Sermon 1 Kings 19:10-21 “Elijah - Zealous for the Lord”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sermon 1 Kings 19:10-21 “Elijah - Zealous for the Lord”
May 26, 2019

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This is my second in a series of sermons drawn from the life of the Prophet Elijah.   Elijah was called by God to deal with a problem King and Queen, Ahab and Jezebel.   They were so terrible God had to send the greatest prophet he had to try to bring them to repentance.   Today we will see what happened, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Ahab and Jezebel were the worst king and queen ever. 

1 Kings 16:29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

So, here we have a problem king.   Ahab has turned his whole country away from God.   He has them worshiping Baal, the god of nature, and Asherah, the goddess of sexuality.   God will do something about this.   God will give Ahab the opportunity to repent and return to Him. 

As we saw last week God sent the prophet Elijah to Ahab to propose a test.   This test would be to see which god, Baal, the god of nature, or Yahweh, the God of Israel, answers prayer.  And in a most spectacular way, Elijah proved that only Yahweh, the God of Israel, answers prayer. 

King Ahab, King of Israel saw all of this.   Certainly, he repented and returned to the God of Israel.  Right?   Well, no.  Ahab did not turn from the gods of nature and sexuality.   He did not return to God.   Rather, he turned to his wife, Queen Jezebel.

1 Kings 19:1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”

Jezebel could have killed Elijah if she wanted to.   She could have sent her army and they would have returned with his head.  But she didn’t.   She didn’t want to kill Elijah because that would turn him into a martyr.   And martyr can be very dangerous to a king.   So what she did was what tyrants always do.   She intimidated him.   Jezebel wanted Elijah to be so afraid of her that he would no longer bother them with prophecies.   And her intimidation worked.   Elijah was scared to death.

3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

Elijah was so afraid he ran away and gave up.  He got out of Israel as fast as he could, fired his assistant, and went a days journey into the desert without food and water to die. 

God needs courageous prophets.  But Elijah’s courage had failed.  Elijah needs some encouragement.  So God dispatched an angel.

5b All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank.

God started his encouragement of Elijah by preparing him physically.   God made sure that Elijah had enough sleep and plenty to eat because there was something big God wanted Elijah to do.

 8b Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.

When you see the number 40 in the Bible remember that it always refers to a time of preparation.    Moses fasted for 40 days before receiving the 10 Commandments from God.   The Israelites wandered for 40 years before entering the promised land.   Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days before beginning his ministry.   The forty days and nights Elijah spent on a journey was preparing him to take on Ahab and Jezebel.    The purpose of these forty days was to give Elijah the courage he needed to bring about reform in Israel.  And this courage would be tested on Mt. Horeb.  Mt. Horeb is the mountain of God when Moses had received the 10 Commandments.   On this mountain, Elijah’s courage will be tested. 

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”  Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.

Was Elijah afraid of the hurricane?  No.   Was Elijah afraid of the earthquake?  No.   Was Elijah afraid of the fire? No.   Did Elijah run away and give up after any of these?  No!  Elijah’s courage has been restored.   And he is ready to receive God’s instructions.

12b And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.

Now we know how Yahweh, God of Israel will deal with Ahab and Jezebel, King and Queen of Israel.   God has demonstrated his power to his king with a draught, but Ahab refused to repent.   So now God will remove the Omri Dynasty from the throne of Israel.   Elijah will anoint Jehu to lead a revolution that will topple the king.  He will be assisted by Hazael, the King of Aram.  And they will have a prophet to lead them, Elisha.  This is God’s plan to deal with the evil king and queen, Ahab and Jezebel.   They will lose their thrones because they led the people astray toward the gods of nature and sexuality. 

This is a warning to all those in power who seek to lead people away from God.   Anyone who leads a nation toward the worship of nature and sexuality risks losing their power to an angry God.

We Christian must be courageous.  We must proclaim the truth no matter the cost.  We must constantly call people back to the one true God, whom we know as Jesus Christ.   God will encourage us through our spiritual practices of worship, prayer and Bible study. 

Elijah never saw the end of the Omri dynasty.   He was gone before the revolution.   But he knew that through his courage he was helping implement God’s plan for the world.  So too with us.   If we act courageously to witness to God’s amazing love and call people to faith the fruits of what we do may not be known in our lifetimes.   But rest assured that God is using your courageous work to bring his glorious plan into fruition.   Let’s pray.

