THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:

MEEKNESS AND TEMPERANCE

MEMORY VERSE: ‘’What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love and in the spirit of meekness?." - 1Corinthians 4:21

BIBLE PASSAGE: 1Corinthians 9:24-27

INTRODUCTION:
Meekness connotes a calm temper of mind, not easily provoked (James 3:13). The word meekness does not connote weakness. Rather, it involves humility and thankfulness toward God, and polite, restrained behaviour toward others. The opposites of meekness are anger, a desire for revenge, and self-aggrandisement. Temperance means properly, self-control, continence. Meekness and temperance shall be studied extensively, as parts of the characteristics of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, in this lesson.

LESSON OUTLINES
1. Meekness
2. Temperance

MEEKNESS
Meekness is might restrained, humility and grace displayed. Human power under human control is a half-broken weapon in the hands of a child. However, meekness places our strength under God's guidance. Meekness constrains and channels the power of our words and actions. To be meek is to recognise that God's ways and thoughts are high above our own (Isaiah 55:9). It is to accept God's worldview, reflecting truth about the spiritual and the material worlds. When we are filled with the Spirit's fruit of meekness, we will correct others with ease instead of arguing in resentment and anger. We will forgive readily (Matthew 18:23-35). Competition and sectarianism will disappear (Philippians 1:15-18). We will accept God's judgment on people and issues.
The Bible mentions some peculiar promises made to the meek (Matthew 5:5; Isaiah 66:2). The cultivation of the spirit of meekness is also enjoined (Colossians 3:12; 1Timothy 6:11; Zephaniah 2:3). Meekness is exemplified in Christ (Matthew 11:29), Abraham (Genesis 13; 16:5-6), Moses (Numbers 12:3), David (Zechariah 12:8; 2Samuel 16:10,12), and Paul (1Corinthians 9:19).

TEMPERANCE
Temperance is the ability to control oneself. It involves a life of moderation and constraint against earthly desires and fleshly lusts. Salvation gives us freedom (Galatians 5:1) which includes freedom from sin (Romans 6:6). We need temperance as defence against forces of pleasure and lust (Romans 7:21-25). Temperance naturally leads to perseverance (2Peter 1:6). Temperance frees us from guilty conscience (2Corinthians 4:2) and helps us to find the liberty to love and live as God desires (Galatians 5:13). Temperance includes the dominion over all evil tendencies and may denote continence, chastity, self-government, moderation in regard to all indulgences. The Holy Spirit in the heart makes a man moderate in all indulgences; teaches him to restrain his passions, and to govern himself; to control his evil propensities, and to subdue all inordinate affections.

CONCLUSION:
You can be like Jesus in meekness and temperance. Pray about it now.

QUESTIONS
1. Describe meekness
2. What does it mean to be temperate?

YOUR LOCATION MATTERS

“He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.” Proverbs 10:5

READ: Genesis 3:7-10

3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were Unclad; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

3:9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was Unclad; and I hid myself.

MESSAGE:

Although God is much very willing to help you, before you can receive help from Him, you have to first settle the issue of your spiritual location. In today’s Bible reading, when God came visiting Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, and He did not find them where he expected them to be, He made a passionate call to them saying: “Adam, where are you?” If God will help you, He needs to know where you are. Do you want God’s help today? If yes, where are you standing presently? Are you where you were at the beginning of the year? Are you stagnant, unproductive, unprofitable, and not making progress? In the parable of the talents, the fellow who received one talent proved to be unproductive (Matthew 25:24-30). That is however not God’s expectation of you. Some people are unproductive because they do the right thing at the wrong time. Proverbs 10:5 says,

“He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.”

There is a time for everything. There is a time to work and a time to rest. Rest follows work and not the other way round. Today, quite a number of people unfortunately go on vacations even though they have not worked. Rest is earned. If you rest without deserving it, you will be showing to the whole world how unwise you really are. When many children of affluent people, who never worked one day to earn an income, are bequeathed with great wealth, the next thing they think of doing is how to go on a spending spree of the funds they never worked for.

Beloved, where is your present location? If you are located in laziness, disobedience, self-will or unforgiveness, receiving help from God may be a mirage. If you are sleeping when you should be actively engaged for the Master, you are a shame to the Body of Christ. The harvest of this world is already ripe and gradually becoming overripe. This is harvest time. How many souls did you personally win to Christ this year? Is there any significant improvement to your life compared to last year or have you lost further grounds to laziness, procrastination and idleness? Can you say you are experiencing progress? Movement can be sideways, forward or backward. May you never go backward in Jesus’ Name! Consider your location and take appropriate steps so that you can receive God’s help this season.

ACTION POINT:
Before asking God for anything make sure you are not located in disobedience or unbelief.

A MATTER OF CHOICE

MEMORISE:

Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. Psalm 35:27

READ: Genesis 32:3-6

32:3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

32:4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:

32:5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and women servants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.

