[0:01] Well, we need him as we come to hear his words. If you take your sheet with the Proverbs listed on it, this is our scripture reading for this evening.
[0:18] Verses on the kindness of the wise. A kind-hearted woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth. A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.
[0:35] One man gives freely, yet gains even more. Another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper.
[0:46] He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessings crown him who is willing to sell.
[0:58] He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it. A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.
[1:13] An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up. He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy.
[1:27] A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. He who is kind to the poor lends to the poor, and he will reward him for what he has done.
[1:39] If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
[1:52] He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest, amasses it for another who will be kind to the poor. He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them, receives many curses.
[2:10] May the Lord give us understanding of his word. Pastor Jason. Well, I really don't know if we are living in an increasingly cruel world.
[2:30] The world has always been cruel, even brutal at times, and so perhaps nothing really has changed, and we're just more exposed to it. I don't know.
[2:41] I do know that the God of this age, the one who is at work and those who are disobedient, is cruel. And Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3 that there will be terrible times in the last days.
[2:59] And it's interesting what he uses to back up, or he says this is the kind of things that will happen. This is what will make it so terrible. It will be what's going on in the hearts of men and the way they treat each other.
[3:17] He says they'll be abusive, without love, unforgiving, brutal.
[3:28] He says a lot of other things. It is a cruel world, but it's a real shame, and it's sad, when the children of God are hardly any better at times.
[3:45] A Christian publication just published an article with the title of something like this, Jesus tipping over tables is no excuse for your online rant.
[3:56] What is that about? Why do they feel like they needed to write something to that effect? Well, a lot of Christians, at least, I don't know about the majority, but a lot of them out there think that orthodoxy, or their rightness, or their zeal for what they think is right, gives them an excuse to rant, to demolish, to be cruel, to call names, to fight and tar and feather any person who disagrees with them in the slightest in their way of thinking.
[4:32] And they're using Jesus' one-time action as an excuse for their cruelty, as if Jesus came home after work every day at four o'clock and tipped over tables and made whips and got on and logged on to Facebook.
[4:49] That was not his daily routine. That was not something that he did frequently at all. It is a cruel world, and so I do say it's an absolute shame when the children of God, the children of a kind father, act hardly better than the world that they're living in.
[5:12] What's going on then is the darkness from the outside is coming into them instead of the light leaving and shining out of them. God in kindness took us out of the kingdom of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of light.
[5:26] He brought us out of a cruel kingdom and he brought us into a kind kingdom. And so will we be no better?
[5:38] Well, the Lord isn't satisfied with any remaining cruelty in us. He's showing us his ways. He's showing us the way he lives and thinks.
[5:50] He's teaching us to be different. And the book of Proverbs is part of that. We just read a lot of the verses on Proverbs on kindness.
[6:02] And that was not exhaustive. That was just what I could fit onto that one page. Someone said, if we're not very kind, we are not very holy.
[6:15] Do you think about kindness as being a part of your holiness? So someone said, not very kind, we're not very holy. I think Proverbs would add, if we're not very kind, we're not very wise.
[6:28] Because the wise are kind. Your Father in heaven is all three. He's holy, He's wise, and He's kind. And that's what He's making us.
[6:39] He's not making us into deformed, lopsided creatures that have some sort of cruel, misshapen holiness or some sort of cruel, ugly wisdom.
[6:52] He has all three in perfection. And that is what He is imparting to us. That is what He is working into us. That is why the Holy Spirit has come to make us like that.
[7:03] And so that's what we're going to be looking at tonight. That's why we need to lean into what the book of Proverbs says about this kind of kindness. Because this is what God's agenda is for you and your life.
[7:16] This is what He is working in you. So do you want to be hand in hand, arm in arm, on the same agenda as our Lord? Well, lean into what the book of Proverbs says about kindness.
[7:30] Proverbs says, wisdom isn't just knowing and understanding the power of kind words. We started talking about that last week. It is that, but those kind words are a part of a whole life that is marked, that exhibits constant kindness in every way.
[7:49] And so I do feel like I need to drive this home, not because any of you are particularly cruel, but the world that we are living in is toxic.
[8:02] And if we're going to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, then we're going to have to resist the forces, the powers that are outside of us that are trying to press us into that image of cruelty.
[8:14] The poison is all around us, and so we do need to grasp this and see the importance of it with all of our hearts. And so I have three nails that I really just want to drive home with you tonight.
[8:28] Three nails to impress upon you the importance and the glory of kindness. And the first nail is that our only wise God is kind.