Father in heaven we thank you for the courage you give us.   Help us to hold fast to your truth and proclaim it to a world hungry to hear it.   This we pray in Jesus’ name.   Amen.

Sermon 1 Kings 18 “Elijah - A Wonderful Life”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sermon 1 Kings 18 “A Wonderful Life”
May 19, 2019

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I am beginning today a three-part sermon series on the life of the prophet Elijah.

Earlier this week I received an email from the Trump campaign asking me to support them by purchasing a MAGA hat.   MAGA stands for Make America Great Again, this is the slogan for the Trump campaign.   If you wear a MAGA hat in public you are making a political statement that you support the president.   But be warned that if you do this, other people who do not support Trump may be offended by your hat.   And this can cause problems for you.

We see this sort of thing going all the way back to the ninth century before Christ.   The people of Israel had abandoned the God of their ancestors.   Instead, they worshiped the gods of nature and sexuality.    A prophet came forward to challenge them.   And his name produced the same reaction a MAGA hat might produce today.   The prophet’s name was Elijah.   This is a Hebrew name meaning “Yahweh is God”.  So every time his name was spoken he challenged the worship of nature and sexuality and called people back to worship Yahweh, the God of Israel.  Some people, especially the king and queen, were offended by Elijah’s name.  We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.   

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

I would like to talk about two movies which I think will illustrate an important change that has taken place in Western culture. 

The movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, came out in 1946.   The lead character was George Bailey played by Jimmy Stewart.    George had a life-long dream to travel the world.  But time and again circumstances, including the divine interruption by an angel, blocked his ability to travel.  The caused great distress in George.   But by the end of the movie, George realized that he had been richly blessed by God with faith, family, and friends.   He truly had A Wonderful Life.

Now let’s fast forward to 2010 and the movie Eat Pray and Love.   This movie was based on the memoirs of the author Elizabeth Gilbert.   The lead character, Liz, was played by Julia Roberts.  Liz, like George Bailey, had a life-long dream to travel the world.   And like George Bailey, she had a husband, a home, and a career that prevented her from traveling.   But unlike George Bailey, Liz Gilbert decided that nothing could stop her.  So she divorced her husband, quit her job, left her home, and began world travel.   As the title suggests, she ate exotic foods, sampled the spiritual practices of the world’s religions, and fell in love with several different men.   I wouldn’t call this a wonderful life.

What happened between 1946 and 2010?  Our culture changed.   We abandoned the institutional church.   We abandoned the Christian faith.   We abandoned Judeo-Christian morality.   And we have begun worshiping nature and sexuality.   So let’s hear from the prophet Elijah.

1 Kings 18:21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.

The people of Elijah’s day had no answer to his question.    They had no idea why they had abandoned the God of their ancestors.   They couldn’t explain why they worshiped Baal, the god of nature.  And they didn’t know why they worshiped Asherah, the goddess of sexuality. 

And we don’t know either.   Why do we value material things so intensely?  Why do we engage in unlimited sexual activity with anyone, anywhere at any time?   Why have we let our culture abandon God?   We can’t answer this.   So let’s go back to Elijah.

23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

Elijah has proposed a test.    They will set up an altar to worship the gods of nature and sexuality.   Elijah will set up an altar to worship God.   And we will see which one works.

I suggest that this sounds like a pretty good test.   We, the church, will worship God and obey what God tells us to do in scripture.   Everyone else can worship nature and sexuality all they want.   Then we will see who lives a wonderful life.

 We will live lives full of faith, family, and friends.   They will live a life of things and casual sexual experiences.   Who will have a better life?   We will see.

 Let’s get back to our story.

25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered.
     
They tried.  They asked the god of nature to send the lightning they needed to start the fire.   But there was no response, no answer.
That’s what happens when we turn to the gods of nature and sexuality.  They destroy our faith, family, and friendships.  They are powerless to give us what we really need.   What we need is a God that will answer us when we call.  We need a God who, if we follow, will bless us richly.  Let’s go back to our story.

