Fruit of the Spirit - Kindness

Time for the Olympics in every now. And then people will say that in order for us to really understand what an Olympic Athlete is capable of doing that, it might be advantageous to get something out of the crowd to compete with them so you can get a comparison of what the heck. Me so great Olympians can really do. I've seen you had that this morning might makes it look so easy. I'd like to do it one more time. It feels good, and it makes a Joyful Noise unto the Lord. And I just appreciate his spirit is blame this to do that. There's a picture of a banana plant. Anybody were race bananas. I have a neighbor who attempts to raise bananas, he doesn't live in their neighborhood. He doesn't live in in the in the housing addition be just outside the housing addition. What is involved in Oklahoma? In raising banana is, you have to move the plants indoors and Outdoors and he has a Greenhouse and he used to be out there. Now he's gotten like the rest of us and not able to do it anywhere, I would guess. But I used to with wheelbarrows move back and forth, those banana trees my mother-in-law. Also tried to race bananas not in Houston, a little easier to do with you but still quite difficult thing to do. If, if you were going to look at a plant to produce to raise the produce, I would think that would be one of the last ones, the next slide get reading bananas right off the tree.

I made the two of you have, I have and it's lots of fun taste. Really, really good. Some of it might be psychological and I've also there people who will argue with you, that it really doesn't matter whether you get in the store and get them off the tree. It's the type of banana that really is important beer. As I was thinking about it last night and I would go with self. We would eat those Bananas off. The tree had to be careful of them because hygiene is certainly an issue. There's a peeling there, but you have to make sure that you're not doing any form of cross-contamination. We take the boys, we let the boys eat off the tree, but none of the grandchildren have been allowed to eat off the tree. So he's changed a little bit for kids to your grandkids.

The reason I'm sharing that is like to spend some time with the fruits of the spirit things that actually grow and I wanted to start with a difficult plant. And later on, we'll look at some others as well be Galatians 5:22 through 23 is what the fruit of the spirit is love joy, peace forbearance. Kindness goodness faithfulness, gentleness and self-control against such things. There is no law and you'll notice that the song, we just sang mentioned a number of those. And that was not something that Mike and I had planned. That was something that the spirit brought to us today. Cause, and effects. Well, as Chicken and the Egg, which came first with produce, you don't have to, you don't have to go through that debate at all. And you know that when you plant the plant, you would tend to have the products, you know, there are certain things that you're going to have to do. If you're going to have to cultivate, you're going to have to for haps. Use additives are various kinds of things but it's not just a process, it automatically happens, but you understand that it's developmental. It is a process. If you buy the seeds, you start the process, you understand that it's going to a particular place. And a lot of things that we talked about, especially in behavior and things were even related to spiritual Behavior. There's debate in our minds even about what is this really going to have the impact that I would like for it to have? Emily Paul gives us this list of items. He's saying, you can grow these nine things in your life. You may have them already there to some degree. You may look and say well I'd like to have more, I'd like to be more accomplished in this area and so over this year, I'm not going to be here. But various times during the year with a look at some of these fruits of the spirit. Not going to start with the first one. The first one is love and I'm going to wait until the end because I think that's kind of a rapping that raps the whole thing a little bit together and some of them will look at it eventually. Some of them. Look at a butt. This morning. We're going to look at the idea of kindness.

Kind of kind of runs the gamut. I'm going to use the n, i v and I'll point that out. And though there is debate over Patriots I like forbearance better than patients. And I used this particular slide because it puts both of them up there. I think forbearance is a stronger word. We're not going to go out for parents this week. We're talkin about kindness.

Do you think a Bible characters who were kind?

We think of major wins like a good severely obviously. I think that probably and again, I wish we were at class, I put you wasted because I think good that you could probably suggest people who work, kind all level. That perhaps is not that large and that major. probably everybody here could tell about kind person that you know who's been a spiritual Mentor in your life. Somebody who's Baymeadows salt-of-the-earth, kind of people who really take me to three under wing maybe a mint or maybe somebody was just been really good to you and you find yourself different because of the simple act of kindness that you receive

Now, there aren't many songs secular song that you can sing in church, and they would be appropriate for the song. Ben Campbell. Got to try a little kindness to show a little kindness, John, your life for everyone to see the whole chorus could be a church song because it really is about being kind and that's talking to Mike a little bit before before service this morning. I don't know of a story behind this song, maybe some of you do. I looked a little bit, didn't find anything so if you know, of a special story but it just as inspirational, really get your attention encourages her to move it in that direction about you, try little kindness, and it comes out of nowhere. But yet, it really has a lot of helping and support for us.

