Bridgett
spoke about selflessness, get rid of you – using Colossians 3:3 as an example
For you
died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
And
Colossians 3:12 tells us some of the ways to do this.
Therefore,
as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
To clothe
yourself you are going to put it on, wear it, people can see what you wear,
right?
So God is
telling us we need to clothe ourselves with compassion – Strong’s Greek 3628
says compassion is….. deep feeling about someone's difficulty or misfortune
Now let me
read Matthew 5:43-48
43 You have
heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy;
44 But I
tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 [a]To
show that you are the children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes
His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the
upright and the wrongdoers [alike].
46 For if
you love those who love you, what reward can you have? Do not even the tax
collectors do that?
47 And if
you greet only your brethren, what more than others are you doing? Do not even
the Gentiles (the heathen) do that?
I have had
to check myself in this area several times so let me ask you – do you have
compassion?
When it is someone you perceive as an enemy – they have hurt your
feelings, told lies about you or someone in your family, make fun of your
belief in Jesus – whatever it may be that makes you see them as an enemy…..do
you have compassion on them?
If they lose a loved one, get sick, lose their
job….do you have compassion or are you secretly, in your heart, rejoicing at
their calamity? Repent…..this is your opportunity to really show the love of
Christ. If you show compassion, the love of Christ, can you imagine the impact
it will have on that person, their family, their friends……we have to learn to
let go of ‘self’ and be the light God has called us to be.
Next is
kindness – Strong’s Greek #5544 well-fit for use (for what is really needed);
kindness that is also serviceable.
("useful kindness") refers to
meeting real needs, in God's way, in His timing (fashion). Hence 5544
(xrēstótēs) is listed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22). With the
believer, 5544 /xrēstótēs ("divine kindness") is the Spirit-produced
goodness which meets the need and avoids human harshness (cruelty).
So you have
compassion and use kindness to meet someone’s real need, in God’s way and in
His timing.
Pastor Mitch
has been talking about knowing God, to
have a relationship with Him and in doing this we know His will, His ways so
when it’s time to meet someone’s needs He will give us clear direction. I know
He has done this for me and it usually involves getting self out of the way –
it never ‘feels’ convenient to me and I’m tempted to not do it…..but as
Bridgett said last week – I will follow Him, where He goes I will go.
Now we move
on to humility
#5012
Strong’s Greek is an inside-out virtue
produced by comparing ourselves to the Lord (rather than to others). This
brings behavior into alignment with this inner revelation to keep one from
being self-exalting (self-determining, self-inflated). For the believer, 5012
/tapeinophrosýnē ("humility") means living in complete dependence on
the Lord, i.e. with no reliance on self (the flesh)
This brings
us back to ‘self’, what’s inside of us – it tells us we are not to compare
ourselves to others, it is not seeing ourselves as lower than someone else but
to recognize we are nothing without God, we can do nothing without God, we know
nothing without God.
#4240
gentleness - meekness ("gentle strength") which expresses power with
reserve and gentleness. See 4236 (praotes).
For the
believer, meekness (4240 /praýtēs, "gentle-force") begins with the
Lord's inspiration and finishes by His direction and empowerment. It is a
divinely-balanced virtue that can only operate through faith
I believe
this means we do not move forward in our own power with our own words out of
anger, hurt or fear but we put this power under His Lordship. We show
gentleness to people by waiting on the Lord to give us inspiration, it might
begin with a thought to do something that sounds outrageous to us but then He
begins to give us direction and it lines us with His Word, then we have His
Word which empowers us to move forward. I know my faith grows and that is how I
take the first step in being gentle towards someone who in the flesh I do not
like.
And the last
thing mentioned is patience - #3115 in Greek
properly, long-passion, i.e. waiting sufficient time before expressing
anger. This avoids the premature use of force (retribution) that rises out of
improper anger (a personal reaction).
And I found
it interesting that it has to do with expressing anger and that it doesn’t say
we can’t express it – it just says to be patient don’t prematurely say
something you are going to regret because when you speak instantly out of anger
the words and actions are coming from the flesh – from your fear, anger and
pride.
This will
not bless a marriage, lead someone to Christ, help children to obey you as the Lord commands – speaking quickly
will only teach people to avoid you, they know they can’t talk to you about an
issue because you are unwilling to move, to discuss, to see all areas that can
lead to a peaceful answer. A husband may belittle his wife with his words
because he has not learned humility before the Lord – he forgets the command
the Lord has given him to love his wife as He loves the church.
Husbands,
love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Ephesians 5:25
And wives
you are not showing respect when you attack your husbands with words of anger
the wife
must respect her husband Ephesians 5:33
Church, do
not lash out when someone does not believe the way you do, that is not
following God’s command to love. We are to use the Word of God but not as a
means to see everyone else as wrong. No, it is a journey we are all on and when
there is a difference of opinion we need to seek God for revelation while we
love our brother……clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience.
By doing
this God will either convict you where you need to change or He will work on
the heart of the other person.
I know for
me to keep these clothes on I need to daily be in prayer, reading His Word,
speaking it out, asking God for wisdom and revelation, singing and praising my
Father who has promised to give me help in these areas. I will know, other
people will know that it was only through Jesus Christ that I was able to walk
in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience because it goes
against what the world teaches us to do.
(C)Has Breath Publishing LLC
