Rick Warren - The Strength God Gives to the Gentle and Meek (Part 3)

In our hard driving, ego driven, market driven culture, you

don't hear a whole lot about gentleness. And the reason

why is we don't understand what it really means to

be gentle. We think gentleness means weakness, and God says

absolutely not. The gentle are the strongest people on the planet,

and the earth will be theirs. It's the weak people

who are arrogant. It's the weak people who are prideful.

It's the weak people who are pushy and rude and

mean and gossip. Those are weak people, he said. The

truly strong people in life are the gentle, and the

world will be theirs. Now, I want you to write

down a definition. This is not the first fill in,

so don't put it on that line. He's gonna have

to write at some paint or else on the outline.

Let me give you a true definition of gentleness. It's

here on the screen. Gentleness is strength under control. Gentleness,

the Bible teaches real gentleness is not weakness, but rather

it's strength under control. A gentle person does not over react.

A gentle person is not driven by their own emotions.

A gentle person is not someone who just is so

moody and anything can let them fly off the handle.

Gentleman person is strength under control. The Greek word in

the Bible for gentleness is the word pratase pratase in

the old translations of the Bible. In English, it is

translated as the word meek meek. Now nobody uses that

word anymore because meek has become a synonym for weak,

and gentleness or pratase is anything but weak. In fact,

the word pradase or gentleness in the Bible was actually

used to refer to a wild stallion that had been tamed.

If you go out into the fields or in the

hills and you find a wild stallion who's strong and unbridled,

and they have enormous strength, and they could kick you

and kill you pretty quickly. But if you bring that

stallion back and you tame it, then the strength is

brought under control. The strength is bottled up for the

master's use, and now it's useful. A tamed horse is

no less strong than a wild horse. It has just

as much strength, it can go just as fast. But

a tamed horse, a proud taste horse, a meek horse,

a gentle horse is one that it is strength under control.

It is bottled up for the Master's use. And when

you learn true gentleness as a man of God, when

you learn true gentleness as a woman of God God,

it doesn't mean you're weak. It doesn't mean you're a doormat.

It doesn't mean you're any of those things that you

might think meekness or gentleness means. It means you're not overreacting,

you're in control of your emotions and you have strength

under control. When people look at you, and non believers

are watching you all the time, and they're watching to see,

are you any different than they are when you're understressed?

Are you any different than they are when you are

under pressure? When you respond to pressure with gentleness, that

is an incredible testimony to the world. Here's what the

Bible says Titus three to two. Believers should never speak

evil of anyone. Circle that. If you're a believer, not

only am I as a pastor not to do that.

You're not to do that. Believers should never speak evil

of anyone. That means you can't disagree with them. No,

of course, you can disagree with people, you just can't

speak evil of them. You can't malign them, you can't

slander them. You can't do personal attacks against them. Not

if you claim to be a follower of Jesus, you can't.

Believers should never speak evil of anyone, even the people

who hurt you, even the people who hurt you, Nor

be quarrelsome. You're not allowed to be quarrelsome. Instead, they

should be gentle and show courtesy to everyone. Circle be

gentle and show courtesy you. If you claim to be

a follower of Jesus, you are not allowed to speak

evil of anyone. You are not allowed to be quarrelsome. Instead,

you must be gentle with everybody, and you must show

courtesy to everybody. That means even people of a different

political party. Yes, you know, God gave me the gift

of evangelism, which means I spend most of my time

when I'm not at saddleback speaking to people I totally

disagree with. I disagree with what they believe, or I

disagree with their lifestyle, or I disagree with their concept

or whatever. But my definition of evangelism is you cannot

win your enemies to Christ. You can only win your

friends and to me, evangelism as you build a bridge

of love between your heart and theirs and Jesus walks across. Now,

people aren't going to trust Jesus till first they trust you.

People don't ask me is the Bible credible? They want

to know. Are you credible? Rick Warren? Are you credible?

Are you exactly what you appear to be? Are you

the real deal? Do you live with integrity? Are you gentle?

Are you loving? Are you compassionate? If people like what

they see, they will listen to what you say the

first they got to like what they see. Gentleness is

a witness to unbeliever. We are to be gentle and

show courtesy to everyone. Now, let me just tell you something.

I know this from experience. If you actually obey this verse,

you're going to be criticized by other Christians because they're

going to tell you. They're going to say you're compromising.

