In this sermon, the speaker focuses on Isaiah chapter 40 verse 10, which describes the coming of the Lord with a strong hand and His arm ruling for Him. The speaker highlights the anticipation and longing of the people of Israel for a Messiah who would deliver them from their enemies. The people wondered how this Messiah would display His power and reign over their oppressors. The speaker emphasizes the hope and expectation of the people for a powerful Savior who would bring deliverance and rule with authority.

This message is one of the Times Square Church Pulpit Series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing World Challenge, PO Box 260, Lindell, Texas 75771, or calling 903-963-8626. You are welcome to make additional cassettes of this message for free distribution to friends. However, for all other forms of reproduction or electronic transmission, existing copyright laws apply. I believe that if you want, you have to want to hear what I'm about to speak, or it really will be a sweet song, but it won't bring much change into your life. You have to want to hear it. If you want to hear it, I honestly believe that this will be a turning point for many, that you'll be able to look back to this day and say, I remember the day that God changed this area of my life and He made me into a different person. Now, Father, I ask you for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Lord, if you don't anoint, the Word is just a dead letter. It accomplishes nothing. But you, Holy Spirit, are the one who quickens the Word of God. You are the one who comes and makes the Word a living reality in my life and in the lives of those that I, as well as others, am called to speak to. Lord God, I want this Word. I want what I'm about to speak with all of my heart. Lord, my natural tendencies are not this way. And I need your power. I need your grace. Lord, I need everything that heaven has purchased for me on Calvary. Almighty God, let there be a change come into our lives today as we hear this Word and we ask for great grace to respond to it. Lord, destroy the works of darkness and let there be changes in our homes, in marriage situations, in our relationships with our children, with one another, in and outside of the church of Jesus Christ. God, establish your testimony and your strength in us and through us to our generation. I ask this, I'm believing with all my heart that you will do this today in Jesus' name. Isaiah chapter 40, please, in the Old Testament. Isaiah chapter 40. I'm going to speak to you today about the power of gentle hands. The power of gentle hands. Isaiah chapter 40. And we'll begin at verse 10. Now the prophet Isaiah is giving a revelation of the coming Messiah as the Holy Spirit has given it to him. And I remember this is the same Isaiah that previously stood before the throne of God. And he had an incredible revelation of the character, the nature, the power of Almighty God. And ultimately was given of the Holy Ghost revelation and understanding of the purposes of God among humanity. Isaiah chapter 40, verse 10. He says, Behold, the Lord will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young. I want to just read verse 10 again before I begin to speak. Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him. And behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. It has been and continues to be even today among those who don't know Christ in the nation of Israel, it has been the cry of the heart of that particular generation for a Messiah. It promised in the scriptures that one day God was going to come. A representative from heaven itself was going to come with a strong hand and he was going to rule and reign over all the enemies that have ever risen their hands against in that day, what were the people of God. And what expectancy the people of Isaiah's day must have had. Verse 10 tells them and told them a powerful savior with a strong hand was coming to rule, carrying with him the promise of deliverance from all their enemies. And surely if any nation in the world has had enemies, Israel has had enemies. At the particular time that these things are written, they are not far again from going into captivity and being swallowed by the power of their forces, powerful forces that have been gathered around them. And how often they must have thought how incredible it will be when this Messiah arrives. Think of the awesome displays of his power that will accompany him. They would be aware of the might and power of physical armies, but aware also that a savior was coming with a strong hand and he was going to rule and he was going to reign and he was going to cast down the power of these nations that had for so long attempted at least to oppress the people of God. I can see time and again as they went into what was then the house of God, hearing the scriptures opened and read to them, the questions within their hearts, they must have asked themselves, how will he reign? What will he do? What will be this display of his power when he comes? Will he wave his hand and drown our enemies as the Egyptian army was drowned when it was pursuing the people of Israel as they left Egypt in the place of their captivity? Or will he call down fire as Elijah did on the king's soldiers when they came to try to captivate him as he sat upon the hill? How will he come? Will he come in Elijah's flaming chariot upon which he rides into victory? Is it this way that he's going to accomplish his will? I wonder how many theories must have been expounded about how he would display his power to the nations. Just like many theories about him are expounded today in pulpits unfortunately across the world who