32:6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

MESSAGE:

If you measure life by the experiences of some people, you will live far from your God-given purpose and barely scratch the surface. Some people are alive but only just surviving from day to day. In Luke 13:11-17, the woman who was bound for 18 years did not die, but she was merely surviving and not living. Also, the man with the unclean spirit in Mark 1:23-26 was continually going to church, and yet he was inhabited by an unclean spirit. It was even in the synagogue that the Lord met him. Although he was living, he was the captive of a demonic spirit. What of Naaman who appeared to be a distinguished and successful man, and yet he had a problem that no man could solve (2 Kings 5:1)? Just like the individuals in all these examples, many people today are barely surviving, and are not living life as purposed by God for them. God not only wants you to live life, He also wants you to enjoy the abundant life that He gives (John 10:10). Are you not tired of “managing”, struggling to survive, and living from hand to mouth? If you are truly tired, the Lord will make a way for you.

God is interested in the overflow of His blessings upon your life. He does not just want you to be healed; he also wants His healing virtue to flow through you to others. He wants you to be free from captivity, and beyond this, He also wants you to set the captives free. God does not want you just to be rich but also to lend to nations. He wants you to be so prosperous that when nations cannot balance their budgets, they will come and pay you a visit. God wants you to bring great joy to your family, community, city and nation. However, no matter how much He wants the overflow for you, He will respect what you want for yourself. He cannot force an overflow of His blessing on you when you want so little of it. There are different levels of greatness, and your choice of the type of life you want for yourself has a role to play in determining how great you become. Let us see the example of Esau. Yes, he sold his birthright, but as a seed of Abraham, he was so blessed from the remnant of blessing pronounced on him that he had 400 bodyguards. How many bodyguards do ministers, senators, state governors or even presidents have today? So you would agree that Esau was not doing badly. However, compared to Jacob his brother, who became a great nation, the difference is definitely clear. Do you want to merely survive, or do you want to be truly blessed with the overflowing portion of God’s blessings? The choice is yours!

PRAYER POINT:
Father, I am tired of just managing to survive. I choose the overflow of Your blessings. Please release it to me and my family now.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Proverbs 5-8
Zachariah 8:9-23

AVOID DEFILEMENT!

Memorise: 

“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.” Revelation 21:27

Read: Isaiah 52:11-12
52:11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.
52:12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your reward.

MESSAGE:
It is the great desire of the wonder-working God to work wonders through His children. However, for you to be a partaker of the manifestation of this desire, you must be prepared to pay the price.

Nothing good comes cheap. Anything that is cheap is obviously of low quality and value. If you are interested in working wonders as a worker in God’s vineyard, you must be prepared to be a living sacrifice to God Romans 12:1.
You must be ready to say,
“Lord, for the rest of my life, feel free to do whatever you want with me.”

In addition, to work wonders, you must have clean hands. Isaiah 52:11 says,

“Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.”

Your hands must be free from defilement at home, at work, when nobody is watching, and everywhere else.

Many years ago, while I was still lecturing in the university, I wrote a personal letter, and as I reached out to take one of the official envelopes assigned to me, the Lord said,

“You wrote a personal letter, but that envelope is for official use.” I replied, “Lord, how much is an envelope?”, and He said to me, “If it is so cheap, go and buy your own.”

If you want to lay hands on the sick and see them recover, or if you want to lay hands on demon-possessed individuals and have the demons obey your voice, then it cannot be with hands that have been stealing, defrauding or writing false reports.

Moreover, you need to be in constant touch with God. 1st Thessalonians 5:17 says that you should pray without ceasing. One way to do this is by regularly praying in tongues like Paul 1st Corinthians 14:18.

You can also keep in touch with God by constantly thanking Him. I tell you, Jesus would like that. I heard the testimony of a man who on his 50th birthday said all he wanted to do was say ‘Thank You’ to Jesus at least 50 times. I said that was a beautiful idea which had never crossed my mind.

How old are you now? When you want to pray, say thank You to Jesus the number of times corresponding with your age, and you will be amazed at what could happen through this.

Do you want to be a worker of signs and wonders? Are you ready to pay the price?

Prayer Point:
Father, by Your power, keep me from being defiled, every day of my life.

Bible in one year:
Revelation 20-22
Zachariah 5:5-6:15

INVITATION TO GREATER WORKS

MEMORISE:

And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Luke 10:17

READ:
Matthew 14:23-29

23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

MESSAGE:
On one of their journeys by sea, the disciples saw Jesus walking towards them on water. Astonished to see this wonder, Peter asked the lord Jesus Christ if he could join Him, and the Lord invited him to come. Peter’s fellow disciples watched in amazement as he walked towards Jesus on the water. If only they too had responded to the Lord’s invitation, they would have partaken of this awesome experience, but they were not courageous enough to step out. Nevertheless, that invitation to do the impossible was not limited to them. It is still open to you and me today. In John 14:12, Jesus said,

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

Beloved, the call to do the works of Jesus and even perform greater works than He did is a call to do the impossible. To be able to do this, you must be prepared to believe in Jesus Christ with all your heart, leaving no space for doubt. Do you believe in Him? Why then do you still leave room for doubt? Don’t you know that the Lord never fails?

