have to get really excited, you have to have that steadiness. And I think this could be expressed in a number of ways. Temperance is certainly a, I think, an appropriate word for it. A character quality that many Christians and believers don't have today. Excited about the Lord, yet maybe they could restrain some of their speech, or zealous for the things of God, but not according to knowledge. It's good to press forward, but we have to we have to do all things temperately. And 1 Corinthians chapter 9, you probably already read it. And verse 24 and then 25, it says, Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize, so run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I mean, Paul's saying there there's some glory to be had for somebody that runs a race, and there sure is. Man, what a what an amazing accomplishment, especially for people that are, you know, at the front of the crowd and they win that prize. But how much more glorious the thing that God's called us into and the race that's set before us, you know. In the book of Ezra, we were learning about the significance of God's spiritual house in the heavens and the building project that we get to take part of, and how special it is, and how much of a privilege it is to be able to serve God and his building project in the heavenly places. But this morning we consider a race and how we need to be, as a runner, temperate in all things. We have to also run in the Christian life. You know, Paul actually tells this to the Galatian assemblies in the book of Galatians, there's all this language that would relate to a person actually moving their body towards a goal. And so he uses language like, stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free. And then, you know, that's Galatians chapter 5 and verse 1. And then in the latter part of Galatians 5, he says, Walk in the spirit, ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. But there's also a rebuke in chapter 4. He says, Ye did run well. You did run well as a Christian, who hath bewitched you. As Christians, we have to learn how to run well. We have to learn how to press forward and press on, like Philippians chapter 3 says, with great excitement and zeal for the things of God. But yet we have to remain temperate. And like the book of Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter 12, we have to learn how to run patiently the race that's set before us. That we would not get exhaustion exhausted before the finish line. We have to finish our course, like the book of Acts says when Paul's recounting his life. You can get the point that I'm getting to in 1 Corinthians 9. We have to be temperate in all things. What this means is that a runner in the physical sense or the spiritual sense has to do all things temperately. It's not just the race, it's also when they're not racing. It's when they sleep. They've got to be temperate in their sleep schedule. And they've got to be temperate in what they eat. They can't just go and eat a bunch of bowls of ice cream. Let me draw a spiritual analogy here. You can't just spend all of your time consuming entertainment on YouTube or Netflix and then expect that you're going to be a good runner in the Christian life. You've got to maintain a spiritual diet that's going to make you healthy for the race that's set before you and me too, right? We've got to have our spiritual lives fed in a way that would allow us to be successful runners. Many will grow weary and faint because they do not have temperance. And they end up not staying the course because of this. Look at with me real quick. I just want you to consider 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 8. 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 8. The reality is you and I can be spiritually malnourished and sometimes even spiritually obese. We have to eat the right things, but we also have to avoid the bad things. And the analogies of spiritual health are drawn from illustrations in our physical health. Paul tells his son in the faith, Timothy, in 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 8, for bodily exercise profiteth little. Now you could read this, I could read this as it's not that important, it doesn't really matter. I think Paul's just saying, hey, being healthy is a good thing. It does profit a little bit. You should consider those things. Okay, but there is a contrast. But godliness is profitable unto all things. Having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. We have to exercise, exercise ourselves unto godliness, is because we understand that there are some promises that God has given us in this life that we can enter into, like partaking in His divine nature, according to 2 Peter chapter 1, but also some promises that lie out before us for that which is to come. We must, as Philippians chapter 2 says, work out our salvation with fear and trembling. That's not saying we have to work to be saved, but if you're saved, that salvation, that life that God's given you, it's got to be exercised. It's got to be worked out of you with fear and trembling. And we do that by exercising our spiritual lives unto godliness. God-likeness. A life that's continually becoming more true, of a reflection of the gospel. As the book of Hebrews says in chapter 12, as I mentioned already, we must run patiently the race that's set before us and be temperate in all things. The title of my message to you this morning is The Power of Gentleness. The power of gentleness. Now I know you probably don't think of gentleness and power in the same