perhaps at this particular point of their understanding don't really know much about the Savior that they're speaking about. How will he come? How will he display his power? What will it be like? And they formulated in their hearts what they thought was an understanding of his power so that when he finally came, he was so opposite to what they thought he was going to be that they couldn't recognize him. Not only could they not recognize him, but the Bible tells us they despised him in their hearts. So many voices speaking about Jesus or the coming Messiah. So many voices. But one voice who knew God was crying out, who had seen him and he was crying out in prayer. Isaiah chapter 53, if you'll go there with me just momentarily. Just move ahead. One voice crying out at that time among others I suppose who had the revelation, but I really don't think anybody had a greater revelation than Isaiah because he had been in the presence of God. And you'd read about that in Isaiah chapter 6. And Isaiah as if he's paying words to God as he's writing this book that is inspired by the Holy Ghost. And he said, Lord, who has believed our report? Our report, the only way I can see that is he's including himself. He said, Lord, it's yours and it's mine. I have given the people a report of you. We saw that. We're reading that report in Isaiah chapter 40. But Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed it? It's incredulous the way he's asking this particular question. Lord, the people want power. They want violence. They want instant victory. Yet you're about to reveal yourself in a way that so few are going to want. Isaiah is saying, who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? He said, He will grow up before Him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form nor comeliness. And when we shall see Him, there's no beauty that we should desire Him. He's despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from Him. He was despised and we esteemed Him not. In other words, the word esteem actually in the Hebrew is not worth much. We looked upon, Isaiah said, the people are going to look upon you. And because you are not what they desire, they want power. They want victory. They want war. In their sense of how it's achieved. And because you don't represent what they think you should be, they're not going to value you. And it's even going to go beyond that. They're going to have a despising in their heart for you and for your ways and for everything you represent about the kingdom of God. You're going to come as a root out of dry ground. No form or comeliness. Nothing about you that people would desire who don't really desire the things of your kingdom and truth. And when we will see Him, there's no beauty that we should desire Him. They will say, this is not the Messiah that we will follow. We want dominance. We don't want submission. We want glory. We don't want obscurity. We want instant victory. We don't want a pathway that requires trust and obedience and patience. We want our king to be born in a palace. Not a stable. We want a king who talks about war, not about humility and forgiving and loving your enemies. We want him to come riding in on Elijah's flaming chariot into Jerusalem to take authority. We don't want him on a donkey. With just children before him praising his name. We want our king to sit upon a throne, not hang upon a cross. Lord, he said, who will believe our report? They look for a strong hand. What will you give them? How will they know your strength and your power? He asks the question, he said, to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? In other words, Isaiah is saying, God, they're not going to believe our report about you. Who then is going to know your power? Who will you reveal? Your arm always means your strength. That's the source of your strength. Who will know the source of your strength? And it's as if the Lord himself answers Isaiah back in chapter 40. And he gives Isaiah as it is a description of the strength of God. And he says, Isaiah, here's my strength. I'm going to come with a strong hand and my arm will rule. And my work will be before me. Chapter 40, verse 11, he's saying to Isaiah, Isaiah, I will feed my flock like a shepherd. Here's how my strength is going to be revealed. I was a shepherd. I really did have actual sheep for, I don't know how many years, I guess five or six years. And I can only relate to how it was in my heart to see them fed. And my own definition would be a shepherd brings his sheep to an abundance and it has to be a parasite free pasture. A pasture can look good, but if it has an infestation of parasites, it will do nothing but cause internal sickness. To the sheep, it has to be free from infection. So I will bring them to an abundant parasite free pasture where there are recognizable fences. Sheep are not comfortable if they don't know their boundaries. I don't know if you're aware of that or not. They are very, very comfortable. And quite often they will walk the same path and they will travel the same boundaries. And they feel comfortable when they're enclosed. But even then, even though they're in good pasture and even though they're enclosed, the shepherd still watches them. He keeps his eye on them because they are so prone to finding holes in the fence and getting themselves into all kinds of trouble. David said in Psalm 139, he said, Thou compass my path in my lying down and art acquainted with all my ways. David said, basically, God, you surround me and you watch me when I'm lying down. You watch me when I get up. Your eye is always on me. And in verse 5, he says, Thou hast beset me behind and before and laid