And they danced around the altar they had made.  27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

The gods of nature and sexuality don’t care about you.  They don’t want you to have a good life.   They are offering you fools gold.  They are trying to trick you into giving up your blessings.  They want you to worry that if we don’t do something the world will die in twelve years.   They want you to give up the blessing of marriage and family and engage in mindless sex.   They have no answers to the problems you face.  Why would you follow them? Let’s see what Elijah has to say.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

Elijah is calling the people back to worship the one true God, the God of their ancestors, the God who answers our prayers.   Elijah has asked God to demonstrate his faithfulness to people again.  And he has asked God to fill his people with faith so that they will turn away from the gods of nature and sexuality and return to faith, family, and friends.   He wants God to give them a wonderful life.

This is my prayer for you today, that God will demonstrate his love for you and give you a wonderful life.   Let’s see if the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob answers Elijah’s prayer.

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

They cried out Elijah, Elijah, Yahweh is God!  Yahweh is God!  Oh, that all of us would experience this, that we would see God working in our lives, that we would turn away from the gods of nature and sexuality, and embrace the true God who made us and wants us to have the blessings of faith, family and friends, a wonderful life.  Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, we confess that you are God.  We have turned from you to worship nature and sexuality.   We now desire to return to you.   And we ask for blessings of faith, family, and friends.   We ask for a wonderful life.  In your son’s name.  Amen.
 

Sermon Philippians 2:3-4 “Humility”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sermon Philippians 2:3-4 “Humility”
May 12, 2019

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This will be my final sermon in the series I started last fall based on the book, Believe, Living the Story of the Bible to Become Like Jesus, by Randy Frazee.  Last fall we began by looking at ten things Christians believe.   We talked about God, a Personal God, Salvation, the Bible, Identity in Christ, Church, Humanity, Compassion, Stewardship and Eternity.   Then, last winter we talked about spiritual practices, Worship, Prayer, Bible Study, Single-Mindedness, Total Surrender, Biblical Community, Spiritual Gifts, Offering My Time, Giving My Resources and Sharing My Faith.   Last Advent and this spring we have talked about Christian virtues, Love, Joy, Peace, Self-Control, Hope, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, and Gentleness.   As a result of what we believe and what we do we become virtuous like Jesus.  Today we turn to the final virtue, Humility.   We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Let’s hear some biblical wisdom:

Psalm 18:27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
Psalm 25:9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
Psalm 147:6 The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.
Proverbs 3:34 He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.
Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.  19 Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.
Proverbs 18:12 Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 22:4 Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.

There is no question about it.   It is wise to be humble.   Let’s look at humility.

Suppose you are part of a group.  You have high self-esteem.  You are strong, smart and educated.   You have been richly blessed.  You realize that you are stronger, smarter and better educated than anyone else in the group.   And you lord it over them.   You always tell them what to do.   You criticize them when are doing it wrong.   You are always on them to get better.   Is this humility?  No.  This is arrogance.   You think that your superior gifts entitle you to boss everyone around.   They won’t like it.  They think you are arrogant.   And arrogance is the opposite of biblical humility.  You don’t want to be seen as being arrogant.

Now suppose you are part of a group, but you have low self-esteem.   You do not consider yourself to be very strong or smart or educated.   You don’t think that God has blessed you very much.   And you get pushed around by others.  You are a wimp.   Is this biblical humility?  No.  This is humiliation.  You don’t want to be a wimp.

To be humble you must have high self-esteem.   You must think of yourself as strong, smart and educated.  But unlike the arrogant person, you do not compare yourself with other people.   You do not think of yourself as better than others.   Rather, you compare yourself with God.  And when you do this you find that God is much stronger than you.   God is much smarter than you.   God is more educated than you will ever be.   You are pretty good but God is a whole lot better than you.  And when you realize this you will be humbled.   This is the virtue of biblical humility.

Suppose you are part of a group.  You have high self-esteem.  You are strong, smart and educated.   You have been richly blessed.  You realize that you are stronger, smarter and better educated than any else in the group.   But you realize that you are nothing when compared to God.  What do you do?   Let’s turn to today’s scripture.

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Again, suppose you are part of a group.  You have high self-esteem.  You are strong, smart and educated.   You have been richly blessed.  You realize that you are stronger, smarter and better educated than any else in the group.   But you realize that you are nothing when compared to God.  You have the virtue of biblical humility so you are concerned not with your own wants and desire but with the interest of the members of the group.  You lift the group up by helping them use their gifts.   You are not arrogant.  You are not a wimp.   You are humble. 