word. I think that or in the same chord or same theme, but the Bible seems to present these things together. The power of gentleness. At its most surface level or basic level, God was most powerful and the most gentle man that ever walked the earth in the person of Christ, the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world, hanging on a cross for us. The power of the cross, right? This is the gospel message that we hold in our tongue. The power of God unto salvation. Yet met with that power is actually the reality of a frail, broken body crushed. Those are interesting things to hold together because in the human experience we so often relate power to s to, I don't know, fierceness, loudness, courageousness. I don't know what you associate with power, greatness, authority, a strong arm. The Bible says greatness comes right next to gentleness. It seems today that everyone must be loud or obnoxious or an extremist to be heard or considered. You guys ever notice that? Seems like the most influential people online, maybe maybe you don't spend much time online. It seems that the most pe infl influential people in the news and those that pick up you know large followings are those that are just extreme. They're the ones that are blowing the loudest trumpet. It's like, oh, what's that? Oh, I guess this guy must be saying something important because he's screaming in the pulpit. Maybe. Maybe that guy's filled with the spirit. Maybe he's just screaming in the pulpit. He's not saying anything. We have to realize that the truth of God's word is what's powerful, not our delivery of it. Yes, when we read the Bible and it's in us, we we ought to be like Jeremiah the prophet. There's a burning fire shut up in my bones. How could I forbear this? I ought to preach, I ought to speak. There ought to be a zeal when we interact with the living God and we go to communicate about him. I'm not saying don't be passionate about the things of God. I'm saying that passion has to be tempered with a spirit of meekness and gentleness. And we're going to find that in the Word today. It seems today that public conversations often have to be confrontational. Even the people who are holding good views, let's say, you know, an argument against abortion as the murdering of little children. That's an important thing for people to talk about in this day and age. But isn't it true that the way in which that's often presented is condescending? Or it's extreme in a way that just carves a bunch of people off so they'll never listen. Every man, every woman will give an account for themselves. That's their ministry before God. But I'll just say, I think we can talk about hard things, and I think we can be bold without being jerks. And that's exactly what we learn in the Lord Jesus. A man full of grace and truth. We have to maintain the truth. We can never compromise on the truth. But does truth really mean being a big Bible jerk? I don't think it does. And I think that's why as Christians we ought to be in an intimate relationship with the Lord so that we can learn about that grace and truth. Because I'll tell you what, knowledge puffeth up, and when you begin to learn the Bible, it's easy to just be a big gospel jerk. Paul says in Philippians chapter 1, some preach Christ with contention, adding affliction to my bonds. He's like, I'm thankful that the gospel's getting preached, but you know what? I'm kind of annoyed at these people that are doing it, you know, with a lot of brashness because it's not actually helping me. It's making it harder. It's not blameless to them that are without. The question I want you to consider this morning is what does the church need more than anything today? What does the church need more than anything today? Jesus. Isn't that the right answer? I know that's the right answer. But to be less dramatic and maybe more temperate even in my question, I'll just ask, what would be good for the church today? I think the answer is meekness and temperance. Of many things that could be said, yes, an adherence to God's word, yes, a recommitment to the holiness of God, yes, an excitement about the movement of the Holy Spirit of God, yes. I mean, the list could go on and on, but I I think one of the big cornerstone things that the church has to learn to be effective in this age is moderation. Moderation, temperance and meekness. I think it's the only thing peculiar in our world today. The atheist is loud and obnoxious, the Christians are loud and obnoxious, even people in our own, I'll say, camp, are loud and obnoxious. And nobody wants to listen to each other, and everybody's being driven away from each other. And the only way that the gospel is ever going to be received is if we can have honest and real conversations face to face. And social media doesn't help, right? Because we're in our little corner of our house, on the bed or on the couch, like coming up with opinions for why we aren't like other people. But we're actually a lot like everyone in this world. Broken before a holy God, except his grace. This is the verse that has been on my heart for almost six months that I just haven't spent any time to look into until this week. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 5. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 5. That is the foundation of our study this morning. The power of gentleness. Paul says to the Philippians in verse 5 of the fourth chapter, let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. What does the church need more than anything before the coming of the Lord? I think it's moderation. Moderation. The word moderation is a little bit difficult to study in the scriptures because this is the only time it comes up in your English Bible. And so, Lord, what do you think about what it looks like to be moderate? Well, let me go search this out in the Bible and learn your mind on this word. Well, it doesn't come up anywhere else. Well, that doesn't help. But as we look into the Greek word that, you know, and I'm all about just the English Bible being sufficient, but just to try to make sense of maybe some roots that we could find in the scriptures to learn about moderation or the way in which we could glean into it, I think it's appropriate to go back to the Greek and say, okay, what were the other ways that the Greek was rendered or brought into the English? And uh there are there are three ways actually. Here in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 5, it was brought into the English as moderation. One other time in your Bible it's brought in as patience. Patience. Running the race patiently. And three times as gentle. Gentle. Let your moderation, and I'm not here correcting the word of God, but just hear the thought. Let your gentleness be made known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Let your patience be made known unto all men. Let your willingness to walk, you know, the fruit of the spirit that's born your life, let it be made known unto all men. We we need this word, and this we the reality of this word in every area of our life, in our decision-making, our eating habits, and on and on and on. If you were just to consider this word in the English language, right, we use it today. It's a little bit uh maybe nuanced in its its definition, but we use it. You know, we say people were moderate in their decision making or their opinions, or they used moderation when they ate that meal, or during a speech, we say that we need to put this person as a moderator between these two individuals so that there can be some middle ground. And the the I know these two extremes are seeming so you know against one another, but hey, let's bring a moderator in so that we can actually find common ground and have a good discussion so things actually get somewhere. Moderation. Again, what's difficult in the text is that we don't have any other mention but Philippians 4, and so we just have little moments and clues to learn about this word. The word moderation means gracious in judgment. If you were to look at the other ways that this word would have been used when it was preserved in the TR or in the manuscripts, you find that it was in relationship to a legal or moral judgment. Moderation. Somebody that's actually standing trying to make sense of a judgment that's about to come down, and it was specifically in reference to those that would have mercy in a time of judgment. Mercy in a time of judgment. Graciousness and judgment. It would describe someone who chooses mercy over strict rights when both are available. It's not emotional softness. If you were to look at the word gentleness, you find some other Greek words in the New Testament that we'll look at here actually in the message, but this word moderation isn't directly in relationship to emotional gentleness. It was specifically used in an ethical context in a time of judgment, where somebody was actually moderating judgment and erring on the side of mercy. Just, but not rigidly so, willing to bend the rules for the sake of equity and justice. Gentle in the same sense as being fair-minded. Sometimes fair-mindedness doesn't actually feel gentle on the receiving end. But here, a moderate position is just saying, no, there's going to be justice and equity, but the justice is going to be met with mercy, not just a strong hand. 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 3 regarding some qualifications of leaders in the church, it says, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy, a filthy lucre, but patient. There's the word brought into English as patient, not moderation. The leader in the church is to be patient, not a brawler, not covetous. Not not let me just say merciful. Can I say it that way? Our first key point for study is that moderation made known to all men will require you to be patient. That's where that's where it begins. There's no way for you to have moderation or a merciful judgment if you're not willing to be patient enough to listen in whatever given circumstance or situation you're in, to listen to the ac actual things that are going down, and to be patient enough to consider your own self in a time of judgment. The minister of God, and that is to say the Christian, is to operate with a patient spirit and a level head. They must be slow to anger and emotionally sober. Proverbs chapter fourteen and verse twenty nine. Proverbs fourteen twenty nine says he that is slow to wrath is of great understanding. But he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. James chapter one and verse nineteen it says, Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Moderate, temperate, not just letting your tongue run when you have a thought that comes in or a different opinion than someone. Really considering the thing. There is a patience that we need in our tongue so that we don't burn things down, as James chapter 3 says. We need moderation and speech and judgment. It reminds me, all this conversation reminds me, of what my pastor and father in the Lord would always say. He would say regarding church polity, he would say, we operate in light of biblical