Challenges to the Spirit People Irritate  act rudely  publicly embarrass  unfair / unreasonable  deceitful, hypocritical  break promises  selfish, lazy at work  don’t pay debts People Injure  speak evil behind back  spread false reports  misrepresent  exaggerate faults  judge motives  put evil constructions on words and actions

Haughty, Proud  lord it over  disrespect authority  selfish and rude - no regard for neighbor  self-willed – must have own way Vengeful, Malicious  return evil for evil  hold a grudge  act hatefully  pleased when others are in adversity  act in ill-will to those with honor & prosperity Challenges to the Spirit

Numbers 12:1-3   The Example of Moses   What Is Meekness Really?   Jesus Our Example Meekness: A Fruit of the Spirit

The Christian’s Meekness   A key trait of the new man – Col. 3:   Restore brethren with the spirit of meekness – Gal. 6:1-2; 2 Tim. 2:24-26   Very precious in God’s sight - 1 Peter 3:1-4   Fight the good fight, meekly? - 1 Timothy 6:11-12 Meekness: A Fruit of the Spirit

 Greek agathosune –A general word for “good” used only 4 times in the NT (Gal. 5:22; 2 Thess. 1:11; Eph. 5:9; Rom. 15:14). It takes its meaning from the context. Goodness: A Fruit of the Spirit

  Matt. 20:11-15 – Parable of the Eleventh Hour Laborers – –“Or is your eye evil because I am good?” – –“evil” expresses the idea of “envious”; “good” expresses the idea of “generous”   Matt. 6: an “evil” (or “bad”) eye is covetous, not generous   1 Tim 6: Being good is equated to being generous Goodness vs. Evil

  Acts 11:22-24 – Barnabas – –Rejoiced with progress of others (11:23) – –Encouraged others (11:23) – –Acts 4:36-37 A good man is a generous man, not just in words, but also good in actions Examples of Goodness

  Acts 9:36-39 – Dorcas – –“Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.” (NASB) – –“abounding” -- generous with time and effort Examples of Goodness

  Goodness is … – –Doing more than what is expected, going beyond what is required – –Being generous with patience, kindness, time, money, praise, encouragement Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to bear the fruit of goodness in us? Summary & Conclusion

Will You Become A Christian? Hear The Gospel (Rom. 10:17) Believe in Jesus as the Son of God (John 8:24) Repent of Your Sins (Acts 17:30) Confess Jesus as the Son of God (Acts 8:37) Be Baptized for Forgiveness of Sins (Acts 2:38) Live Faithfully Until You Die (Rev. 2:10)

  Greek writers often compared these two virtues to define both of them – –“Justice is the quality that gives a man what is due him. Goodness is the quality which is out to do far more than that, and which desires to give a man all that is to his benefit and help.” (W. Barclay) – –“The man who is just sticks to the letter of his bond; the man who is good goes far beyond it.” (W. Barclay) – –Observe Paul’s comparison in Romans 5:6-8 Goodness vs. Justice