thine hand upon me. That's an incredible thing. David is saying, God, you are all around me. And even though you know all of my ways and your hand of protection is on me, you have touched me with the goodness of your hand. That's an incredible thought. David says, you've touched me, you've laid your hand upon me, not to hurt me, but for my good. You have led me like a shepherd. David knew God this way. That's why he could say, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. David knew his God as a shepherd. He understood this. He had this revelation from the Holy Ghost. That's why David became a man of strength. Because the arm of the Lord had been revealed to him in a way that it was not revealed to many in his generation. How precious, he says in verse 17, also are thy thoughts unto me, O God, and how great is the sum of them. David is saying, you've encompassed me. You've touched me with your hand. You have so many plans for me that I couldn't even number them. You have so many wonderful thoughts for me. You have so many things that you want to do in and through my life. How great is the sum of them. Oh, beloved, do you know that today? Do you know that God surrounds you because he loves you? Do you know that God puts perimeters around you because he wants you to be in a place where his hand can be upon you for good? And where he can touch your life. He has more thoughts towards you than you can think about yourself. He's stronger and has more in his heart than anything that we can even think or ask, the Scripture tells us. He's able to do more than that and wants to do more than that. To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Isaiah, again the Lord says to Isaiah, And I will, first of all, he said, I will feed my flock like a shepherd. And I will gather the lambs with my arm. This is what I will do with my strong arm. He said, I will reach out and I will gather. Now the word in the Hebrew text means, the principal meaning is to gather the objects of his affection to a central location. He said, I'm going to use my strong arm. And I'm going to reach out and I'm going to gather the lambs. And I'm going to take them to a place where I want them to go. And you can see Isaiah for a moment say, well, heaven, is it heaven? Is that the place? And I see in my spirit Jesus saying, oh no Isaiah, there's somewhere much greater than that. That I want to take them. He said, in the next line he says, I will carry them to my bosom. Now the word carry means Nasa. In the Hebrew text it means to raise, to lift up, to bear, to support, to help. In other words, I will raise them up and I will draw them close to my heart. So that they will hear and know my desires for them. That's what my strong arm is going to do. I'm going to gather a people who want me. I'm going to gather a people who call out to me. And with my strong arm, I'm going to bring them right to my heart. Now isn't that an amazing thing about God? Right to my heart. As I was preparing this, I was thinking about the beloved disciple John. At the last supper, where the scripture is literally fulfilled. In a physical sense, where we see John free to leave his ear on the breast of Jesus. Amazing. Exactly what he said he was going to do. He said, I'm going to draw right to my heart. Because I want you to hear my heart. If you don't hear my heart, you'll never become strong. You won't understand what it means to be a Christian. You'll always be trying and failing in your own strength. I've got to show you something about myself. I've got to show you how gentle I really am. How much I really care. How much I long to do for you what you will never be able to do for yourself. I will raise you up and carry you to my bosom. Psalm 32, 2 and 3, David says, Many that be would save my soul, there is no help for him in God. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me. My glory and the lifter of my head. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I remember one time I was preaching in western Canada. And while I was there speaking, Some friends of our family decided to give us a dog. And I remember they gave it to my wife Teresa and for our children. And when I came home, this was the worst pet really that I ever had in my life in my home. No matter what you called this dog, she wouldn't come. It made no difference. And whenever she got out of the house, we'd have to chase her all over the neighborhood. It would look so foolish. Whenever we would reach out to pet her or anybody would, she would immediately urinate on the floor. You see, that dog had known a heavy hand before she was given to us. She'd been raised in a place where hands were used to hit and not to soothe. And I remember saying to Teresa over and over again, Look at this, this idiotic dog has got to go, literally. People would come to visit us and she would sort of come up as if she's all happy. And as soon as somebody reached out their hand, the whole family would shout, Don't pet the dog! Kitchen floor or wherever else she happened to be. Back preaching again and this dog so bothered me. I said, I've got to get rid of this. I've got to get rid of this dog. I'm so tired of this. And yet the Holy Spirit was speaking something to my heart. Said, I want to show you something through this. Now, it's hard to believe that God can teach you something through a dog. But, He said, I want to show you how to get her over this. And so I just began to pray and I said, God, how can we stop? There's no chance. The fear is so ingrained in this dog. Just like it is in many people who come into God's house. You've known hands, but it's not been good hands. Hands have hurt you and hands have slapped