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So keep something your Matthew 5 we will come back later towards the end of the sermon But if you would go over to Proverbs chapter 31 Proverbs chapter 31 I want to talk to you or preach to you this morning rather about the subject of being kind the subject of being kind You know and this is an important subject because of the fact that you know sometimes we as God's people get this rap Especially if you're in a church like this where there's a lot of hard preaching with a tire counsel the word of God is preached But sometimes people think oh, you're just mean-spirited angry people and sometimes you know we can you know We can lend some validity to that to that that accusation now of course. There's times to be stern There's times to be blunt There's times to be very straightforward and to not hold anything back But I think another thing that sometimes gets left off is the fact that we are to be very kind people You know if you look there in Proverbs chapter 31, and this is of course you know talking about the virtuous woman It says there in verse 26 one of the great attributes that the virtuous woman has is that she opened her mouth with wisdom and Her in her tongue is the law of kindness That's where I get the title for the sermon this morning the law of kindness It said it's found there in her tongue when she opens her mouth with wisdom. It's there in her tongue this law of kindness Now you would say well, you know this is talking about the virtuous woman so this only applies to her right But we'll see in Scripture this morning that you know being unkind You know is becoming of any Christian. This isn't just a feminine attribute This isn't just something that's reserved only for the virtuous woman This is a virtue that we all as God's people Should desire to have our lot in our lives and that it should be said of all of us that in our tongue is found the law of kindness It's not just for this you know the virtuous woman, it's not just a feminine attribute now of course You know guys they need to be tough. They need to be you know rough They need to be able to be a little more blunt at times, but even as men You know we should be the law of kindness should be found in our mouth as well Go over to Ephesians chapter 1 Ephesians chapter 1 Ephesians chapter 1 and when you get there go ahead and bookmark Ephesians 1. We're gonna come back again You know being kind Isn't just for the virtuous woman It's for all of God's people and I can say that Assuredly because of the fact that kindness is an attribute of the Lord And we all know that God is a man and that God you know he's called the Heavenly Father And he is a very he's very kind the Bible says in Psalms 117 it says oh praise the Lord all you nations praise him all you people for his merciful Kindness is great toward us. You know God is a very kind God God is a very merciful God, and we as God's people should be kind and merciful people We should have the law of kindness found in our mouths Go to Ephesians chapter 1 You know it's interesting there in Psalms 117 it says praise the Lord all you nations praise him all you people And what's the reason behind that why should they praise him? Why should all nations and all people praise God? for his merciful kindness is Great toward us look there and pro or excuse me Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4 But God who is rich in mercy For his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead and sins hath quickened us together With Christ by grace are you saved and hath raised us up together and made us sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Then the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus The Bible saying here that God has made us to sit in heavenly places and that in the ages to come He's going to use us sitting in those heavenly places to show the exceeding riches of his grace People are going to look at us throughout all ages And they're gonna say they are an example of God's exceeding of the exceeding riches of God's grace And how is it that we're gonna show that? In his kindness toward us is the fact that Christ saved us The fact the great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead and sins that God was very kind Toward us and saved us through Christ Jesus and that that is gonna what we are going to be an example of throughout all ages That we are gonna be the examples of God's exceeding riches of his grace his kindness toward us so we see right out of the gate here that the law of kindness is something we should all have and It's not just for ladies because of the fact that God is very kind and that throughout all ages We are going to be an example to everybody of God's kindness towards us Not only should we be kind not only should the law of kindness be found in our tongues because of the fact that God is Kind but because of the simple fact that being kind is a commandment, you know, it's the law of kindness It's a commandment to be kind Go over to 1st Peter chapter 3 1st Peter chapter 3 This is all throughout the New Testament and the Bible We could spend the whole morning is talking about God's kindness toward us But God has also commanded us to be kind First Peter chapter 3 look at verse 8. It says finally be all of one mind having compassion one of another Love is brethren be pitiful be courteous Not rendering evil for even evil railing for railing but contrary wise blessing Knowing that you're here on to call there unto called that you should inherit a blessing For he that will love life and see good days Let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile now, maybe the word kind isn't there But we actually do see for sure there in verse 8, you know the attributes of being kind action You know kind actions are laid out there having compassion one of another that's a kind thing to do to have compassion