Jesus was certainly humble.   He came as our king but was born in a stable, wrapped with rags, and slept in a feeding trough.  Jesus ate his last supper with us, but instead of sitting in the place of honor he washed our feet.  Jesus came into Jerusalem as a messiah but instead of leading an army he went to a cross, for us.   That is biblical humility.

Philippians 2:5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:  6 Who, being in very nature God,  did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.  7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Jesus had high self-esteem.   He was strong, smart and educated.   But he wasn’t arrogant.   And he wasn’t a wimp.  He was humble and did everything to serve us. 

Let’s listen to Jesus’ own teaching on humility.

Mark 10:35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.
42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Let me tell you a story about a man who learned humility the hard way.   His name was Saul in Hebrew.   But you probably heard his Greek name, Paul.   Paul was a strong man, very smart and highly educated.   He had extremely high self-esteem.   And it came out as arrogance.   He heard about a Jewish sect in Jerusalem that was worshipping a man who claimed to be the Messiah.   And he decided that they had to be stopped. 

He was part of a mob that stoned a church deacon, Stephen, to death for his belief in Jesus Christ.    He persecuted Christians pulling them out of churches and throwing them in jail.  And when he had decimated the church in Jerusalem he received permission to carry his persecution of the church to Damascus.   On the way to Damascus Paul met Jesus and converted.  And as a Christian Paul, this stong, smart and educated man,  became humble.   Let’s listen to his own words.

2 Corinthians 12:7 … Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

So through a physical difficulty, Paul started comparing himself, not to others, but to God.  And this strong, smart, educated man realized the when he compared himself with God he was truly weak.   This created in him the Christian virtue of humility.   And it changed his behavior toward others.

2 Corinthians 13:9 We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

So when we are humble we have high self-esteem and we use our gifts to build others up and not tear them down.   The Prophet Micah said that this was the essence of a faithful life.

Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Let’s pray.  Father in heaven, teach us to be humble.   Help us to be strong, smart and educated.   Give us high-self esteem.   But keep us aware that we are nothing compared to you.  And in our humility help us to lift up others.   Bless us we pray, in Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Sermon Philippians 4:5 “Gentleness”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sermon Philippians 4:5 “Gentleness”
May 5, 2019

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We are continuing with our look at Christ-like virtues.  These virtues are developed from our faith and spiritual practices.  So far we have talked about Self-Control, Patience, Kindness, and Goodness.   Today we turn to the Christian virtue of Gentleness.   We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

When I was a kid I learned a very helpful proverb.  “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me.”   The meaning of this proverb was that there was a distinction between words and violence.   And it was important to keep our disputes non-violent by using words.   This is the basis of our court system.  If someone does something violent to me or my property, I can go to court and argue for damages rather than respond with violence. 

But today in many universities children are being taught that there is no difference between violence and speech.   They say that some speech is a form of violence.   And they say that if speech is used violently then a violent response is justified.

Recently a political commentator, Michael Knowles, spoke a the University of Missouri, Kansas City.  His topic was “A Man is not a Woman”.   His idea was that you cannot change your gender.  This was seen by some students as violent speech.  So they responded violently by squirting an unknown liquid at Mr. Knowles.   Rather than disciplining the student who had attacked Mr. Knowles the president of the university condemned Michael Knowles for his violent speech.

This is dangerous because it means that we can no longer use speech to defuse violent situations.   If words are a form of violence then words cannot be used to stop violence.   And if we cannot talk non-violently about our problems then violence will get worse. 

Our only hope is that the Holy Spirit will develop in us the virtue of gentleness.  Only then can we respond to violence calmly, in a thoughtful, considerate way.   
In the New Testament, there are two Greek words which are translated into English as “gentleness”, prautes and epiekes.   These words both mean gentleness, but they have subtle differences in meaning.  Let’s look at prautes.  Prautes is the virtue that you develop so that you are not overly impressed by your own self-importance.

2 Corinthians 10:1 By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away!

While I was attending seminary I became the Multicultural Intern for Pasadena Presbyterian Church.  The church had three worshiping congregations.   Each worshiped in a different language, Spanish, Korean and English.   Pasadena is one church with three different language groups.  As the Multicultural Intern, I was to find ways of bringing the three groups together.   I was assigned the task of developing a Bible study for Lent.   We would intentionally form Lenten small groups with Spanish, Korean, and English speaking participants. 