you and hands have beaten you and they put you down. And it's so hard to trust the hand of God. And you wonder, God, can I really trust you? And what will you do to me? If I finally yield my life to you, what are you going to do to me? Are you just like everybody else? When you find out all my flaws and my failures, are you just going to kick me out and get rid of me? Is it only when I perform well that you're going to accept me? And I remember the Lord began to show me something. And it was just a simple thing. And it was from that scripture in Psalm 139, my glory of the lifter of my head. I remember the Holy Spirit told me, he said, I want to show you something. And you're going to remember it all your life. When you go home, I remember it as clearly. The Holy Spirit says, I want you to turn your hand over when you approach that dog. Don't approach that dog this way, but approach her this way. And I want you to bring your hand under her chin from underneath. When you go to pet her, I don't want you to come from up, above, and down. Because that's all that dog has ever known. And it's hurt her. I want you to come from underneath and lift her head. And by God's grace, that made the world of difference. It seemed to bring that animal to some degree out of its fear. There were always inconsistencies, the odd quirk. But it seemed to bring her out of it. And every time she would approach me or anybody else, if we would come from underneath, and just come under her chin and lift her head, there would be no fear. And David said, you're the glory, and you're the lifter of my head. My God, when I failed you, and my head is down, and I'm looking at the ground, you don't come and you don't slap me, you don't hurt me. God, you come and you lift my head, you put your hand under my chin, and you say one more time, look into my heart, and begin to understand my love for you, and my concern for you. That I have nothing in my heart but good for you. I have nothing but plans to make you strong, to bring you from image to image and glory to glory by the Spirit of God. I have nothing but plans to make you a praise in the earth, to make my name as it is a praise in the earth, by strengthening you and taking you and making you into a different man or a different woman. But you can't know it until you know the power of my gentleness. You have to know the power of God's gentleness, or you can't grow in the grace of Jesus Christ. And he says, I will gently lead, Isaiah, those that are with young. I will gently lead them, those that are with young. Now, we can look at that two ways. First of all, it can be those that have within them new life, but it's yet young. It can either be life that's come forth, or it's coming forth. But yet that life is young, and it requires a tender nurturing in order to survive. Jesus said, I'm going to cherish that which is being brought to life. I'm not going to destroy you when you make mistakes. I'll lead you tenderly. I will lead you gently. I will be there to whisper words of strength and encouragement. When you hang your head, you think there's no more tomorrow. You think the devil has triumphed over you, and you're not going to make it. He said, I'm there, and I will gently lead you. I will gently lead those that are young in the Lord. Many here today, you're young in God, and you fail Him, and you feel so condemned. But He says, I'm going to show you the true nature of My power. I didn't come to condemn anyone. I came that all might be saved. I came to give My life a ransom, that you may be redeemed and bought back from the power of the enemy. I came to indwell you. And with the love of Almighty God, to lift up your head, to begin to understand that I have something for you that can only come from the heart of God Himself. Hallelujah. He says, Isaiah, I will hold them in the gentle hand of God. That's why Jesus Himself said in John chapter 10, in verse 27, Hallelujah. My sheep hear My voice. He said, I know them, and they follow Me. And I will give them eternal life. And they shall never perish. Say it with Me, never perish. Never. And neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. And My Father, He said, which gave them to Me is greater than all. And no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one. He says, I'm going to hold you in My hand. If you don't believe that's enough, He said, My Father is going to hold you in His hand. And if you don't believe that's enough, I and My Father are the same. I'm going to hold you in the gentle hand of God. And no power of hell is going to prosper against you. No lie of the devil. If you want Me, you're going to know Me in strength. You're going to understand what true strength is all about. Psalm 18, if you'll go there with me, please, in the Old Testament. Thank you, Jesus. The Psalm of David. Now Psalm 18 is all about David becoming strong. It starts out in verse 1. He says, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, in whom I'll trust, my buckler, the horn of my salvation. He talks about calling upon the Lord. He talks about God rising up at His throne as it is riding upon the wings of the wind and coming down and discomforting all of His enemies. He talks in this Psalm about God giving Him power to triumph over everything that rises up against Him. He says, I pursued my enemies and I cast them down into the dust until they were not able to rise again. So what's the source of His power? There's a powerful verse, three verses actually, or four, right in the middle of this Psalm that really gives us an understanding of where the source of David's strength was. In Psalm 18, verse 32, he said, it is God, verse 32, that girds