Galatians 5: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5 But the fruit of the Spirit is…

The Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness 2 Timothy 2:23-26, Matthew 11:25-30 Kindergarten teachers Gentle Sweet Soft-spoken

Strong In control Safe Focused

Gentleness is like that It is kind But it’s not a push-over This is how God invites into salvation

Matthew At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

What is hidden? The ease of salvation The answer to eternity Control of our destiny by giving up our control

27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Christ is the way God has been given Christ authority Everything has been placed in his hands and under Christ’s power But because Christ is gentle, he does not flaunt his power and authority Instead he offers a gentle invitation

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Come Take Learn Rest My yoke is easy My burden is light

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Come I know you are burdened I know you are weary You are tired

29 Take my yoke upon you… Come and take my gift It is still a yoke But it is my yoke Not your yoke

…and learn from me, Come, take my yoke and learn Learn about your powerlessness Learn who Jesus is Learn about grace Learn about being grateful

…for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Come, take, learn from a gentle and humble king In learning from Christ we discover rest, peace and stability for our souls

30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Everything has a yoke Some are heavier than other Rules, rituals and regulations Belief, faith and grace that leads to gratefulness

Being aware of God’s gentleness is not enough We are called to put it into action in our own lives What God does for us is never supposed to be static

2 Timothy 2 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

Paul, helping Timothy in his new ministry, says Be careful in what you invest yourself Not in quarrels and resentments Instead invest in kindness and teaching

and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will 25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

Satan attempts to trap us He wants to keep us captive Satan does not want us to escape We are called to be gentle Not brash or abusive Not argumentative

We have our principles and faith on which we stand We are not weak We are to be well mannered; respectfully representing Christ