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We encourage you to jot down what you hear God speaking to you about today as you listen to the teaching. Plan on diving deeper into the message by downloading the study guide on Sunday night so you can compare your notes with the guide as a path for deeper spiritual commitment. Once posted, the teaching video and study guide can be found under the Media tab.
By The Spirit - Goodness
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. —Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
Goodness is an internal quality that we develop through our relationship with God. It includes moral excellence, honesty, and righteousness. Goodness is not primarily concerned with doing good deeds, but it’s all about developing your character and your heart as you grow in your relationship with Christ.
WARNING: Goodness without Kindness is incomplete and meaningless.
Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. —James 4:17 (NLT)
Agathosune… means goodness for the eventual benefit of others.
The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him. —Nahum 1:7 (NLT)
Morals and Motives are the hidden layers of the heart that ultimately drive our thoughts, habits, and behavior.
The current leading “competitor” to Biblical morality in our society is social consensus.
All the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. —Judges 17:6 (NLT)
I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman. —Job 31:1 (NLT)
But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. —Joshua 24:15 (NLT)
This was something Joshua was deciding today, which would determine moral authority and set a decision-making framework for what would come up tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy. The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear! —Luke 12:1-3 (NLT)
WARNING #2: Kindness without Goodness is superficial and unsustainable.
Smooth words may hide a wicked heart, just as a pretty glaze covers a clay pot. People may cover their hatred with pleasant words, but they’re deceiving you. They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them. Their hearts are full of many evils. While their hatred may be concealed by trickery, their wrongdoing will be exposed in public. —Proverbs 26:23-26 (NLT)
Which question do you find yourself more consistently asking yourself?
Question 1: Is this sin and do I need to change?
Question 2: Are these the most helpful words, decisions, or habits to take me and my relationships to the place You want them?
Goodness will never grow by merely fulfilling the bare minimum standard.
Goodness is not a quality we can manufacture on our own… ask God to help.
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. —Matthew 7:7-8 (NLT)
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