me with strength and makes my way perfect. It is God. David knew where his strength came from. Verse 33 says, He makes my feet like hinds feet. That's like a goat's feet, a mountain goat as it is. And sets me upon, He gives me the power to climb what I could never climb in my own strength, what I could never accomplish. God comes and gives me the strength, just like a mountain goat to go up. You can see sometimes, I've seen the odd documentary over the years where they virtually climb things and it looks like it's impossible. And when it looks like there's no foothold, a mountain goat can still climb and get to the top. He teaches my hands, verse 34, to war so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms. That's incredible. David is saying, God gives me such incredible strength that even if I was drawing back and the bow was made of steel, He's given me such strength. It's as if the strength had no limit that God has given to me. That a bow of steel is broken by my arms. It's a beautiful figurative language when you look at it. He says there's an inexhaustible supply of strength given to me of God that has no end. Then verse 35, he says, Thou has also given me the shield of Thy salvation. That is, You've covered me with the knowledge that I am beloved of You. You've covered me with the knowledge that my enemies can't prosper against me. And Thy right hand hath holden me up, and Thy gentleness hath made me great. Thy gentleness, David says. Remember the psalmist said, God, if you marked iniquities, who could stand? But there's mercy with you that you may be feared. David says, Thy gentleness. Here's the key. Here's what came upon me that made me the man that I became. A man who could climb what others couldn't climb. A man who could fight when no one else could fight. Oh, beloved, you've got to understand this. It's the gentle touch of God that gives you strength. It's not the lust for power. It's not zeal and having all the doctrinal correctness that's available to the church today. It's the gentle touch of God. It's the receiving of the touch of His hand. It's the acknowledging that He loves me. And He will carry me. He will keep me. His strength will not fail me. Hallelujah. Thy gentleness has made me great. Hallelujah. It gave me room to grow. It gave me the opportunity of lifting my head. I could raise my hands in the sanctuary, even though I may have had the worst week of my life. And say, God, there's no limit to your strength. There's no limit to your supply of grace. Has made me what I am. Your life, when you get old, you should be able to raise your hands and say, Mighty God, Thy gentleness. And you've changed me from image to image and glory to glory. Actually, the word in the Hebrew for great means multiplied me or brought increase into my life. Thy gentleness multiplied me. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I could shout for a hundred years just looking at that one line of scripture. Because it's so true. The older you get, folks, the more you realize how much grace we have needed. First Thessalonians 2, 7 and 8, he says, We were gentle among you, even as a nurse or a nursing mother cherishes her children. So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because you were dear to us. Paul said, We were gentle with you. And many of the Gentile churches, you know, were a mess. Many of the people's lives, I mean, you look at the Corinthian church. And they had a man living in incest with his mother in the church. And everybody thought that was okay. It would be so easy not to be gentle. And it's the easy way not to be gentle with people. But he said, Paul said, We were gentle among you. We were affectionately desirous of you. And we were willing to have given you not only the gospel, but our own souls. Because you were dear to us. You know, tragically today, there are so many who come to the knowledge or the profession of Christ. And yet, continue to use their fingers to point in the hand of God that's upon them to hurt. And I believe that's the greatest tragedy of all in the house of God. Receiving grace, but doing the very thing that Moses did that cost him the promised land. Taking the rod and saying, You rebels. He had received such grace. And he so misrepresented God that God says, I can't let you in. You can see it, but you can't go in. And I think today of the amount of people who come to the house of the Lord and get such an incredible supply of grace. And then go home and have perhaps a son or a daughter that's going through trouble. And having received such grace, they're coming in the house and pointing the finger. And using the hand to hurt. And speaking words that they shouldn't speak. That don't represent the kingdom of God. And oftentimes thinking this is the way to yield power. But beloved, that's exactly what the children of Israel that crucified Christ did. They said, we don't want this gentle Savior. We want a Savior of power. We want a Savior that rides flaming chariots. We want a Savior that makes war. And in their heart, they're saying, that's the Savior I want. That's how I want to serve God. I don't want humility. I don't want a cross. I don't want gentleness. I want a pointing finger and a slapping hand. And they think that's going to represent the kingdom of God. In 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 24, Paul says, The servant of the Lord must strive, but be gentle to all men. Gentle. Apt to teach patience. In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves. If God for adventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle to all men. Apt to teach. Patient. In meekness. Instructing those who are in effect opposing