Furthermore, Jesus invites us to follow Him. John 8:12 says,

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

As the Light, if you follow Jesus, you will not walk in darkness, and neither will you stumble. Also, if you follow Him, He will make something great out of your life. He will make you what you never dreamt you could become. Consider a person like Peter: he would have died an unknown fisherman if he had not accepted Christ’s invitation to follow Him (Matthew 4:18-19). Have you accepted that invitation to follow Jesus? Today, some people give various excuses for not following Him. One of such excuses is that they do not want to be disturbed or distracted from their life’s goal or ambition, failing to realize that if only they accepted the Lord’s invitation, they would have had a greater future and they would have enjoyed His backing in all their life’s endeavors. Have you heeded his invitation?

KEY POINT:
The call to follow Jesus is a call to true discipleship. Are you His disciple?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Psalm 135-141, Zephaniah 3:9-20

AUTHOR:
PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

WHAT OF YOUR VOW.

Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Ecclesiastes 5:5

READ: Ecclesiastes 5:1-6

5:1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

5:3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.

5:4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

5:5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

5:6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

MESSAGE:

The institution of marriage is largely misunderstood and consequently abused by lot of people in today’s world. Marriage was designed by God for the good of the partners involved. He designed it as an institution where they can complement each other, enjoy life on earth, and reproduce their kind to replenish the earth. In contrast to what is sadly the norm in the world today, marriage is a covenant relationship that is of a permanent nature. The Lord Jesus Christ himself stated this in Matthew 19:6 when He said:

“Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”

Contrary to God’s expectations, the marital vow that is supposed to be very sacred is fast becoming a recitation that violated at will. How many married people ever reflect on the vows they exchanged at the alter to see if the current state of their lives has not deviated from it? Marriage is very serious covenant relationship. God expects the partners involved in it to keep the pledge they made to each other in the presence of many witnesses. Are you married? How faithful have you been in keeping your marital vows?

As Children of God, we should not be surprised by the current sorry state of the institution of marriage in the world today. The Holy Spirit told us ahead of time that unfaithfulness to vows will form part of the unrighteousness of men in such times as this, when in Romans 1:31 He described the characteristics of people in the last days as follows:

“Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:”

In 2 Timothy 3:3-4, He also indicates to us that a sign by which we will know we are in the last days is when we see men increasingly becoming traitors and trucebreakers (i.e implacable). Are you breaking any of the promises you made in your marriage vows? Are you the type that cannot be appeased? Do you find it difficult to forgive your spouse whenever there is a form of misunderstanding in your relationship? If you have any of these traits, it shows that you are not walking in the love of God. Are you unmerciful to your spouse? How can you receive mercy from God when you cannot even show it to your spouse? At the later, you promised to take care of your spouse; are you doing so today? You promised to use all your worldly goods to make life easier for your spouse, but is that what you are doing today? You promised to leave everyone else and belong to your spouse forever; is that so? Are you secretly dating someone else? If you have fallen out of line, repent and keep your vows from today!

PRAYER POINT:

Every vow made shall be accounted for someday. Never break your vows!

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

Revelation 14-16

Zachariah 3

INVITATION TO GREATER WORKS.

And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

Luke 10:17

READ:
Matthew 14:23-29

23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

MESSAGE:
On one of their journeys by sea, the disciples saw Jesus walking towards them on water. Astonished to see this wonder, Peter asked the lord Jesus Christ if he could join Him, and the Lord invited him to come. Peter’s fellow disciples watched in amazement as he walked towards Jesus on the water. If only they too had responded to the Lord’s invitation, they would have partaken of this awesome experience, but they were not courageous enough to step out. Nevertheless, that invitation to do the impossible was not limited to them. It is still open to you and me today. In John 14:12, Jesus said,

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

Beloved, the call to do the works of Jesus and even perform greater works than He did is a call to do the impossible. To be able to do this, you must be prepared to believe in Jesus Christ with all your heart, leaving no space for doubt. Do you believe in Him? Why then do you still leave room for doubt? Don’t you know that the Lord never fails?

Furthermore, Jesus invites us to follow Him. John 8:12 says,

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

As the Light, if you follow Jesus, you will not walk in darkness, and neither will you stumble. Also, if you follow Him, He will make something great out of your life. He will make you what you never dreamt you could become. Consider a person like Peter: he would have died an unknown fisherman if he had not accepted Christ’s invitation to follow Him (Matthew 4:18-19). Have you accepted that invitation to follow Jesus? Today, some people give various excuses for not following Him. One of such excuses is that they do not want to be disturbed or distracted from their life’s goal or ambition, failing to realize that if only they accepted the Lord’s invitation, they would have had a greater future and they would have enjoyed His backing in all their life’s endeavors. Have you heeded his invitation?

KEY POINT:
The call to follow Jesus is a call to true discipleship. Are you His disciple?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Psalm 135-141, Zephaniah 3:9-20