Embracing Kindness: The Heart of the Spirit

Devotional

Day 1: Transformation Through the Spirit

The fruit of the Spirit, including kindness, is a profound testament to the presence of God's Spirit within us. This transformation is not merely about adding virtues to our lives but involves a complete death to self, allowing Christ to live through us. The Apostle Paul contrasts these Christ-like qualities with the works of the flesh, emphasizing that while the latter is natural to us, the former is supernatural, cultivated by God within us. This journey of introspection reveals our need to grow in Christ-likeness, acknowledging that the fruit of the Spirit is evidence of God's Spirit alive in us. [37:38]

Galatians 5:22-24 (ESV): "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need to let go of self and allow Christ to transform you through His Spirit?

Day 2: Kindness as Love in Action

Kindness is an active expression of love, beginning in the heart as tenderheartedness and compassion. It stands in opposition to jealousy, anger, and rivalry, requiring an inner renovation rather than just outward reformation. True kindness is about having a compassionate heart, as described in Colossians, and involves putting away bitterness and anger. This quality is deeply intertwined with love and patience, demonstrated in how we respond to others. [41:59]

Colossians 3:12-13 (ESV): "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."

Reflection: Think of a recent situation where you reacted with anger or jealousy. How can you respond with kindness and compassion instead?

Day 3: Kindness Begins at Home

True kindness starts at home, where family relationships often reveal our true selves. It is crucial to cultivate kindness within our families, as it reflects our genuine character in unguarded moments. This kindness extends to other Christians, fostering a community of grace and forgiveness. By practicing kindness in our closest relationships, we create an environment where love and understanding can flourish. [54:47]

Ephesians 4:31-32 (ESV): "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

Reflection: How can you show kindness to a family member today, especially in a situation where you might usually react differently?

Day 4: Radical Kindness to the Outcasts and Enemies

Kindness reaches out to the outcasts, showing compassion without expecting anything in return. It even extends to our enemies, embodying the radical love that Jesus taught. This form of kindness challenges us to go beyond our comfort zones and societal norms, offering love and compassion to those who may not reciprocate. It is a testament to the transformative power of God's love in our lives. [01:05:17]

Luke 6:35-36 (ESV): "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."

Reflection: Identify someone you consider an "enemy" or someone difficult to love. What is one act of kindness you can extend to them this week?

Day 5: Embracing God's Kindness

Growing in kindness requires looking to God, the ultimate source of kindness. His immeasurable kindness towards us, demonstrated through Christ, transforms our hearts and empowers us to extend it to others. This transformation is not just about outward acts but a genuine heart change, reflecting the kindness of Christ in our lives. By embracing God's kindness, we are equipped to treat others better than they deserve. [01:08:57]

Titus 3:4-5 (ESV): "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."

Reflection: Reflect on a time when you experienced God's kindness in your life. How can you mirror that kindness to someone else today?

Sermon Summary

As we embark on a new year, we delve into the profound teachings of the fruit of the Spirit, as outlined in Galatians. The Apostle Paul contrasts these Christ-like qualities with the works of the flesh, emphasizing that while the latter is natural to us, the former is supernatural, cultivated by God within us. This journey of introspection reveals our need to grow in Christ-likeness, acknowledging that the fruit of the Spirit is evidence of God's Spirit alive in us. It is not merely about adding goodness to our lives but about a complete transformation—a death to self so that Christ may live through us.

Today, we focus on kindness, a quality deeply intertwined with love and patience. Kindness is the active expression of love, demonstrated in how we respond to others. It is tenderheartedness, a sensitivity of heart that opposes jealousy, anger, and rivalry. True kindness begins in the heart, requiring an inner renovation rather than just outward reformation. It is about having a compassionate heart, as Paul describes in Colossians, and involves putting away bitterness and anger.

To cultivate kindness, we must start with our families, where the works of the flesh often thrive. Kindness in family relationships is crucial, as it reflects our true selves in unguarded moments. It extends to other Christians, fostering a community of grace and forgiveness. Moreover, kindness reaches out to the outcasts, showing compassion without expecting anything in return. Finally, it encompasses even our enemies, embodying the radical love that Jesus taught.

Growing in kindness requires us to look to God, the ultimate source of kindness. His immeasurable kindness towards us, demonstrated through Christ, transforms our hearts. As we embrace God's kindness, we are empowered to extend it to others, treating them better than they deserve. This transformation is not just about outward acts but a genuine heart change, reflecting the kindness of Christ in our lives.