on somebody To love as brethren, you know loving, you know be God's loving kindness We are to love one another to be pitiful, you know to have mercy on people to be courteous You know, that's something that's really missing in society. They just common courtesy You know, and that's one thing that that even if the world could grasp ahold of would be great, you know Not that it's gone completely some people still get it You know, they'll go ahead and hold the door open say hello look in the eye now I know this time of year and in Southwest it gets really hard to be kind everybody because it's you know 100-whatever degrees and everyone's just kind of on edge, you know, and everyone's getting a little irritable But you know, even when things aren't going well, we should still strive to be kind with with one another and not just brethren You know, we should try to be kind to everybody that we come in contact with out in the world Go over to 2nd Peter chapter 1 the Bible says in Colossians 3 go to 2nd Peter chapter 1 Put on therefore as the elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercy Kindness humbleness of mind meekness long-suffering Maybe that's part of the reason why people fail to be kind sometimes because it takes humility Sometimes it takes humility to turn that blinker on and just be like, alright, you can go faster than me and pull over Let me be courteous here. Let me go let you go by. All right, let me hold the door open Let me look you in the eye and say good morning. Good afternoon. Whatever it is. Let me say thank you, please Being courteous these all require humbleness of mine But we're supposed to put these things on as the elect of God You know, holy beloved bowels of mercy. These things should be deep rooted in us Kindness humbleness of mind meekness long-suffering forbearing one another Forgiving one another and if any man have quarrel against any even as Christ forgave you So also do ye and above all these things put on charity Which is the bond of perfectness and let the peace of God rule in your hearts To the which you are called also in one body and being he thankful You're going over to 2nd Peter. I'll continue to read to you from Titus chapter 3 It says put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers to obey magistrates to be ready to every good work To speak evil of no man to be no brawlers, but gentle showing all meekness unto all men You know This is a commandment for us to be kind in the New Testament towards all men for we ourselves Were sometimes foolish disobedient deceived Serving diverse lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy. These are the things that are opposite of kindness to be malicious to be envious Hateful and hating one another but after the kindness and love of God our Savior Toward toward man appeared Not by works of righteousness, which we have done but according to his mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration a renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, you know, even when we were living in malice when we were envious when we were hateful and Hating one another when we were all these bad things You know the kindness and of God still appeared towards us and the love of God through our Savior appeared towards all men The Bible says in Colossians chapter 4 let your speech be always with grace Season with salt that you may know how you ought to answer every man now, that's a very familiar verse You'll hear that brought up a lot and people, you know, I kind of think I feel like it's misapplied a little bit I think when people read that they read it like this They may know what you ought to answer every man and sometimes we get caught up and you know They apply this a lot to soul winning and saying You know when you got to go out soul winning gotta be able make sure you know how to answer the Mormon and the Jehovah Witness and this false, you know cult and this cult and whatever you got to know how to talk to every person You know based on whatever their background is saying, you know what you ought to answer every man, okay? But really the truth is there's one gospel for everybody and that's another subject But it says here that you may know how you ought to answer every man More importantly than what you're actually going to answer is a lot of times how you go about answering them You know a lot of times people go out soul winning and they knock on doors and they can't get anybody to talk to them And it's not really what they're saying. It's how they're saying it That's the problem And he's saying let your speech be all we with grace season with salt if there's one place you want to have the law of Kindness in your mouth. It's when you're trying to preach the gospel to somebody And that's not the time to you know, knock on their door and start pointing out You know everything that's wrong with their life and you know Hey I couldn't help but notice on my way up to your door that you've got you know an Idolatrous statue of Mary in the front yard and boy have they got some down here, right? They've got some some whoppers I've seen some you know good ones as far as you know Idolatrous strategies go they got pyramids in the front yard. Remember that? Yeah, it's crazy Never seen anything like that. We're gonna walk up that door and be like, you know, you know, hey I'm from faith word Baptist Church, you know, you should really burn that down You know, I just I couldn't help it I kind of kicked it over in my way up here and smash it a thousand pieces and here's why You know, that's not letting your speech being all we with grace, you know, and again I know there's a time when we ought to you know You know, you know after the first and second admonition, you know reject the heretic that some people need to be rebuked sharply but I think it's few and far between you know, most of the time the vast majority of the time when