You see when I say I have friends who are Muslims,

and I have friends who are atheists, and I have

friends who are gay, and I have friends who are secularists,

and I have friends who are Mormon, and I have

friends who are you can name it, Democrats, Republicans and

in between. How could you do that? And they accuse

you of being compromising? No, you don't compromise what you believe.

You just treat everybody with respect. You treat everybody with courtesy,

whether you agree with them or not. Does that make sense?

And you are to do that. If you do, there

will be people say, hey, hey, you can't be nice

to those liberal people. Well why not because then you're

a liberal. Or you can't be nice to those conservatives.

Why because then you're a conservative. You've heard me say

this many times before. People ask me, are you left wing?

A right wing? I say, I'm for the whole bird? Okay,

I'm actually for America. Have you ever seen a bird

fly with one wing? If you only have one wing,

you fly around in the circle. It actually takes both wings.

Nobody gets it right all the time. Independence don't get

it right all the time. Democrats don't get it right

all the time. Republicans don't get it right all the time.

I have friends who are Republicans, I have friends who

are Democrats. I'm for my friends. Why, That's what Jesus

would do, Because there's something more than politics that's important,

and it is do they know Jesus? And that's what

we are to do. Gentleness is a witness to believe unbelievers.

Look at this verse one Peter three point fifteen. Always

be prepared to give he's talking about witnessing to an unbeliever.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everybody who

asks you to give the reason for the hope that

you have. But he says, do this with gentleness and

what respect. No matter what they believe, and no matter

how they act, and no matter how ungodly they are,

you are to do it with gentleness and respect. In

other words, you don't go out thumping bibles on people

saying turn or burn, you're gonna die and fry while

we go to the sky. That doesn't work. That doesn't work.

Gentleness witnesses to unbelievers. Number eight. Gentleness makes me like Jesus.

Gentleness makes me like Jesus. And this is the biggest

one of all. That's why I saved it for last.

In Matthew chapter eleven, verse twenty eight, twenty nine, it says,

if you want to be like Jesus, you want to

be a godly woman, a godly man, you're going to

have to learn gentleness. Jesus says in Matthew eleven, come

to me. Come to me, all you who are weary,

and you're burdened, you're stressed out. And he says, I

will give you more work to do now, and then

say I will give you what rest? Yeah, Then he says,

take my yoke on you and learn from me, for

I am gentle, circle that God says. Jesus says, I

am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find

rest for your souls now. Question number one. Doesn't this

mean that if I want to be like Jesus, I've

got to learn to be gentle? Yes? Question number two.

Is it possible that the stress you're feeling in your

life and the pressure you're feeling in your life is

because you are not gentle? Yes? Because the Bible says

the more gentle you become, the more christ Like you become,

and the more at peace you become, and the more

at rest you become. The reason why you're stressed out

all the time, why you're tired all the time, while

you feel pressured all the time, is because you are

not gentle. He says, I'm gentle, and if you come

get with me, I'm gonna give you rest and peace,

not stress and pressure. He said, Oh man, I want that.

I want to be at peace. I want to be

like Jesus. I don't be stressed out all the time.

So I'm just gonna go out and tomorrow I'm gonna

force myself to be gentle. So you get up in

the morning, you go and how are you today? And

you oh, just fine? Thank you? And you how are

you to No, no, no, that you can't fake gentleness.

You can't manipulate gentleness. You can't manufacture gentleness. It's got

to be an inside job. God has to produce it

inside you. Look of the next verse. The fruit of

the spirit is what gentleness. It is God's spirit producing

it in you. You can't fake gentleness because inside you're

gonna still be understress. It is something that God does

to you. There is a prayer that I've prayed now

for over thirty years. I've prayed it almost every day.

And as I walk out and I see people, and

I saw walk down on the patterer and say, Lord, help

me to treat people the way Jesus would. Why Because

I am not by nature a gentle person. I'm not.

And you know what, neither are you? You are not

by nature a gentle person. You have to learn it,

and you have to let God produce it in your life.

God help me to treat everybody I meet with like

Jesus today, not rude, not crude, not in civil in

all of those ways. Hi, everybody, I'm Pastor Rick Warren.