Key Takeaways

1. The fruit of the Spirit, including kindness, is evidence of God's Spirit within us, requiring a death to self and a transformation that allows Christ to live through us. [37:38]
2. Kindness is an active expression of love, beginning in the heart as tenderheartedness and compassion, opposing jealousy, anger, and rivalry. [41:59]
3. True kindness starts at home, where family relationships often reveal our true selves. It extends to other Christians, fostering a community of grace and forgiveness. [54:47]
4. Kindness reaches out to the outcasts, showing compassion without expecting anything in return, and even extends to our enemies, embodying the radical love that Jesus taught. [65:17]
5. Growing in kindness requires looking to God, the ultimate source of kindness, whose immeasurable kindness towards us transforms our hearts and empowers us to extend it to others. [01:08:57]
** [68:57]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[34:57] - Introduction to the Fruit of the Spirit
[36:03] - Works of the Flesh vs. Fruit of the Spirit
[37:38] - Death to Self and Cultivating the Spirit
[39:21] - Understanding Christian Kindness
[41:59] - Tenderheartedness and Compassion
[43:49] - Inner Renovation of the Heart
[45:45] - Cooperating with God's Spirit
[47:31] - External and Internal Dimensions of Kindness
[49:16] - Heartfelt Apologies and Forgiveness
[50:48] - Who Must We Be Kind To?
[52:23] - Kindness in Family Relationships
[54:47] - Kindness Among Christians
[63:46] - Kindness to the Outcasts
[65:17] - Kindness to Enemies
[68:57] - Growing in Kindness Through God's Example
[71:54] - Invitation to Respond to God's Kindness

Sermon Clips

"As we've begun this new year, we are in a series on the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit. And the fruit of the Spirit is a list of Christ-like qualities that are in the letter of Galatians. And there the Apostle Paul contrasts the fruit of the Spirit with what he calls the works of the flesh. We'll read it here in just a second. The flesh is what is natural to us. It's what comes naturally. But the fruit of the Spirit, that's what's supernatural." [00:35:22] (32 seconds)

"Kill the works of the flesh and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit. These qualities are the evidence that God's Spirit is in us. They demonstrate, that as Paul would say earlier in the letter, we have been crucified with Christ and is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And that's what we want to do. Have Christ's life in us. It's about death to self. If you think of the fruit of the Spirit is just sprinkling some goodness or love or kindness on top of a bunch of sinfulness and meanheartedness inside." [00:37:38] (36 seconds)

"Patience is about enduring hardships and frustrations and offenses without retaliation. We demonstrate patience through the way we don't respond, through the way we don't react when provoked. Kindness, on the other hand, is demonstrated in how we do respond. One author put it this way, if patience is the passive expression of love, then kindness is the active expression of love. So patience says, I'm not going to curse that person. But kindness takes it one step further and says, I'm not just not going to curse that person, I'm going to bless instead." [00:40:27] (47 seconds)

"In Ephesians chapter four, it says in verse 32, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. Kindness is going to be tenderhearted, tenderhearted. And if you've ever gotten a bad bruise, you know that spot, it becomes tender, right? If you bump into something, or someone grabs a hold of a place, or someone grabs a hold of a place, where you have a bruise, it really hurts. It's very sensitive to the touch. And kindness is a sensitivity of heart." [00:42:17] (38 seconds)

"Family relationships between spouses and children and in-laws and more cousins, all of it, they are ripe for the works of the flesh. Enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, rivalry, dissension, division, envy, does that sound like any family relationships you've heard? We looked at it briefly already, but in Colossians, it talks about how we ought to put on compassionate hearts with kindness. And in the very next paragraph, Paul would go on to outline how we should treat one another. And he begins with family relationships. He begins at home." [00:52:23] (44 seconds)

"Andrew Murray wrote, it is in our most unguarded moments that we really show and see what we are. In our most unguarded moments. You know, when you go to church, you're like, you know, you got a testimony to uphold. You know, you got a name to uphold. You don't want to be ugly. at church because, well, you know, it might be a bad testimony or make you look bad. So, you know, you're guarded, right? You're trying to put your best foot forward. You go to work and you don't want to get sent to HR, so you're putting your best foot forward and not lashing out at your co-workers, right?" [00:53:46] (36 seconds)

"This type of kindness is what really distinguishes Christian kindness from the kindness of the world. Jesus said even the world knows to treat their family and friends right. And even the world will see someone who's hurting and reach out to them in kindness. But our enemies, that kindness is foreign to the natural man. And it's the kindness that Jesus wants us to have towards people. It says this, Love your enemies, Jesus said in Luke 6. Love your enemies and do good and lend and expect nothing in return. And your return will be great. And you will be the sons of the Most High." [01:05:40] (38 seconds)

"How are we going to grow in kindness? We will grow in kindness in proportion to our own knowledge of God's kindness towards us. How are you going to have a softer heart towards people? You remember God's heart towards you when you were his enemy, when you were against him, when you were sinning against him. His heart was moved with kindness, towards you that overflowed with great sacrifice and love and mercy and grace. And when you come face to face every single day with the reality that God has shown such a measurable kindness to you, that is transformative." [01:08:57] (45 seconds)

"The kindness that we have not deserved has not just shown up in the cross, even in eternity. It says in the coming ages, God is going to show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. There's more kindness still to come from God. Kindness which we have not deserved. When you realize that, that's what can change your heart. Not just to begrudgingly be kind or be nice, but to have a true heart of kindness in Christ." [01:10:21] (32 seconds)

"Now you go die to self. Give yourself for others. What kindness. We must never forget God's kindness for us. It can transform the hardest of hearts. In fact, the scriptures tell us that it's his kindness, in Romans 2, it's his kindness that actually, leads us to repent and turn to God. Today, maybe you have yet to put your faith in Christ. Maybe you think that his heart towards you is really angry. But in fact, God's heart towards you is kind." [01:11:54] (36 seconds)

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