we're out there talking to people trying to preach that you know the Love and the kindness and the mercy and the grace of God That's the time to let your speech be seasoned with grace and be careful how you are How you answer every man now? I had you go to second Peter chapter 1 look at verse 5 it says and beside this giving all diligence add to your faith virtue and virtue knowledge and a knowledge temperance and a temperance patience and the patience godliness and the Godliness brotherly kindness and a brotherly kindness charity So again having the law of kindness in your mouth being a kind person is a commandment. It's a law It's something that God tells us to do to add brotherly kindness to our faith The Bible says in John chapter 13 a new commandment I give unto you that you love one another as I have loved you that you also love one another By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples You know if you wear a badge You know if you wear a hat that says faithful word, you know or whatever Is that how everyone's gonna know what you know, we've got an armband or something Something that they could visually look at us and identify us as you know brethren No, he said if you love if you have loved one toward another You know the world should look at us as Christians and should say Look at the way these people are so kind to one another look how they care about each other Look how meek and long-suffering and patient look at the brotherly love that they have towards one another They say why can't you know that's different than what's out in the world. They're very courteous. They're pitiful. They're merciful These should be the things that You know That we shine let these are the good works that we should shine that all men may glorify our Father which is in heaven These are the things that that people should look at in our life and say there's something about these Christians There's something different but if they look in and all they see is just a bunch of bickering and backbiting and anger and Malice and enviousness, you know, they're gonna say well, what's what's different? I got plenty of that out in the world You know, I and you know, I go to church and everyone's just you know, no one shakes my hand No one says hello some visitor walks now. Thank God that isn't a problem here. You know, everybody here is great about that Visitor walks in you know, they're getting handshakes. They're getting greeted. I think it's great And that's the way it ought to be but let's keep it that way. I Mean people they're looking to get treated poorly. They can just you know, go out in the world just about anywhere That shouldn't be said of God's people though They should look at us and see the love that we have one to know one to another and say these must be Jesus's disciples So people are to be kind, you know, they're to be kind because it's a commandment It's a law that God has given us the law of kindness now. I know this isn't you know, the show-stopping sermon Okay, I know this isn't gonna be the viral, you know, you know million hits on YouTube or whatever Sermon and it's unfortunate because really it's you know that YouTube the online crowd could really stand a good dose of this You know because there's a lot of unkindness on social media because it's so easy to be unkind on social media when you're anonymous Well, no, you know You have to look anybody in the face and actually say the things you're about to say Well, no one even knows who you are. You can just kind of let it all hang out You can just say whatever you can be as kind unkind and rude and crass as you want and there's no really no repercussions I mean other than the fact that God sees other than the fact that God knows what's being said and People, you know, they need but we all need this We all need to be reminded to be kind, you know, because our nature is to be unkind We are you by nature, you know the spirit that dwelleth in us lust it to envy You know the spirit the spirit of man is that them is is a you know is a is a a covetous, you know It's a covetous spirit that lust to envy the Bible says and if we just let the old man have his way You know, we're gonna end up being unkind people It's something we have to put into practice And people are often unkind and how are they unkind? Well often they're unkind in their actions, right? That's a big thing But you know more so they're unkind in their words, but they are unkind in their actions and what they do to others You know what they might actually, you know go out of their way to do to somebody And there's you know, we could go on and on about that There's so many different ways where we could I always you know, my mind is always goes back to traffic Probably cuz I every time I come down here I'm spending an hour and a half on the road, right? It's like I've always I feel like that's the one illustration. That's always just at hand for me You know people are always unkind on the road, you know, it just seems like it's getting worse But you know, there's probably other other examples. You know, I don't want to I Mean can anybody else think of a way that sometimes people are just unkind out in the world No one's got anything you got one Yeah, the mask wearing okay Yeah. Yeah. There you go. That's a good example. You know people want to just tear each other apart, you know You're not wearing a mask. You should be wearing a mask and just start going at it. That could be one way You know, everyone has got different opinions about that But we don't have to always go out of her way to like, you know beat somebody up over it or something You know let the establishment handle that right? There was but you get it people do things all the time that are just rude sometimes I remember one time I went into a Panda Express and You know, it was like the first time I'd gone into Panda Express and I didn't really know how it