Time. This is my superpower. Maybe some of the kids to Fred this. You think it's a good little book if you'd like to read it. You're certainly welcome to. I will also tell you that it's on YouTube so if you'd like to just watch it on YouTube you can certainly do that with a little boys. Having some behavior problems and he's not getting along with everybody like you'd like to and the people in this life are able to convince them. To try a little kindness. And let's dispense.

This change transformation was for his sake. That occurs in the latter part of the book is really encouraging and he gets to the point where it's like I have power over other people by being kind to them and not in the manipulative kind of way. He just feels different about himself. He feels differently about others because he's really emphasizes, he being kind. Now each of us could do that experiment. You could the next time you pull up in front of a, a grocery store, just say to yourself. I'm going to be kind to every person. I mean come in contact with Now, that doesn't mean you have to pay for, everybody's groceries could be that, but you can be kind in all kinds of different ways of her. I'm opening the door to help me with both of those with carts of a smile. Just try going in and smiling everybody in the grocery store and see if he don't have a different experience than when you snore with everybody at the grocery store or you're in a hurry, to get a hole when you have to pick up one item but you know if we need this so grab it and it's a picture in less that moment when you're just Got a busted in and pushed in so many different directions.

It's so simple that we lose it. I've shared this before in the most people don't, particularly think it's important, but I think it is a little girl who prayed her evening for your dear Lord. Please make the bad people, good, and the good people kind, And it worries me because was she seeing people that she thought were good people but nice people. But as she wants them in the world, whether it's our family, whether it's our friends by the British people to eat to take me to contact with her to feel like God do to the intervening in the way they were behaving. You're having a bad day things aren't going like you like to go, you don't mean to be rude to the waitstaff. You don't mean to to be harsh with the person who's checking you out of the grocery store. You don't mean to kind of be irritable or a snap and and yet we find they're still doing that and looking back and thinking this was a negative experience. For me, it was a negative day for me. It also was negative for other people, because inadvertently, I've been taking out my frustration on the people that I'm coming into contact with.

It's just kind of. And yet we have direct Commandments about kindness their big things about following Christ. They're big things about serving God but they're all kinds of things that God ask us to do and certainly is one of these gifts of the Spirit we are asked to show kindness. Colossians 3 verse 12, therefore is God's chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness humility, gentleness and patience. We wear the clothes. The advertised these behaviors. Go into the grocery store. Wearing a Thundershirt. Somebody Bank comment on that. Told you before that was as overly gentleman. They pulled me aside one day. And said, you tell them boys, it's now or never, and it was like, but I don't have any contact with these people. He felt it so strongly, but when you wear that shirt, you're saying something and What we have the courage to wear. I'm a kind person t-shirt hard to get out of the car. You think, maybe I'll put my jacket on. There might be somebody. He's going to take me to my word in there. I don't want to advertisers and yet, Paul saying to us, the garments that we put on,

In terms of our personality of the garments that advertise certain things, we're not advertising a sports team, wherever we're saying, because I'm a Christian. I want to share kindness. I know that God has their time this with me. And so that's my goals, just that with others to share that with other people as well.

God, ask us to be kind because it's a reflection of him.

in Romans 2:4 Cesar, do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness? Forbearance and patience. Not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you. The rippingtons. God has many facets but one of those facets is through the kindness that he shows us, we're motivated to be more like him and to walk the way he wants us to wall. Many of you and I ain't talking with you. I have a a grandfather that I just absolutely adored and and there are several of you who talking that we have conversations about that, we didn't want to do anything to disappoint a grandfather or grandmother or somebody like that. He would shown so much kindness and love and, and you would literally do anything your body could possibly do. Because those people were so important to you, you wanted to represent them in the most positive way possible. And God said your mind, and I'm kind, and the only kindness and other people are already experienced many times. Is the kindness that you extend because of who I am. And the relationship that we have. In Matthew 5:16. Do the same way. Let your light shine before others that they may see your good works, good deeds and I think you're wonderful. No, glorify your father in Heaven. I looking what we do. I'm praising God because of what his followers do.

In order to be kind it, it requires some action and not the kind of action that were typically thinking about a smile. Is an action, other sisters, some Aid. Any small thing is actually us taking him this shutov. To do it. I'm going to actually be kind no matter the challenges of the day. I'm going to program.

