(Sunday March 17, 2024) This is a Sermon for Hissom Tabernacle Church of the Nazarene.
Chapter 8: B. F. F. Be Fresh Fruit of the Spirit: Loving-Kindness
Today we are going to examine the characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit called: Kindness.
My first question is: what is your definition of kindness?
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I hope, from your definition that you can find the following commonality: that your definition is defined as an action. As I travel around and participate in various Bible study lessons, I’ve discovered that kindness is characterized by an action from someone to another. When we experience kindness then we have had and experience with God. True kindness is Spirit-produced (Galatians 5:22). It’s a supernaturally generous orientation of our hearts toward other people, even when they don’t deserve it and don’t love us in return. God himself is kind in this way. His kindness is meant to lead people to repentance (Romans 2:4), which implies they haven’t yet turned to him, and are still his enemies.
We imitate God’s kindness, therefore, by loving our enemies. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35). Our kindness reflects the heart of our Father. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
Have you heard the phrase: “it’s the thought that counts?” Well, “how true is that statement?”
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Because with kindness our thoughts and attitudes only go so far. No one knows what I’m thinking, and I do not know what you’re thinking. Therefore, a gesture of kindness is an action. For example, have you ever been going through a hard time or hit a rocky space in life, and someone says the following to you: “I’m thinking of you.” Am I the only one to think to myself: “well don’t bother? Don’t bother?” Well, I don’t know what you’re thinking, and if you don’t physically or verbally tell me: that you’re thinking of me; it means very little. This really doesn’t accomplish anything. You see, kindness is action. It is love in action.
- A kind person has the ability to put themselves in the shoes of others.
- A kind person treats the other person, the way they want to be treated.
- A kind person, loves so much, that they want to do something; to show someone else encouragement.
Therefore, kindness is love in action. Believe me it is of God and not of man. The Holy Spirit is the one who instructs us to deliver.
Yes, we can have random acts of kindness, but those actions come from a heart filled with Love and concern for another person. Jesus said, treat others as you wish to be treated. Matthew and Luke had the following to say: “Matthew 7:12 – Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Luke 6:31 – And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.”
According to our Scriptures, the word kindness is closely related to the word generosity. What do you think the definition of generosity is?
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Kindness stems from love and generosity stems from kindness. A kind person is generous from a heart filled with love. A kind and generous person is walking by the Holy Spirit. Both words (kindness and generosity) mean that a person is giving of themselves. The person is giving of a person’s, time, talent, energy, and/or money.
We can certainly find kindness demonstrated when we consider the character of God. There are many words we use to describe God. This time let use a Hebrew word to describe the kindness of God. This Hebrew means love, but it means the branch of love that means loyalty, faithfulness, or steadfast love. Many Bibles translations state it this way: loving-kindness. This is the word with its actual definition because love is kindness in action. For example, in the book of Psalm we find God’s loving-kindness in Psalm 23. Why?
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Psalm 23 (King James Version) “23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
So, after reading Psalm 23, we realize that king David wrote about the loving-kindness that God has for each and every one of us. Psalm 23 gives us a mental picture of God tending to his sheep; which, is us. He shows tenderness, love, and mercy for his children. For example, the first scripture says the good shepherd leads us. God wants his very best for you and I. Therefore, he is going to lead us in a path that benefits our character building the most. The next example in Psalms 23, is the fact that the good shepherd, God, is going to provide for his sheep, which is his children. If you have been a child of God very long you know this is the truth. God provides for the needs of his children. He knows our needs before we even ask him. Consider the following verse: Matthew 6:8: “Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him”
According to verse four God shows us his loving kindness, because he protects his children from evil and from harm. The Scripture says: “Thy Rod and thy staff comfort me.” Well, if you’re a sheep in the field the rod and staff are seen as weapons. The staff leads you and pulls you back when there’s danger. The staff is used to help fight off enemies.
David changes the gears a little bit in verse five, because the words begin to focus on God’s loving – kindness. David views himself as the Lord’s honored guest with David’s enemies present as captive onlookers. David shares the good news that God provides for his children. David said, in verse five: “that his cup overflows.” I believe David means his heart overflows with joy. Then, the last part of verse five informs us that God will protect us from our enemies.
For example, when a farmer corrals his sheep, that corral is their protection. When we are God’s child, he protects us by telling us the difference between right and wrong. Finally, Jesus identified Himself as the door to the sheepfold (John 10:7–9). Nothing can get to one of God’s children without first going through Jesus. We can rest easy, and we can be assured that God has our best interest in his hand.
