A Call to KindnessFINAL
HYMN---“Take Time to be Holy”---#9
HYMN---“Rescue the Perishing”---#25
†A Call to Kindness,,,,, To set the tone for this message,à
Let me share this story./
†The train was filled with tired people. /
†Most of them had been traveling through à
the hot humid summer day & at last, evening had come, à
& they all tried to settle down to a sound sleep. /
†However, at one end of the car à
a man was holding a tiny baby, & as night came on à
the baby became restless & cried more & more. /
†Unable to take it any longer, à
a big brawny man spoke for the rest of the group. /
†"?? Why don’t you take that baby to its mother?" /
†There was a moment’s pause, & then came the reply. /
†"I’m sorry. I’m doin’ my best, The baby’s mother, my wife à
is in her casket in the baggage car ahead."/
†Again there was an awful silence for a moment. //
†Then the big brawny man who had asked the cruel questionà
was out of his seat & à
moved toward the man with the motherless child. /
†The big brawny man apologized for à
his impatience & unkind remark. /
†Then to the surprise of the other passengers, à
that big brawny man took the tiny baby in his own arms à&à
told the tired father to get some sleep. /
†Then in loving patience the big brawny man à
tenderly cared for the little child all through the night./
†Kindness will influence more than eloquence./
†Kindness is truly a wonderful thing./
†But, Kindness seems to be a thing of the past. /
†Our culture is swept more & more into the mindset of à
an “eye for an eye.” /
†Every day there are more & more examples of à
just how cruel people can be to one another. /
†Our society is filled with things like road rage, à
revenge hit lists in our schools & many other atrocities,à
to horrible & numerous to mention here this morning./
†? So the big question for the believer living in such a world,à
can we really make a difference in our society? /
†The answer is yes & the difference that we can make à
begins with being examples of simple Christian kindness./
†Before we go any further this morning à
let me ask this question: à
“? What does it really mean to be kind?” /
I. †To answer that question we must begin with à
the premise that kindness is a calling./
†God calls us to live a life of kindness because of à
the kindness we have been given in Christ./
†Paul writes in Ephesians 4:32 (NKJV)32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. è
†This one verse clearly calls us to Kindness./
†? But what is the true meaning of kindness?/
† Kindness is indeed a difficult calling to answer à
but it is an essential one that we must answer à
so we might grow more like Christ./
†Kindness means to beà
good, useful, helpful, considerate & gracious à
in all situations, regardless of circumstances./
†But there are a few implications of this call to beà
kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you./
†The 1st implication of kindness is that à
we must acknowledge others./
†Kindness means that à
we care for the feelings of others & feel with them./
†Another implication of kindness is action./
†Kindness shows caring & à
gets right into the situation with the person./
†Another implication of kindness is awareness./
†Kindness suffers with those who suffer, à
struggles with those who struggle & à
works with those who work./
†Now let us talk about the motivation of kindness./
†There are 3 core terms important in understanding à
the motivation of Kindness./
†The 1st core term is the word kindness itself./
†The Greek term for kindness comes from the same word à
that we get our terms kin or kindred. /
†This literally means that we are to treat others à
like our own family./
†The 2nd core term important in understanding à
the motivation of Kindness, is Compassionate./
†Compassionate means to show à
mercy, understanding, love & tenderness. /
†It means to be aware of à
a person’s hurts, sufferings & problems. /
†Compassion is the first step to being kind./
†The 3rd core important in understanding à
the motivation of Kindness, is forgiving./
†Forgiving, means to be gracious towards others & à
not to hold grudges or seek vengeance à
for wrongs committed against you. /
†Forgiving, is to pardon others for à
the wrongs they have done & no longer hold it against them./
†So as we get comfortable with these 3 core terms, à
important in understanding the motivation of Kindness,à
we are ready for the key to kindness./
†The key point Paul is attempting to drive home here is this./
†We are to treat others with a genuine kindness because ofà
the kindness that God has shown to us through Christ./
†It is important to remember the simple fact that à
without Christ we might be à
the same kind of person who has done us wrong. /
†Jesus died for those that have done you wrong & à
loves them just as much as He loves you./
†Kindness can become its own motive. /
†We are made kind by being kind./
†The next time someone gets on your nerves, à
treats you badly, gets on your case, or mistreats you à
in any other way, remember that Christ died for them./
