May 27, 2001

June 22, 2003

Service Theme – "Our God is Gentle"

Galatians 5:16-26

Temptation and Gentleness

Introduction

Illustration – In his book, Be a People Person, John Maxwell tells this story. Mr. Myrick had to go to Chicago on business and persuaded his brother to take care of his cat during his absence. Though he hated cats, the brother agreed. Upon his return, Myrick called from the airport to check on the cat. "Your cat died," the brother reported, then hung up. Myrick was inconsolable. His grief was magnified by his brother’s insensitivity, so he called again to express his pain. "There was no need for you to be so blunt," he said. "What was I supposed to say?" asked the perplexed brother. "You could have broken the news gradually," explained Myrick. "You could have said, ’The cat was playing on the roof.’ Then, later in the conversation, you could have said, ’He fell off.’ Then you could have said, ’He broke his leg.’ Then when I came to pick him up, you could have said, ’I’m so sorry. You’re cat passed away during the night.’ You’ve got to learn to be more tactful. By the way, how’s Mom?" After a long pause, the brother replied, "She’s playing on the roof." (as cited on SermonCentral.com)
Gentleness is something we all struggle with every day. We’re too often pushed into the way of the world, demanding instead of asking, getting our own way instead of looking out for others. So today we’re going to look at James 1:13-15 to see what the cycle of sin is and how we are tempted to counterfeit gentleness.

Scripture Passage

(NEW SLIDE) James 1:13-15 (NIV) - When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

(NEW SLIDE) Preoccupation/Enticement (verse 14) – the only stage where we can stop ourselves from sinning. We are tempted to push for ourselves and our own agenda with all our might instead of gently listening to God and to others and responding with His love. We begin to desire something that is not what God would want for us. At that point we have two choices: to stop the desire in its tracks, or to begin to obsess on it. Men can be tempted to desire pornography or other women, or to desire the latest and greatest tool or truck, or to desire money above all else. Sex is good within the context of marriage, but we’re tempted to be faithful to our illicit desires rather than to God’s plan for marriage. The same goes for our desires for stuff. Women are tempted to desire illicit relationships through romance novels or through ill-advised friendships or even through shopping. Anything to fill the need for love that isn’t being filled in a godly way. Men and women are tempted in these ways just about every day, but we have to stop the temptation before it becomes an obsession and we’re hooked.

(NEW SLIDE) Ritualization/Conception (verse 15) – we set the sin process in motion. We all know things that we do to justify our sin. We cruise down to the video store "to see what they have" knowing full well that we’ll grab that pornographic or romance video or one that has just enough in it to tantalize us. We know exactly what we’re doing when we head down to the dealership or the tool shop "just to look around," or when we go to the book store or library to see what they have knowing we’ll grab that Harlequin or other sensual romance novel. Those are some of the rituals we indulge in that take us directly to the throne of hell. And all because we’d much rather push for our own desires than gently wait for God’s and His desires.

(NEW SLIDE) Acting Out/Birth (verse 15) – what disgusts us is what we wind up doing. We get home with our new toy or our new video or our new book, and indulge away. We’ve stepped outside the boundaries of God’s plan. And we’re just plain rude and mean to anyone who tries to call us on the carpet for our sin. Or we just plain blow them off. Our illicit desires to meet our needs have ripped the very heart out of the gentleness God is trying to build in us. We’ve sinned by ditching God’s gentleness and by fulfilling our needs in a shameful way.

(NEW SLIDE) Shame/Death (verse 15) – we have to face the pain of severing our relationship with God. There are only two ways of dealing with our shame: bringing it before the cross of Jesus by confessing our sin and asking for forgiveness and turning our backs on that sin; or to medicate the pain of the sin even further by sinning again. Medicating ourselves only locks us into that vicious cycle of sin that we’re helpless to get out of on our own, no matter how hard we try.

True Spiritual Gentleness

What is our alternative? What does true spiritual gentleness look like? How do we tell the difference between what’s true and what’s counterfeit? Let’s look at some Scripture.

(NEW SLIDE) Colossians 3:12 says Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. True spiritual gentleness is an attitude.

(NEW SLIDE) Philippians 4:5 says Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. True spiritual gentleness is a choice.

1 Timothy 6:11 says But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. True spiritual gentleness is a worthy and godly goal.

(NEW SLIDE) 1 Kings 19:12-13 says After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. True spiritual gentleness is a part of God’s character.

(NEW SLIDE) Proverbs 15:1 says A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. True spiritual gentleness is a sign of wisdom.

Matthew 11:29 says 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. True spiritual gentleness brings rest and healing to our souls.

(NEW SLIDE) 1 Peter 3:4 says Instead, 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. True spiritual gentleness is treasured by God.

Here are some definitions of what true spiritual goodness is.

(NEW SLIDE) New Bible Dictionary (Logos): "suggests the yielding of a judge, who, instead of demanding the exact penalty required by strict justice, gives way to circumstances which call for mercy; …gentleness is expressed… in outward action."

(NEW SLIDE) Bible Knowledge Commentary (Logos): "Gentleness (prauteµs) marks a person who is submissive to God’s Word (cf. James 1:21) and who is considerate of others when discipline is needed."

