Noticing in the bulletin that I have Colossians 3 on the front and Ephesians 4 on the back. That was not intentional, but I do plan to read from both Colossians and Ephesians. So please turn in your Bibles first to Colossians chapter 3. And then we'll turn back to Ephesians chapter 4. Colossians chapter three, beginning at verse 12, reading down through verse 15. Our theme tonight in our one another series is be kind, be kind to one another. Colossians three, beginning at verse 12, please hear God's word. 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. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you are called in one body. And be thankful." Turn back now to Ephesians chapter 4. And our focus tonight is verse 32. Ephesians 4, verse 32. But for a little bit more of the context, I'm going to read verse 17 of Ephesians 4, down through chapter 5, verse 2. Once again, please give your attention to God's word. Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding. alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ. Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him as the truth is in Jesus. To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires. And to be renewed in the spirit of your minds. And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. And give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 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. Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. We'll end the reading of God's word there. Let's now stop and pray together. Our Father in heaven, we pray that you would renew us in the spirit of our minds by your spirit. We pray that by your grace, By our union with Christ, you would enable us to put off the old self and to put on the new self, and to therefore be imitators of you as your beloved children, taking on the likeness of our Father, walking in love as Christ has loved us, showing kindness to one another. Father, we ask that you would forgive us, because so often, We are not kind, and we're angry, and we're quick to have bitterness. And so, Father, forgive our sins. Thank you that Jesus Christ was kindness in the flesh. We thank you that his mercy and grace is sufficient to cleanse us from our sins, and also to conform us increasingly in this life to his image. And so, Father, instruct us and build us up now as we read and hear your word. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, we have started a series in recent weeks directing our focus on how we are to view one another, how we are to treat one another in the body of Christ, how we are to live together, And what God calls us to in relation to one another. What are we to be all about as the people of God? So far we've seen that we are called to love one another as Christ has loved us. We are called to be devoted to one another as family, as fellow members in the body of Christ. And tonight we hear God's call to be kind. Be kind to one another. Be kind. What comes into mind when you hear that call from God? Be kind is something that most of us are taught from an early age. Something even the world recognizes as valuable to a certain extent. But the kindness that God calls for in us is not just a personality type. It's not just a caring human disposition. Kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Kindness is something worked out in us by the life-changing grace of God. Kindness is a characteristic that marks God. It's a beautiful aspect of Christ's love that he displayed here on earth. And our kindness for one another is to mimic the kindness of God. Especially his kindness towards us. Do not deserve it. His kindness to sinners. Kindness is something we as those saved by God's grace and by God's kindness are commanded to put on and to live out. A kindness is to mark our relationships with one another. Ephesians 4.22 calls those saved by God's grace and united to Christ to put off the old self, which is empty of kindness. Put off the old self full of deceitful desires and be renewed. But it calls us to something else as well. To put on the new self created after the likeness of God in righteousness and holiness. And so we're called to put off wrath and anger and slander and malice in verse 31. And then in contrast to that, in their place, we are to put on tenderhearted kindness towards one another. Forgiveness for one another. We'll consider that in weeks ahead. We are to be imitators of God as his beloved children. And tonight we focus on the call to imitate His kindness. Out of love for Him who was first kind and loving to us, out of love for one another. And Colossians 3.12, which we read, calls us to the same. Put on, put on then as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Brothers and sisters, this is the call of your God and your Savior to you tonight. It is not easy. It is a difficult, lifelong process that involves putting off our sinful nature, the old man. It will not be complete in us until glory But God delights to work this fruit in us by his grace and his spirit to his glory and to the good and blessing of one another, to the glory and witness to the world, glory of Christ. And so people of God, God calls you tonight to show tenderhearted kindness to one another. Live with tenderhearted, compassionate, humble kindness to one another, the kindness with which God has treated you. Show tenderhearted kindness to one another as God has shown to you, even in your sins. Well, let's seek to understand and apply this better tonight, this call from God, by considering kindness prescribed, kindness pictured, and kindness practiced. First of all, kindness prescribed. Look at verse 31 and 32 again. 