“What If We Showed A Little More Kindness?”

Pastor Jim Lowe III

Sunday Morning,  9:30am Stream

05/15/22 (3rd Sunday Message)

 

 

 

{All scriptures are NIV84 unless stated}

 

Today’s Title:

What If We Showed A Little More Kindness?

 

Galatians 5:22-25

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

 

Those who belong to Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

 

If you have accepted Christ…you have DECIDED to live for him and not for yourself.

 

You have decided you want God’s help through life.

 

You have decided you want to be with God in this life.

 

 And you can live life forever with him after this life is over.

 

This is called “living by the Spirit.”

 

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

 

We as believers are connected with Christ.

 

 He is the vine, we are the branches.

 

Because we are connected, we have fruit we should be bearing.

 

If we are NOT bearing it…we have access to it.

 

What fruits do we have access to?

 

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control

 

Today we’ll cover Kindness

 

Kindness (Eerdmans Bible Dictionary):

a benevolent attitude or action between individuals.  In the New Testament kindness means “love for mankind” demonstrated by people as well as God.

 

This fruit means to be kind to others.

 

This fruit means to be helpful to others.

 

This fruit means to be gentle and sweet to someone else.

 

It’s Our Job To Show Kindness To Others!

 

Matthew 5:14-16

14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. 

 

WE are the light of the world.

 

Our light is to shine before others…

 

Why??

 

So they may see our good deeds and praise God.

 

When you are connected to God…

 

Certain things will pour out of you.

 

Some things may come easy…some may require a lot of work.

 

But ALL of those things are so God can be glorified.

 

When People See Our Kindness, They See God’s Love!

 

We see that we are doing the work of God when we’re kind to one another.

 

What are some other things we can see about kindness?

 

Things About Kindness:

1. Being Kind Helps To Lift Others Up

 

Proverbs 12:25

25 An anxious heart weighs a man down, 

but a kind word cheers him up.

 

People are dealing with the loss of loved ones.

 maybe its the anniversary of a death.

 

People are dealing with addictions.

 

People are struggling with debt.

 

People are in need of help!

 

You Never Know What Your Kindness Can Help Someone Though!

 

Sometimes it can be just a smile.

 

Sometimes it can be a kind word.

 

Sometimes it can be just an ear.

 

Or even an action.

 

Those things can go a long way!

 

Do You Remember Someone Who Showed You Kindness The Last Time You Needed It?

 

How important was that at the time?

 

You needed that!

 

That’s what we’re to do for others!

 

We Are Here To Show Kindness To Others!

 

Things About Kindness:

2. Kindness Should Be Given With No Expectations

 

“Be Kind, Rewind”

 

When Blockbuster was still renting VHS tapes, they’d always ask you before you return it to be kind, rewind.

 

You didn’t have to…

 

But it was the kind thing.

 

The worst was to get a new movie to watch and realize you gotta rewind it before you can watch it.

 

Blockbuster asked for you to “pay it forward” for the next person.

 

Be kind to the next person who you won’t see.

 

Luke 6:31

31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

 

Treat people how you want to be treated.

 

Not to be confused with treat people as you ARE treated.

 

We live in a world now of “returning energy.”

 

We do to others as they do to us.

 

If someone comes at us wrong, we “return the energy.”

 

If someone is nice to us…generally we can be nice to them.

 

If we perceive someone coming at us “wrong,” well…we “might have time today.”

 

“It needed to be said…”

 

But kindness is treating them the way we WANT to be treated.

 

Proverbs 15:1

A gentle answer turns away wrath, 

but a harsh word stirs up anger.

 

When someone is angry with you…

 

Being kind and gentle can deescalate a situation.

 

If it’s anyone’s job to be kind…it’s ours.

 

Matthew 5:16 {repeat}

16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

 

There is no condition here…

 

We Are To Give Away Kindness Even If Others Are Not Kind To Us

 

Speaking of why…

 

Things About Kindness:

3. Being Kind Isn’t For The Other Person, It’s For You!

 

We aren’t kind because others “deserve it.”

 

If it were up to us…we wouldn’t be that kind to others would we?

 

We would show love to those we like.

 

We would show kindness to those who are kind to us.

 

Luke 6:32-34

32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full.

 

If we only take care of of “certain people,” are we doing the work of God?

 

That’s not what the bible says.

 

Colossians 3:12-13

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

 

We are to clothe ourselves with compassion and kindness.

 

Daily we are to put it on.

 

Just like clothes…we remove what was yesterday.

 

We put on today.

 

We Should Work To Be Kind To Someone Every Day!

 

We are to clothe ourselves in it.

 

Here’s a hard part of kindness…

 

Part Of Kindness Is Showing Forgiveness To Others

 

How many of you know that forgiving someone is an act of kindness??

 

Ephesians 4:32

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 

They might not deserve it…

 

But we are to forgive just as Christ forgave us…

 

The way others treated us isn’t the standard…

 

Christ forgave us…we are to forgive others.

 

Colossians 3:13b

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

 

What is the standard?

 

What God did for us.

 

But that’s the true test.

 

It isn’t easy!

 

Can You Be Kind To People Who Aren’t Kind To You?

 

This is why the bible uses the standard of Christ forgiving us.

 

Luke 6:35

35 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.

 

Do good to your enemies.

 

Be kind to them.

 

Be kind to those who “don’t deserve it.”

 

Because God was kind to us when we “don’t deserve it.”

 

…while we were still sinners…

 

But if we can love in that way…

 

We won’t get a good reward…

 

The reward will be “GREAT.”

 

Because we are doing what God would do…being kind to the ungrateful.

 

Proverbs 11:17

17 A kind man benefits himself, 

but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.

 

How does it benefit us?

 

We get a great reward from God.

 

We know WE aren’t operating with hatred towards others.

 

Romans 12:20 (MSG)

Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

 

Do good toward your enemy.

 

Be kind to others!

 

Proverbs 3:3-4

3 Don’t ever forget kindness and truth.

Wear them like a necklace.

Write them on your heart as if on a tablet.

4 Then you will be respected

and will please both God and people.

 

3 Ways To Offer Kindness:

 

1. Be A Help To Someone

 - Ask If People Have Prayer Requests, And PRAY FOR THEM!

 - Encourage Someone Unexpectedly (text, call, in person, card)

  - Bonus points for someone you don’t like.

 - Share GLC Messages/Invite Them To Church

 - Run An Errand For Someone If They Need It

 - Help Someone Clean Their Home

 

 

2. Offer Care Packages

 - Offer Doughnuts For Your Co-Workers

 - Pay For Lunch For Someone

 - Buy Them A Small Gift

 - Offer Them A Hug

 

3. Be Selfless

 - Reserve Judgment With Others

 - Know When To Bite Your Tongue

 - Be Patient With Others

 - Give People A Chance To Talk About Themselves

 - Be Positive When Others Aren’t With You

 

{Recap:}

 

We are the light of the world.

 

We are to shine our light so others can see it.

 

That means we have to look different.

 

That means we have to do different.

 

It’s not impossible.

 

We have access to God’s kindness.

 

Our relationship with him gives us access to HIS kindness.

 

We represent him.

 

With ALL the things going on in the the world…

 

What If We Showed A Little More Kindness?