Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness Love (charity), joy, peace: Our Godward relationship. Patience, kindness, goodness: Our relationship with the people. Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control: Our inward relationship, the attitudes and actions of the inner self. The above lists are describing a Christian's character. There was no word in there about being given the Midas touch for resolving all financial woes. There's nothing about crusading for a just society, though there is something about being just. These lists are completely silent about miraculous deeds or the gifts of wisdom or knowledge or discernment as signs of the Spirit's rule within a person. It sounds instead like a repeated refrain from Jesus (Mt 7:16, 20) that one knows God's followers 'by their fruits'. The matters of character are the stuff that gives life-ness to life. It is something you are, not just something you do. PAUL DESCRIBES IT The most famous passage about the 'fruit of the Spirit' is in Galatians 5:22, where Paul gives us a list of fruit. The list is meant as a contrast to the list of the deeds of the flesh' found in 5:19-20. The fruit list is clearly not intended as an exhaustive description of the fruit, but was given to highlight the fruit that Paul wants the Galatian church to keep in mind. When Paul follows the list of the fruit of the Spirit by saying that "against such things there is no law", he was talking about the fact that the societal authorities find it pretty hard to object to behavior that shows these characteristics. Even a staunch enemy of the church will likely find these qualities appealing. They are known to be positive characteristics by the general public, in most eras, in most lands. RECAP 1. Where there are 'the fruit of the Spirit', the Spirit is at work. We can trust that. 2. We can't be godly apart from the Spirit; we just don't have that ability. 3. As a matter of our nature, we are hell-bent on getting what we desire. Even the best of what we are gets twisted by this inner drive. 4. God has a very different way, and wants us to follow it. Since we can't, the Spirit grows us up, cleans us up, and makes good ('fruit') come from us, in the manner of Jesus Christ. 5. Each person in the Spirit has a different share of each fruit, and each fruit has a different shape in each person -- but all the fruit will show themselves in each Christian as he or she goes deeper into their walk with the Spirit. GENTLENESS The Greek word for gentleness is also written mildness, meekness, considerateness, or courteousness. Its opposite is anger, cruelty, fierceness, self-interest, and self-assertiveness. The problem for Paul's day was the Greek word only described how people behaved toward each other, never toward God. It described their conduct, not their attitude. Worse, it might imply condescension and self-interest. A king who curried the favor of his people‹not because he loved them, but because he wanted to manipulate them--was called gentle. Christian gentleness is a reflection of God's loving relationship with the believer. A Christian's gentleness finds its energy in living to please God. Our English word gentleness must stretch for an adequate translation. A gentle child of God is not weak, spineless, or timid. Like the Savior, God's child is open, caring, and sensitive--first toward the Lord, then toward others. Jesus called himself "gentle and humble in heart" (Matthew 11:29). We see that when, praying in Gethsemane, he bowed to his Father's will. Jesus' gentleness was apparent when he dealt with Lazarus' grieving sisters and a repentant Peter. Jesus was meek and considerate, but never weak-kneed and vacillating. Often people are mild-mannered because they lack courage. Jesus' gentleness didn't spring from cowardice but from the infinite resources of God he had at his disposal. For him "equality with God was not something to be grasped" (Philippians 2:6). His lofty position gave him the courage to always be kind. Even when the Lord drove money changers from his temple, boldly faced his accusers, and resolutely marched on to the cross, he acted in biblical gentleness. Our gentleness also flows from our lofty position. We are the children of God. We humbly accept our Father's dealings with us--including the painful experiences. When others harm us, our gentleness allows us to bear the injustice. Our Father permits those sins to chasten and purify us. Out of a gentle spirit, the Christian forgives the wrong and seeks reconciliation. Write the definition of biblical gentleness in your own words. Tell how focusing on the fruit of the Spirit will enable you to be gentle when your life is in upheaval? KINDNESS Let's call it&ldots; chrestotays (Kres-tot-a~s).  