Hands and Feet of Jesus: Goodness and Gentleness
Being the Hands and Feet of Jesus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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What do I believe God wants us to know? He is Good and Kind and He wants us to be good and kind
Why? It through our goodness and kindness others will know the Lord or be encouraged in the Lord
What do I believe God wants us to do? do good and be kind
Why? It through our goodness and kindness others will know the Lord or be encouraged in the Lord
ME/WE
Today we are on two the aspects of fruits of the Spirit....we journyed through most of them.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Today we are going to spend some time unpacking goodness and kindness and often they are used interchangeably. Where you see kindness many times you see goodness and where you see goodness you often see kindness.
We live in a world that is all about saying, “DO GOOD” “BE KIND”
But the question I have is what does it mean to DO GOOD and BE KIND
What does the mean specifically to DO GOOD? There are a lot of ways people doing good that are not always good.
We see this in marriages, at least I have heard this happens in marriages…this probably has never happened in mine....A husband will go and clean the house or part of the house and he says to his wife look at the GOOD WORK I have done....look how clean the house is, aren’t you proud of me??? and how does the wife respond? Good work? There are crumbs on the kitchen table, the floor is still dirty after vacuuming, and the trash still has not been taken outside.
This isn’t good work…this is the start of something being GOOD WORK
We see this with our kids. Our kids think it would be good for us to feed them candy and whatever snack they want on demand, let them stay up late, and watch whatever they want.
BUT for them to do those things it is not good…their very lives would not be good…They would be emotionally, physically, and spiritually unhealthy
We see this in our government no matter if it is a red person, blue person, or purple person in office. Our government though influence by the ways of the kingdom of God is not 100% inline with the kingdom of God.
There are things that our government does that is GOOD and things they do that IS NOT GOOD
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO DO GOOD? WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE OF US?
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
We are not saved by works but to do good works
WE ARE TO WALK IN GOOD WORKS…THAT WHEN PEOPLE SEE US THEY WILL SEE WE ARE DOING GOOD. AND AS MATT 5:16 SAYS THEY WILL GLORIFY OUR FATHER
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
BUT WHAT IS THE GOOD WE ARE TO DO?
Let’s read what Micah 6 has to say about the good we are to do
This is what comes up with God and His people in Micah 6…God wants to first brings an indictment against Israel about God has been good and faithful and Israel has not
Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel.
“O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”
How you were once slaves…how we were once slaves of sin, death, and shame and how God delivered you.
Balak highered wicked prophet named Balaam son of Beor to curse Israel but every time he opened his mouth he blessed Israel instead.
Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 6
Shittim A place in Moab where Israel encamped prior to their entrance into the promised land (see Num 25:1–9; Josh 3:1).
Gilgal The first camp of Israel after crossing the Jordan River (see Josh 4:18–19)
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
LOOK AT MY FAITHFULNESS, LOOK AT MY GOODNESS
ISRAEL RESPONDS WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US???
we are guilty!!
“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
God we will offer you the premium offering…a calf a year old
1,000 rams
10,000 rivers of oil
My body
Do you want all these sacrifices....all these outward displays of worshipping you....we will give you that
God says that is not what I want
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
I can’t stand your religious meetings.
I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
your pretentious slogans and goals.
I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,
your public relations and image making.
I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want?
I want justice—oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it.
That’s what I want. That’s all I want.
So when we see the Good wants us to do is
Do justice
Be kind
Walk with God
What does it mean to do justice?
We hear it everywhere....DO JUSTICE…SOCIAL JUSTICE
- A LOT OF THE JUSTICE WE HEAR TODAY IS NOT JUSTICE....they say it’s justice
But to do injustice to someone else to try to get justice is not justice
I want justice give me, give me, give me so I can be on top and then I become the oppressor
What does that mean?
It means to act fairly and rightly in God’s eyes on behalf of the other
It is the second greatest commandment “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”
How you LOVE YOURSELF and TREAT YOURSELF....PRAYFULLY and HOPEFULLY IT IS THE WAY GOD WANTS YOU TO TREAT YOURSELF
that the just thing is treat them as you want to be treated
It would not be justice
For us to want to be gracious to someone else and not to other
Forgiving to Tom but not forgiving Nick
Demanding to one of our kids but undemanding to others
Generous to one person with what God has given us
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
COOKIE ILLUSTRATION
THIS IS THE LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
2nd greatest commandment is LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
But who is my neighbor? That was the BIG question of the day and still is a little bit today…because the religious leaders of the day were saying YOUR NEIGHBOR IS PEOPLE YOU LIKE…that’s your neighbor
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”
He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
A PRIEST....who knows treat your neighbor as yourself....bless the sojourner....Levite who knows
A Samaritan a half-breed as the Jews would say
Jesus is saying the whole world is your neighbor and I want you to do JUSTLY TO THE WHOLE WORLD
Look how strongly God wants to do this on by what God says on the final judgement
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Jesus says over and over whatever you do to the least of theses
YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED TO HELP THEM
Who are the least of these? WIDOW, FATHERLESS, IMMIGRANT, THE POOR
GOD IS SAYING I WANT YOU TO SHOW JUSTICE, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF FOR THE
WIDOW
FATHERLESS (men’s group relearened we are in the Fatherless generation)
IMMIGRANT
POOR
CHURCH DO YOU KNOW THAT GOD ANOINTED YOU TO DO SO?
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
If you want to get more involved in helping the least of these talk to Rachel who works for City Mission who helps the least of these or Jeff who runs an Orphan called “El Roi Children’s Home”
Another thing is to not be like the Levite and Priest to keep you eyes and ears open....God convicted me of this recently…I like to go in stores with one headphone in....listening to a podcast or a book or music and God said take the headphone off.
We are to seek the welfare of the our neighbor
2. TO GOOD BE KIND…TO LOVE KINDNESS
When people see you they see kindness and then they are able to see God.
Kindness has seem to be so absent from our American kindness....It is almost like when it shows up we have a response of “what is that???” “That is odd” Where you just kind to me?
What are kind people? Attributes of kindness
KIND PEOPLE ARE WARM (not cold or lighting rods)....they are fun and good to be around…you want to be around them
Kind people are generous with their
time (they spend uninterrupted time with people…they talk to you with words not of discourgement but encourgement…listen and uplift you
talent (they use their talents to help someone with a problem they have…emotional…or something broke at home…taken time of our their day to fix what’s broken in your home)
treasure (they use their financial resources to bless someone in need)
- They are not rude or return fire for fire…any situation contious or good they are kind.
They are patient
They forgive and don’t hold grudges
They are not easily angered
They are warmhearted and encouraging
The whole room changes…we see this with sister Trish…she lights up the room because she is so kind
They are thoughtful…she writing people notes
Fun to be around
That when we go out into the world that they are kind.
They not like what the media portrays Christians to be…they are kind.
God says to us DO GOOD by DOING JUSTICE and BEING KIND
Just as God is with us.
Communion
to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.