David ends this Psalm by saying: “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me.” It’s interesting to know, that this word mercy, in the Greek language meant loving-kindness. Therefore, David must’ve known and felt God ‘s love in action, because mercy translates loving-kindness. It meant loyalty, faithfulness, And steadfast love. Finally, verse six ends with a notation about God preparing a place for our eternal soul. If you began this book with lesson one then you have learned, to rejoice in the eternal things; therefore, through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ we Have an eternal home in heaven. Jesus Christ himself said the following: “John 14:3 (King James Version) 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” If we needed a physical description of kindness today; we can see God ‘s loving-kindness his in son Jesus Christ. Jesus is the perfect example of God ‘s loving-kindness.
| This could be lesson number two on kindness and it’s also a great time to take a break. |
Let’s consider the following scripture together: “Philippians 2:4-8 (King James Version)
4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
This passage proves that God has loving-kindness toward us, because in our flesh, we continually fail him. All throughout the scriptures Man has continually fallen short of the glory of God. Even though we fall short, our heavenly father is just to show us mercy and loving-kindness. So, God saw our need and then acted upon that need for our benefit. My friends, this is the definition of kindness. What God had just said: “I’m thinking of you?” and “I am doing something to help show my loving-kindness.” We must follow through on the prompts of the Holy Ghost. He knows when and where we need to show kindness and every time, we do God shows up on the scene.
God acted upon his thought and showed us loving-kindness. He made a way to reconcile all of us, by sending his son Jesus Christ, to be our sacrifice for sin. Sometimes, we can show loving-kindness by doing something for others that does not cost us anything, but God showed us generosity, because His loving-kindness cost Him his only begotten son. (John 3:16).
Scriptures demand that we mimic these types of kindness. If we are honest with ourselves, we would agree that we do not do a great job of putting the needs of others before ourselves. We can say that we think about acts of kindness and are even given directives from the Holy Spirit, but we fell to obey. Why do we struggle with demonstrating acts of loving-kindness? What are the barriers you need to pray about?
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We should be giving because Christ gave it all.
Before we leave the study, I want to give you some physical ways that you can increase your kindness.
- Tomorrow morning, I want you to get up, and write down who you can thank for the day. Maybe it’s in person, maybe it’s a text, an email, a Facebook shout out, a phone call, some flowers, or one step further set up A dinner date.
- The next day, I want you to visit Sam’s or Cosco and get a box of snacks that you like. Next time, you see a bagger on the street, stop and give them a snack. Be sure to include a church invite, track, or talk to them about salvation.
- On the third day, I want you to: schedule an hour of time, that you wait for someone to ask you for help. During this time connect with God in prayer and in scripture.
- On day four, I want you to list three church members down on a piece of paper. Next, I want you to write down an act of kindness you can do for each one of them.
- On day five, six, and seven check off your list. Hopefully, in the next three weeks you will repeat these activities and build habits of kindness into your schedule.
So, do you want to be more kind? If your answer is yes; then, we need to be spending more time with Christ. The more time we spend with Christ the more he will rub off on us. I know this statement to be true because I look at the life of my friend. She recently got remarried and her personality has changed 360°. She is still with Christ, but bitterness is seeded at her heart. The man she lives with talks in riddles and is belittle some; therefore, his personality has rubbed off on her and she is acting more like him. We need to read her Bible more, study more, prays without ceasing and give thanks always. (First Thessalonians 5:16.)
Second Corinthians 9:7 informs us that we are not to give of our time and money as impulsive duties. This means we must follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is why loving-kindness is a gift of the spirit. The spirit directs our paths and the spirit certainly tells us who we are to help and who we are to bless. If we listen to the Holy Spirit, we will not get carried away and we won’t get taken advantage of. Remember, it is not in our nature to “muster -up “Kindness. It’s not in our nature to just be kind to someone else. Kindness is a gift of the spirit; therefore, not everyone is kind.
Recently, as I went about my daily business, and I do my daily activities I found less and less kind people. Especially in checkout lines and driving down the road. If we are led by the Holy Spirit we will continue to be kind at these moments. Therefore, when I see a lack of kindness I also feel a lack of the spirit. It is a true statement that kindness is a gift of the spirit. In the next day or two, look beyond your circumstances and look around. Test that statement and notate your experience in the face provided. When you found kindness did you find a godly person? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
