3g Service and 31 personalities...the second "G" is for Gently.

Last week we touched on the importance of being a giving people and God as The Perfect Example of being a Giver. This week we'll consider the Second “G”:  
Gently  
GEN'TLY, adv. Softly; meekly; mildly; with tenderness...Without violence, roughness or asperity (harsh tone or manner). From the KJV Dictionary.

• The Bibe has much to say about treating others gently… 
  • God as our example:  
    • Psalm 18:35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great. 
    • 2 Samuel 22:36 “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great. 
    • His gentle approach with others makes them great.
  • Jesus’ claim:  
    • Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 
  • Created in His image…Displayed by His followers/disciples:  
    • Fruit of the Spirit… 
      • Galatians 5:23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 
    • Displayed lovingly to who?  
      • Philippians 4:5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 
      • 2 Timothy 2:24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 
      • Titus 3:2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 
      • 1 Peter 2:18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 
      • 1 Peter 3:4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. 
      • 2 Samuel 18:5 Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains orders concerning Absalom. 
      • Job 15:11 Are the consolations of God too small for you, And the word spoken gently with you? 
      • Proverbs 25:15 By long forbearance a ruler is persuaded, And a gentle tongue breaks a bone. 
      • Hosea 11:4 I drew them with gentle cords, With bands of love, And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them. 
      • 1 Corinthians 4:21 What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness? 
      • 2 Corinthians 10:1 Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. 
      • Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 
      • Ephesians 4:2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 
      • 1 Thessalonians 2:7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 
      • 1 Timothy 3:3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 
      • 1 Timothy 6:11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 
      • James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 
      • Let’s face it, we were made by God (created in His image) to be GENTLEmen! 
• Submitting my will to the Lord’s is difficult to do in certain circumstances, which made me think of this illustration of breaking / training / gentling a horse.  
  • There are two ways to train a horse for riding: the hard or the gentle way.  
    • Hard Way… 
      • Methods of the hard way:  
        • By way of Force…
          • Force to obey and do your will.  
          • Force the horse into submission against its will.  
        • Song...I can’t make you love me if you don’t.  
      • Results of the hard way:  
        • Causes more problems than it’s worth.  
        • Defiance in the one you're training. 
        • A rebellious attitude may surface when someone is being forced to do something they’re not quite comfortable with yet.  
        • Resentment towards the handler may begin to set in.   
        • The learner may resort to acting up more often…winding up on the hard path more often than the easy one in life.   
    • Gentle Way… 
      • Methods of the gentle way:  
        • Demonstrating on an already broke-in / trained horse. Introduce them…let them interact. Observation…let the learner see how the other horse is being treated…cause them to think, "should I fear the trainer or follow-suit." 
        • “Gentling” “Gentle Breaking”…takes investing time. Day-in and day-out.   
        • Spend Quality and Quantity of Time with them. Brush and Pet them…getting in close.  
        • Make every effort to gain and keep their trust.  
        • Display patience with them. 
        • Lead them.  
        • Offer rewards / words of encouragement when something is done correctly.  
      • Results of the gentle way: 
        • Gentle training a horse can give you a lifelong companion. 
        • It also builds trust with its handler/leader/trainer.
        • Spiritually for us…
          • It builds trust with its discipler.  
          • Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. 
            • Do you trust the Lord to lead you along the gentle path? 
          • Christ's example. 
            • Luke 22:42 (NLT) “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 
              • Follow His lead when it comes to submitting your will...make it about Him and His message, not my agenda. 
          • Our Commitment and Submission. 
            • Proverbs 16:3 (AB) Commit your works to the LORD [submit and trust them to Him], And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance]. 
            • Proverbs 37:5 (AB) Commit your way to the LORD; Trust in Him also and He will do it. 
            • James 4:7-10 (AB) 7 So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people]. 9 Be miserable and grieve and weep [over your sin]. Let your [foolish] laughter be turned to mourning and your [reckless] joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose]. 
      • Sighing.
        • Imagine if you will with me a trainer in the pen with a wild horse. At first the wild horse is scared and wants out...trying to get as far away from having to be submissive as possible. The goal for the trainer is to eventually gain enough trust through Gentling that the horse will turn his kicking and screaming into a sigh. On horsehints.org, sighing is "drawing in a deep breath, then letting it out slowly and audibly through the mouth or nostrils...A sigh can mean relief from something that is bothering the horse."
        • Have you ever been thinking deeply on something that's been bothering you and someone close to you asks you if everything is ok? You may have sighed audibly and didn't even realize it. That's us with the Lord...He draws us into Himself...we sigh as we surrender our will to His…as much as it bothers us to not follow through with our own fleshly will…a deep sigh can be relieving and revealing.
    • Who can I be gentler and loving towards? Who have I not been gentle with that I need to make it right with them? How can I be gentler towards others in the days ahead? What does it really look like for me to sigh?
    • Sighing really leads us into our 3rd "G," but...before we hit on the third “G” I’d like to introduce you to my section on 31 personalities.