[8:44] Our only wise God is kind. And so let's start there. Let's start with lifting up our eyes, lifting up our hearts to the Lord and asking, what are you?
[8:57] Let's begin with worshiping Him for who He is. So here He is. Here is His glory. He is the Almighty One. All-powerful. He does whatever He pleases.
[9:10] In heaven above and on earth beneath, He's the judge, the only wise God. He always knows the very best way of doing things. We only think that we know the very best way of doing things.
[9:22] He actually does know the very best way of doing things. He always discerns the dark hearts of men. He understands their motives while we only pretend to understand their motives.
[9:34] But, so there He is, the only and all wise God, and He is kind. He's kind. We say about certain people, a certain man, that man does not have a cruel bone in his body.
[9:51] Well, if God was a man, we would say the same thing. He doesn't have a cruel bone in his body. But, God did become a man. And, there wasn't a cruel bone in His body.
[10:10] He made Himself poor. what was motivating that? We read it this morning in Philippians. And, we're going to get there.
[10:21] He made Himself poor. He subjected Himself to servitude. It was kindness. He did it to make others rich. It was not something that He was just doing for just doing its sake.
[10:34] He was doing it for the end of being kind, of pouring out blessing on people who needed it. He raised the dead to comfort the living.
[10:47] There was that widow from Nain who had lost her husband and now she had lost her only son. And, if you read that story, Jesus' primary attention is not on the dead boy, it is on the woman who is grieving.
[11:02] And, he brings him back to life and presents him to his mother. That was his kind heart in action. His words were kind. Psalm 45, 2 is this wedding psalm.
[11:14] It's a prophetic psalm about Jesus. And, he says, you are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, with kindness, with love, with graciousness.
[11:27] So, why did Peter, remember when all the disciples are leaving, why did Peter say, Lord, where else can we go? You alone have the words of life.
[11:38] Your words fill us with life. We come to you, and you show us how to live. You help us to live. You give us life.
[11:49] So, were those kind words or cruel words that Jesus was constantly speaking into his disciples' lives? They were kind words. Peter wouldn't have said, we're not going anywhere if Jesus' mouth didn't overflow with kindness, with encouragement, with praise, with blessing, with help, with instruction, with life-giving kindness.
[12:14] God the Father sending his Son was an act of kindness. Titus 3, 4, but when the kindness and love of God appeared, he saved us.
[12:25] He's talking about the incarnation of Jesus Christ, this whole beginning of the salvation that God has brought, and that's our Father's heart. It's kindness, it's driving, it's driving the whole salvation story.
[12:41] God's desire to be kind. Lamentation says he doesn't willingly afflict the sons of men. I think that's a way of saying his heart really isn't into that.
[12:54] He doesn't get some sort of sick pleasure in doing that. That's not his preference or something like that. That's not his joy. That's not his willing choice, so to speak. But what does he take joy in?
[13:04] Oh, when the kindness of God appeared, he saved us, he redeemed us, he rescued us, he loved us. So God our Father is kind, God the Son is kind, God the Holy Spirit is kind.
[13:20] The Old Testament, Isaiah calls them the spirit of wisdom and understanding. The only reason that Christians have any modicum of wisdom is because the Holy Spirit comes in and blesses us with that wisdom.
[13:32] He is the one who makes us wise unto salvation. He's the one that gives us eyes to see and understand God and his world. And so the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and of might, the spirit of knowledge and the spirit of the fear of the Lord.
[13:49] I could almost, you could sum that up and say the spirit of Proverbs, of the book of Proverbs, and what is the fruit of the spirit working in a person's life?
[14:01] love. Well, it's kindness. And it's love. And Paul says love is patient and love is kind.
[14:16] So what does the life of God and the soul of man look like? What does it produce? And young believers and old believers and men, women, it produces kindness.
[14:31] love. And again, so I'm driving this home. I want you to lift up your eyes and lift up your hearts to your God. Here's the wisdom that Proverbs is teaching us.
[14:47] It's this kind of wisdom. And so warm your heart here. Warm your heart here. Soften your heart. Sweeten your soul. And then ask, is that you?
[14:59] Are you reflecting that kindness, the kindness of God into the world? And the way that you relate to your children, and the way that you relate to your spouse, and the way that you relate to those people on the internet, and the way that you relate to people that you're working with and living with, are you exuding, pouring forth kindness?
[15:23] Remember a long time ago when we started the book of Proverbs, we said wisdom makes us into a tree of life. This is part of being that tree of life in the place that we are.