I think one of the reasons that we're not as kind as we may be like to be Is it sometimes people can or react to our kindness? We bring up movie one time back years and years ago. There was a little boy behind this in the movie. I was with Jack and my brother-in-law and his little boy kept talking and turned around and little boys.

It was the first person of the showing me attention. Apparently in Houston, mediately just bonded. Then I was like, you'll talk to me even if you're going to fuss at me, that would be better than perhaps what I'm getting in this kind of situation.

those things came up and I lost my thought, they still have it because I don't

Sometimes when you get spelled in notice, what's going on around us? And we're so into ourselves. And as you think about being kind, my suggestion would be

You just open your eyes. To what people need. How can I be a little Kinder? I'm going to be a little nicer. How can I be just a little more positive, more helpful.

Proverbs chapter 15. Verse 23 says a person finds joy in giving an app reply. And how good is a timely word. Turn out to be large, doesn't have to be dramatic something as simple as an encouraging word. Be a plus. Now. The reality of this is kind of just not really valued in this world. I'm guessing that if you were playing for a job as a foreman, or a supervisor or a manager and you were having an interview and the person interview, you said, what's your greatest skill and you said kindness, I think probably in a lot of cases that interview would be for all intents and purposes that the interview would be over. We need somebody to get things done. We need movers, we need shakers, we need people who can get the people to work. You can follow up on what needs to happen. Somebody who's just going to be a nice guy. We don't need any more nice guys. And even more than that. when you present yourself as a nice person, or as a kind person, There's plenty of people out there who were going good. It's somebody I could take advantage of. this is somebody that I can maybe be maybe you know, get my own way with

Sometimes being kind of saying, no. Every parent knows that it'd be easier to say. Yeah, go ahead. But we don't because we're shaping and molding and we have to draw some boundary sometimes because those boundaries are important in the teaching and in the learning process. This isn't just an obstacle course nothing. But let's see if you can do it. Proverbs 11:17 says those who are kind. Benefit. Themselves. But the crew will bring ruin on themselves. Now, I'm not going to stand here and tell you that every time your kind somebody should be kind back to you. Didn't work that way. There are people who have already been, should both take advantage of those situations there people in. It doesn't matter to their people who I just gives them a chance to get in line ahead of you there just all kinds of things and to set up the kind of idea that, you know, if we just go out there and spread kindness and people are going to be kind of fact, he was, but there is a reality where we achieve, what we're satisfied with. because of the personality attributes that we're bringing. You don't have to feel guilty when you're kind, no matter what happened, you can sit back and move back away from it and go. I did okay with that. I am that really well.

I'll bet you look at this passage. I hope that you. Look at it over and over as we go through it over the next few months. And look at those various things, some of these things you're probably already strong, and in your life, And I would guess that you look at these nine attributes that are ones that you say things with their, with their other things. You may say, I wish I was Stronger in that area. I wish I was able to do that. I wish I was more efficient in that process and cultural part of the growth of development comes in to happen. For this to be stronger, but this produce to be better.

Back when I was young we used to plant little garden things. I'm not I've never had a big Garden or anything like that but we had some raised beds and some play at some pots is what I'm going to say it in the other day. He was sitting over there at the house they should remember when we used to just pick cucumbers and bring them in and saw them when I was like yeah I remember that. And I thought to myself, okay, that did what I wanted to do. he still remembers that and it was a memory that is important to him or so it's an important memory to me and God when he says it was okay, these are things you can grow in your life, knowing that when we do that, We actually can Mark a time, we can work a space. We could Mark a growth and development. We can step up and do with challenge. And it's better than it would have been if I hadn't addressed it and the fruits of the spirit, obviously fall into that category. Would you play with me?

To God. We know that you have qualities that you want to see it us. We recognize those qualities. We understand that those qualities are sometimes things that the world doesn't appreciate. how many times there are things that Satan would like to interfere with Father, we pray that we might look at the goals that you have given us. set ourselves a place for We can grow and develop to the place, where we produce the produce, but you want. Father, because we know that everybody benefits. Will you that probably us is?

As much as anyone. Father, please forgive us. Help us to be more like you. We pray this to your precious son. Amen.

Extend Jesus is invitation this morning. If you need to respond to that, we encourage you to come to the front as we sing the song of encouragement.