Today is our fifth sermon on the fruits of the spirit that each and every believer is encouraged to have in Galatians 5.  Today we look at goodness, some of you may think that is the same as kindness that we spoke about last week, but it is not or Paul would not mention it in the passage. Kindness is caring; goodness is doing the right thing.  We ask are kids all the time to be good and what we are really saying is please do the right thing.  What does the scripture have to say about doing the right thing, and how can we develop goodness in us that will guide us into a greater relationship with the Father and others.  We are going to look at an Old Testament king that did the right thing.

King Hezekiah

II Chronicles 29:1
Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijaha the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done.

What does it take to do the right thing or good?

  1. Find some friend to hold you accountable.
    1. II Chronicles 29: 4 Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square,
  2. Change from the worlds view.
    1. II Chronicles 29:5-6 and said to them: “Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. 6 For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the LORD our God; they have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and turned their backs on Him.
  3. Have courage to be faithful.
    1. II Kings 18: 28-30 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”’
  4. Realize that criticism will come.
    1. II Chronicles 30:10 So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but they laughed at them and mocked them.
  5. Discipline
    1. From the first day until the last day
  6. Communication
    1. He was in constant prayer and sacrificing to the Lord.
  7. The result
    1. II Chronicles 31:20-21 Hezekiah carried out this work and kept it up everywhere in Judah. He was the very best—good, right, and true before his God. Everything he took up, whether it had to do with worship in God’s Temple or the carrying out of God’s Law and Commandments, he did well in a spirit of prayerful worship. He was a great success.

You can download the PowerPoint presentation: Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness

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