principle, not policy. Often, anytime we were left in a situation where we were dealing with a counseling session or we were trying to make sense of some issue in the church, he would say, we always are going to deal with people on the basis of biblical principle, not policy, not legalism. We have liberty in Christ, and we stand fast in that liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and we're going to extend that opportunity for the grace of God to cover a multitude of sins. Principle, not policy. He would also say, I remember a message that he preached years and years ago, almost a decade ago, it just stuck in my mind. He said, if we are left torn between choosing judgment and mercy, and we have to deal with the problem, we should always err on the side of being merciful. He's like, I would rather stand before God and give an account for why I was merciful to someone than why my hand came down too heavy. Isn't that true? We need that wisdom from above, as James chapter 3 and verse 17 says. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure. And then peaceable, gentle. There's the word again. Moderate. Moderation. As Philippians chapter 4 and verse 5 says. Moderation, the translators brought that same Greek word into English as gentle in James chapter 3, regarding the wisdom that is from above, as in contrast to the wisdom that is devilish and sensual and of the earth. It goes on to say, not only gentle, but easy to be entreated, to be challenged. Somebody that is wise or is carrying the wisdom from above isn't going to be offended. I think about David's words in Psalm 119. What does he say? Somewhere in that range. Nothing shall offend them. You're easily entreatable. You have a gentleness about the way in which you hold yourself. This same wisdom is what we are called to have so many times in the Bible. Galatians chapter 6 and verses 1 through 2. It says, Brethren, if any man be overtaken in a fall, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of meekness, considering thyself. How do you do that? Well, it takes time. It takes patience for you to consider yourself and put yourself in their shoes and try to process their upbringing and their particular context and make sense of the judgment that you need to have regarding the situation. Consider yourself. The minister, the leader, the Christian, and managing proper, merciful judgment needs to be patient. We've got to be good listeners and we've got to pay attention not only to others but our own selves. How would you want to be treated? I mean, we heard it, we've heard that since we were kids, but so often we get into adulthood and we think, I don't really care how I'd want to be treated, I want to treat them XYZ way. Well, okay, good luck. That's not the Christian life. It says, Lest thou be tempted, Paul goes on to say in Galatians chapter 6, bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. And so again, I just want to say that this same spirit of moderation and temperance is the spirit of Christ. It is the spirit of Christ. To not have a moderate or temperate spirit is to not walk in the spirit. Our second key point for study is that moderation made known to all men will require you to be meek towards them. Meek towards them. Moderation requires meekness. Now, there's a lot of things that could be said here, but what I want to just remind you of is a little bit of a tridism that you've probably heard, and that is that meekness does not equal, you can probably fill it in, weakness. Meekness is not weakness. And there is a contrast in these terms that we have to kind of consider. The difference between gentleness and meekness. Meekness is something that's internal, it's a humility that I have regarding how I think about myself. And then gentleness is how I then take those attitudes of humility towards other people and how I interact with others. Just consider the first mention of the word meek in the Bible. This is Numbers chapter 12 and verse 3. It says, now the man Moses was very meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. Now you just, I mean, if you just struggle, let me say it this way, if you struggle with the idea that meekness is weakness, then just let me remind you that Moses was a man of God who was used to lead a people out of the bondage of one of the strongest powers in the world. Probably the strongest at the time, Egypt. So if you don't think that meekness is strength, then I you're kind of missing something in the Bible because God's leading you into a conversation and me into a conversation about what he actually is desiring to use to deliver people. Meekness. In fact, in God's economy, meekness is a strength that cannot be produced by the flesh. It's a supernatural power. Galatians chapter 5 and verse 22 through 23, it says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. Gentleness, meekness, temperance. All the words there. I mean, if you want to be an individual who's moderate, here's the reality in its most simple form. You've got to walk in the spirit. You've got to mortify the deeds of your flesh, and you've got to have an intimate walk with Christ so that his spirit can actually be the thing that's empowering you for the Christian experience. Your flesh can't produce meekness. Some people have expressed meekness or humility as bringing strength under subjection. A person that's meek is someone who understands, like Christ Himself, who's been given all power in heaven and earth, is yes, someone who has all authority, could do whatever he wants, but he he enters into