worked so I kind of walked up there and then the guy there was another lady standing next to me and the guy came to me and Asked me what I wanted and she hadn't ordered yet and she was there ahead of me So I just started telling him and she just kind of looks at oh, I guess I'm not here then, you know She got I was like, oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize he had an order go right ahead, you know But people do unkind things. I don't know if that was I was actually being kind by you know, say go ahead, but People do unkind things to each other right one way people are unkind is that they don't always show mercy You know go over to Luke's chapter 6 Luke Luke chapter 6. I Mean That's how we were ended at Matthew chapter 5 Do good to them that hate you now love your enemies bless them that curse you That's what he repeats over here in Luke chapter 6 he says love your enemies and do good and land Hoping for nothing again and your reward shall be great And he shall be the children of the highest for he is kind Under the unthankful and to the evil that be ye therefore merciful see how being kind and being merciful are Intertwined there how they're rather they mean the same thing. You say hey be kind under the unthankful He's kind of the unthankful and the evil be therefore merciful as your father also is merciful You know God being kind to the unthankful and to the evil is him being merciful unto them And one way people are very unkind weren't towards one another is they're not merciful And people need to learn to be merciful one toward another You know and here's the thing here's a good reason why you should be merciful to another person It's not just because it's the what God commands, but because you know who's you know blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy God will show mercy unto the merciful and Here's the thing we're all gonna need mercy at some point every last one of us Is gonna need you know others to be merciful towards us to be kind to be forgiving We're gonna need God to be merciful towards us. You know many times So if we want that from God if we want God to be merciful to us Then we have to extend that same courtesy to others and be kind and be merciful So people are often unkind in their actions and one way One action that they that they'll be on the that the one action that is unkind I should say is that they don't show mercy. They're unmerciful But even more than what people do it's it's what they say people are probably most unkind with their words the way they use their words I Mean did you notice as we are reading all those scriptures this morning all those scriptures that I read how often the? Communication was associated with kindness love as brethren not rendering railing for railing but contrarized blessing Those are things that are done with your mouth, you know the railing and the blessing are both done with the tongue Speak evil of no man. It said you know again speaking. What did it say in Proverbs where we read this morning? She she opened her mouth with her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is a lot of kindness You know one of the one of the main ways that people are unkind Is with their mouth you know and today we have so much more opportunity to be unkind Thanks to social media. There's so much more opportunity to use. Maybe not our mouth per se but to use communication To express our thoughts and feelings and opinions and oftentimes. You know we can be very unkind about it There's a lot of unkindness that comes from from the mouth go to Ephesians chapter 4 Ephesians chapter 4 Communication is is Associated often with being kind in the Bible God warns us when he tells us you know to have the law of kindness in our mouth he goes on it, and we see just example after example after example of Watching how we use our mouth how we express or ourselves how we communicate? Look at Ephesians chapter 4 verse 21 look let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth Now most people when they read that they just assume when he's talking about you know potty talk you know or Having a cock-a-mouth or whatever you know which we shouldn't have either, but look at the context here Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace unto the hearers and Grieve not the Holy Spirit whereby you're sealed on the day of redemption Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice So that corrupt communication proceeds out of your mouth, and it grieves the Holy Spirit It does not minister grace under the here under the years, and what is it involved in verse 31 bitterness wrath? Anger clamor and evil speaking he goes on and says in verse 32 and being ye kind one to another One of the best ways we can show kindness towards other people is with our mouth by not Being bitter by not being wrathful or angry or clamorous and having evil speaking in our mouth towards other people But rather you know being kind one another involves being tender-hearted Forgiving one another even as Christ God for even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you Go over to James chapter 3 another very familiar passage People are unkind with their words the Bible says that the law of kindness should be in our mouth That we should open our mouth with wisdom That we should be careful about what we say It says in James chapter 3 verse 8, but the tongue can no man tame it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison Therewith bless we God even the Father and therewith curse we men which are made after the similitude of God Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing my brethren these things ought not to so so to be Doth the fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter so he's saying look the tongue is An unruly evil it's full of deadly poison We bless God and then we curse men and he says that of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing They both come out of the same fountain You know the water that is sweet and bitter and he says these things ought not to be so And I think sometimes we read that and we think James has given us an option Like hey, it can't be both so pick one, you know, that's not what he's saying here Well, I can't you know, well James, I guess if I got to pick one, I'm just gonna go with cursing then I'll just get rid of the sweet water and just be all bitter That's not what he's saying If we're going to obey the law of kindness if we're going to be kind people if people are going to look at us and say These are Christ's disciples The law of kindness is found where in their mouth we must tame the tongue If we're going to obey the law of kindness, we must tame the tongue Bring it into subjection You know, we all know James 3 the tongue is a powerful member of our body He compares it under the helm of a small helm of a great ship that can drive that ship against fierce winds He says behold how little a matter How little a matter a little fire kindleth how great a matter a little fire kindleth You know, we got a great example of that over in Mount Lemmon this summer, right? One little lightning strike just How many you know tens of thousands of acres burned? I think it's in triple digits like a six-figure number. I think now It's way up there and it was just one little lightning strike And he's saying look your tongue is the same way if you don't have the law of kindness in your mouth Just one want to say one thing Just be rude one time just curse somebody one time and it can just grow and it can just become a great fire Go over to Proverbs chapter 10, we're gonna look at quite a few passages here in Proverbs Proverbs chapter 10 If we're going to be a law of kindness, we must tame the tongue He says Proverbs chapter 10 I'll begin reading in verse 18 he that hideth hatred with lying lips and he that utter a slander is a fool in The multitude of words there wanteth not sin In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin He that refraineth his lips is wise, you know, that's a really good passage to think about That's something we should think about often. Is that in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin But he that refraineth his lips is wise You know Let me just bring it into the modern vernacular here. Sometimes it's good to just shut up And the Bible says that you know if thou is done foolishly lifting up thyself lay thine hand upon thy mouth You know, it's a very eloquent way of saying shut up basically And sometimes that would keep us out of a lot of trouble. I mean I do it all the time Well, not all the time. It's gotten less and less You know, I'll be on I'll be on Facebook or YouTube or wherever. I'll start typing something. I'll be like, yeah Delete it's not worth it Is it just it's just cursing it's just wrath it's just anger it's just malice It's not kindness. It's not mercy. It's not love You're like well, you don't understand what they said they really had it coming Well, you know what you might get drawn into something that just leads to sin it says in verse 20 the tongue of the just is as choice silver and The heart of the wicked is of little worth the lips of the righteous feet of many but fools die for want of wisdom I love that that the tongue of the just is as choice silver You know, that's a very precious thing It's something that has great value and we are the just if we're just you know, we're justified in Christ We have the Spirit of God dwelling within us. Our tongue should be as choice silver. It should be of great worth And we'll see here what he means by that go over to Proverbs chapter 15 Proverbs chapter 15 The Bible says there is that speaketh like this the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise is health The law of kindness in our mouth is going to is going to edify people it's going to bring health to them It's going to encourage them. It's going to lift people up It's not going to be like the piercings of a sword or just hurts or just wounds The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 15 a wholesome tongue is a tree of life But perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit says it's a tree of life You know, I just you can't help but think about soul-winding when you read that preaching the gospel What is it that makes the the tongue of the just as choice silver? It's the fact that it is a tree of life That's in your mouth You have the ability to preach the gospel, you know to bring forth fruit Under God go over to Proverbs chapter 15 look at verse 23 The Bible says in verse 23 a man hath joy by the answer of his mouth a Word spoken in due season how good it is in due season How good a word spoken in due season how good it is? You know when you when you say the right thing at the right time, yeah brings you joy I'm not just talking about you know, when you think about the word spoken in due season I'm not just talking about, you know, when you think of that great comeback You know, somebody says something you're thinking about it later. You're like, oh I should have said that Alright, that's not what it's talking about. Okay You know when somebody actually has a problem when somebody has a need and you have you're like Oh, I know what just what to say to that person and then it helps them, you know, it's a it's it's What is it? It's it's a health to them it says Go over to Proverbs chapter 25 You know that the tongue of the of the just is as choice silver. It's very valuable You know the tongue in our mouth is very powerful member There's a lot of strength in it says in Proverbs 18 death and life are in the power of the tongue Death and life are in the power of the tongue. You could take your tongue and destroy somebody You know we go out with the wrong thing And destroy somebody You know, we go out with the wrong spirit the wrong