Spiritual Growth: Kindness

Real joy is not dependent on circumstances. It

can be a steady source of strength, no matter

what you're facing. Discover how joy is more

than a feeling, it's a way of life. Order your

copy of The Strength of Joy by Dean and Jeffrey

Forrest, now available on Amazon and Kindle.

Welcome to Elation Church. We had some difficulty

yesterday with our audio and video, and we did

not want you to miss out on this series on spiritual

growth. So we are re -recording it to make it

available to you if you've been following our

series. So I would like to welcome you to week

number five in our series on spiritual growth.

Let's jump right in. 1 Corinthians 2 .14 says

this, The natural man does not receive the things

of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness

to him, nor can he know them, because they are

spiritually discerned. That tells us that there

is such a thing as a natural person. Let's continue

reading 1 Corinthians 3 verses 1 through 3. It

1 Corinthians 3:1–3

says this, And I, brethren, could not speak to

you as spiritual people, but as to carnal, as

to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not

with solid food, for until now you were not able

to receive it. And even now you're still not

able, for you're still carnal. For where there

are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are

you not carnal and behaving like mere men? Or

we could replace it with natural men. So in these

verses, we see that there are basically three

types of people. The first type of person is

a natural person. Now, that's a person who is

not born again. They're not a Christian. They're

unrenewed. And all they have to live life by

is their soul or their sensual nature. Now, all

they can live by is what feels good or what seems

right in their own eyes. And then we're introduced

to a carnal person. A carnal person is a Christian,

but they're still living like the natural person.

They're still living according to their flesh.

They are an immature Christian and they remain

to live at a childhood level because they do

not feed on the word of God and grow. Then we

see the third type of person. That's a spiritual

person. born -again believer, a Christian who

is led by the Spirit of God through the Word

of God. They are regularly growing by receiving

the Word of God and by walking in the Spirit.

So the series is on spiritual growth, and we

have to understand these three types of people

before we can figure out where spiritual growth

occurs. 1 Thessalonians 5 .23 It gives us some

very important information. It says this, Now

may the God of peace make you holy, set you apart

in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul

and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus

Christ comes again. Here we see that man is a

three -part being. There are not only three types

of people, but every person is a three -part

being. We are a spirit. We are a spirit being,

and that's what separates us from every other

living thing on the earth. We are made in the

image of God, and God is spirit. So we are spirit

beings, we have a soul, and we live in a body.

Now, our spirit comes alive at salvation. We

become alive unto God. We are united with Christ.

We are made right with God. We are complete in

Christ at salvation. But our soul doesn't automatically

become transformed and renewed when we accept

Christ, right? Our thought life stays the same.

Often it takes a while. Our feelings stay the

same. Now, we are a spirit being, but we have

a soul and our soul is comprised of our mind,

our thought life, our will or our desires and

our emotions and feelings. And the difference

between a carnal Christian and a spiritual Christian

is spiritual growth. that takes place in the

soul because our spirit is already complete in

Christ and righteous and connected with God,

right? But that spiritual growth takes place

in our thought life, in our desires, and in our

emotions. So that's the difference is spiritual

growth of the soul or the lack thereof. Now,

spiritual maturity is not measured by how long

you've been a Christian. Unlike our natural bodies,

you don't grow spiritually just with time automatically

without any input on your part. So maturity is

not measured by how long you've been a Christian,

how often you attend church or worship services,

or even how much scripture you can quote. So

where does spiritual maturity take place? Well,

Jesus said in Luke chapter six, verses 43 and

44, he said this, a good tree does not bear bad

fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit for

every tree is known by its own fruit. Now, Jesus

wasn't giving us an agricultural lesson, just

telling us about fruit trees. No, he's talking

about people. And every person is known by the

fruit that is manifest in their lives. So spiritual

growth is measured by spiritual fruit being evidenced

in our lives by spiritual fruit or the fruit

of the spirit increasing, constantly increasing

in our lives. That's where spiritual growth is

measured. Now, in this series, we need to remember

that the fruit of the Spirit is not a measuring

stick for judging other people. We're looking

at spiritual fruit as a level of spiritual maturity

because we're seeing it as a mirror for honestly

evaluating ourselves. So this series is a self

-examination because you and me, both of us,

everybody, is still a work in progress. None

of us have arrived. So spiritual fruit, what

is the fruit of the Spirit? Maybe you've memorized

Galatians 5 .22 and 23, but let's take a look

at 5 .22 because that's as far as we're getting

this week. It says this, the fruit of the Spirit

is love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness.