Before you grab your Webster's, chrestotays is a New Testament Greek word, regularly rendered kindness. That's a good translation. Kindness describes someone who is sympathetic, friendly, gentle, tender-hearted, and generous. But chrestotays is more than kindness. Chrestotays describes a relationship, how a person or thing fits with someone or something else. It pictures a connection that is comfortable, wholesome, beneficial, useful. In the New Testament, heads of state and masters of slaves who are gentle, caring, and friendly toward those under them are chrestotays. That's God's relationship with us. In Ephesians 2:7 the apostle points to Jesus as the evidence of the Father's chrestotays, "God raised us up with Christ . . . in order that he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." Everyone has a favorite pair of pants or shoes or a shirt. It makes no difference if the style is outdated, the shoes have wear-holes, or the shirt is irretrievably soiled. They are chrestotays: they feel good, they fit right, they're comfortable. That describes this characteristic of God, a characteristic the Spirit shares with every believer. A husband complained that his wife was unappreciative of his love. He regularly took his kids to the park to get them out of the house and give his wife a break. The problem was--his wife didn't want to be left alone. She wanted help getting the housework and laundry done. The husband was trying to be loving, but he wasn't showing chrestotays, a kindness that fit the situation, that was useful. Our chrestotays will demonstrate itself in useful acts. The sensitivity required for chrestotays already belongs to us. It is part of the fruit of the Spirit's presence in our lives. The Spirit supplies it as freely as he provides forgiveness in Jesus. We live out his chrestotays in thanks for his kindness to us. Read in unison the following, then take a moment for your thoughts. Do we act with kindness toward others, so that others are "at ease" in our presence, that others feel they can draw close to us? - Or, do we with sharp words, cold shoulders, or arrogant condescension discourage others from feeling comfortable around ourselves? We remember that kindness is the "sympathetic kindliness or sweetness of temper which puts others at ease...this Christian kindness is a lovely thing, and its loveliness comes from the fact that Christian kindness means treating others in the way in which God has treated us."    (Moment for Thought) Describe a list of people in your life and how chrestotays show in your relationship with each. (i.e. parents, siblings, teachers, a friend) Goodness "Every good tree bears good fruit. . . . A good tree cannot bear bad fruit" (Matthew 7:17,18). No tree produces fruit that is contrary to its nature. Apple trees must produce apples. This truth applies to goodness, whatever is good by nature will produce good results. It can't do otherwise. God is good. He is the source of whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy. We judge goodness with him as the standard. "No one is good," Jesus says, "except God alone" (Mark 10:17,18). Like Jesus' good tree, God only bears good fruit. The ultimate proof and guarantee of God's goodness is that he "wants all men to be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4). It's astounding he gave his Son to accomplish that. It is in imitating God's goodness--a goodness that searches out ways to benefit others--that we show we belong to him. We can all be "trees" of the lord with fruit of goodness on our branches if&ldots; *We "cling to what is good" (Romans 12:9) and "overcome evil with good" (21). *We "please [our] neighbor for his good, to build him up" (Romans 15:2). *We "want . . . to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil" (Romans 16: 19). *"Anyone who does what is good is from God" (3 John 11). The Spirit of goodness can transformed us through Jesus into good trees that bear good fruit. It can't be otherwise. He lives within us. God is incapable of doing anything less than good for us. How does that comfort you? Encourage you? Urge you to trust him? SUMMARY: ?  Consider the natural progression. Gentleness is godly demeanor toward others at all times. Kindness and goodness involve desire to recognize and meet the needs of others. ?  Kindness is desire for happiness of others. Goodness is planned activity to advance that happiness. To be kind is to be sensitive to the needs of others. Goodness is kindness in action. ?  The kind person expands their thoughts beyond themselves and their interests and has a genuine interest in the well being of others. Goodness describes the moral character and deeds which are beneficial to other as well as good in themselves. ?  To know God - be good, do good, in every way, all the time. PRAYER: You are invited to join hands and offer a few words of prayer if you want. Your leader starts the prayer, then squeezes the hand of the person to the left to indicate their turn, if you do not wish to speak just pass the squeeze and so on until the squeeze gets back to the first person. CONCLUSION: Have your group offer a Spiritual challenge for the large group. Gather back in the large group about 5 min. till. Offer your challenge!