Fruit of the Spirit - Lecture Notes for Lesson 9

Opening Prayer: Lord we know you desire us to be Gentle, as such help us to fully grasp what this means so that we might receive the blessings of producing this Spiritual Fruit. Amen!

INTRODUCTION: As I was going through scriptures for today's lesson I ran across the ultimate beauty tip, it promises to make anybody beautiful at any age & without fail.  Sounds too good to be true doesn't it?  You want to know what it is?  Here it is:

1 Peter 3:3-4: "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

PRINCIPLE: A Gentle Spirit is of Great Value to God

Why is a Gentle Spirit (or the Spirit of Gentleness) so valuable?  I'm going to be spending most of the rest of this lesson trying answer this, and clearing up some misconceptions about Gentleness.  At this point I'm simply going to state that a Gentle Spirit is a spirit of willingness & obedience, a spirit that does not resist God's will or ways.

I. Clearing up what it means to be Gentle

I don't know about you, but when I started reading up on Gentleness, both in our book and in the scriptures, I was surprised how much more there was to Gentleness than I realized.  The word in the Greek for Gentleness, as used in the list of Spiritual Fruit, is Praos; there is another word that also gets occasionally translated as Gentle or Gentleness but it has a slightly different meaning - I'm going to focus on Praos in its various forms.  

The word Praos gets translated to the following words in English New Testament translations: Meekness, Humility, Gentleness (being meek, being humble, being gentle).  What more can we learn about this word Praos, more specifically what is this Spiritual Fruit that we call Gentleness?

Some other aspects of Praos / Gentleness that may help our understanding: Being even tempered, tranquil, unpretentious, and having passions under control.  Strength under control.  Understanding the strength of being tender.  Balanced & disciplined.  Approachable & kind.  Temperance in personal responsibility, conversations, and decisions.  Polite, tactful, and courteous. Touchable.  Treating others with dignity.  Calm & peaceful in a heated situation.  Soothing and diffusing anger.  Respectful.  Focuses on God & Others more than self (Selfless).

Some things Praos / Gentleness is not: Argumentative. Needing to prove themselves.  Trying to win over others or get ahead of others - Competitive.

Praos includes Biblical Humility, which is described as follows: Not belittling oneself, since we are precious treasures for which God paid dearly; but rather, exalting or praising others - especially God.  Understanding that by ourselves we are inadequate, without dignity, worthless; however, by virtue of belonging to Christ we are enabled to be more than adequate (this by the Holy Spirit), and of infinite worth & dignity.  True Biblical Humility produces Gratitude rather than Pride.  Biblical Humility is the opposite of angry harshness that grows out of personal pride and a dominating selfishness.

Praos also includes Meekness, a frequently misunderstood concept.  Meekness is Strength and Courage under control & coupled with Kindness.  It is rooted in the recognition that God is in control.

I found it interesting that Praos as used by the Greek speaking world of Jesus day would also be used of a wild horse who had been tamed (broken & trained) - how true this is of those who come to faith and grow in Gentleness, we must be broken and trained in order to have a Gentle Spirit usable by God.  How like wild horses we all once were, all needing to be broken to some extent, and all needing to be trained up by God.  How much God has to do to break us varies based on our resistance to Him, and how trained/disciplined depends on how quickly we choose His ways over our own.

PRINCIPLE: Gentleness develops as we submit ourselves to God

King David, the one called by God "a man after my own heart" (Acts 13:22), understood the need to be broken & submitted to God.  Psalm 51:16-17: "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.  My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."

II. The Ultimate Example of Gentleness

Jesus is the clearest example of Gentleness acted out.  Jesus was gentle with people, even those who arrested / flogged / beat Him.  He was God, but did not use His power as God either to gain human power or to stop His crucifixion.  Wow!!

Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Jesus encourages us to take on His yoke, to learn from Him because He epitomizes all the facets of Gentleness / Meekness / Biblical Humility, and has a tender heart toward us.  He tells us that when we take on His yoke we will find rest for our souls - that the yoke He offers is easy, and the burden He asks us to carry is light.  He could be demanding & harsh, it is His right, but He chooses to be patient & tender with us instead - wanting us to experience life in Him to the fullest (Ephesians 4:13).

Let's take a look at a few examples of Jesus choosing to be Gentle (there are many):

• When the people of Jesus hometown were angry & ready to throw Him off a cliff Jesus used His power, but not to harm the people, instead to walk through the crowd and leave. - Luke 4:28-30 
• When a detachment of soldiers bearing torches & weapons approached Jesus to arrest Him Jesus used His power in a very controlled (and I think humorous) manner.  He simply said "I am he" when they asked for Jesus, and at his words they drew back & fell to the ground.  How simply amazing that a trained group of fighting men, who's very lives depended on their courage, were knocked down by the words of our Lord.  - John 18:3-5
• Most beautiful to me, however, is His gentleness with those who were broken.  He reached out to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) who's life was so full of shame that she chose to draw water at midday.  He called to Zaccheus (Luke 19), a Jew who had turned against his fellow Jews for personal profit as a tax collector.  His protection of the unnamed woman caught in adultery (John 8), even the fact that she is unnamed guards her dignity.  And there are so many more!!

PRINCIPLE: Gentleness is a nature that imitates that of Christ

1 Peter 2:21-23: "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.  'He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.' When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly."

III. Gentleness with People

We are called to be Gentle with others as Christ was, this will be demonstrated in both words & deeds.  I was tempted to do a whole section on our tongue, and the damage it can do, but for brevity's sake I resisted - we're going to do this as a Group Exercise instead.  Suffice it to say our words can either build up or destroy - Proverbs 10:20; 12:18; 15:2; 15:4; 18:21 (among many others).

I have an old friend who is an Atheist, there are times when he tries to lure me into arguments (on Facebook no less) - I have learned not to take the bait.  2 Timothy 2:25-26 tells us we must be gentle with these sorts of opponents, so that they might escape the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will.  We must be especially careful with our written Words.  This electronic age makes it tremendously easy to express ourselves widely with our written words; however, many misunderstandings have come from misinterpretations of what we have written.  If it's something sensitive try to be face-to-face, even Skype (which allows us to see people we're speaking to at a distance) doesn't carry the nuances that communication in person does.

All believers are called to be Gentle, Titus 3:2 tells us we are always to be gentle toward everyone. Gentleness is also a quality necessary for leadership within the church.  1 Timothy 3:3 tells us that Overseers must be Gentle.

PRINCIPLE: Our Gentleness attracts people to the Lord

Just as Magnets are powerful to attract & repel, our Words & Deeds are as well.  When we are living lives that are in synch with God we will grow the fruit of Gentleness that will attract people to the Lord.

James 3:13 Ties our Gentleness to Wisdom: "Who is wise and understanding among you?  Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom."

CONCLUSION: Were you aware that by growing the Spiritual Fruit of Gentleness we receive a very interesting promise from the Beatitudes?  This time Praos shows up as the English word: Meek.

Matthew 5:5: "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."

This runs counter to what the "powers" of this world would have us think.  This world is currently controlled by those who are quite the opposite of Gentle. I'm not exactly sure what this blessing entails, but I for one will gladly pursue & accept blessings of the Lord!

Closing Prayer: Lord teach us to be Gentle, to demonstrate it in all our ways so that we might perhaps participate in your process of drawing unbelievers to you.  What an amazing gift it is to be included in the work you are doing in this world.  Thank You!  Amen!

Fruit of the Spirit - Study Worksheet 9

Study Worksheet

Read Chapter 9 Gentleness in the book The Fruit Of The Spirit along with scriptures given in the questions below:

1. After reading the first section of our chapter:

a. How do you define Gentleness?

b. What new aspect(s) of Gentleness did you learn from your reading?