their own salvation. If God for adventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. I spoke to a young man yesterday who was raised in this church. He attended here and was part of the youth ministry here from the second year of its inception until he left for college. Never gave his life to Christ. And I spoke to him yesterday. He's four months saved now. And is absolutely on fire for God and feels the call to preach the gospel. Went to college and went so far from God that he joined the communist party. I said, and I looked at him, I said, what turned you? What was the pivotal point? He said, it was the love of my mother and father that turned me. Their love never changed. They remained steady. All they ever did was encourage me. There's such power in gentle hands, beloved. There's such power. We display more of the spirit of God with gentleness than any other thing that we can even attempt to do on his behalf. Go ahead to Titus chapter 3 verse 2. Paul says to Titus in verse 2, he says, Speak evil of no man, and to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness to all men. Speak evil of no man, but be gentle. Now the word speak evil in the Greek is blasphemy, which is really where we get the word blaspheme. And it means to hurt the reputation or to smite somebody with reports of words. Speak evil of no man, and do not be a brawler, but be gentle, and showing all meekness to all men. In the book of Philippians chapter 4, if you'll turn there with me. In chapter 4 verse 2, there were two men called Iodias and Sentatia, and he says, I beseech them that they be of the same mind in the Lord. Now the word for mind is actions of the will and affections. In other words, Paul is saying to these two, well, I'm assuming they're men, but he says, Let your actions and affections be in line with those of God. Here are two, obviously, who have gotten into some kind of a contention. And he says, and I entreat thee also, verse 3, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other of my fellow laborers, whose names are in the book of life. And so he's saying help those who need help. Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice. And in verse 5 he says, let your moderation be known unto all men, the Lord is at hand. Now the word moderation is also translated gentleness in other translations of the Bible. Be of the same mind, he said. Let your gentleness be known to all men, because the coming of the Lord, or the day of the Lord is at hand. In other words, don't be stubborn, and don't hold grudges. Let's go to James chapter 3, and I'm going to, I'll be closing shortly. James chapter 3, I want you to pay real close attention to this. Verse 14, that's right after Hebrews. Verse 14 says, but if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above, now this is God's wisdom. Is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits. Without partiality, that means without discrimination, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Now, listen very carefully. The wisdom that's from God is pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be approached, as it is. Full of mercy, full of good fruit, without discrimination. In other words, equally applied to all, and no hypocrisy involved in it. In other words, if we truly have the knowledge of God reigning and emanating from our lives, the same grace is applied equally to all. That's basically what the scripture is saying. And then in verse 18, it tells us how this begins to happen in our lives. Now, the scripture says the fruit of righteousness. Now, the word in the Greek text for righteousness means God's righteousness. That's exactly what it means. It means the righteousness of God. The fruit of God's righteousness is sown in peace. The word for peace in the Greek text is the absence of strife. And so let me paraphrase that particular verse of scripture for you. Here's what it says to me. The fruit of God's righteousness is sown in the absence of strife in the hearts of those who walk peaceably and gently with other men. The fruit of God's righteousness is sown in the absence of strife. God says my righteousness, the fruit of it, comes in the lives of those who choose the true pathway of power. The gathering, the feeding like a shepherd, the gathering of the lambs, drawing them to the heart of God. Being gentle with those that are young. I remember in Riceville, Ontario, when I was pastoring there, we began to renovate an old church that we had bought. And there was a day, you know, when you start to renovate anything, like as small churches, we can't hire anybody to do anything. You pretty well have to do everything yourself. And as with all work projects in the local small community church, there's a great deal of enthusiasm. Day one. It begins to dissipate gradually, day two, day three, day four, day five. And finally arrived at a day when I was all alone. I had such a mammoth task ahead of me and the church. And I remember I spent the day or a good part of it all alone. And it's like the enemy just came in and so wanted to discourage me. And I was beginning to fall to it. A despair. And some people get that way in the Christian life. There's such a work to be done and all of a sudden it's like, oh God, what's the use? There's so much to do and how's it ever going to get done? There's cracks in the wall and the floor's got to be sanded and the dome's got holes in it. And I don't know how to do these things. I can get up there and paint it, but I don't know how to drywall it. I'm not a drywaller. I don't know how to tape. I don't know how to put stipple on the ceiling and windows need to be fixed. And I'm looking at everything