Matthew Henry (Logos): "such a sweetness of temper, and especially towards our inferiors, as disposes us to be affable and courteous, and easy to be entreated when any have wronged us"

(NEW SLIDE) Theological Dictionary of the NT (Logos): means "what is right or fitting," "what is serviceable," then "equable," "moderate," "reasonable," "gentle."

Greek English Lexicon of the NT based on Semantic Domains (Logos): "the quality of gracious forbearing"

(NEW SLIDE) The bottom line is that true spiritual gentleness is dependent on our daily, committed time with God in prayer, the Word, and accountability. Fruit needs soil to grow, and this walk with God is the soil that the fruit of gentleness needs in order to grow within us. We have to get serious about getting rid of sin in our hearts and lives, and serious about minute by minute obedience to God. So we know how we’re tempted, and we know what true spiritual gentleness looks like, but how do we defeat temptation and build true spiritual gentleness into our hearts and lives?

Help and Hope

By walking in obedience by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can defeat temptation the instant we begin to be tempted. We’ve got to nail temptation in the preoccupation stage. Here’s how.

(NEW SLIDE) First, we’ve got to pray a prayer thanking Jesus for the victory He is giving us, and continue to spend quality time in prayer each and every day. Jesus died and rose again to break the power of sin and Satan over our lives. Jesus already won the victory. All we have to do is appropriate its power through prayer and relationship with Him. We begin by praying a prayer like this, as Bill Perkins suggests: "Thank you, Lord, for saving me from this sin that I’ve tried to medicate my pain with (and list it specifically). Right now I’m looking to Jesus and trusting Him to live His life through me. I’m now trusting Him to use His Word to purify my mind." Claim the victory in prayer and continue in prayer.

(NEW SLIDE) Second, we’ve got to focus our minds on what we should focus on, not what we shouldn’t by memorizing Scripture. The more we focus on not thinking about temptation, the more we’ll think about it. We have to focus on thinking about God’s Word. The Holy Spirit will bring those verses we’ve memorized to mind when we need them the most. Scripture memory is hard work, but we can do it if we work hard at it. You can, too. So what Scripture do we use to fight the temptation to indulge in counterfeit faithfulness? (NEW SLIDE) How about 1 Timothy 6:11 from the New International? But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. If Jesus needed Scripture to defeat Satan’s temptations in the wilderness, then so do we!

(NEW SLIDE) Third, we’ve got to have accountability. When you have to look other Christians in the eye and tell them the truth, it really helps keep you from giving in to temptation. We have to ask ourselves this question and answer truthfully. Is there anyone in your life who you have given permission to ask you about how you spend your time and your money, and about how your relationships are going? We can’t resist temptation without accountability. Prayer is great, and memorizing Scripture is great. But we won’t consistently use them in our walk with God and we won’t consistently walk closely with God without accountability. It just won’t happen!

Evelyn Underhill writes, All our action ... must be peaceful, gentle, and strong. That suggests ... an immense depth, and an invulnerable steadiness which come from the fact that our small action is now part of the total action of God, whose Spirit, as another saint has said, "Works always in tranquility." Fuss and feverishness, anxiety, intensity, intolerance, instability, pessimism and wobble, and every kind of hurry and worry--these, even on the highest levels, are signs of the self-made and self-acting soul; the spiritual parvenu. The saints are never like that. They share the quiet and noble qualities of the great family to which they belong: the family of the sons of God. If we desire a simple test of the quality of our spiritual life, a consideration of the tranquility, gentleness, and strength with which we deal with the circumstances of our outward life will serve us better than anything that is based on the loftiness of our religious notions, or fervor of our religious feelings. (as cited on PreachingToday.com).

We’ve got to learn to allow the Holy Spirit to give us true spiritual gentleness so that we can defeat the cycle of sin in our lives that leads us to counterfeit gentleness.

Conclusion

Please bow your heads and close your eyes. Where are you at in the cycle of sin? Have you been effectively defeating it at the first stage, not allowing yourself to become preoccupied with temptation, praying and focusing on God’s Word in your heart and making yourself accountable to fellow Christians? Or has the sin cycle been getting the best of you? If you are struggling with sin, remember what 1 John 1:9 says: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Right now we’re going spend a few minutes checking our own hearts and allowing God the Holy Spirit to show us any areas where we’re struggling with sin.
What has God been saying to your heart? If you want to begin the process of defeating the cycle of sin in your heart and life, now’s the time to start. First, you must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, otherwise the Holy Spirit has no power in your heart. If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and you want to begin to appropriate His power to break the cycle of counterfeit gentleness or any other sin in your heart and life, pray right now and repeat after me. "Thank you, Lord, for saving me from this sin that I’ve tried to medicate my pain with (and list it specifically). Right now I’m looking to Jesus and trusting Him to live His life through me. I’m now trusting Him to use His Word to purify my mind. Amen." If you prayed that prayer, I challenge you to do two things. First, start working on memorizing 2 Peter 1:5-8 today, not tomorrow, not sometime this week, but today. Second, find someone who will lovingly but not permissively hold you accountable, and find them today. Confess your counterfeit gentleness and the rituals you practice. Then meet with them weekly if at all possible, confess to each other, strengthen and encourage each other. But get started today, or you simply won’t do it!
Now of you’re serious about the commitment you’ve made to Christ to break the cycles of sin in your life, I’d like you to take the communication card and circle the "G".