2. What sorts of circumstances require:

a. A Firm Response

b. Discernment regarding a Response

c. A Soft Touch

3. Grade your church in the following areas, give a reason for your grades:

a. Welcoming to Strangers 

b. Reverence (Worshipful Atmosphere)

c. Sincerity & Love for God

4. Read 1 Peter 3:15.  Why do you think it's important, when giving an answer for your faith, to do so with "gentleness & respect"?

5. What is the danger of an attitude of "peace at any price"?

6.  a. Under what circumstances are you prone to be defensive or find it difficult to accept correction?

b. Pray about this over the next couple days, asking God to reveal the root of your defensiveness, note what God reveals to you here:

c. When we need to correct others, how should we go about this?  Find scripture to support your answer.

7. What is the role of Forgiveness when demonstrating Gentleness?

8. Read the account of pastor Stu Weber (page 146).

a. What do you think was the root of Stu's problem?

b. What did you learn from the actions of his friend Steve?

9.  a. How does it feel to be on the receiving end of someone's rage or rude behavior?

b. How might you temper your response toward them?

10. Who do you like to learn from?  Why?

Fruit of the Spirit - Group Exercise 8

For developing personal study skills - this exercise is an example utilizing a Concordance.  In this case it was used to find scripture in order to discover the various aspects of the Spiritual Fruit of Faithfulness.

Group Exercise

Use a Concordance, find verses for the following traits which are related to Faithfulness, then note what you learn about each:

1. Trustworthy

2. Steadfast

3. Loyal

4. Honest

5. Responsible

6. Brave

7. Devoted 

Fruit of the Spirit - Lecture Notes for Lesson 8

Opening Prayer: God you are Faithful, we praise you for this.  As we study your word today we ask that your Holy Spirit would enrich our learning so that we might be people that You call Friends. Amen!

INTRODUCTION: I don't know about you, but as I studied Faithfulness I was astonished at how many other traits are related to Faithfulness - or perhaps better stated are facets of Faithfulness.  I wrote several of them down (and there are probably others): Trustworthy, Steadfast, Loyal, Honest, Responsible, Brave, Devoted - we will be looking at these in our Group Exercise.  As I read through these traits they reminded me of a program Jeff had been a part of that was called "Heart of a Warrior" - with it's focus being on helping men to become well rounded Mature men of Faith.

PRINCIPLE: The Spiritual Fruit of Faithfulness is evidence of Spiritual Maturity

Only as we choose to seek God, to draw close to Him, to live lives that bring Him Glory, are we truly growing in maturity and faithfulness.  This is that day-to-day living out of our faith, the walk that goes along with the talk.

I. God the Perfect Papa

I love my Dad, he's with the Lord now, and when my son was little my Dad got the nickname "Papa" - he was my sons only real father figure throughout his life, so the name seemed appropriate.  Soon just about everyone who was close to my Dad (even my Mom) called him Papa.  One characteristic that marked my Dad's life was Tenderness, but he wasn't perfect - and I have a story about how he failed to show tenderness.

When I was very young, a preschooler, my parents wanted my brother & I to learn to swim.  Living in Southern California near the Ocean, and where there are an abundance of pools, this is an important thing for children to learn.  My brother took to the water quite naturally, but I didn't.  Apparently no amount of coaxing could get me into the pool - not even jumping to a waiting parent while wearing a life vest.  My Dad got frustrated, so he picked me up and threw me into the pool with the life vest on, and decided to let me cry myself out... major failure, after a while they gave up & fished me out of the pool.  I required private lessons, smaller steps, and a much more deliberate approach - and I eventually learned to swim like a fish (I love to swim).