this world. Condescending and becoming lowly. Think of the old hymn. Our lowly Jesus. Now understand that there's an observation to be made about these words: gentleness, meekness, temperance, and moderation. I understand they're different words, they mean different things. But once again, there's no way to understand the word moderation in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 5 without considering those other uses, uses or usages of the word. And so gentle comes up three times. Consider in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 24 it says, And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach patience and meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves. If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who hath taken captive, who are taken captive by him at his will. I want to help you see here in the word a connection between gentleness and meekness. Gentleness and meekness. We just saw it once. Here again, 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 9. It's going to feel a little bit out of context, just stick with me. 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 9 says, In like manner also the women adorned themselves in modest apparel. Moderation. And you see the same root there. In modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety, not with broided hair or gold or perils or costly array. But if we were to compare scripture with scripture, 1 Peter chapter 3 and verses 3 through 4, referring to wives, in a similar context, it says, who adorning, let it not be that outward adorning, and the plating of hair, and the wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel, but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God a great price. So, first Timothy chapter 2 and verse 9 says that women are to adorn themselves in modest apparel, but when the apostle Peter is writing, he says that women are to adorn themselves with the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. Moderation, modesty, meekness. Moderation, translated gentleness three times, meekness. Gentleness and meekness. This always brought together in the scriptures. 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 1. Paul writes, Now I, Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Of Christ. It's not Paul's meekness and gentleness. He says, I beg of you, I beseech of thee by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent absent am bold towards you. Titus chapter 3 and verses 1 through 3. Here's another mention of that Greek word rendered as gentle. Titus chapter 3 and verse 1 says, put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing meekness, all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers, lust, and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. So he says, speak evil of no man, no brawlers, but be gentle, showing all meekness to all men. Gentleness, meekness. Gentlemen, gentleness, meekness. Humility as an attitude inwardly, meekness. Gentleness, humility as an attitude outwardly. How am I going to take that attitude and then actually live my life in relationship to others? Many ways that we could say this. I want to bring up some other mentions of the word gentle in English in the text and show you that they actually come from a word that has a little bit more nuance regarding a tenderness or an emotional state of gentleness, just so that you can see in contrast some of the ways the Bible speaks of gentleness. Again, I think if you were just reading the English, you would learn these ideas, but the separation and understanding that they're coming from two Greek words does give you a little bit of insight. There's another time that if you were to just like look in a Bible app on the word meekness, you'd find some references that come from a different word relating to a gentle or mild or soothing or tender way of speaking or way of interacting, somebody that's soft-spoken or nurturing, somebody that comes in and cares and has a non-harsh demeanor, if I can express it that way. The nuance here is soft in temperament or kind and calming, not harsh and abrasive. That's different than the other use in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 5, which is more of a judicial interaction where you're actually administering judgment and you're bringing mercy alongside that judgment. This is a word that actually describes some type of like nurture or care as a nurse or teacher or caregiver would give a child. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 7. Paul says to the Thessalonians, but we were gentle among you. And then he describes the type of gentleness he had, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. The way in which we treated you wasn't just just and merciful, we actually brought you in. And we were we were as if you know a mom was holding her little child and just taking care of her. And I've been able to here recently, you know, watch Gabrielle do that with our boys, and it was just a beautiful spiritual illustration for me to consider what it means to be gentle as I trust the Lord to raise up sons in the faith. Gentleness. We have to have gentleness with one another. Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 11 speaks of the Lord in this way. It says, He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arms and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead them. I'm sorry, gently lead those that are with young. This is the Lord. Our good shepherd, who takes the lamb in his arms and leads us gently. That's our Lord. I don't know how you think God ought to lead you, but I don't know why you'd want anything else. Today, it seems that a lot of people want to be led by fierceness, power, a loud voice, authority. And I'm just saying they're forfeiting something better, the gentleness of Christ, which is a strength and power that the world does not understand. Does not understand. Most people don't see it in their homes. Most people don't see leadership like that in their workplace. Most people do not understand the gentleness of Christ as a power unto their spiritual life and leading. Patient, meek, gentle. Hopefully by now you've seen that that word gentle is used in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul, but I also want to bring your attention to the Old Testament because there are two mentions of some form of the word gentleness in the Old Testament. But that's it. I mean, I was kind of shocked when I looked at the word moderation and didn't find it anywhere in the Bible besides Philippians 4. And then I was shocked when I looked up the word gentle and I didn't find it in the Old Testament. But you do have a word like gently, Isaiah 40, and gentleness. So two mentions of gentleness in your Old Testament, both in the same context. Psalm chapter 18 and verse 35, it says, Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation, and thy right hand hath holded me up, and thy greatness, I'm sorry, and thy gentleness hath made me great. And thy gentleness hath made me great. Now, if you're familiar with Psalm 18, it's a Psalm of David, and it's almost verbatim of how the book of 2 Samuel closes as David recounts his life and kind of recalls his life, uh apology there. And he's looking back over and considering everything that God's done. 2 Samuel 22 and verse 36. It says, Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation. And once again here, the same phrase, the thy gentleness hath made me great. Thy gentleness hath made me great. 2 Samuel 22 is so interesting because David is reflecting on the whole of his life. I mean, 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel allows us to see that development of him as a young man, and then him becoming a king and all of the trouble that he went through, him being chased by Saul, him, you know, rising up against Goliath after the lion and the bear, him actually, you know, becoming king and receiving great honor in that way, him then being uh completely rejected, and you see the attempt of his son Absalom trying to overthrow the kingdom. Like you see all of these events play out in David's life, his sin in 2 Samuel with Bathsheba and the killing of Uriah and the numbering of the people. I mean, you see the wholeness of his life, and this is how the book closes. Thy gentleness hath made me great. I just love that phrase, and it really captures my mind. It is possible that this song in Psalm 18, and that's referenced here in 2 Samuel, was written earlier in David's life, but it's very interesting to me that at the end of the book, this is what he's recalling to mind. Who knows when it was written? But what we find is that it was a story summarizing as prof you know as a profession to God's faithfulness to him through the many ups and downs of his life and in ministry. Think of it as like a mountain peak moment where David gets to walk up on a mountain and look back and see everything that his life was filled with loss, suffering, trial, excitement, a kingdom, a son, preparation for a temple, all, you know, just the whole span of his life. He could have said anything about God, and don't get me wrong, the song that he writes is very long. But the fact that this is what he says makes him great. I mean, when you look at 1 Kings and 2 Kings and you see the kingdom of Israel rise to its power, especially under Solomon, you know, David's standing at the end of his life, acknowledging that God brought him from, you know, little shepherd boy, rejected by his father and all of his brothers, to a great king. And the thing that he he says got him to that place of greatness was the gentleness of God. To me, that's extremely profound. I mean, my mind was just so like I felt like illuminated, and I felt like really excited to see that in the Word this week. I find the phrase so encouraging and refreshing. Thy gentleness hath made me great. David didn't say thy power hath made me great. He didn't say thy wisdom hath made me great. I've become a great king because I've learned the wisdom that I needed, and I'm just knowledgeable in all the deep things of God. He doesn't say, thy financial blessing for me over the years has made me a great kingdom. Thy justice hath made me great. I'm just so thankful the Lord is a God of justice. He brings righteousness into the world. Yeah, amen. He does do that. But David says, once again, it wasn't God's strong arm or his sovereignty. You'd think, wouldn't that be the expression? God, a sovereign God, who oversees the kingdoms of this world. He has made me great. The gentleness of God, thy gentleness hath made me great. I don't know what you want in life. I mean, I don't really care about greatness, but I do want to be successful. I do want to be used of God. I want a life that I can look back on and say, wow, God, God really showed up in my life and did something. And when I when I take myself through that process of trying to number my days, I think I don't bring his gentleness into the equation enough. What's going to get me there? What's going to get me to the place where I'm actually influential for the kingdom of God? Strength, power, wisdom, might, knowledge, understanding. I just wonder if the Lord wants us as a, I'll say, as a little local church, but also as a church around the world. He wants us to be a little bit more gentle, a little bit more temperate, a little bit more moderate. Actually, you're commanded to be so. That's what we were looking at. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 5 says, Let your moderation be known unto all men. It's not a suggestion. We're commanded to make this true and to express this and show this to others. And I think that's actually something to be considered. And so, by way of conclusion, I just want to. Call your attention not to the word moderation in Philippians 4 and verse 5, but the word let and be known unto in the phrase be known unto all men. You and I have to let this attribute, if it's true of us, as we walk with Christ and His Spirit, we have to let it be known to people. I think a lot of times people don't distinguish the difference between being quiet and having a quiet spirit. Sometimes people think they're meek simply because they don't talk and they isolate. That doesn't make you meek. And nobody knows about the meekness and the temperance and the gentleness of Christ in your life because you're actually not allowing them to see that. You haven't actually opened up your life and become vulnerable enough for people to experience that peculiar spirit that's in you. Once again, quietness, introversion is not the same thing as meekness. Believe it or not, though I feel comfortable speaking in front of people, I'm kind of an introvert. I'd way rather just isolate and be on my own and be in my own head and do my own thing. That's how I am. I just I love people. I'm like, I can interact with folks, I'm nice, I think. But I'd rather just kind of like cocoon and not talk to the world and just be in my own head space. The Bible commands me to let people know about the weakness that I have because I have the spirit of Christ. That means I have to interact with people. That means I have to make myself uncomfortable. That means in light of the Lord's return, the Lord is at hand, Paul tells the Philippian church. In light of me giving an account of myself before the judgment seat of Christ, I have a responsibility in this life. I have to let my moderation be known. It has to be knowable. I actually have to put my life on display. And don't get me wrong, that is super uncomfortable. Nobody wants to let, you know, let people look into their life and see who they are. Maybe because they're not sincere in their Christian experience. And so they get really afraid to think if someone actually saw who I was, they they wouldn't want to follow Christ. Well, okay. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Exercise yourself unto godliness and me too. The Lord is at hand. We have to be sincere to them that are within and without, not giving an offense to the day of Christ. That's what Paul actually told the Philippian church in Philippians chapter 1 and verse 10. He says, that ye may approve things that are excellent, that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. Once again, the Lord is at hand. Let your moderation be made known. Let people know that you're not radical. Let people know that you're not, politically speaking, you're not, your identity is not Republican or your identity is not Democrat. It's in Christ. I am a Christian. I am a citizen of heaven. I'm moderate in my care for the things of this world. People that are zealous over this political issue or that political issue or this social idea or this philosophical concept or this worldview or that one or this or that or this or that. We as Christians need to stop doing this. I'm trying to figure out where I am in this world. Where do I fit in? Where do I belong? Why? Well, because you don't belong here. You and I don't belong here. So we have to take the moderate, peculiar, strange, uncertain path of meekness and gentleness. And I guarantee you, it is in that strange, peculiar place where you think, I don't belong in this world. That God will actually use you and bring you to a place of great influence because people look will look at that and think, I don't have that spirit. I'm so easily offended. I'm so easily radicalized towards this ideology or that ideology. I'm so of I'm so you know frustrated when these ideas are talked about or that said, this or that, this or that. I don't know if you've ever met someone who truly has lived a meek and gentle and moderate life, but I can tell you of the small pool of people that I would say truly are a reflection of Christ in this way, their lives are so attractive and so peculiar that I just want to be close to them all the time. You meet anybody like that? Maybe somebody popped into your mind. And there's a there's a guy named Sam Shockley, who is an old uh friend and pastor of mine. He's now passed away. Who just I always wanted to be around with him, him because he had a spirit of gentleness and meekness and wisdom that was from above. He was easily entreatable, wise, kind, never, never offensive, always given the truth. The truth was offensive at times, sure. But he wasn't. And I was thankful for it. Let's pray, let's bow our heads and just ask the Lord to make these things true of our life. I hope I haven't abused your time in any way this morning. Um I don't know about you, but I need patience that I don't have, meekness that I I don't have, and gentleness that I don't have. Here here it is, I need the Spirit of Christ. Let's pray.