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. Kindness is the opposite, really, of bitterness and wrath and malice. It's the opposite of being a burden. Now, if we were all naturally kind, if we were perfectly kind to one another, we would not need to be told, in God's Word, to be kind. No one needs to tell us to breathe or to blink. We do that automatically, naturally. But we are not naturally, we're not subconsciously kind. We are sinful. Even though we've been saved by God's grace, we're still putting off that old self with its sinful desires. We get upset. We're often tempted to be the opposite of kind to one another. People will need to be forgiven. They'll need our kindness rather than our anger. This is the assumption behind the text. Well, what is kindness if it's not bitterness and wrath and malice? Kindness is a desire to be useful to others. It is a concern for the well-being of others. It's not just simply kind acts or deeds. It's a disposition of the heart that is other-focused. A disposition of the heart formed by the Holy Spirit in us that then seeks to meet the needs of others with gentleness and love, with practical help. Kindness is a crucial aspect or dimension of love of neighbor. And remember, love of neighbor is the second greatest commandment. And so 1 Corinthians 13 tells us, love is patient, love is kind. Love is kind. Kindness is a readiness to do good, even when it may be undeserved. It's a desire to do what you can to prevent discomfort in another. It puts others first and puts self second. It puts off self-centeredness. Now, we could easily come up with many examples of kindness. Providing a meal for someone who's sick. I've received that recently from some of you. Opening the door for someone with their hands full or helping hand to a mother with a young baby. Helping someone up from the field on the opposing team who just fouled you hard and yet fell to the ground. speaking a word of encouragement to the weary, to the lonely, shoveling snow for someone's driveway. We could go on and on with examples of kindness. But what about kindness when anger is easier? What about kindness when avoiding someone or speaking ill of someone is what we want to do in our natural sinful tendency? What about kindness when anger seems far more fitting? That is much harder. Christlike kindness is especially seen towards someone who's hard to love, someone you may have a strained relationship with, or someone who's hurt you in some way. But instead of bitterness, you perhaps ask them, how are they doing? You ask them, what can I do for you? You express care for them. Maybe you smile at them or you sit down next to them rather than avoiding them and continuing with bitterness. Maybe you find a need that they might have and you seek to meet that need out of love for them because God has been kind to you in your sins. Remember how David treated Mephibosheth. a political rival, a potential threat to his throne. Remember all the harm Saul had done to him, and this is Saul's grandson. Remember how Mephibosheth was physically handicapped. 1 Samuel 9, 7 says, David said to him, do not fear for I will show you kindness. I will show you kindness for the sake of your father, Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father, and you shall eat at my table always." Kindness is also shown when it's costly, when it's inconvenient, when it meets others' needs with your own resources. The Philippians did this for the Apostle Paul, sending him gifts of financial support and supplies, which took time and effort and sacrifice. And Paul thanked them and said to them in Philippians 4, 14, it was kind of you. It was kind of you to share my trouble. People of God, this is what God has prescribed for you and for our relationships with one another as his children, as family members in the body of Christ. Show kindness to one another. Work to cultivate this in your heart. And sometimes you'll have to do the kind deed perhaps before you even feel it in your heart. but seek this kindness amongst yourselves. Look for needs and meet them. Pray for patience and grace to show kindness rather than anger. Watch for those around you who might excel in the grace of kindness and see what you might learn from them. Follow their example. Proverbs 21, 21 says, whoever pursues righteousness and kindness, will find life, righteousness, and honor. People of God pursue kindness. There is life and joy and honor in it, but the honor goes first and foremost to our God, our God who is the perfect picture of kindness, our God who has been kind to us even in our weakness and foolishness and sin. And so I want us to consider second tonight, kindness pictured, kindness pictured. The greatest way to know and to learn kindness is to look to the Lord because God is full of kindness. He is kind to all he has made. He is kind even to the world, even to those who are not his people. He sends rain on both the just and the unjust. But he has especially been kind to us in our sins when we did not deserve it, when we were his enemies. Romans 2 speaks of the riches of God's kindness and patience. And it says His kindness is meant to lead us to repentance. And think about how human kindness, kindness towards one another, brings restoration, brings about reconciliation. Maybe someone has wronged you and you are kind to them. At times that will lead to their repentance. They'll be convicted. Well, God's kindness leads us to repent and run to Him for salvation and mercy. Romans 11 verse 22 highlights God's kindness to the Gentiles who are grafted in to the people of God. It's out of kindness that God grants the opportunity to anyone to hear and believe the gospel and have life. Ephesians 2 verse 4 through 7, that was our call to worship tonight, speaks of God's kindness to us in Christ. