Willow Ridge Sermons

Sunday, July 3rd • David Allen

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." — Philippians 2:3

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Show Notes

July 3rd, 2022 • "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." — Philippians 2:3

–
Podcast: https://pod.link/willowridgechurch
Website: https://willowridgechurch.org
Instagram: https://instagram.com/willowridgechurch
Facebook: https://facebook.com/willowridgechurch
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@willowridgechurch

Creators and Guests

Host

David Allen

Executive Pastor of Connections & Care

What is Willow Ridge Sermons?

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Thanks for listening.

Well, good morning.

If you would, turn your Bibles to Galatians chapter 5, starting at verse 16.

We're continuing in our series on the fruit of the Spirit.

Towards the end of the service, we'll have communion together.

So if you didn't get a chance to get your elements for communion, they're right back there at the table by the door.

At any point, you can get up and go back there and get you one if you didn't get one when you came in.

So again, Galatians chapter 5, verses 16 through 25.

We continue in our series on fruit of the Spirit.

Verse 16 begins,

You're going to see several things here that Paul mentions in element and focus of the Spirit.

Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh.

For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

But if you are led by the Spirit, big kind of question there.

If, are you led by the Spirit?

That's kind of what we take back when we see something like that.

If, are we doing that?

If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Now, the works of the flesh are evident.

Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, intimacy, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness.

And that's what we're going to be talking about today.

Goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Against such things, there is no law.

And those who belong to Christ have been crucified with the flesh, with its passions and desires.

And once again, Paul says, if, if we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

So Paul's focusing your attention and my attention on the whole thing of follow the Spirit of God.

You're being led by the Spirit of God.

Keep in step with the Spirit of God.

Live by the Spirit of God.

And as you and I do that, the fruit of the Spirit of God will be very evident in your life and in my life.

So kindness is what we're going to be looking at this morning.

I think for you and I, a biblical understanding of kindness can be summed up in Philippians chapter 2, verses 3 and 4.

Read these words.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

So it's getting beyond ourself.

It's placing others above ourself.

It's placing their interests above my interests.

It's placing their likes above my likes.

It's placing their wants above my wants.

It's their needs above my needs.

So biblical kindness is others focused.

Now this past week, the Lord kind of wrecked me with this topic.

When I first knew that this would be the topic that Bo would want me to pick up on, I was like, kindness.

Yeah, I got this.

This will be good.

Well, Lord had his other reasons for why he wanted me to share this morning about kindness.

Two questions started to appear in my mind over the week.

One of them was this.

How, when, and where does kindness show up in my actions?

And the second one that kept coming is this.

Is kindness present in the thoughts of my mind and the reflections of my heart?

Maybe there's something I can do that displays kindness, but what about in my mind and in my heart?

Isn't that where everything that we do generates from?

We have thoughts about it.

We have intentions and it all starts in our mind and all starts in our heart before it ever comes out in actions.

So when I'm thinking about kindness and my kind and my mind and my heart towards whomever, you know, it's in those tough times.

It's in those hard times.

It's when, when who we are as a believer in Christ encounters a situation, encounters something in our life, whereas at that moment, whether God's going to show up, he desires to show up.

But it's whether or not we, if we walk by the spirit, allow the spirit of God to show up.

And so I battled with those thinking, all right, Lord, here it is.

I'm looking in the mirror on this topic of kindness.

And it really, really caused me to say, wow, Dave, maybe not as much as you think how you respond with kindness.

I could be in a restaurant and the server come up and in my mind, I'm thinking, man, you don't like your job, do you?

You know, and at that moment, what am I going to do with that thought?

Am I going to go, man, I really wish you'd hurry up with my order because I'm, you know, my belly's crying out.

It needs some food.

But am I sitting there thinking next time that server comes to my table, I'm not going to have a kind look on my face.

You know, or maybe I'm in traffic and somebody cuts over on me or somebody does something that I don't think they should be doing in traffic.

And in that moment, my mind, what does it say and what is it leading me to?

Is it an attitude of kindness?

Is it an action of kindness?

And so, man, this week I was on evaluation mode everywhere I went, almost like, how about I just stay in my house, close the doors, lock them, and I just sit here until Sunday.

But that's not the case.

And I think that's what God desires for you and I, especially when we start looking at the fruit of God's spirit in our lives.