needs to be done. And that's exactly what happens to us sometimes. We look in the mirror and say, God in heaven, look what needs to be done in me. And there's so little help around me. Matter of fact, sometimes it seems like there's no one. Psalmist David went through that. He said, and no man cared for my soul. He was going through all kinds of difficulty and looked around. And there was nobody there. And there are people like that. Even today you come into the house and you see the incredible work that needs to be done. And you say, oh, I started this with such enthusiasm. And there seem to be so many helpers and encouragers. And I've worked hard. But now I've come to the place where I don't see how the work is going to progress. There's just so much to do. And that's exactly what happened. And I began to just fall to despair. And a heaviness came on my heart. And it was near the end of the day. And it was getting dark. And I remember as I headed for the door, there was these big double doors that were white. This was probably a 140-year-old church. And I remember these big carved doors were open. And I was heading out the back door. And as I was heading out, I saw the silhouette of two ladies. They probably were in about their 80s. And they were heading in, up the stairs, into the church. And I was so discouraged. And I stopped. And they walked up towards me. Now, these two ladies didn't attend the church. And they professed Christianity of some sort. But they were not of the same Bible opinions on some things that we were. But yet they walked in. And I remember they took my hand. And they had such soft hands. You ever notice that older ladies, especially if they're righteous, their hands are almost marshmallow-y. They're soft to touch. And they took my hands. And one of the ladies put a $50 bill in my hand. And she said, Pastor, you're doing a good job. Keep up the work. And that's all they said. And they turned and they walked out. And I often wondered over the years, Do angels have to disguise themselves as older people to display the power of God? You know, somebody could have walked in that church with a Bible and doctrinal zeal and said, Oh, sayeth the Lord, this is what the Word says. And at that particular moment, it wouldn't have done anything to me. It was soft hands. Just grabbed my hands and, You're doing a good job. Keep it up. And I walked out of there like I was a new man. I don't know how else to describe it, folks. Sometimes, that's all it takes. Isaiah said, To whom or through whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Through whom? Who knows your power, God? Who knows your power? I'll tell you who knows the power of God. It's those who gather the lambs. It's those who feed them like a shepherd. It's those to whom every person is dear because they've all been created in the image of God. It's those that use what God has given them to draw others to the very heart of God. It's those who have such an understanding that they've needed grace that they can easily impart it to others. I'll bring a word to the senior citizens in this church. You know, the world says that your life is over. The world says, in effect, you know, that you've done your day, your ministry is done. That is an absolute lie. You have more power in your hands now than you have ever had in your life. You have more power in your hands to gather and sustain the children of God than those who have only youth and doctrine and zeal. You have power in your hands. There is power in gentle hands. You have the power to represent God in His house and to your generation. You don't have to open the Bible and quote scriptures at people. You just take their hand. And there's something in you that says, God has caused me to stand by grace. You don't have to say it. It's evident. There's a tenderness that comes in the senior years of those who have walked with God. They become fathers and mothers to the church of Jesus Christ. They become the father, perhaps, that many in this house have never had. And the mother that some have never known. The voices that weren't there. The encouragement that was not there. The hand that was not there to lift your head in times of distress. Yet you come into the house of God and somebody is just there in your time of trouble to take your hand and say, you're doing a good job. Don't give up. God is with you. God will be your strength. God will keep you. I had a fellow in our church called Howard Young. He was 82, I think, or 84 years old. He would come into church and he would weep the whole service. I often thought it was because of my preaching. I think it was probably for my preaching that he was weeping at those days. And I was, of course, under the compulsion to witness to everything that moved. Everything had to have Jesus. There was no excuse for failure and error. I would always walk around with tracts in my pocket looking for my opportunity. And I took him for lunch one day after church. I've told you this story before, but the waitress came to the table and she really looked in distress. She just had that look about her like life was not going too good. And I'm kind of waiting like a skipper. You know, you see kids skipping and I'm waiting my chance, you know, to get out my tract. And Howard Young, he had the most tender hands. He was saved in his 40s and people who knew him said he was the most ornery man you ever met in your life. But he opened his heart to God and knew the mercy of God. And he just reached out and he just grabbed her hand so tenderly. He said, honey, do you know the Savior? And tears came down his face. And then she started to cry. And I just put my tract back in my pocket. And I prayed a silent prayer, God help me. My God help me. This man had a power. He had the power of God. I preached, but he had the power of God. Do you understand the difference? I couldn't win that woman to the Lord, but he did. Because he knew the grace of God and he had gentle hands. John, the apostle that leaned on Jesus' breast, wrote these words. In 1 John chapter 2 verse 14, let me read it to you. He said, I have written to you young men because you are strong. And the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the wicked one. I have written to you because you are strong. And you have the word. And you have overcome the wicked one. Wonderful statement. But in the same verse of scripture, just before what he says here, listen to what he says. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known him. That is from the beginning. Young men, you are strong and you are, in a sense, bent on the flaming chariot and overcoming. But I write to you, fathers, because you know him. You know him. You have failed enough times to know that you need him. And now you have his power in your hands. God, my prayer this week has been, God, give me gentle hands. It flies in the face of everything that my natural man is. God, give me gentle hands. Give me the power to release debts. Not to hold grudges. Give me a heart that people can know your strength and power through my life. You cannot learn about Christ through the zeal of the flesh, folks. You cannot learn about Christ. The best vessel you will ever hear preached is a broken one. A man or woman who has known their need of God can teach you about God. And others, you have never known the gentle hand of Jesus upon your life. But David said, thy gentleness hath made me great. I don't even know how to give an altar call today. But I feel in my heart there's two types of people that God wants to minister to at this altar. First, it's those who say, Lord, I'm not gentle. I'm not gentle with my husband, my wife. I'm not gentle with my children. I thought I could ramrod them into the kingdom of God, but it doesn't work that way. All I do is drive them farther away from you. Remember Peter, the apostle, said for wives, if you have a husband that doesn't obey, just be peaceable and quiet. There's such power in the gentleness of God. And some here today say, Pastor, I'm with you. I'm with the pastors of this church and the leaders. We need to know the gentle hands of God because that's where the power is. I want to know it in my home, my office, in the house of God. And the second group of people are those that you have never known the gentle touch of Jesus. I'm going to ask the Lord at this altar just to give it to you by revelation today. There's really no other way you can get it. If you get it by revelation, it saves you probably 25 years of striving and failing to finally know that you're standing by grace. But he can give it to you just in a moment today. An understanding that will change your life. It will change your whole perception of God. Hallelujah. Would you stand? In the education annex, you can go between the screens. The main sanctuary, would you just slip out? Would you meet me at this altar if the Holy Spirit is drawing you? The balcony, you can go to either exit. Let's meet here, let's talk today, let's pray. That's the only reason God will touch you, is to make you whole. There's no other reason. Even when he goes after your heart, it's to make you whole. There's nothing else in his mind but to pick you up and to give you strength. And when you've known that touch, it becomes so easy to let that same touch flow through your life to others around you. When we understand that we stand only by grace, not by anything that we have or have done. It's all grace. Salvation is grace. Our walk is grace. It is all grace. It's the goodness of God touching my life. I want to lead those who need gentle hands in a prayer right now. Father, I thank you for speaking to my heart today. I thank you for showing me your heart for me. For showing me how gentle you are. How much you love me. And you want to strengthen me. I receive that into my heart and into my life. And I thank you for it. Now I pray that by your grace, you will give me the power to have gentle hands and gentle words. That I may represent you in the fullness of your power. In my home. My workplace. In my marriage. In my community. I thank you, Lord, for touching my life. I will never again, by your power alone, be the same. Hallelujah. Now I want to pray for the others that are here. Lord Jesus, I'm asking for you just to do a miracle. I'm asking you to give those that struggle with weakness, that have never known anything but crushing hands, give them an understanding of you. That when you reach down, it's to lift. It's to strengthen. The only time your hand shows any violence, it's against the powers of darkness. It's against those things that would try to rob my life of your presence and your grace. And mighty God, I thank you with all of my heart. That you are touching people today that have never known the gentle touch of God. And Father, I thank you for it. Lord, it's something that has to be given by revelation. And I believe you've given it to many today. And you've given grace to grow. Grace to change. Grace to keep on. Because it's not about us, Lord. It's all about you. And Father, I thank you for this. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen. And amen. Hallelujah. Now I want you to do something for me before we go. Would you turn, grab somebody's hand, and say, God's doing a good job in your life. Don't give up. Keep on going. This is the conclusion of the message.