PATIENCE
- Galatians 5:22
- Long temper; you keep your temper, you don’t blow your lid, you don’t have a short fuse, but a long one; you put up with others
- You know how to keep your cool – inside as well as out, but, out for sure. Difficult circumstances and people you do not allow to provoke you
- This is core characteristic of God: patience. His patience means our salvation (2 Pet. 3:9); Christ has unlimited patience towards sinners while waiting for their repentance (1 Tim. 1:16); and his kindness and patience lead people to repentance (Rom. 2:4).
- Patience is better than pride (Ecc. 7:8); A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense -Pvb 19:11
- Don’t repay evil for evil; don’t retaliate against those who persecute you because of your faith in Christ (Rom. 12:19-21; 1 Pet. 2 and 4)
KINDNESS
- Goodness down deep, made up of goodness through and through; you’re made of good spiritual “molecules”; if what you’re made up of was put under a microscope it would be goodness and kindness
- It’s the quality of your heart, the substance of what makes you up
- Your kindness is not put on – not a mask for evil underneath
GOODNESS
- Goodness in action, it is the beneficial effect on others
- The expression of Christ’s own goodness inside you
- Kindness is the substance of goodness, goodness is the outward working of that substance
- The Holy Spirit works inwardly in order to work outwardly. God is not satisfied with outward Christianity alone. he wants it starting inside and transforming inside so that the outer man is an expression of the inner man and not a mask for it.
- Be full of goodness (Rom. 15:14; Eph. 5:9)
FAITHFULNESS
- The idea of dependability and integrity; consistent, reliable, trustworthy, true
- In 4 ways:
- Dependable when it comes to your duties and responsibilities in life: marriage, parenting, work, church membership, to God, financially, friendships, neighbors. You can be counted on to do what is right and responsible
- True to your word, you do what you promise. You take your word seriously and so do others
- Consistent with your beliefs; your conduct matches your convictions
- You confess Christ no matter what. He is the “Faithful & True Witness” (Rev. 1:5), and so are we to be.
GENTLENESS
- Not weakness, but, strength and spiritual depth
- spiritual ability, not, spiritual inability
- An attitude where you accept how the Lord deals with you. You don’t kick and scream and accuse Him, but, you accept it, come to terms with it by faith. You can say, by faith, that His plan is good and perfect even if you don’t see how.
SELF-CONTROL
- You keep your passions under control
- You say yes to what you should say yes to and no to what you should say no to.
- You don’t allow your feelings to overwhelm you and lead you into sin. Instead you master your passions, subdue them, and bring them into submission (1 Cor. 9:27).
- You do that by yielding to the Spirit within you.