My Dad was a great example of Tenderness, and Patience, but his tenderness & patience had limitations - he wasn't perfect (though he was awesome).  God's Tenderness & Patience are perfect, God knows exactly who we are & what we need to grow & develop into the people He wants us to be.  God will never leave us, He is always by our side, rooting for us & cheering us on - encouraging us in our walk.  God might have to chastise us in order to correct wrong thinking & behavior, but he never stops loving us.  God makes promises to us & always keeps them.  Doesn't that sound like the Perfect Papa?  Romans 8:15: "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'"

He is the Perfect Papa / Abba, and we are His children.  We will always be His children, but we should seek to be His friends.  As a child of God we are safe in His arms, a protected member of His family.  If we remain as children, requiring constant spoon-feeding (1 Corinthians 3:1-2; Hebrews 5:11-14), we aren't of much use for His purposes.  If instead we grow in Faithfulness we will receive rewards from Him both for today & in eternity (Hebrews 11:6; Revelation 11:18).  Additionally, when we grow in Faithfulness we live lives that please God (Colossians 1:9-10).

PRINCIPLE: Faithfulness develops our Intimacy with God

Our book spoke about the difference between being a Child of God and a Friend of God.  We become a Child of God when we come to faith - by virtue of Salvation we are His children.  Becoming a Friend of God is much more, it involves growth & intimacy with God & being trustworthy servants of God.  As we continue to walk in our faith God continues to work in our hearts & minds, to draw us closer & closer.  God does the work to build up our Faith, we respond by exhibiting Faithfulness.  This doesn't happen overnight, it is one deliberate step at a time - choosing to trust in God.

II. The Importance of our Faithfulness with "Talents"

I put "Talents" in quotes because in the original parable a "Talent" was actually a form of currency.  I think that the parable teaches us not just about how to handle currency, but how to handle any gift that God entrusts us with.  So a "Talent" as used in the parable could stand for spiritual gifts, material blessings, natural talent (intellect / ability), or developed talent (skill).

In the parable of the talents we are told how displeasing the lazy servant was, this is the servant that hid away the talent given to him - he buried it in the ground.  At first we could think, at least he was protecting what he'd been given - and don't we do the same thing?  We need to take a higher view, the "Talents" God has given us are for His purposes, if we don't use them for His purposes they are a waste of His good gifts.  Even when our "Talents" are a learned skill they represent an investment of time, and time is also precious and not to be wasted, so these should also be used for God's purposes.   Ephesians 5:15-16: "Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil."

PRINCIPLE: Gifts from God are precious treasures not to be wasted.

What do you enjoy doing?  Can you find a way to apply this ability to Kingdom work?  What do you have?  Can it be used to bless God's people?  What is God calling you to do with the "Talents" He has given you?  What "Talent" is God asking you to use to bless others this day?

It is easy to hold tightly to the things that we have, but this is not God's way.  God would have us hold loosely the treasures He has given, God would have us be generous instead; we must remember that God is more than capable of taking care of us should we willingly give away that which we are tempted to hold on to.  Scriptures which speak to this: 1 Timothy 6:17-19; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11.

III. The Importance of our Faithfulness with People

When I sat down to work on this section I stopped to pray, and I asked God to reveal to me what He would have you know.  After praying & thinking the following thoughts came to mind:  We look on our "Talents" as treasures, things we are tempted to hold onto but that God wants us to hold loosely.  What would God have us treasure instead?  People!  People are precious to God, they are treasures to Him, and He wants as many of them as possible to come to Him.  We should willingly invest our "Talents" for the greater treasure God desires!

PRINCIPLE: People are precious treasures to God

God made people, He made people and desires to be in relationship with people.  As we were made in some aspects "like Him" we are made to be in relationship - relationship with Him and relationship with others.  Perhaps that's why fellowship among believers is encouraged (Hebrews 10:24-25) as it helps us all to grow more in God & His ways.  But it's not just fellowship among believers, we need to be in relationships with non-believers, this in order to draw them to God (Romans 11:13-14; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).  We must be able to relate to people where they are, within our culture, yet not be soiled by our culture.

What is Faithfulness toward people?  It is being people of our word, keeping our promises.  It is being loyal & trustworthy toward them, so that they know we can be depended upon.  It is being honest, so that they know we will tell the truth when it matters most.  It is being responsible, if we've said we'll do something we do it.  Why do these things?  So that people know who to turn to, who to trust, when trouble arises.