[15:35] We create a garden around us of kindness, not a desert of cruelty. So, is this you?
[15:50] We need to begin here. We don't begin anywhere less. We don't begin with any pastor or teacher or professor or anything like that because none of those are perfect.
[16:05] We don't start by looking at the ones that don't quite measure up. We want to look at the one who is the standard. Be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live a life of love.
[16:19] Live a life of kindness. Paul said imitate me as I imitate Christ. So, let's skip whoever our Paul is in this situation for now and go and look at Christ.
[16:32] He was kind and he was wise. See, I think sometimes we have a hard time reconciling wisdom and kindness. And I get that tension. We don't know how to bring those two things together.
[16:44] Sometimes that's difficult for us. We say you can't be too nice. And I guess that's where the failure is. Maybe we're not talking about being nice.
[16:55] We're talking about real kindness. But whatever struggles that we have in harmonizing wisdom and generosity and kindness, God doesn't have a problem harmonizing those two things.
[17:12] It's not either or with him. It's both and. They live perfectly in him and he is making them and he is going to make them live perfectly in us. So his kindness is a perfect expression of his wisdom.
[17:27] Proverbs 25. I don't remember the exact one, but it says a soft word breaks a bone. A soft word can break a bone. He's just talking about the gentle, kind words can break the person that's hard hearted.
[17:42] And that's what God does. Kindness does what harshness and demand and ridicule or whatever can't do. Kindness will break open a heart and win that person to to itself.
[17:59] So kindness is wisdom itself. So God is kind in creation. He's kind in providence. He's kind in salvation. We come to the door.
[18:11] We come to his door. We come guilty. Not just generally guilty, guilty against him, having offended him, having disrespected him, having disobeyed, having rebelled against him.
[18:27] And we come full of guilt and full of fear, just wretched, wretched. And what does sinners see when they come knocking on our Lord's door?
[18:43] In that condition. They see kindness. kindness shining out of his eyes. The father in Luke 15 had done a lot.
[18:55] And his son had done a lot to him. Terrible things that he had done to his father. Insulting things. Cruel things to his father.
[19:07] And when that boy came back, it says, filled with compassion, he threw his arms around him. And Jesus in Luke 15 is saying, that's my heart. That's how I treat sinners.
[19:20] That's how I'm welcoming people. So your God is kind. And I guess that's the thing I want to begin with. If you don't go any further, if that's all you get out of today, I just want you to get that.
[19:36] Stop here for a while. Lift up your heart. Put your faith into this kind God. That's the first nail. Now here's the second nail. And it's related to something of what we talked about last week about affirming and kind words.
[19:52] And it's connected to what we've just been talking about. The second nail is that God in the gospel speaks kind words to us. God in the gospel speaks kind words to us.
[20:05] We're going to get to Proverbs in a minute, in a moment, but I just want to drive this kindness home further. Because I know that if you don't find rest here and assurance here and help here and comfort here, if you don't see this in God, if you don't see how this is touching your life, then I could read all the Proverbs and you won't end up doing them.
[20:32] The gospel does motivate and strengthen and help us to do this. And so that's why I want to major on this. And I want to drive God's kindness home even deeper. So we come to Christ.
[20:42] We come to that door. We come wretched. And what are God's first words to us? Does he say wait? Does he say prove yourself?
[20:54] Does he say, well, you've, you know, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, something like that. Does he hold out? No, he doesn't hold out.
[21:05] He says forgiven. Forgiven. You're innocent, no longer guilty. All of your sins. I remember them no more. It is complete and full and free forgiveness.
[21:17] And he doesn't make us wonder. He says those words to us. He says it in the gospel. He says it through ministers. As we announce the gospel, God wants you to hear these words ringing in your ears.
[21:32] From now on, all of your sins, I will not count against you. That is affirmation. That is encouragement to this poor sinner's heart. And I'm sure it's to your heart as well.
[21:44] He doesn't say we'll wait and see how you do. We'll wait and see if you turn this around and turn over a new leaf and live right. No, he goes right into the ears of our hearts and he says, forgiven.
[21:56] He says righteous. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is now yours. I robe you. I clothe you in this righteousness. I declare.
[22:07] That's a verbal kind of thing. I declare you righteous. So not just as if you had never sinned, but as if you had always obeyed.
[22:20] The righteousness of Jesus Christ is now yours. And he doesn't say that just for the angels to hear. He says that for us to hear, for us to appreciate, for us to take in.