†Paul writes in Romans 12:20-21 (NIV)20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
†When you treat others with kindness it makes à
a great impact, especially when they don’t deserve it./
†Kindness will give you credibility. /
†Kindness will give you influence. /
†Kindness will give you accessibility. /
†Kindness will give you durability./
†Kindness actually works better than revenge./
†Revenge will only lead to hurting not only à
the person that you are “getting even with” à but à
it also hurts you as well./
†Paul says that treating someone à
who has done you wrong with kindness à
is like pouring burning coals on their head./
†? Why did Paul makes this statement./
†Paul makes this statement because Kindness à
will bring shame on those who mistreat you./
†Of course showing kindness to those who mistreat you à
will make them look like the fools that they really are./
†Paul makes this statement because Kindness à
will store up the judgment of God against them. /
†God will hold them accountable for their actions & à
you don’t need to get involved./
†We must overcome evil?/
†Vengeance want work because vengeance makes evil win. /
†There is no possible way to act in a spirit of revenge à
& do any good./
†Vengeance on your part is literally à
taking the rightful place of God. /
†It is not your right to “get even” with people. /
†It is not your place à
to take your “wrath” out on other people./
†? So how do we overcome evil?/
†Paul says that we can overcome or defeat evil à
by doing good./
†Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (NIV)15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other & to everyone else.
†This means that we can defeat those who mistreat us à
by treating them à
in the same manner that Christ has treated us./
†This applies to everyone./
†The neighbor that causes you problems./
†The people at Heritage House activities whoà
are just “hard to love”./
†The people that cause you nothing but endless grief & à
those who deserve your retaliation à
need your kindness the most./
†When we “strike back” at others à
we hurt our ability to share God’s grace with them à
& we hurt the heart of God./
†Before you go to “strike back” at a person à
ask yourself this question: à
† “? Is this how I would want Jesus to treat me?”
†As we continue to answer the questionà
“? What does it really mean to be kind?”/
†We must understand that kindness is a confirmation./
†Jesus said in Luke 6:35-36 (NIV)35 But love your enemies, do good to them, & lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, & you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful & wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
†Kindness is a confirmation of Christ./
†And our kindness is a confirmation à
that we are followers of Christ. /
†The world around us see Christ in our kindness./
†? When people see you can they see Christ within you?/
†Kindness is a confirmation of Christ, à
Confirmation of doing good & à
confirmation of rewards to come./
†The 1st reward is Eternal life./
†Christ centered kindness focuses on eternity./
†The 2nd reward is Inheritance./
†The inheritance that we will receive à
is literally all that belongs to God. /
†Kindness reveals that you are a child of God./
†Jesus says that when we live a life that is à
filled with kindness, we will called the children of God./
†We are given the sacred privilege à
to be a child of the Most High./
†Kindness is the behavior of Christ./
†Kindness is nothing more that love in action. /
†As a child of God we are to behave like Jesus. /
†This means that we show à
a Christ centered kindness to everyone. /
†There is no greater act of kindness à
than that of Christ on the cross; à
dying for an ungrateful world, Dying for you & for me. /
†Jesus is our model & if He can give us grace; à
surely we can show kindness to others./
†Let me close this message with this example & a thought./
†A little girl one day went to her mother à
to show some fruit that had been given her by a friend. /
†"Your friend," said the mother, "has been very kind."/
†"Yes," said the child. "She gave me more than these; à
but I have given some away." /
†The mother inquired to whom she had given them. /
†To that the little girl answered, à
"I gave them to a girl who pushes me off the path, & à
makes faces at me." /
†When asked why she gave them to her, she replied, à
"Because I thought it would make her know à
that I wish to be kind to her, & she will not, perhaps, à
be so rude & unkind to me again."/
†From our message this morning folks,à
I want you to take three key lessons./
†1. Kindness makes you more like Christ./
†2. Kindness reveals the love of Christ within you./
†3. Kindness confirms your faith in Christ./
†Kindness can change our world, à
one person at a time, à
one step at a time with one act at a time./
†Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)32 Be kind & compassionate to
one another, forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave you.
HYMN---“My Faith Looks Up to Thee”---#37