Why specifically does our Faithfulness toward people matter?  It is one way that we preach about our loving God without having to utter a word of scripture.  If we're living in a Faithful manner people are going to notice, it's not going to look like the way the rest of the world lives.  Even more, our Faithfulness is a reflection on the character of God - when we fail in Faithfulness toward people we in essence tarnish the reputation of God (ouch!).

CONCLUSION: A few words of wisdom to end with, and I pray that this is not just my own thinking but reflects God's ways.  I have a tendency to overcommit, this is not a good thing, in fact I end up not doing things as well when I fall into this trap.  So though I encourage you to look at your "Talents" and find their purpose in God's Kingdom I also want to temper that with wisdom from God's Word.  

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 speaks about the need to keep things in balance & how there is a time & season for everything:  "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.  What do workers gain from their toil?  I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil---this is the gift of God."

Closing Prayer: Oh Lord, how wonderful is your Faithfulness, help us Lord to be Faithful  - to grow in intimate relationship with you.  Help us to know how you would have us use our "Talents" for your Kingdom, and help us by our Faithfulness to draw others to (closer to) You.  Amen!

Fruit of the Spirit - Study Worksheet 8

Study Worksheet

Read Chapter 8 Faithfulness in the book The Fruit Of The Spirit along with scriptures given in the questions below:

1. Explain the difference between being a child of God and being a friend of God.

2. Why do you think people struggle to obey God?

3. What "little things" (Matthew 25:21) might God expect you to do to show your faithfulness to Him?

4. a. What specific talents has God given to you?

b. Which of these talents are being used in some way for God's purposes?

c. How else might God put those talents to work for His purposes?

5. In the section titled "More Responsibility is Good" read the story of John Egglen.  Take a few minutes to reflect on this story and pray.  Where might God be asking you to be brave for His purposes?

6. Why do you think God equates Laziness (as concerns talents He has given) with Wickedness?

7. In your own words, explain the relationship between Wisdom & Faithfulness.

8. What might be some means of building loyal friendships?

9. What circumstances cause you to struggle to keep your commitments?

10. What do the following verses teach you about God's Faithfulness:

a. Genesis 32:10

b. Exodus 34:6

c. Psalm 40:11

d. Psalm 89:32-33

e. Isaiah 11:5 (speaking of Messiah)

f. Isaiah 42:3 (speaking of Messiah)

11. What do the following verses tell you about faithfulness among God's chosen?

a. Joshua 24:14

b. 1 Samuel 26:23

c. 3 John 1:3-4

d. Revelation 13:10

Fruit of the Spirit - Group Exercise 7

For developing personal study skills - this exercise is an example utilizing Footnotes & Cross-References (especially with a Study Bible) to dig more deeply into the meaning of a passage.

Group Exercise

Use a Bible with Footnotes & Cross-References, read Ephesians 6:10-18.

1. Read all the footnotes associated with the passage, what new things did you learn as a result?

2. Follow the cross-references & read the associated passages, which passages helped clarify the meaning of the original passage & what did you learn as a result?

3. Re-read the original passage, what is something new or interesting that you'd like to share with someone else?

Fruit of the Spirit - Lecture Notes for Lesson 7

Opening Prayer: God You are Good!  Help us Lord to fully grasp what that means, help us to look beyond mere human notions of Goodness to discover the Fruit you have prepared for us to produce in our lives. Amen!

INTRODUCTION: Are you having a Good Day?  Truth be told I intended that to be a trick question.  When posed that question we might quickly respond yes - either because we have a positive outlook or because we just don't want to share our "mess" with others.  Can we ever, in our current mortal state, have a completely Good Day? No... but we're still meant to have this spiritual fruit called Goodness.