And it continues, but that'll be in future weeks.

Now, in week number one, we talked about the

fruit of the Spirit being love. And then week

number two, we talked about the fruit of the

Spirit is joy. And then peace and then patience.

This week, we're going to be talking about kindness.

Now, that word kindness in the Koine Greek is

krestates. And here's what it's translated as

according to the Strong's Concordance. It's often

translated in our English Bible as kindness,

obviously, but it's also translated as gentleness

and goodness. I found that interesting because

gentleness and goodness are also fruit of the

Spirit, but we'll be looking at their definitions

in future weeks. So kindness, gentleness, goodness.

I found something in Helps Word Studies. that

really spoke to me and I wanted to share it with

you when I looked up that Koine Greek word and

I found this. Listen to this. It says, kindness

is a spirit -produced goodness which meets the

need and avoids human harshness. I think I'll

read that again. Kindness is a spirit -produced

goodness which meets the need and avoids human

harshness. See, we need to understand that biblical

kindness is deeply powerful because it reveals

the character of God. God himself is kind. As

a matter of fact, it was God's kindness that

transformed us and caused us to change, change

direction in our lives. Romans 2, 4 says this,

don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant,

and patient God is with you? Oh, I'm going to

stop right there. So we need to recognize and

see that God is wonderfully kind, tolerant, and

patient with us. We need to realize that, that

his mercy is new. every morning. And the verse

goes on to say this, does this mean nothing to

you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended

to turn you from your sin? Another translation

says it's the kindness of God that leads us to

repentance, that leads us to turning, that leads

us to change. It's actually the kindness of God

that produces that in our lives. See, the kindness

of God changes people. Some people think that

transformation only comes through harshness and

condemnation. But scripture says that it's God's

kindness that leads people towards genuine repentance.

Now, don't get me wrong. Kindness is not compromise

because God still speaks truth. He still corrects.

He still convicts, but he doesn't do it harshly

or under condemnation. That's not God. Condemnation

does not come from God. God's conviction and

correction and truth flow through his kindness.

to lead us for life change and transformation.

Kindness grows in us when we remember how much

mercy we have received from God, how much kindness,

how God has shown his kindness to us. That should

cause kindness to grow in us. Kindness is actually

love made visible. Listen to Ephesians 4 .32.

It says this, Instead, be kind to each other,

tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as

God through Christ has forgiven you. So like

God is forgiving and merciful, we need to put

on the same thing. We need to be Christ -like

in our kindness, in our everyday lives. Because

one of the clearest evidences of spiritual growth,

listen, is how you treat people, how I treat

people. That is an evidence of spiritual growth.

And I'm not talking about just in church or just

publicly, just when life is easy, but in everyday

moments. See, anyone can act kind when they're

in a good mood. When life is going smoothly,

when everybody else is treating us well, it's

easy to be kind. But supernatural fruit or spiritual

fruit becomes really evident and is revealed

during those times when we're under pressure.

See, kindness is love expressed practically.

To walk in the... supernatural kindness of God,

the spiritual fruit of kindness, here's what

it's going to do. It's going to affect how we

speak. It's going to affect how we respond. It's

going to affect how we handle frustration. See,

sometimes small acts reveal the greatest character.

I mean, I want you to think about it. How do

you express kindness in just an easy way, in

small acts? What does that look like? Well, here's

some suggestions. What about if you prefer other

people so you hold the door for somebody else

instead of just walking in, letting it slam behind

you, and then the person, you know there's somebody

coming behind you, but you're so selfish. See,

selfishness is opposite of kindness. But sometimes

we're so selfish, we don't even acknowledge the

people around us. We're just in our own little

bubble, our own little world. So what about expressing

kindness by just holding the door for somebody,

letting them enter the room before you do? What

about speaking respectfully? Speaking in a way

that it shows that we respect other people, even

our co -workers. You know, our bosses, our employees,

our family members. Speaking respectfully is

one way we can show kindness. What about showing

patience? I know we talked about patience last

week, but what about showing patience? Showing

patience to other people is an expression of

kindness. What if you're in a restaurant and

the waitress isn't? You don't think they're doing

the greatest job. Well, you don't know what's

going on in their life. You don't know how exhausted

they are, how many hours they've worked, what

they've gone through, the harsh customers that

they've had to deal with. Well, why not just

show them some patience? That's showing kindness.