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus." In the gospel of grace, in the person of Jesus Christ, God has been profoundly, inexpressibly kind to us. The word used in Ephesians is immeasurably kind. immeasurably kind to us. We cannot begin to measure the depth and breadth of God's kindness to us in sending Jesus Christ for us. He's done so even though we were enemies, even though we deserve the opposite. We deserve wrath and anger, just wrath and anger. And we give nothing in return. Kindness is doing what is in your power to prevent pain in another. And that is what Jesus has done in the greatest way for us, by enduring unimaginable pain on the cross in order to remove ours, a pain that we deserve, judgment that we deserve. Jesus is the one who said in Matthew 11, verse 30, And some of you might have picked up on this with the adult class study. He says, take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy or kind. It's the same word. My yoke is easy, kind, and my burden is light. Word Jesus uses for an easy yoke is the word kind. His yoke is kind. Christ in his kindness bids you come to him. Come to him. He takes you to himself. He leads you by way of his kindness. His yoke is not heavy. It's not burdensome. It's not harsh. It's not full of anger. It is kind. Jesus is kind to sinners who come to him in faith. Kind even though he fully knows us. He knows our faults. He knows our foolishness. He knows our weakness. He knows what no one else does. He knows that we deserve his anger and his wrath. But because he has paid for our sins and covers us in his righteousness, he welcomes us in kindness. He pours out riches of kindness on us. He's gentle and tender hearted. He sympathizes with us. If you look again at verse 32, Ephesians 4, 32 says, be kind to one another, tender hearted. And tender heartedness is related to kindness. Tender heartedness fuels and informs kindness. Tenderhearted means with your inner parts. It means you have sympathy in the very core of your being, in your gut. You feel what others feel. You put yourself in their shoes. You feel in your hearts what they feel and so you sympathize with them and your heart is tender towards them. Well, this is what we see in the heart of Jesus Christ. He's come to earth as an incarnate man in our nature, with our flesh. And he feels our weakness. He feels our pain. And his heart is tender towards us. He's gentle and patient. And because his heart is tender, he's kind. Mark 6 says, before he fed the 5,000, he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. That word for the compassion that Jesus had in Mark 6 comes from the same word for tender hearted. this inner emotional gut level feeling that compels kindness, that enables you to feel what others feel, that helps you put yourself in their shoes, that moves our hearts to meet needs. This is the kindness that Jesus shows to sinners. This is the kindness Jesus has shown to you. Kindness that we would be utterly lost without. Friends, this is how you know kindness. This is the kindness that you must see pictured in Jesus again and again if you are going to be enabled to show it to one another. Kindness for the needy and undeserving. True kindness is not mere outward acts. It flows from within, from a tender heart, feeling what others feel, like Jesus Christ. And it's not directed just towards those who are easy to be kind to, those who are easy to like. It's not just towards those who are kind to us or those who might give us something in return. The kindness God pictures for us and pours out on us richly and undeservedly is a kindness for those who are desperate. For those who are enemies. For those who are poor and hopeless and helpless. For those he could be righteously angry with. People of God, learn kindness from him. Learn kindness from Jesus. Keep your eyes fixed on his kindness, especially when you find it hard to show kindness to those around you. His kindness for you, for sinners. This will picture and propel your kindness for one another. And I want us to consider that third and finally, how do we live this out? How do we grow in kindness? How is kindness practiced? Kindness does not happen automatically or accidentally. It doesn't happen by merely sitting and hearing one sermon about it and thinking, well, that's a good idea. We're called to pursue kindness, to seek to grow in it. We need to seek this Christ-like characteristic with zeal and humble reliance upon God's grace. One of the ways we can grow in kindness is simply by trying to think more and more of others and less of ourselves. If we're unaware of others and their needs, If we lack interest or concern for them, if we are over-focused on self, we're not going to have kindness either in our hearts or in our actions. We're not going to have tender hearts for one another. One writer said, apart from God's grace, most of us naturally tend to be concerned about our responsibilities, our problems, our plans. But the person who has grown in the grace of kindness has expanded his thinking outside of himself and his interests, and has developed a genuine interest in the happiness and well-being of those around him. Friends, seek a growing interest in those around you, in their well-being, in their needs. And part of doing this means that you need to be with others. You can't have tenderhearted kindness for one another if you're never with one another. If you don't know what one another needs. If you're never with the body of Christ in worship or fellowship or everyday life, you can't really practice kindness to one another. So don't isolate yourself if you desire to grow in kindness. Another thing we have to do in order to grow in kindness by God's grace is pray. When's the last time you asked God to make you more kind? Ask God to work this in and through you. Remember Galatians 5, 22 says, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. Kindness is the fruit of God's Holy Spirit. It is a fruit of God's sanctifying work of grace in us. And so ask God to work this out in you by His Spirit. Ask Him to help you be more kind. Ask Him to help you put off anger and bitterness and repent of that. Examine yourself for where you have not been kind or for those to whom you've not shown kindness and repent of that. Run to the kindness and grace of God in Christ for forgiveness. And then ask God to help you put off that anger and put on kindness instead. Pray for kindness. Along with praying, try to cultivate an awareness of needs. Look for needs. Look for those who might need help or are hurting. Have