[22:32] He wants us to be assured. He wants us to be affirmed. You've come to the right place. You've done the right thing in throwing yourself on Jesus.
[22:46] Salvation is yours. One of the Roman Catholic Church's big problems with Martin Luther and the doctrine of justification by faith alone, they have lots of problems with it.
[23:02] But one of their biggest problems was they saw a pragmatic problem. They saw a this isn't going to work to produce godliness.
[23:15] If you assure people, if you give them this assurance that justification by faith alone gives them, if you assure these sinners that they're righteous, then what motivation are they going to have to act rightly?
[23:33] Now, there's a kind of wisdom to that question, isn't there? It's a cruel wisdom. It's a worldly wisdom. It's not God's wisdom. God says, I know how to get them to change.
[23:45] I know how to get them to act rightly. I'll change their hearts. I'll change their hearts so that they want to do what is right.
[23:58] And more than that, I will win their hearts so that they want to please me. I'll win their hearts by forgiving them of their sins.
[24:10] I'll win their hearts by saying, it is finished. And out of love for me, they will obey me. Now it's not fear and uncertainty driving our relationship with God.
[24:22] That's not what it's supposed to be. It's grace and it's kindness. He who wins souls is wise. That's not really an evangelistic verse.
[24:35] It's talking about people that are winsome, that can bring people over to their side. They're wise. Well, God knows how to win people to his side.
[24:48] He kills our hostility with kindness. He changes our heart and our disposition to him with kindness. And he keeps on killing it, doesn't he?
[25:04] He breaks our bones of resistance, of doubt, of disobedience with kindness. And so we come to him and he says righteous.
[25:16] And then he says, he calls us his dearly loved children. So we come to him full of doubt and fear and shame.
[25:26] And we're not sure of our place and we're not sure of what this is going to mean. And he speaks over us. You are my dearly loved child.
[25:39] So those are God's kind, affirming words. That's God's wisdom and action. He knows how to work in our lives.
[25:51] One of the great works of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to make us to hear this affirmation in our hearts. That's what Romans 8 talks about. He doesn't want us to miss it.
[26:03] And so these words are written down for us. They're written down for us so that we can come to them and we can hear them again and again and again because people like us, we're leaky buckets and we run out of assurance and we run out of this encouragement and we need to come.
[26:19] And so he's written it down so that we can come again and again and be and hear these kind words. God wants you to hear this because the joy of the Lord is your strength.
[26:33] The joy of the Lord is your strength and it's when you're living in the affirmation, the assurance, the encouragement of the gospel that you're strong. And so Proverbs says kind words are wise words.
[26:45] And when it says that, it's not telling us anything that God doesn't do. It's not telling us to work in any sort of way that God doesn't work. Proverbs is gospel wisdom.
[26:57] It's wisdom that harmonizes completely and perfectly with the gospel. It's as if God's ways and thoughts are now sort of like a coffee maker dripping down into our lives and and sorry, I can't even the word is tincturing.
[27:14] that's not the word I want, but it's like filling our lives with his wisdom. So then the wise man, we saw this last week, lives a life worthy of the gospel.
[27:31] Proverbs is gospel informed. So he lives a life that harmonizes with the gospel. And so that brings us to our third nail. And this is where we're going to end.
[27:43] The wise man is kind. He's living in light of the gospel. And so as his God and father has been, is kind and has treated him kindly, he now goes and does the very same thing.
[27:57] And he understands not just that God does that, but he sees the wisdom of God's kindness. kindness. So we've already talked about this last week, but he's kind with his words.
[28:10] That's what we've just been talking about. 1225 Proverbs, an anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up. So wise people, what do people who are wise do?
[28:22] They go around and they cheer up the downhearted. They cheer up the anxious. That's just like Jesus did. They're fountains of life. And so their mouths overflow with kindness.
[28:34] Especially to those who are struggling. Especially to those who are limping. Especially to those who have been shot in the heart. Shot and they're limping through life and they're struggling. The wise sees that and it moves them to kindness.
[28:50] Well, here's the secret. Everyone is struggling. Life is hard. Ian McLaren, I believe who is a Scottish pastor, said, be kind because everyone you meet is carrying a heavy load.
[29:11] That's true. Everyone you meet is carrying a heavy load. The checkout lady at Walmart is carrying a heavy load.
[29:25] She's in a battle. life is hard. She's nursing a broken heart. She's living with broken relationships.
