February 4, 2016
" He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. " Isaiah 53 : 7
This passage in the Old Testament tells of the crucifixion of Jesus !! If you were being led away would you be silent ? Most of us would be yelling and screaming that we are innocent. Yet here it says twice that Jesus was silent ! He was not doing His will but doing His Father's will. Jesus knew that if He did not die, we would all die in sin and go to hell. So.... He was silent and accepted death and was silent ! This power is given to all of us through the Holy Spirit ! As Christians we should learn to exercise this gift of gentleness and meekness instead of being " loud and proud ". That is not to say we should be door mats, but we should allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us and learn to obey !
" Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men." Titus 3 : 1-2
In these versus Paul is telling Titus the type of behavior that Christians should show. As you can see He does not say riot in the streets or overthrow governments. This is the main reason Christians are persecuted around the world ! Because the unsaved know that there will be no resistance. However, the saying has long been around that " the growth of the church is by the blood of the martyrs. " This shows again that once we are born again, the Holy Spirit should be in charge of our lives and not us. Paul is reminding us here that this behavior he describes is not the behavior of an unsaved man.... but a saved man by the power of the Holy Spirit.
" Who is wise and understanding among you ? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. " James 3 : 13
This is a major way we can discern if a person is saved or not. If they show arrogance and/or self promotion... chances are they are NOT saved ! These are the opposite of meekness. Also, the best definition I have heard for wisdom is this ; Rightly handled knowledge given by God ! wisdom is not a lot of knowledge, but is taken what knowledge we have and letting God show us the way we should go. That is true wisdom. Once again Paul is using the spiritual gifts so that non-believers will see Jesus in us. And isn't that the point !
" Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. " Galatians 6 : 1
This verse has been abused more than many in the bible !! Notice it says "...who are spiritual". This verse is used by many UN spiritual people in churches around the world !! When a person is caught in sin ( we are all sinners !) we should be brought back with gentleness and meekness. Not with an attitude of self righteousness and superiority ! Church leaders should learn what this verse truly says and not what they want it to say. Notice the last part, "... lest you also be tempted. " This is the other part they never see !! Handle this verse correctly and you can help bring them back, handle it wrongly and not only will you loose them but you may also be lost !!!
This wraps up our look at gentleness [meekness]. Join us next week as we look at peace. If you would like to know more about us we are at www.prayerboxministry.org. Be blessed and we will see you next week !
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