Greetings to you, my friend! I’m Mack Lyon. The program is a Bible study In Search of the Lord's Way to become and to be a Christian. I read this the other day that inspired this message; it said, “Be kind. Every person you meet is fighting some kind of a battle.”
Say friend, it’s so good to have you join in our Bible study today. The Bible is the word of God! It’s the final authority, the last word in Christianity. Even now it is, 2009, today, friend! No, no, no, no God isn’t whispering a fresh, new gospel message to some of us in a very special way today. I’m sorry if you have been deceived by someone who says, “God spoke to me last night, in the night, and told me to tell you” thus and so. You see, the Bible says in Acts 10:34 “God is no respecter of persons;” and I believe that’s the “rock solid truth” about that. Why would God do something like that anyway? He says the same thing to all of us everywhere in every generation, through the Scriptures.
Well, a little self-examination never did anybody any harm, did it? In examining ourselves and our Christian walk, it might be helpful to remember that life gets difficult at times, even for the best of us. The clerk in the department store or the supermarket may have had a cause for having made that mistake. The driver of that other vehicle may have had a reason to be stressed out. Maybe that’s why he or she made that bad turn into your lane. So what is the Christian response to such annoyances? A beloved preacher friend of mine many years ago, long since deceased, told me of his experience in a fender-bender accident in a large, strange city to him. He was at fault, all right. He knew that. And the other driver was very angry at him and shouted to him; among other insults he said, "You get out of that car; I'm going to beat the devil out of you!" Well, my friend calmly and with a broad smile as he climbed out of his vehicle, which was characteristic of his face, anyway; he said to him, "I wish you would; I've been trying for years to get that old scratch out of me and I need help." And the angry man was unable to do anything but smile back at him. Our message today is, Be Kind To One Another.
If you think you might want a free copy, a CD or an audio cassette tape of the message, jot down our address now. It’s In Search of the Lord's Way; P.O. Box 371; Edmond, OK 73083. By e-mail its searchtv@searchtv.org. Our toll-free telephone number is 1-800-321-8633. Ken Helterbrand will lead us as we sing; and then I’ll be back and we’ll read Ephesians 4:31 and 32.
For our study today, we are going to be reading two verses; verses 31 and 32 of the fourth chapter of the book of Ephesians. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Now let us go to God in prayer. Holy Father, we are so thankful that You have forgiven us our sins; and You have shown us a better way to live. And part of it we have read today and it is helpful. You help us in so many ways; but one way You help us in overcoming our faults is teaching us to do better through Your word. In Jesus’ name we thank You, we praise You, and we pray. Amen!
Our news media are the daily bearers of stories of bad news, such as robberies and murders and rapes and tornadoes and drownings and fires and, well, on and on and on; just plain bad news. Oh, they are not the makers of such bad news; they only report them. Occasionally they'll tell us about some unusual kindness that someone has done to some other person.
Kindness! What's that? Oh, everybody knows what kindness is; of course we do. Or do we? Kindness is not weakness of character. It's sometimes mistaken for it. Kindness isn't softness on doctrine or teaching either. Whoever came up with that one sure missed it; didn’t he? Well, there's nothing about being firm in one's convictions that makes him crude and coarse and unkind certainly. The King James Version translates the word "kindness" as "gentleness" in Galatians 5:22: "The fruit of the Spirit is, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness . . ." The New King James translates it “kindness.”
Kindness is caring. A good example of that is in Jesus' story of "The Good Samaritan," in Luke chapter 10, verses 30-37 Jesus said, "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, Take care of him; whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you. So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?”
The priest and the Levite (also a religious leader) passed by the victim; and the despised Samaritan (and, now Samaritans were hostile to the Jews) but, this one cared and he stopped to show the man kindness. From that we can know that kindness is just plain goodness, a demonstration of mercy. The kind Samaritan is popularly known as the Good Samaritan. As you can see in that story, there's a close kinship between kindness and mercy, too.
Well, let's look at four scriptures and our text that we read a few moments ago; and we will some of the things that the Holy Spirit, through the pen of Paul, admonishes the converted person, the Christian to be different from the unconverted, the non-Christian. He says, “Therefore putting away lying, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor...Be angry, and do not sin...nor give place to the devil...Let him that stole steal no longer...Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good...Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” What more can we say? So then, the Christian is different. For one thing, he is kind.
But of course, we have all known unconverted people who were kind, too, haven’t we? There have been good Samaritans who were not disciples of Jesus; of course there have been. Perhaps we've even been the recipients of their kindnesses. I know I have. So what makes the believer's kindness any different from the unbeliever's kindness? Well, perhaps the answer to that is to be found in Jesus’ words in Matthew chapter 5, verses 43 to 47. Here He says, "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good; and He sends the rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors (or the sinners) do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?" Well, there you have it, my friend; Christians are taught to be kind even to their enemies. They’re to return kindness for unkindness. They do it from the heart, and not as a matter of requirement or law-keeping. They do it because they have learned from Christ how to love their enemies and those who believe unkindly, or behave unkindly toward them. And, it's done in the name of Christ.