[29:36] She's living with emptiness. She doesn't know the Lord Jesus. Whatever, she's a human in a broken world. She is struggling. And the wise man has kind words for her.
[29:50] kind words. Good job. I don't know how you do it. Are you amazed at those checkout ladies? You should be on their feet for I don't know how long and having all these strangers file in front of them eager to go.
[30:08] Good job. I don't know how you do it. You're just like Jesus. Jesus was on his feet helping people all day long. That's what you're like. never a moment to sit down.
[30:20] I really respect the job that you're doing. The wise man is kind with his words. He's kind toward his children with his words. He's kind toward his wife with his words.
[30:34] The wise man is kind with his money. Again, I don't have time to read all of these proverbs. I had them written down and really not a lot of comment needs to be made.
[30:45] But you see, he sees a generous man will prosper. He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Wise people see their money as a tool to refresh others.
[30:56] Not just to please themselves, but to refresh others. And that's even talking, I would say, more than just helping those who are needy. It's going to talk about that. Refreshing means you lift someone up.
[31:09] You wash them off. You encourage them. You help them. You make it feel their life better. He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
[31:20] The word is also water. You know, you're watering this plant because you want to see it to grow. And if you water, you yourself will be watered.
[31:31] The Proverbs 31 woman who in certain ways is a paradigm, is the paradigm of godly woman, but just of wise godliness, opens her arms to the poor.
[31:43] not narrow arms. She opens her arms. She opens her hands to the poor. She's generous. So when god gave, is she a fool?
[31:57] No, she's not. There's anything but a fool. She's like her god. When god gave up his treasure, he was not being a fool. His generosity was a demonstration of his wisdom.
[32:10] So he opened up his arms and his hands that he sent forth his son in this mercy mission. And it was a demonstration of his wisdom. Because just think about, so he let go of his treasure.
[32:22] And his treasure came back to him. And his treasure came back to him with interest. Souls. Five, ten, no, millions. Numbers that you can't even understand.
[32:36] Loaded with people who loved god now. That's how it works. You give and it comes back to you. That's how it works in God's world. It will come back to you in some way, in some place.
[32:49] A missionary in Turkey, his name was William Shuffler, was repeatedly asked how having so little, was he able to give away so much, and yet he never seemed to run out.
[33:01] So here's this missionary, he hardly has any, and he just keeps on giving it out. And how is it that you never run out of money? And his answer was this, I keep shoveling over to the Lord, and he keeps shoveling back over to me, and his shovel's bigger than mine.
[33:19] That's how it works in God's world. world. There's something of a deeper magic here. Something hidden in the layers of the fabric of God's world.
[33:36] Proverbs 28, 27, look at this, he who gives to the poor will lack nothing. You give away, and you don't lack.
[33:47] You're a widow, and all you have is a little flour and a little oil, and you share it with the Lord's prophet, and your flour doesn't run out, and your oil never runs out. It's strange.
[34:00] It's God's way. 11, 24 is on the same point. He's saying this is a strange observation. This is how it works. One man gives freely, yet gains even more.
[34:14] Another withholds unduly, comes to poverty. That's what I'm talking about when I say this deeper magic, this thing that's hidden in the fabric of God's world, the way God has created things, the generous are blessed.
[34:31] They are enriched. They are enriched with friends, they are enriched in spirit, and yes, even a lot of times they are enriched in wealth.
[34:43] God knows who he can trust his money to, and so he gives more of it to them. Well, he's kind with his words, he's kind with his money, he's kind to those who are weaker than he is. His kindness is not self-serving.
[34:56] It is matched and it is connected to a compassion and a mercy and a sympathy and a gentleness. So 1210, a righteous man cares for the needs of his animals.
[35:09] The animal needs him. The animal is depending upon him. And in that day, you didn't have lots of pets or anything like that. We're not talking about pets, we're talking about farm animals and they're going to work for you.
[35:21] And so the wise man looks at his animal, not in purely utilitarian, how can I squeeze the most work out of this animal with giving him the least amount of care?
[35:31] He doesn't do that. He's kind and he cares for his animal. He's kind to those who are weaker than he is. 1421, he who despises his neighbor's sins, but blessed is he who's kind to needy.
[35:45] So there's a needy person. We're talking about someone who is below you on the economic scale. They're below you on the social scale. They don't have the resources that you have.
[35:56] They don't have the finances. They don't have the know-how. They're beneath you in certain ways. Well, fools despise their neighbors. How ugly and how unchristlike that is, but that's what fools do.