You know, when I started Saddleback Church over forty years ago,

just a handful of people in our living room. I

also began writing a simple devotional just for the people

in our church to help them start each day with

hope and with truth and with peace that comes from

Jesus Christ. Well, you know that little devotional grew and

grew and grew in Today, Daily Hope is one of

the largest email devotions in the whole world, and each

day people all around the globe are reconnecting with God's

promises and finding fresh strength in his word to face

whatever comes their way. Here's the best part. It's absolutely free. Okay,

we don't have any charge for this. Every day you'll

get a quick devotional read and a podcast that you

can listen to on the go. Now, you know, in

a world it's more distracted and uncertain than ever, I

want to help you start your day centered on what

never changes, and what never changes is a God's love

is unconditional love for you and his promises to you.

You know, if you'll just spend just a few minutes

a day in the morning with the Lord, it can

bring so much more clarity, more purpose, more peace to

everything that happens in your day. Particularly, a psychologist has

said that what you do with the first five minutes

of your day pretty much sets the tone. So, friend,

you were never meant to go through life alone. I

want to personally invite you to just sign up for

the Daily Hope devotional. Do it today. I think it's

going to bring fresh encouragement to your walk in God,

God bless you. Would you like to sign up for

Pastor Rick's email devotional. I know you'll love it. You

can just scan the QR code or go to dailyhopetv

dot com. Now let me wrap this up. Who could

you practice gentleness with this week? A let's just get

down and dirty, really practical. I'm going to give you

three statements. Just write these down. They're not on your outline.

Here's three things I want you to practice gentleness this

week with three different kinds of people. Okay, so write

these down. Number one. This next week, here's the first

sentence when someone serves me, be understanding, not demanding. When

someone serves me, be understanding, not demanding. That's what gentleness is,

strength under control. Why aren't you talking about Rick. I'm

talking about waitresses when they serve you, clerks and stores

when they serve you, a secretary or a government official

or a clerk or employees. If you work, people work

for you. Are people in fast food? You know? A

while back, I went into McDonald's ordering my Daniel Plan,

just seeing if you'd catch that or not. And I'm

standing in line, and there was this young girl, very flustered.

As obvious she was a trainee at McDonald's. She was

just like in her first day or first couple of days,

and she was pressured, and there was a long line,

and she was making a lot of mistakes. And the

more she made mistakes, the more people got upset and

they were not understand they were demanding, and the more demanding,

the more pressure she felt. And I thought she was

going to burst into tears. And when I came up

to get my Daniel Plan meal, I looked at her

and I said, it's okay, it's not that big a deal.

Don't worry about it. It's not anything for people to

have to wait a few extra seconds and tomorrow will

be a whole new day. You're just learning. It's okay.

She looked up at me and she goes, aren't you

that guy from Saddleback? I'm glad I was understanding, not demanding.

And then I got to thinking, I wonder what is

the reputation of our church family in Orange County when

we go out for fast food? Are we understanding or

are we demanding? The Bible says in Philippians two, do this.

Don't just think about your own affairs, but be interested

in others too and what they're doing. Your attitude should

be the same as that of Jesus Christ. So when

people serve you this week, be understanding, not demanding. And

if you don't get your burger right and it didn't

come back animal style, that's also on the Daniel plan.

Don't sweat it all right, Okay, number two write this

one down. When somebody disagrees with me this week, when

somebody disagrees with me, be tender without surrender. Be tender

without surrender. I'm not saying gentalist means you have to

cave in on your convictions. And if somebody tells you

something is wrong when you know it's right, or somebody

tells you that something is right when you know that's

not wrong. That's not right, it's wrong. According to the scripture,

you don't back down, you don't become wimpy, you don't

become a chameleon, and say, well, ever, teach his own

ways and that's your interpretation. Woww No, No, that's a

cop out. But you can be tender without surrender. Some

of my best friends are people who violently would disagree

with me on what I believe about certain things. I

don't compromise on what I believe. I know what the

Bible says, and I'm not afraid, and I'm not ashamed,

and I fear God's disapprove of them more than theirs.

But I treat them with gentleness and respect, and that's

why we can have a friendship. Let me show you

Verse Romans fourteen to one in the paraphrase of the message,

I love this, welcome with open arms fellow believers who

don't see things the way you do. In other words,

they may be another brand of Christian. They may be

Pentecostal or Catholic, or Presbyterian or Lutheran or Baptist or

Calvary Chapel or Vineyard or ye, I don't really care.

Just maybe they don't even agree with you on certain difference.

Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things

the way you do, and don't jump all over them

every time they do or say something you don't agree with.

That's the exact obs what people are doing on the

internet right now. They jump over everybody anything. Then, he says,

even when it seems that they're strong on their opinions

but weak in the faith department, remember they have their

own history to deal with, treat them gently. That's being

like Jesus. That's what God wants you to do. To

treat everybody gently. You be tender without surrender when somebody

disagrees with you. Would you write this down on your outline.

I never get my point across by being cross. You

can tweet that one too. This is a really tweetable sermon.

I never get my point across by being cross. You

don't have to devastate those you disagree with. A lot

of people make verbal overkill to make a point, and

they turn everything into win lose. You have to decide

do I want to make a point, or do I

want to make a friend with that unbeliever or even

another fellow Christian? All right, and then one more, let

me give you this one. When somebody disappoints you, and

you're going to be disappointed this week. When someone disappoints me,

be gentle, not judgmental. When somebody disappoints you this week,

be gentle, not judgmental. Galatian six to one says this,

if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual,

should restore him gently. That maybe somebody in your small group,

you who are spiritual, should restore him gently. But it

says watch yourself, or you may be tempted too. In

other words, given the right situation, we're all potential sinners

in any potential area. We don't surprise ourselves. If somebody's

caught us in, restore them gently. And Ephesians chapter four,

verse thirty two says this, be gentle with one another

and sensitive with one another. Forgive one another as quickly

and as thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you. We're

going to come back this verse in another week. That's

say this, God cut you a lot of slack. You

better cut everybody else a lot of slack. God has

shown you grace. You better show everybody else a lot

of grace. God has forgiven you a whole lot more

than you're going to have to ever forgive anybody else.

That is gentleness. So how do you react when somebody

really screws up their life? They really mess it up?

You go, I told you so, I could see it coming.

Serves your right. I would never be that dumb. And

you actually get a secret satisfaction when you see somebody fall,

particularly if they criticized you. Do you know what angered

Jesus the most. It wasn't sin that angered Jesus the most.

What angered Jesus the most were self righteous people who

thought they spent all their time being God's appointed judge

on earth of everybody else. And Jesus got really ticked

off at those people. They were called the Pharisees. Happiness

is when you can accept people who haven't attained your

level of perfection. That was sarcasm. If you didn't get it,

this is what it means. All right, it's time to close.

Let's bow our heads. You really want to be like Jesus.

If you do, you're going to have to learn the

third beatitude. God blesses those who are gentle. The whole

world will belong to them. Why because they don't overreact

and they're not out of control. It's strength under control.

Would you pray this prayer in your heart, Dear Jesus Christ.

I am not by nature a gentle person. I'm just not.

And I need your spirit of power and love and

self control. And this week when people serve me, help

me to be understanding, not demanding. And this week when

people disagree with me, help me to be tender without surrender.

And this week when people disappoint me, help me to

be gentle, not judgmental. Lord, I want to be like you.

I want to have a gentle answer that turns away anger,

not stirs it up. Help me to lower my voice

when everybody else raises theirs. And when evil things are

said about me, help me to respond like Paul, to

respond gently disarm my critics. And when people are headstrong

and I'm trying to persuade him, help me to remember

that I'm never persuasive when I'm abrasive, But the more

pleasant my words, more persuasive, I'll be. Lord. I want

my life to be attractive. I want the beauty that

comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle spirit,

which is so precious to God. And Lord, help me

to use gentleness this week to communicate love to those

that I love in my life. Help me to be

gentle with them. You said that gentleness earns respect, that

a woman of gentle grace will be respected, then a

godly man will be gentle. Lord, I want to be

a gentle leader. I want to be meek like Moses

and like Jesus, strength under control. I want my life

to be a witness. And Lord, I ask you to

help me to never speak evil of anyone, to not

be quarrelsome, to show courtesy to everybody, regardless of what

they believe or how they live. Help me to share

my faith with gentleness and respect of all. Jesus, You've

promised that if I would come to you and team

up with you because you're gentle, I would find rest

for my soul. Replace my stress with your gentleness. I

want the fruit of the spirit to grow in my life.

If you've never invited Jesus Christ in life, said, Jesus Christ,

put your spirit in me beginning tonight. I want to

follow you and love you and learn to trust you

the rest of my life. I give my life to you,

Jesus Christ. In your name, I pray Amen.