attitude The law of kindness is not in our mouth I'll soul winning we run into somebody that where we were just having a bad day. It's a hundred and whatever Brother Corbin went really way too long this morning in that sermon, you know You were just kind of a bad attitude and we get to the wrong door the wrong, you know They just say something it just sets us off And that person's like well, I see what those Christians are all about and Then the next time some soul winner comes are like Yeah, I remember the last guy and we have to be careful about that, you know, and I've been guilty of that You know getting in the flesh out there. It's it can happen You know, you find yourself standing in the street yelling at them, you know, then you're gonna try and go to their neighbor Their neighbor's been looking out the window the whole time watching you Then they see you come and walk up the door just Turn off the lights Nobody's home, right and what happened death? You know, maybe it wasn't what you said directly to that person But maybe they overheard you say something to somebody and now they don't want to hear what you have to say death and life for in the power of the tongue You're there in Proverbs 25. It says a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and pictures of silver Knowing the right and what to say at the right time knowing the right thing to say at the right time Look at Proverbs 25 verse 15 By long forbearing is a prince persuaded and a soft tongue breaketh the bone It's that word fitly spoken and saying the right thing at the right time by long forbearing You know by knowing, you know, this isn't the time to say anything about this, you know that sometimes when I was reading this just made me think about You know wives that want to get something out of their husband You know how they gets how they get them to do things that they need done around the house Typically if they're anything like me the more my wife, you know, I want to say nag is she doesn't nag But the more she's like, can you do this? Can you do this? Can you do this? The more I'm just like I'm not gonna do it then Because you're telling me what to do, right? But you know what when when it's it when it's a long forbearing, you know when she says it at the right time When she puts the let the list out, you know, it just just leaves it by the wallet. There's just a list of things Didn't say anything Through her patience through her long forbearing and putting up with my stubbornness you know that saw that that that tongue what what does it do the soft tongue break at the bone and The prince right he says alright, you know, I'll go change the bank address or I'll go get the water or whatever It is I'm supposed to be doing as a husband Shame on me anyway, right? But by long forbearing is a prince persuaded, you know, that's that's something we need to apply in our life You know, maybe there's somebody that we're having a hard time with Maybe there's somebody that we need to we want them to to change or do something for us The way to go about getting that is not to just harp and nag and berate and speak evil about but to wait Wait for the right moment Have a word fitly spoken say the right thing at the right time and you can really change people, you know again going back to the gospel a lot of us have you know Unsaved loved ones and if you're anything like almost every person gets saved when they first get saved What do they do they go right to the family and they tell everybody how to get saved and that they need to get saved And everything that's wrong with what they used to believe You know, it's especially hard with parents, you know when you get saved and then you go to your parents You know two hours later or whatever, you know immediately and you're just you're like Let me just answer life's most complex question mom and dad. I figured it out, you know I know you couldn't tell me the meaning of life and you could tell me anything about the afterlife But I'm here to tell you now and then we're surprised that they don't want to hear it Then we get discouraged Well, maybe what we should do is just have some long forbearing You know with our loved ones with our parents with our brothers with our sisters with our immediate family members who've seen this change in you You have some long forbearing and wait for a word fitly spoken and it'll be it'll be a soft tongue That does what that breaks the bone? That gets them to yield that will get them to finally listen and get saved If the law of kindness is gonna you know If we're gonna be kind people if we're gonna have obey the law of kindness, it has to be in our mouth because that's where people seem to do the most damage is with the tongue and James says, you know that we have to bring it under subjection But you know, I'll see else he said in that passage the tongue can no man tame So it's kind of kind of seems like well, what's the point then I Mean, we're supposed to have a law of kindness in our mouth We've read all these proverbs about the blessing of you know, word fitly spoken You know the joy the the the tongue of the justice is choice silver We read all these things about the tongue in the mouth And we're supposed to control it and say this and then we get to James and he reads the tongue. No man can tame It's like what I give up What do you mean James? Well, what he's saying here is this is that we need God's help We need God's help. We need to ask God to help us with the tongue He says it, you know any man that can bright any man that can bridle the tongue can can you know can Tame the whole body, you know, I'm paraphrasing He could bring the whole body and subjection if you can tame your tongue So many other things in your life will just line up with God so many other things in your Christian walk Well, just if you just focus on that one thing words that come out of my mouth Because you