One of the best examples of that that I can think of is found in the Scriptures: a true story. In the books of 1 and 2 Samuel we read a lot about King David of Israel. He is the David that slew Goliath, you remember; and he defeated the Philistines who were the enemies of God's people while Saul was King. If you are a Bible reader, you remember that David was very popular with the people. They praised him highly. They sang and shouted, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." First Samuel 18, verses 8 and 9 says, "Paul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom? So Saul eyed David from that day and forward."
Well, that jealousy grew and built up in Saul's heart until it just had to erupt like a giant volcano. Several chapters of 1 Samuel are devoted to relating Saul's diligent efforts to kill David, all of which proved fruitless. David had repeated opportunities to kill Saul, but he always dealt kindly with him, for he was king. Well, eventually Saul and his son Jonathan died and David became king.
One day some time later, David was thinking kindly about Saul, his enemy, and Jonathan, his proven friend. He said "Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show kindness, the kindness of God to him?" A search was made for a descendant of Saul and a grandson was found whose name was Mephibosheth. Well, he was "feeble in his feet." And he had some sort of physical deformity there, perhaps the result of an accident of some kind. He was five years old when Saul and Jonathan died; he's grown now and he has a son; so as I said, some time had passed, perhaps twenty years, which he had spent in obscurity.
But, he was brought before the king. There's no doubt, he knew the feelings his grandfather had for David, and so it's easy to imagine how fearful he must have been as he approached the king. However, King David quickly put him at ease; he said, "Fear not: for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually." The kindness bestowed was a complete restoration of the inheritance that Mephibosheth should have received from his grandfather; and Mephibosheth would eat at the king's table, as one of his very own sons, as long as he lived. Isn’t that a beautiful story! And it was so. Almost unbelievable kindness, isn’t it! But it's true.
So, let's see now; kindness is a thought. First David thought kindly of the person who tried hard for all those years to destroy him, and was still thinking kindly of him twenty or more years later after he had died. When the Holy Spirit said, "Be kind to one another," He knew that kind deeds originate in kind thoughts and kind thoughts originate in a kind heart. David possessed a kind and merciful heart.
Kindness is a word. "The Savior said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks," (Matthew 12 and 34). So, speak kindly to one another. It matters not that your words are true, if they're not kindly spoken; they're not convincing and no one wants to hear them if they are not kindly spoken. "A little word in kindness spoken, A motion, or a tear, Has often healed the heart that's broken, And made a friend sincere."
Kindness is a deed. It isn't an intention to do a kind deed; it's the deed. How many of us have thought sometimes that we would do a kindness to someone who is special to us; then one day, suddenly, it's too late. We can't do it now. The Biblical exhortation is "Be kind to one another.” Do it now. Just do it!
Finally, kindness is a lifestyle. Perhaps you have noticed, as I have, that some people just live life along about, going about doing good things for other people. How do you suppose they find all the time they need to do these things? Or, where do they find the money to send cards, and visit the sick and the dying, and take food and clothing to the needy, and such like? Someone says, "I never think of doing those things." Why not? It's the Lord's way to live. The shortest biography of Jesus is the one found in Acts chapter 10, verse 38. Here it is, "He went about doing good." His is the best way to live ever discovered. Why not make kindness the way of your life? Let’s pray. Holy Father, we pray You to strengthen us through the teaching of Your word in these verses, and in these thoughts to be kind to one another. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
It pays to be kind. Oh, it pays big dividends. If we would like other people to treat us with kindness (and who doesn't?), well, we might take the initiative and show kindness to them first. There is that irrevocable law that works here as effectively as it works anywhere that says, "Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap." In being kind to others, we're being strong, not weak. We are showing that we're not afraid of losing something by giving ourselves to another person. The kind deed not only elevates the doer, but the rest of all humanity as well. Well, someone said, "A kind word and a pleasant voice are gifts easy to give; be liberal with them; they're worth more than money." That's so right, you know. Some of the mail I get is quite amusing, like the e-mail the other day I received from this fellow. He thought he was correcting me about something; and I need correcting sometimes, and I am grateful for someone who cares enough to set me straight on some things. But, this fellow, well, had he been right in what he said, he was so mean-spirited and abusive that, well, his unkindness negated any good that he might have intended to do. And I've heard preachers that preach that way. In fact, I might have been inclined to be that way in my early years, myself. My grandmother called me her hellfire and brimstone preacher. And so I might have been that way myself. But I had to correct it!
Well, the admonition in our text is to put off the old man, the old mean and the old hateful and put on the kind and the gentle. That's the Lord's way for us. Say my friend; are you one of God's children, by regeneration? I mean are you a Christian? Oh, I hope so, but if you're not, it would surely be the source of a great deal of joy and happiness to all of us who are involved in this ministry to hear from you this week that today was the day you put Christ on in baptism as we read in Galatians chapter 3, verses 26 and 27; and today was the day you began following Him as our text says. Why not just do it today? You know of course, the longer you wait to become a Christian, the less time you will have to live the best life in all the world.
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Let us hear from you this week, will you? We would love to have you worship in the assemblies of the church, too. If you need help in locating a church of Christ near you, call or write us. We would like very much to be that help. We plan to be back next week, God willing; and I hope you will, too. Until then, we pray God’s blessings upon you, and upon all those you may invite to be with us again. We love you. Remember always, we love you!
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