[36:11] They despise their neighbors. But blessed he is he who is kind to the needy. The world looks down on them, looks at them as a basket of deplorables.
[36:23] James talks about a church, going into church, and a poor man coming in, and people saying, come, sit down here at my feet. That's ugly favoritism.
[36:37] Ugly cruelty. the wise don't do that. Proverbs 24, 11 says, rescue those being led away to death.
[36:48] Hold back those staggering towards slaughter. If you say, but we knew nothing about this, does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guard your life know it?
[37:01] that's talking, again, about people who are below you or weaker socially or economically, and they're being abused, they're being led away, they're being taken advantage of, they're somehow the stronger or oppressing the weak.
[37:16] It doesn't say how, it just says when you see something like this happening, Proverbs says, help them. Be kind to them. And you cannot excuse yourself with inaction, you can't excuse your inaction with what I didn't know.
[37:31] because what closed eyes that should have been opened, closed eyes that should have been opened, will not fly with God.
[37:45] He sees your motives. And that excuse might work with men, but it won't work with God. And so it better be true that you have no idea.
[37:57] He guards your life. And there's a threat there. God is so kind, he threatens those who won't be kind to the oppressed, to the needy.
[38:12] So wise men are kind to those who are weaker than they are, because they know their defender is strong. So at work, at work men, at work ladies, in the home and with your children, are you kind to those who are under you?
[38:33] Your children are under you. I wonder, just like, we say things to our children that we would never say to anyone else, and with tones of voice that we would never say to anyone else.
[38:48] And I wonder, is that perfect kindness? Husbands,! You're kind to your children, and I hope so, and I'm sure you are.
[39:06] The wise man is kind to his friends. 17, 17, a friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity. Our friends need our kindness in days of trouble. Wise men are kind to their enemies.
[39:20] If your enemy is hungry, feed him, give him food to eat. If he's thirsty, give him water to drink. Again, that's how God acts. He saw his enemies in deep distress.
[39:31] He saw us. We're not just talking about enemies of these other people. We're talking about us. He saw us, and he met us when we were enemies. And we were ignoring him, and we were belittling him, and we were, again, rebelling against him.
[39:47] We were enemies in our minds. The hostility there was constant. It was in our minds. When we looked at God, we looked at him through the glasses of enemy.
[40:01] But, was it just quid pro quo? Was it you, this is how you're treating me, and so this is how I'm going to treat you? No, he saw us in great need.
[40:11] And, again, Titus 3, 4, when the kindness and love of God appeared, he saved us. He had kindness for his enemies.
[40:24] It goes on to say, it's not because of righteous things we had done. It was because of his mercy. It was just kindness. And so, I think that's where we're going to end, is where we began.
[40:39] By thinking about our God and how kind he is, we want to say, isn't he worthy of worship? And isn't he worthy of imitation? So, it's a cruel, it's a brutal world.
[40:54] it's frightening how brutal it can be. Don't be like them. Don't be like them.
[41:09] May God make us to be overflowing fountains of wise kindness, just like he is. So, when they go cruel, we go kind. Well, how do we do that?
[41:22] How can we do that? Well, we can't do it if all we're doing is focusing on their cruelty. We won't be able to respond with kindness if all we're doing is focusing on their cruelty.
[41:33] We have to begin enjoying God's kindness to us. And so, brothers and sisters, make a concerted effort towards kindness this week.
[41:45] Generosity. Generosity of spirit, generosity of judgment, generosity of words. We want to spread the aroma of God's kindness everywhere we are.
[41:57] So, if it is dark, we want to be the light. And if it's toxic and poisonous, we want to be breaths of fresh air wherever we go. So, you're walking through Walmart, you're at work, you're in your home.
[42:11] Be those breaths of fresh air to people in your kindness. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we come to you and we do ask, we are not sufficient for these things.
[42:23] They are far above us and beyond us in our natural abilities. We're given to revenge, we're given to cruelty, we're given to spite. Those are the quick horses that come right out of the gate for us.
[42:40] We need you to transform us and change us and help us and quicken our hearts towards kindness, just like you. And we do pray that you would do this for your name's sake.
[42:52] You deserve to have a people that beautifully reflect you in the world. So, make us to be those kind of people. We can't do it, we can't be that, we can't change ourselves on our own.
[43:05] So, come, Holy Spirit, pour out the life of Christ, the grace of Christ into our lives, and make us to be an aroma of kindness to all those we meet.
[43:17] Pray this for Jesus' sake. Amen.