realize real quick that if you're gonna tame the tongue you're gonna needs God's help and you're gonna find yourself in prayer You're gonna find yourself confessing. You're gonna find yourself asking God to help you Lord. How many control my tongue? I'll be to say the right thing to this person help me to treat this person this way and so on and so forth We need God's help to do it You know what ways people that are unkind, you know, it's often what they do to each other But it's also what they say most of the time and I'll close with this thought Sometimes the way people are unkind is what they won't do for others. It's not always what we do to others Sometimes it's in what we won't do. Okay, and I had you start out in Matthew 5 go back there That's what we'll end this morning The Bible says in first John 3 But who so hath this world's good and see if his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him How dwelleth the love of God in him? my little children Let us not in love and word neither in tongue but indeed and in truth You know, it's not just enough to say all the right things Sometimes we have to be willing to do things for people you think oh, I'm gonna be a kind person So I'm not gonna do certain things to some people I'm not gonna I'm gonna make sure I don't say this or don't do that But some a lot of times the way we're unkind is what we are we refuse to do for people We shut up our bowels of compassion towards our own brethren We see them going through a hard time or they have a need of some kind and we just say well, that's their problem How do I love God in him? How is how is the world gonna look at us and say these are Christ's disciples if we don't have love one toward another a Lot of times the way we show that love one toward another is that we help each other out And so many and there's a lot of different ways we can do that But he says not to love and word neither in tongue, but indeed and in truth It's not just to be you know, as James said a doer of the word But to be doers of the word and not hearers only and we have to do these things not just hear them Look at Matthew chapter 5 verse 38. He said this Jesus said in verse 38 you have heard that it hath been said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth But I say to you they resist not evil Now was it said eye for an eye tooth for a tooth? Yeah, that's the law That's you know, that's in Deuteronomy and Exodus That's that's part of the civil law that God gave and Jesus said, you know Think not I came to destroy the law of the prophets that cannot destroy but to fulfill For verily I say unto thee except one jot or one tittle shall know wise pass from the law to all be fulfilled So he's not nullifying this law of eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth But what I think he's pointing out here is that he's saying look you can't take the person you the civil law and apply It to your personal grievances Somebody does us wrong, you know, we just feel like well eye for an eye tooth for a tooth Cut me off in traffic, you know right back at you You know say something rude to me. I'm just gonna I'm gonna revile again because after all it's eye for an eye tooth for a tooth It's eye for an eye tooth for a tooth literally in the law You know if if a master smites a servant and lose an eye, you know He goes free blemish for blemish eye for eye tooth for a tooth hand for hand foot for foot That's what that's referring to that's a literal eye for eye tooth for tooth He's saying look just because that's written a lot doesn't mean that every personal grievance you have against somebody Means you get to be mean and vindictive back towards them if they treat you poorly Well, I get to treat them poorly then that's not how it works He said I say unto you that you resist not evil But whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek turn to him the other also And if a man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also You know that the coat is the smaller garment underneath the cloak at least if you have the cloak, you know You're covering most everything right? Oh, you need a coat. Well here have the cloak. It's even better He's saying don't render evil for evil and whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile go with him twain And every time I read that I can't help think about the one example that I've always thought about is helping a brother move. I Hate moving I hate it. I loathe having to pack everything up put in a van Drive it unload it all then unpack it all I hate moving. But you know, I hate worse than that helping somebody else move Because it's not my stuff You know I don't have the satisfaction of unloading everything and I don't know how many times have been asked to help people move since I've joined a Baptist Church Because I don't you know what but to be fair. I've I've called people plenty of times. I said hey, can you help me move? I Remember the lat one of the last times when we moved to Michigan I decided I'm not gonna ask for any help I moved everything on my own and it was it was miserable and I said you need to swallow your pride and ask for help Because I hated helping other people move. I said, well, I don't want to help other people move So I'm not gonna ask me else to help me move I'm gonna give you know render eye for eye on this one, you know tooth for a tooth. You didn't help me I'm not helping you Right, but you know that compelling somebody to go a mile with you Reminds me of like hey, can you help me with something? Will you go this distance with me? Go with him twain, you know, let me let me let me help you load up and then I'll help you unload when I get there Simple things like that Really what this is boiling down to verse 42 He says give to them that ask at thee and from him that would borrow of thee turned out the way You know giving them your coat the guy who's suing you