What about responding gently instead of aggressively?

That's showing kindness to other people. When

we're always aggressive in our words and attacking

and harsh in our words, we're not being kind.

As Christ followers, we should respond gently

instead of aggressively. We need to understand

that kindness is not weakness. It actually takes

more strength to do these things. So kindness

is not weakness. It is strength under control,

under the control of the Holy Spirit. Proverbs

15 .1 says this, A gentle answer deflects anger,

but harsh words make tempers flare. So when we

respond gently or kindly instead of aggressively,

what we're doing is we're diffusing the situation.

Because if someone else is speaking harshly to

us and all we do is speak harshly back, all we're

doing is putting gas on the fire to the anger

that is taking place in the other person. So

kindness is actually strength. It's a strength

governed by the Holy Spirit. Because anyone can

react harshly. Anyone can lose their temper.

Anyone can respond aggressively. But kindness

requires spiritual maturity. And kindness is

going to stand out, especially in the world that

we live in today. Right. We're living in an increasingly

aggressive culture. People are easily offended.

People are constantly angry. People are quick

to criticize. People are quick to attack. I mean,

you can see the harshness online where you're

hiding behind a computer and all these harsh

words just flow all the time. And there's impatience

everywhere, especially driving on these roads

here in Florida. You can see all of these things

in action just driving to the store or driving

to work or driving back home. Titus 3, verses

Titus 3:3–5

3 through 5 says this, Once we too were foolish

and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves

to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full

of evil and envy, and we hated each other. Now,

it's saying that We used to be just like everybody

around us, but in Christ, there's been a change,

right? In verse four, it says this, but when

God, our savior revealed his kindness and love,

he saved us. Not because of the righteous things

we had done, but because of his mercy, he washed

away our sins, giving us a new birth and a new

life through the Holy Spirit. So we're different.

In Christ, we are different. We shouldn't behave

like the culture and the world that we live in.

We should be different. And part of being different

is being kind, walking in supernatural kindness.

Because sometimes the greatest sermon to other

people and the greatest witness to other people

is not a sermon from church. People remember

how believers make them feel. That's what's important.

Are we kind or are we harsh? People are going

to remember how we make them feel. And many people,

it's sad to say, many people have rejected the

church and even reject Christianity because they

encountered religious people. Who did not have

the spiritual fruit of kindness in their lives.

So how can we see that we are growing in this

kindness? You can see that you're growing when

your words become softer than they used to be.

When your reactions become gentler than they

used to be. When your compassion for people deepens.

When your forgiveness becomes easier. You become

a more... merciful, and forgiving person. And

your treatment of other people changes. That's

how you can see that you are growing spiritually

in the area of kindness or in the fruit of kindness.

Ultimately, the goal of spiritual growth in the

life of the believer, the ultimate goal is to

become more like Jesus. That should be our goal.

That should be where we're heading. Every day

we should desire to walk and to talk and to live

more like Christ than we did the day before.

Colossians 3 .12 tells us this. Since God chose

you to be the holy people he loves, you must.

It doesn't say you need to consider it. It says

you must clothe yourselves with tender heart

and mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and

patience. So God is telling us as his followers,

as followers of Christ, we need to put on something

every day. Whether it's before we get out of

bed or before we go to breakfast around our family

members or before we leave our houses, we need

to be clothed in something. We need to be clothed

in kindness. And it's not optional. He says,

since you are a child of God, you must clothe

yourself in all those other things. Kindness

is right there in the middle, and that's what

we're focusing on today. And we need to remember

that kindness is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

It's the fruit of the Holy Spirit. See, since

God is kind and operates in kindness for our

transformation and change and repentance, it

makes perfect sense. that he would desire to

cultivate and manifest this same characteristic

in his people. John 16 verses 13 through 15 gives

John 16:13–15

us insight on how spiritual growth occurs and

continues. It says this, and this is Jesus speaking,

and he's speaking. In this text, he's going to

be speaking about the Father and the Holy Spirit

and himself. And it says this, but when he, the

spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into

all truth. He will not speak on his own. He will

speak only what he hears and he will tell you

what is yet to come. He, the Holy Spirit, will

glorify me, Jesus, because it is from me that

he will receive what he will make known to you.

