Galatians 5: 22, 23 But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
In Galatians before the fruit of the Spirit it lists the works of the sinful nature. So the fruit of the spirit is what happens in our life when God is in control.
In Jerusalem Peter and John were arrested by the Jewish council for preaching about Jesus. They get questioned and answer with great authority.
Acts 4:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
Being with Jesus had influenced ordinary, unschooled people to speak with great confidence.
On the same note, as we are with Jesus so others should note a change in our lives especially in the areas of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control because we cannot stay around Jesus without being changed.
In the OT there is a story of great kindness & goodness.
Background - Saul was the 1st king of Israel. Son was Jonathan, his best friend was David. Jonathan & Dave had made a covenant (blood oath that is binding for generations) to always be friends, protect one another, shared wealth etc.
David became a very successful soldier and Saul was threatened by him & tried to kill him a few times. David eventually had to flee from Saul.
Later Saul and Jonathan - were both killed in battle.
Nurse who was assigned to look after Jonathan’s child probably dropped him – he became paralysed in both feet.
Years later David becomes the king. Defeats the enemies and has this thought -
2 Samuel 9:1-2
One day, David thought, “I wonder if any of Saul’s family are still alive. If they are, I will be kind to them, because I made a promise to Jonathan.” David called in Ziba, one of the servants of Saul’s family….
David finds out about Mephibosheth and sends people to bring him…
2 Samuel 9: 7-13
David said, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll be kind to you because Jonathan was your father. I’m going to give you back the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul. Besides that, you will always eat with me at my table.”
Mephibosheth knelt down again and said, “Why should you care about me? I’m worth no more than a dead dog.”
David called in Ziba, Saul’s chief servant, and told him, “Since Mephibosheth is Saul’s grandson, I’ve given him back everything that belonged to your master Saul and his family. You and your fifteen sons and twenty servants will work for Mephibosheth. You will farm his land and bring in his crops, so that Saul’s family and servants will have food. But Mephibosheth will always eat with me at my table.”Ziba replied, “Your Majesty, I will do exactly what you tell me to do.” So Ziba’s family and servants worked for Mephibosheth.
Mephibosheth was lame, but he lived in Jerusalem and ate at David’s table, just like one of David’s own sons. And he had a young son of his own, named Mica.
From this story we learn that kindness and goodness …
1. NEEDS TO BE INTENTIONAL
v1One day, David thought, “I wonder if any of Saul’s family are still alive. If they are, I will be kind to them, because I made a promise to Jonathan.” 2 David called in Ziba…
How often do we read a moving story and perhaps shed a tear or think God help them or even think – I hope someone helps them only to be distracted and soon forget about that cause.
I’m not saying that we need to get behind every cause but if we feel like we need more of this fruit then we will need to act on a few causes. We need to move from good intentions to good actions.
Colossians 3 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Today we are all clothed, we chose that shirt, blouse, pants, dress, socks and shoes – some of you chose well.
POINT – Intentionality. You put some thought into it.
2.NEEDS TO BE DONE WITHOUT 'STRINGS' ATTACHED
v8 Mephibosheth knelt down again and said, “Why should you care about me? I’m worth no more than a dead dog.”
David was not being political here to look good or in case Mephibosheth became king later. His kindness was based on the covenant he made.
It’s easy to be kind to someone who can help you in the future, further your cause, help you with your homework / job etc. but it’s true kindness when you help someone who can give you nothing / do nothing for you.
Galatians 6:2,9,10 2 You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand....Don’t get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don’t give up. We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord.
3. GIVES QUALITY AND GOES THE EXTRA MILE
v9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
Who’s at your table? Who’s in your circle?
Bullying is something that’s been exposed more and more, it's the opposite of kindness and goodness. It’s not only a schoolyard situation but can happen in the workplace to.
Will you stand up when a colleague is being bullied, will you stand up if a person at your school is being picked on?
4. IS NOT WEAKNESS BUT GREAT STRENGTH
(ref: https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/miracle-on-the-river-kwai-ken-durham-sermon-on-forgiveness-for-others-81332?page=2)
Cpt Ernest Gordon was a POW used to build the infamous railroad in Thailand.
• Camp conditions were terrible – Malnutrition, forced labour, beatings,
• Men were in survival mode – stole from each other, didn’t share, didn’t care
• Amongst all this a Scottish soldier started sharing his food with a friend, when the friends blanket was stolen he
gave him his. Friend recovered but he died.
• Shortly after that the guards counted and there was a spade missing, no one owned up so the officer threatened
to start killing random prisoners. A soldier stepped forward and was killed. After they had buried him they
recounted the spades – they were all there – a mistake was made and an innocent man had been killed.
• The scripture “True love is this that one lay down his life for a friend” started to spread among the prisoners.
Bible studies were held. Men started helping one another, sharing their food, massaging aching muscles.
Kindness and goodness started to flow in the camp among the prisoners. Plants were grown to help with the
many diseases they faced.
• In a living hell God’s presence was evident by how people were treating one another.
• When the camp was liberated, the soldiers wanted to kill the guards on the spot because the conditions were so
bad. But something amazing happened, the prisoners asked the soldiers to spare the lives of the guards.
This event has been made into a movie – ‘To end all wars’ - starring Keifer Sutherland, Robert Carlyle.
This is what the fruit of the Spirit can do. It can change lives.
5. IS DEVELOPED BECAUSE HE FIRST SHOWED KINDNESS TO US
Titus 3:3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and
pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love
of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his
mercy.
Romans 2 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness,forbearance and patience, not realizing
that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
To come back to our story – David showed great kindness because of Jonathan. Will you show kindness because of Jesus?
ACTION:
This week – Who will I show kindness to & how?
Are you in a place where you first need His kindness. Please meet me up front after if you need prayer for an area in your life. Perhaps you are not yet a believer, you need His kindness to come into your life.
PRAY -