PRINCIPLE: Goodness is a defining character of God

God is not only the giver of all Good things, He is the measure of all that is Good.  As I was searching the scriptures regarding the Goodness of God I ran into something interesting.  I saw that several times in the Old Testament the words (or a minor variation of the words) "give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever".  Being a curious person, I decided to see how many times these words occurred, wondering if they by chance might occur 7 times - 7s in scripture are relevant & 7 is the number representing fullness or completion (I won't get into numerology here - it can be divisive and is not necessary to this study).  And yes, this statement occurs 7 times: 1 Chronicles 16:34; Psalms 106:1, 107:1, 118:1, 118:29, 136:1; Jeremiah 33:11.

Jesus tells us that God alone is perfectly Good (Mark 10:18).  In His goodness God is: Benevolent, Holy, Praiseworthy, and so much more.  We can't be perfectly Good as God is, but we can exhibit Goodness by the power of God's Holy Spirit.

I. Good is much more than the opposite of Evil

Or more to our theme, Goodness is not simply the lack of Evil.  Our book mentioned the Greek word used for Goodness as a Spiritual Fruit as Agathosune, the root in Greek is Agathos.  Agathos is one of 2 words used for Good in Greek, and this particular word is used for Good when speaking of what is Useful or Profitable, or Moral Goodness.  The other Greek word Kalos is similar, but more used for what is aesthetically good or beautiful.  From this we can gather that our Goodness is related to our Usefulness or Value - specifically in God's hands.  We can also determine that it's speaking of Goodness as a matter of Moral Character - this would embody not just Purity of Heart but possessing multiple Godly traits.  This idea even carries over to the English language where Goodly & Godly are similarly formed and have similar meanings, likely with one deriving from the other (though I confess I don't know enough to say this definitively).

Further, the Greek Agathosune is a combination of both being good & doing good, it is a matter of heart as well as action.  It is doing good out of the overflow of a good heart, with a motivation to please God & without expecting accolades.

From Romans 3:23 we learn we are sinful by nature and not good (not Godly), only by taking on God's nature in the form of the Holy Spirit are we able to produce the Spiritual Fruit of Goodness (Agathosune).

PRINCIPLE: Goodness in man comes from the Power of God at work through the Holy Spirit.

We can display good behavior, live outwardly moral lives - after all the Pharisees excelled at doing this.  But what did Jesus call the Pharisees?  He called them Whitewashed Tombs (Matthew 23:27) which looked beautiful (Kalos good) on the outside (to mankind, to the world) but on the inside were full of everything unclean.  We must be more concerned about the inside, being Agathos rather than Kalos, when the inside is clean what comes out is Good (Luke 6:45).

II. Goodness has its roots in our Salvation

We get Salvation when we choose to trust in Jesus as our Lord & Savior.  It happens in a moment in time, and once accomplished is immediate & complete.  At Salvation we are sealed by the Holy Spirit with a guarantee of our redemption, and in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit - God living in us.

The Holy Spirit has multiple inter-related roles in the life of the believer.  He is our teacher, counselor, etc.  His work in us helps to grow in Godliness (Grow in Goodness) - another word for this is Sanctification.  Sanctification begins at Salvation, is progressive & continuous throughout our mortal existence, and will only be completed when we who are perishable are clothed with the imperishable - then our victory over sin will be complete, and that by the work of Jesus alone (see 1 Corinthians 15:53-57).

2 Peter 1:3-4 says: "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires".

PRINCIPLE: Our Goodness results from our compliance to the work of God's Holy Spirit.

We are not simply given the Fruit of Goodness when the Holy Spirit comes, it is something that must grow and mature in us as we grow and mature in Christ, as we cooperate with God working in our hearts & minds.  Our responsibility in this is two-fold, we must grow in our knowledge & love of God, and we must resist the pressures of the world.  We are in this world, we are called to relate to this world & to impact this world, but we are not called to participate in the world - sometimes this is a fine line, we must guard ourselves.

III. Goodness requires Wisdom & Courage

Goodness requires knowing & choosing what is right, what is Godly - this requires Wisdom.  Goodness is standing up for what is right even when we're in stark contrast to the world around us - this requires Courage.  Both Wisdom & Courage working together allow us to know & keep Godly convictions - to know what is good and act upon it.  