Usually, when you try to do this the English speakers dominate the discussions.   They already had mastered the language.  They had been born in America.  And they had been members of the church for many years.   Korean and Spanish speakers were new people with limited skill in English.   So the English speakers usually dominated the discussions while the others sat there quietly. 

I wanted to avoid this situation.   I wanted people from all three language groups to participate in the discussion equally.   So I used a technique called “Mutual Invitation”.   A group facilitator would welcome the group and see that they were all seated comfortably.   Then the facilitator would pray, read scripture and ask a question.   The facilitator would then invite someone to speak.   The rules were simple.  Only one person could speak at a time, and everyone else had to remain silent when someone was speaking.   The person speaking could take a few moments of time to compose his or her thoughts;  this was very important for the Korean and Spanish speakers to get their answers into English.    No one could interrupt the person speaking.  And when that person was finished he or she would invite the next person to speak. 

This process was repeated until everyone had spoken.   Then the facilitator would ask the next question.

The results were amazing.   The English speakers who wanted to interrupt had to remain silent.   The Spanish and Korean speakers had time to think before speaking, and they could speak without being interrupted.   Everyone had an equal opportunity to speak.  Through Mutual Invitation the dominant group learned to be gentle, and the less powerful groups had opportunities.  Prautes means that you are gentle; you do not think of yourself to highly.   

Let’s now turns to the other Greek word translated as “gentleness”.   This is the Greek word, epiekes.   Epiekes means that you exhibit gentleness by not insisting on your rights.

Suppose you are in a crowded parking lot.   You have been driving around looking for a parking space.   Then you see someone get in her car and begin to back out of a space very near the store you are about to visit.   You thank God for this blessing and turn on your turn signal telling everyone that this is your parking spot. 

Then you see a car coming from the other direction.   You see an older man behind the wheel.   You see that the car has handicapped license plates.   There are no handicapped spaces available.   Your parking space is the only one.   What do you do?   Do you take the parking space right near the store as is your right?  After all, you were there first and your turn signal is on.   Or do you let the elderly driver with the handicapped plates use this spot while you find another?  If you have developed the Christian virtue of gentleness, then you will give up your right to the parking space and give it to the elderly driver.

Of course, all this is hard to do.   We have difficulty giving up our privileges and giving others a chance.   This is especially true at church.   When someone comes to a church they want to participate in decision making and use their spiritual gifts.   In a growing church, people will give up some of their own prestige and power to the newcomers.  That is why leaders of the church should not be an elder, trustee or deacon forever.   It is important to cycle off these boards so the newcomers can cycle on.  If you are organizing Fellowship activities or VBS or mission projects, your job is to get new people involved so that they will replace you.   This will only happen if you have the Christian virtue of gentleness, and are willing to giving up some of your rights and privileges so that others can participate in decision making and use their gifts

So what are some practical things we can do to nurture the virtue of gentleness?

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

The first thing we can do is to be thoughtful.   In every situation, we take time to think about the proper thing to do.  We don’t act like a bull in a china shop pushing everything over, trying always to get our own way.  Rather, we try to always encourage others and do little things to help them.

We also need to be considerate.   Whenever we have an important decision to make we think about the impact it will have on others.  We get input from other people and take their opinion seriously.  And we follow our Christian role model, Jesus, to learn how to be gentle.

And finally, we must remain calm.  We have to let the passions of the moment dissipate and then act in confidence.  When someone comes at us filled with anger, we need to resist the temptation to respond violently.  Rather we try to diffuse the situation before it can get worse. 

So, with the Christian virtue of gentleness, we are to calmly be thoughtful and considerate in everything we do.   We are not to think too highly of ourselves.   And we are to forgo our rights and privileges in order to benefit others.  And this brings us to today’s scripture.

Philippians 4:5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

The reason we are to be gentle is so everyone will know that Christians have something good to offer.  We are willing to give up our rights and privileges to lift others up.   We do not think too highly of ourselves.   And we always act calmly with thoughtfulness and consideration of others.  We do this because our Lord is here with us, watching us and guiding us.  We act as he did.   And we do what he told us to do.

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

Let’s pray.   Lord Jesus, we thank you for teaching us how to be gentle.   We promise to give up our rights and privileges to benefit others, and not to think too highly of ourselves.   With your help, we will remain calm, thoughtful and considerate.    This we pray in your gentle name.  Amen.