All that belongs to the Father is mine. That

is why I said the Spirit will receive from me

what he will make known to you. See, God, the

Holy Spirit, takes hold. Of the things of God.

The things that God has for you and for me. He

takes hold of it and then he declares those things

to us. He intensifies those things to us. He

makes those things known to us. He connects us.

The Holy Spirit of God. The Bible says in Corinthians,

don't you know that your body is the temple of

the Holy Spirit? He comes to take up residence

inside of us at salvation, not just to seal us

until the day of redemption. Like the Bible says,

he connects us to the things that God has for

us. And that's why the fruit that needs to be

evident in our lives is called fruit of the spirit

because he's taking those characteristics of

God. and causing them to grow and increase in

our lives, but it takes our participation. See,

spiritual growth is not about more self -dedication.

It's not about more self -determination. Well,

I'm going to be nice and I'm just going to figure

out how to be nice and work myself and use my

human ability and thoughts. I've got to be nice.

I've got to be nicer. It's not about self -determination.

It's not about self -effort. Let me tell you

how it's going to increase in your life because

spiritual fruit growing begins when we abide

in Christ. Jesus said, I'm the vine, you're the

branches, and if you abide in me and my word

abides in you, then you're going to produce much

fruit. Right? So it starts out with abiding.

And I'm not talking about visiting. I'm not talking

about just going to church once a week. I'm talking

about living with Christ. Every moment, every

day, you are abiding. You're not visiting. You're

abiding in Christ. It's also going to come from...

acknowledging the indwelling presence of the

Holy Spirit who is in you. We have to acknowledge

him. We're abiding in Christ and we're acknowledging

the Holy Spirit who is in us to lead us and guide

us. The Bible tells us to walk in the Spirit.

That means to, you know, do life with the Spirit

of God. And not only acknowledge his indwelling

presence and walk with him, but also yielding

to his leading because he's always directing

us and guiding us in our everyday lives, especially

in our relationships and interactions with other

people. Now, if we never acknowledge him, we're

not going to be spirit led. We're not going to

yield to him. So we're obviously not going to

grow. in spiritual fruit or grow spiritually

or be spiritually mature because it doesn't just

come from self -effort. And here's what I want

you to realize. The measure of our kindness to

others, especially in challenging situations,

is a good measure of our spiritual maturity.

I don't know if you did this when you were growing

up, but my parents had a doorpost in the house.

Especially during my formative years. I mean,

it kind of quit later when I got in high school

and about to go to college. But as I was growing,

there was a doorpost in the house and they would

mark me every year. Right around time when school

started. They'd write my name and write the date.

And I could look back and see how much I had

grown by seeing those markers on the doorpost.

Listen. The markers of our spiritual maturity

and spiritual growth. You can do it by marking

your love. How much are you walking in love?

By marking your joy. How much joy do you have

in Christ, in the Holy Spirit? How much joy are

you living in? Is it evident in your life? How

much peace? Is in your life. How much patience.

Are you walking in. And how much kindness. Is

kindness a descriptor of who you are. And how

you relate with other people. Well if it is then.

You're growing. Spiritually. If not. I think

it reveals a lack of abiding in Christ and acknowledging

the indwelling presence of the spirit and walking

with the spirit of God on a daily basis and yielding

to his leading. Let's pray together. God, I thank

you for your word. I thank you for your truth.

And God, I pray that your truth would be planted

in our hearts in such a way that it changes us

and transforms us. and works in us so that we

can grow spiritually and just continue to grow.

And your spiritual fruit would continue to be

evidenced in our lives and continue to increase.

Thank you that we're not on our own, but that

you are our helper. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.