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Galatians 5:20-23 

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. NIV

 

Question:
What is the difference between kindness and goodness?
Can you think of a moment Jesus showed either?

 

Definition:
Kindness:  To provide something beneficial for someone 
Goodness:  Goodness in man is not a mere passive quality, but the deliberate preference of right to wrong, the firm and persistent resistance of all moral evil, and the choosing and following of all moral good.

 

Kindness/Goodness

 

Personal Statement:
I express kindness and goodness through the working of the Holy Spirit by choosing to do the right things in my relationships with others. 
 
1 Thessalonians 5:15 
15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. (NIV)

 

Goodness – Love ______________

• Personal purity 

1 Peter 1:14–16 
14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (NIV)

 

• Passion for righteousness – a stand against ______________and for ______________

Clearing of the temple 
Matthew 21:12-13
12 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 "It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"  NIV

 

• Denouncing the scribes and Pharisees 

Matthew 23:13-15
13 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.   
15 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. 

 

• Parable of the talents

Matt 25:21

21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' NIV

Kindness – love ______________
______________ excellent action towards another filled with love

 

John 8:1-11
1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"

6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."  8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" 11 "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin.  NIV

 

How is Jesus Kind to Us?

• He understands our ______________

Heb 4:15
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.

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• He tells me the ______________

John 8:31-37
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 33 They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" 34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. NIV

 

• He ______________ me of my sin

Titus 3:3-6
3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, NIV

Romans 2:4
4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness (Chreestoteetos)s, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? NIV

 

• He affirms my ______________

Luke 15:8-10
8 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."  NIV

 

How are we kind and good to others?

1. We must start with goodness – having love on the inside

2. Having love on the inside, allows us to love on the outside – having love applied.

A. We understand the weakness of others
B. We tell the truth in love
C. We forgive those who have sinned against us
D. We affirm everyone’s worth

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Faithfulness in an Unfaithful World

Galatians 5:22
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is…. faithfulness… NIV

 

Faithfulness
Personal Statement:
I express faithfulness through the working of the Holy Spirit by remaining faithful to God’s will for my life.
 
Proverbs 3:3–4 
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. (NIV)

 

1 Corinthians 4:2
2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. NIV

 

Question:
Can you think of a time when unfaithfulness impacted your life?
Can you think of a time when God’s faithfulness impacted your life?

 

Nothing worse than the feeling of unfaithfulness
Nothing more assuring than the feeling of faithfulness

 

God’s Faithfulness:

 

2 Timothy 2:10-13
10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. (NIV)

 

Psalms 36:5
5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. (NIV)

 

1 Corinthians 1:9
9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (NIV)

 

 

Faithfulness is ……

 

• The God given ability to be solely ______________upon Him (Trusting)

Psalm 86:2–4 
2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; 3 have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. 4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. (NIV)

 

• The God-given ability to be ______________ (trustworthy)

Matt 25:14-21
14 "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.19 "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' 21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'   NIV

 

Proverbs 28:20
20 A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. 
NIV

 

• The God-given ability to be ______________ (Fidelity)

Luke 12:42
42 The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? NIV

 

Titus 2:6-10
9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.  NIV

 

• The God-given ability to simply say ______________or ______________. (Integrity)

Matthew 5:33–37 (NIV)
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;

35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. 

 

The Reward of Faithfulness is…..

• The reward of God’s ______________

Psalms 31:23
23 Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. 

 

• The reward of God’s ______________

Psalms 101:6
6 My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless will minister to me. NIV

 

Matthew 25:21
21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'  NIV

 

• The reward of God’s ______________

Proverbs 28:20
20 A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.  NIV

 

Malachi 3:8–10 
8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. 
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. (NIV)

 

• The reward of God’s ______________

Matthew 25:14-23
14 "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' 21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' NIV

 

1. Faithfulness in an unfaithful world reaps the benefits of healthy relationships

2. Faithfulness in an unfaithful world reaps the benefits of trusting relationships

3. Faithfulness in an unfaithful world reaps the benefits of God’s promotion, provision, preservation and presence.

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