sympathy for what others feel and need and then try to figure out how that need might be met. Could be as quick and easy as opening a door or greeting a stranger, lending a hand. or it could be very consuming. It could require tenderhearted time and patience to understand the grief or pain of someone else and intentionally planning and coming alongside them to show them kindness or bring some relief. Think about where God has placed you and what gifts and skills you have. We don't all exactly show kindness in exactly the same way. I'm not going to show kindness to you by helping you with your taxes. I just would have no idea how to. But I would be able to help you with cleaning your gutters. I may not be able to watch your kids, but I could fix your fence. And so think about how you are gifted in ways God has equipped you to show practical kindness. Start close to home. It's hard to be kind to those around you in the church if you're not kind to those in your own home. Show kindness in ways you are gifted. Who's nearby that you can show kindness to? What needs are there, physical needs, emotional needs, spiritual needs? What needs are there in this very room? And remember, think of those especially who it may be harder to be kind to. Those who have perhaps given you the cold shoulder or not been kind to you. It is hard to show kindness to those, but this is what Christ calls us to. This is the kindness he has shown to us. Think about those who are overlooked, those who might be forgotten. And also in this, remember that this is going to be a battle. Satan does not want kindness. Satan will fight this. Satan is not happy with this sermon tonight. He's not happy with Ephesians 4, 32. He wishes he could rip it out of the Bible. He wants anger. He wants bitterness. He wants opportunity for himself. Opportunity for the devil, as verse 27 says. He will tempt you regularly to respond with the opposite of kindness. With the selfish desires of the flesh. As Galatians 5 says, with enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy. And so Galatians 5 goes on and says, if we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Remember that Satan is in battle with us. Satan is prowling like a lion. Satan does not want you to be kind. And so showing kindness is battling against not only your flesh, but against Satan. But brothers and sisters, finally, to practice kindness, and we've already touched on this, meditate on God's kindness. Keep coming back to the perfect picture of kindness that we have in God, in the gospel of grace. Again and again, keep meditating on God's kindness to you in the gospel, his kindness to you day by day. When you sin, when you fail, not only does he forgive you through Jesus Christ, He doesn't give up on you. He doesn't stop loving you and sanctifying you. He doesn't stop meeting your needs and welcoming you as His child. Keep your eyes fixed on the kindness of God to you in Christ. And I want to close tonight by reading Titus 3, verse 3 and following. We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 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. Titus 3 tells us that when Jesus appeared, when Jesus came to earth from heaven and was incarnate and took on flesh, that was the very kindness of God appearing to save us. We who are full of everything but kindness. Jesus is kindness. kindness who walked here on earth, kindness in the flesh, kindness incarnate, kindness here in order to save us, kindness in order to go to the cross, kindness to the point of dying to give us life. Friends, because of his self-giving kindness, even to the cross, you and I, can know kindness, and we can show kindness to one another by his power and by his pattern. We get to show kindness to one another following in his footsteps. And you know, Jesus said in Matthew 25, we'll read this next week or the following week, when we show kindness to one another, when we give food to the hungry, or we visit the needy, or we give a drink to the thirsty, when we show kindness to one of the least of these, his brothers, one another, we do it to him. That is kindness shown to Jesus Christ, who is united to his bride. Isn't that stunning? That in showing kindness to one another, and practically loving and serving one another. We are doing that in a way to the Lord Jesus Christ. Our expression of kindness to one another is an expression of His own kindness. It's His own kindness being replicated in us and actually shown to Him who's been infinitely kind to us. And so people of God, because of His kindness, to glorify His name, to reflect his character in a dark and hostile, angry world, to build one another up, respond to his rich kindness to you, an undeserving sinner, with gratitude and joy and service and love and praise to him. Show tenderhearted kindness to one another as he has shown to you. Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we praise you and we thank you that the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior has appeared. Has appeared in the person of our precious Savior Jesus, who has saved us not because of what we have done in righteousness, but because of his own mercy, his rich kindness, his grace that led him to the cross. Father, we pray that you would work this in us. Father, we pray that you would forgive us because we are so often quick to anger and slow to be kind. Lord, you have been so kind to us. Many of those around us have been so kind to us even though we don't deserve it. Father, conform us to the image of Christ. not so that we would boast in our kindness, but that we would boast in the kindness of God and the grace of God so that the world might know that Christ is in us and at work in us and that he is a gracious, gentle, tenderhearted, and kind Savior. Father, we pray that you would enable us to grow in this grace and that perhaps a year from now we would be more kind to one another than we are tonight, and that you would be praised and glorified. And we pray this all in Jesus name. Amen.