Goodness in the believer requires training, regular spiritual "exercise", in order to maintain a strong Godly character, in order to have both Wisdom & Courage.  That training entails knowledge of scripture - how can you keep God's Word if you don't know God's Word?  That training involves a deep & personal & honest communication with God - how can you know His Will in a situation if you've not spent time with Him?  That training requires fellowship & accountability: Titus 2:3-5 speaks about older women (more mature in the Faith) should teach us who are younger (less mature) how to be Godly women; Proverbs 27:17 speaks of us sharpening each other.

As believers we need to guard our hearts & minds, as well as help our brothers & sisters in Christ to guard theirs.  We cannot assume that just because someone has been exposed to God, or even given their life to God, that they won't fall into error.

Some examples (in order from best to worst) of people's choices:

• Choosing right at the risk of your life: Daniel 6:1-10 - Daniel was doing so well that others plotted against him.  These others had the king seal a law (can't be broken) that people weren't to pray to anyone but the king, on risk of death by lions.  Daniel responded by not changing his behavior, but continuing to pray in front of his open windows 3 times a day - Daniel got thrown in the lions den, was miraculously preserved by God, and the results?  Those who plotted against him were fed to those hungry lions, and the king sent out a proclamation that all people in his kingdom should revere the God of Daniel - the Living God.
• Choosing right in a pagan culture: Acts 17:16-34 - Paul, when exposed to the polytheistic culture in Athens, and asked to speak at the Areopagus (a place where the local philosophers went to argue about ideas).  Paul used this as an opportunity to speak to this group of pagans about their "unknown god", and told them of the One True God - resulting in some coming to faith.
• Choosing poorly, but responding to rebuke: Galatians 2:11-13 - Peter was influenced by the circumcision party & separated himself from the Gentiles, and in doing so led Barnabas astray.  Thankfully Paul rebuked & corrected their behavior or much damage could have been done to the Gentiles in the church.
• Choosing poorly, and not correcting: In Genesis 13 Lot chose to park his tent near Sodom, and later move into Sodom & be one of it's leaders (Genesis 19 records he was sitting at the gate when the angels arrived to attempt to rescue him).  Lot chose to leave but with reluctance, his wife choose to turn back & was turned to salt, and his daughters turned to despicable means in order to have descendants.  2 Peter 2:7-8 tells us Lot was a righteous man who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless, tormented in his soul by the deeds he saw & heard.  But Lot chose to live in Sodom, it was only by God's direct intervention that Lot was rescued from the condemnation that came on that place.
• Specifically choosing against God: Numbers 22-24 contains a very entertaining account of a character by the name of Balaam & his uniquely gifted Donkey.  What's most interesting is that Balaam is a prophet (actually a pagan prophet for hire), that God decides to speak to - God tells him what not to do, and lo & behold Balaam choses to do it (for profit of course).  2 Peter 2:15 tells us that Balaam loved the wages of wickedness.  Balaam was forced by God to prophecy for Israel rather than against, which frustrated the people who hired him.  Balaam didn't learn his lesson, he continued to choose against God, Numbers 31:16 tells us that he advised the enemies of Israel in how to entice God's people to be unfaithful.

PRINCIPLE: The Fruit of Goodness shows in the choices we make.

At this time I know people who could fit into each of the categories I mentioned.  People choosing right at personal risk, people choosing right in the midst of a pagan culture, people choosing poorly but remaining teachable, people choosing poorly who are resisting correction, and people choosing against God.  I am praying for all of them.  Choosing to be Good & do Good takes Wisdom & Courage.

CONCLUSION: I'd like to think I'm making right choices, but I know my nature.  I must constantly be on guard regarding what I watch, what I listen to... be careful about any & all influences in my life.  I want you to watch out for me, and I'm willing to watch out for you.

Closing Prayer: Lord please guard & protect our hearts & minds, make us aware of ungodly influences around us, give us the courage to stand firm for what is right & the wisdom to know when to flee from those influences. Amen!