at the law takes your coat say we'll have the cloak also Some guy comes to you inconveniences you by saying hey, can you go a mile with me? I'll go with you twain What are you saying here is basically that phrase? We probably all heard kill them with kindness You never heard that phrase kill them with kindness Instead of eye for an eye tooth for a tooth kill him with kindness If you ever I remember somebody said to me, I had a problem with a co-worker and it was really petty I'm not gonna go into the details, but you know, it's early on in my Christian life and You know, I just remember just just being upset about something real stupid I can't remember what it was and someone just said well, you know, just kill me kindness and that's like man He's right And that works do you ever had like somebody who just hates your guts doesn't like you But then if you just do nice things for them, they kind of come around or at least they stop treating you poorly Maybe just say something nice to him one day, you know by long forbearing you're putting up with all of their You know all the things that they say the ones that one day you just say something nice and it breaks the bone, right? Because here's the thing. Most people want to be treated kindly No matter how rude or mean or angry they seem they want to be treated kindly It's a strange person who doesn't want people to treat them nicely You know, there's that's a whole nother sermon, right? The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 19 if you would go to Chris Corinthians 13 will end there It says the desire of a man is his kindness the desire of a man is his kindness You know what people desire from other people? You know, we desire from other men from other people is their kindness And he said and a poor man is better than a liar I'd rather have you know, a poor guy treat me nicely Then some rich guy just lie to my face and treat me poorly That makes sense. The desire man is his kindness. That's what we what we really want out of people And a poor man is better than a liar. You know that the poor guy who treats me nice and it's kind to me I'm gonna prefer that guy over some rich jerk. It just treats me like dirt That's what most people want. Most people just want to be treated nicely and don't I mean don't all of us Just want people to treat us nicely Well, here's the thing in order to oblige people you have to love them So, you know what? I'm gonna be nicer to people. I'm gonna be kind good luck doing that without loving them Good luck being kind and nice to people if you don't love them. I Mean, there's people we should hate right? We should hate those do not I hate them Oh Lord that hate thee I hate them with perfect hatred. We just sang it this morning But that's them that hate him, you know, we hate the Lord's enemies It's not hate. We're gonna hate everybody. That's our enemy. There's a difference. I think we all understand that and If we're gonna treat our enemies kindly those that hate us those that are our you know personal enemies You know, we're gonna have to learn to love them if we want to you know Break the bone by long with a soft tongue. You got to learn to love that person even the unlovable and Hopefully out there all the scripture we read this morning. We would understand that we were pretty unlovable when God loved us. I Mean God loved us when it looked down on us and said, I mean at any time God could have just went I'll start over I mean how many times did he almost do that? Go ask Noah how close he came where God would just say I'll just start over How many times did he do that with Israel in the Old Testament? You know come out get out of the way Moses. Let me just consume them all start over with you more than once But God even then when he looked at us and saw how unlovable we were still loved us and what was he he was kind Because he loved us in order to treat others kindly like they all want to be treated. You have to learn to love them Look at 1st Corinthians chapter 13. It says charity suffereth long charity is an old, you know another word for love. It's suffers long Means it puts up with a lot. It's willing to just go out there and take it on the chin in the world It envieth not it vanteth not itself is not puffed up and now abideth faith Hope charity these three but the greatest of these is charity Look, if you want the law of kindness to be in your mouth, you're gonna have to tame the tongue You're gonna have to tame the tongue. Yes, but you're also going to happen with God's help But you're going to have to have charity in your heart. You're gonna have to love people and I think a lot of times we have a hard time being nice to people or We find ourselves it's if it comes very naturally to us to treat people poorly or be rude to people especially the unsaved It's probably because we don't really love them You know, we just because people they meet they just form, you know, you know such, you know Splits decision just judgments. They just quickly, you know, size people up just from the way they look sometimes They'll just see somebody and they'll say well, I don't like that person. She just goes the way they look That's not a loving attitude And you're not gonna love that person and you're not gonna treat that person kindly Like you're supposed to because it's the law of kindness You know, that's the kindness should be one of our main attributes as God's people If people should you know describe us in just a few words the word kindness should come out of their mouth They should say well, he's a very nice guy. He's kind And in order to have that said of you you have to love people it says there You know, the greatest of these is charity. It is love the greatest Christian virtue is love and how is it going to manifest itself through kindness and How is kindness gonna manifest itself through our words and through our deeds? Let's go ahead pray