970824AM

Title: Kindness

Text: Gal 5:22

Date: 11-05-06.am

You know I really hate this series on the fruit of the Spirit because it reveals so much about the short comings and inadequacies of my own Christian character. And that’s what we are talking about - Christian character. The Fruit of the Spirit is the Character of God implanted in the Christian by and through the Holy Spirit for the purpose of living out that character in the world.

So ar we have talked about Love, joy, peace, and patience. This morning we are looking at Kindness. According to the English dictionary, kindness means to be considerate, generous, courteous, benevolent, and merciful.

In the Old Testament kindness most often refers to God's loyal love and favor toward His people., the word translated as "kindness" or "lovingkindness" refers to God's long-suffering love-- His determination to keep His promises to His chosen people in spite of their sin and rebellion <Deut. 7:12; Hos. 2:14-23>. This attribute of God was shown through His divine mercy and forgiveness toward sinners when payment of sins through the sacrificial system was no longer effective <Deut. 22:22; Ps. 51:1>.

In the New Testament, the Greek word translated as "grace" best represents the idea of God's kindness or lovingkindness. Because God has been gracious toward believers, they should treat all people with kindness or grace <Luke 6:35>. All people are created in God's image and should be treated accordingly, no matter how badly they have twisted and deformed that image <Jas. 3:9>. Kindness is not an apathetic response to sin, but a deliberate act to bring the sinner back to God

New Testament kindness means to have tender companionate concern for others, It means to have a tender heart. As a trait of Christian character and an attribute of the fruit of the Spirit, kindness is the “genuine” desire of a believer to treat others just as the Lord has treated us.

As with every aspect of the Christian life Jesus is our ultimate example of what genuine kindness is. We have to look at how He demonstrated kindness to see how it is suppose to be characterized in our own lives.

IN SCRIPTURE:

1. Show kindness to the NEEDY (Proverbs 14.21,31; 19.17).

He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the NEEDY honors God. -Proverbs 14.31

kindness can make on/in a person’s life.

Mother Teresa said: “Spread love everywhere you go - first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor . . . Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting . . . and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other.”

2. Show kindness to EVERYONE (1 Thessalonians 5.15; Ephesians 4.32; 2 Timothy 2.24-26).

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to EVERYONE else. -1 Thessalonians 5.15

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. -Ephesians 4.3

3. Show kindness to our ENEMY (Matthew 5.44; Luke 6.27-35; Romans 12.20).

But love your ENEMIES, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. THEN your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. -Luke 6:35-36

Prov 19:22 What is desirable in a man is his kindness, and {it is} better to be a poor man than a liar. (NAS)

Ps 31:21 Blessed be the LORD, for He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city. (NAS)

Joel 2:13 And rend your heart and not your garments. "Now return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, and relenting of evil. (NAS)

Neh 9:17 "And they refused to listen, and did not remember Thy wondrous deeds which Thou hadst performed among them; so they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But Thou art a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness; and Thou didst not forsake them. (NAS)

Matt 25:31-40

31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.

32 "And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;

33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

35 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me {something} to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;

36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink?

38 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?

39 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'

40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, {even} the least {of them,} you did it to Me.' (NAS)

How do we manifest kindness in our lives?

First develop our sense of understanding - sharing the feelings of someone else - putting ourselves in the other’s shoes. As Jesus said “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Think how you would feel if you were in that person’s situation? If I were in that situation what would I need, what would help me, how would I like to be treated. It may be something simple. Would I want and need someone to call me, and just say they were thinking about me or praying for me. Would I like to get a card or an email. Sometimes it might be more, would I need someone to bring me a meal or a cake or cookies or buy me groceries or some gas or a coat, and the list could go on and on. Kindness begins with our minds, an attitude that remembers how kind God is to us every day, an attitude that says I want to show God today in the things I do and say.

Second develop by an attitude of generosity. There are times we hesitate to be kind because we are worried we will be used. There is no doubt there are those who will try and milk our generosity and who will take advantage of us. And we are commanded to be good stewards of what God has giving and we need to be mindful of that But be careful that doesn’t become an excuse. Not everyone who is helped is ungrateful. Jesus went around showing kindness and not everyone was grateful. We always think about the Lepers and only one came back to say thanks. We need to remember thought that many deeply appreciate it, even if they haven’t fully said so.

We also need to think about why we are being kind. Are we doing it seeking a compliment, or to be noticed or to have someone owe us something, or simply doing what is right and good. Doing what is right and good means we realize that at times we may be used, but we will still do what is right. We have to remember how kind the Lord is to us everyday and understand we are not always the most grateful and sometimes we take advantage of His kindness and mercy.

Third develop kindness by DOING acts of kindness. Putting our empathy into practical application. It may be visiting the sick or the elderly or lonely. Calling someone who is discouraged. Writing a card to encourage a Sunday School teacher, or the pastor; doing someone a favor, running an errand, making a phone call, bearing a burden, making a visit , giving to the needy. As you think about these things you sense that kindness, as it moves beyond something we just think about to something we do, might sometimes be costly. It takes time, effort, and sometimes money, to do these things, but nothing compared to what God’s kindness to us cost. And nothing compared to hearing our Lord say well done good and faithful servant.

Are you allowing kindness to grow in your life? There is no time like the present to begin to nurture that which the Spirit of God has planted that we might abound with lovingkindness following the footsteps of Jesus.