All the ones that Bo has already taught us leading up to this point is they're to be shown, they're not to be hidden.

They're to be a reflection of who God is and a reflection of who God is in our life.

Well, the idea of kindness also took me back to some memories.

So around the age of 10, 11, 12, somewhere in that time frame, for like 50 years, my dad was in the food service industry.

He sold food, basically.

Worked for a local, well, several companies, but most of the last part of his days or several years of his life, he worked in mainly selling meat products.

But early on in that time, 10, 11, 12, I remember traveling around with him to the various restaurants and stuff, and, you know, he'd be bop into the restaurant, and I'd follow behind, and we'd go through the kitchen, and we'd go to the office, wherever the head person was, the head chef, the executive chef, whatever the name or title was at that time.

And I remember going in, and I remember following him, and I remember how he reacted and responded to people.

He would greet them with a smile.

He would say kind words to them.

And in the process of sitting down, knowing that he's there to sell a product, inevitably, there would be life talked about.

How's your wife?

How's your kid?

And he would ask these questions.

How's this going on in your life?

Because they had already had a conversation of what was happening in that person's life, and my dad had already been praying about that, so he was kind of following that up.

And so I saw kindness in action whenever I rode around with him during those times early on in my life.

And I remember getting back in the car with him and just having those conversations like he would tell me more than what this person was, not just a customer, but this was a person that he had built a relationship with, and that God had planted that in his heart and that he would pray over that person.

And I remember those conversations.

So my father was able to show me what kindness is when you're in relationship with the Lord.

And that's what it leads you and I to look at.

So what does the Bible tell us about kindness?

You know, if we've got all these different questions about life, we a lot of times turn to other things in life, people in life, and we don't turn to God.

But that's what God expects of you and I is that we turn to his word to find out what it is about our life, what it is about the life we live on this earth, and how we live it with one another.

So the Bible does tell us, and it tells us about God's kindness, because that's where it starts, that's where it originates.

If we're going to talk about our kindness, it has to begin with the kindness of God.

And in Jeremiah chapter 29, verses 24, read these words.

But let the one who boasts boast about this, that they have the understanding to know that I am the Lord who exercises kindness.

You know that any time we see words in the Bible, they're not there just by accident.

Every word in Scripture has a reason there, and I see that in this, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness.

That God is going about showing and displaying his kindness to his people.

You see, God exercised kindness on the children of Israel as they journeyed out of captivity from Egypt.

A few months back, I decided, man, I'm just going to start back from the beginning again, and I'm going to start reading the Bible.

I'm going to start from Genesis, and I'm going to go forward.

And so really, I'm right there in the midst of that exodus experience where the children of Israel have come in out of Egypt.

You know, and they're early on in their journey, they're grumbling and complaining.

You know, it kind of sounds like us.

Lord, why aren't you doing this?

Why aren't you doing that?

They were hungry.

What does God do?

God doesn't shut them up.

You know, he could have exercised that.

He could have done something like that.

But no, God exercised his kindness by providing manna from heaven each and every day that they needed it.

And then they were thirsty, and God could have said, you know, hey, come on, tighten up things.

Let's get with it.

You're on a journey.

Let's move.

Quit whining.

But instead, he brought water from the rock and provided for their thirst.

And then as they continued to journey, as they're going through the wilderness, what does God do?

God doesn't allow them to bump around in the darkness or get off on the wrong trail during the day.

No, he sends a pillar of fire by night to guide them in the night, and he sends them a cloud by day to guide them through the day.

You see, God continued to display and show his kindness of the children of Israel as they made it through their journey.

You see, God exercised kindness on David in the midst of his poor decisions as a king.

You know about those poor decisions that he made.

You know about the sin in his life.

God could have released David into those very decisions, into his own sin, but God chose not to.

Instead, God kept coming after David because of his kindness.

In David's psalm of praise to the Lord, in Psalm 145, verse 17, we read these words.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.

Not kind in a portion of his works, not kind in just a little bit of his works, but David says, kind in all his works.

I would encourage you to go back and read Psalm 145.

It's a beautiful psalm that David writes about God's kindness.

So how has God's kindness showed up in your life?

I think that's a good place for you and I to start as we think about we're to reflect the kindness of God,

but also we need to realize and see the kindness that God has shown to you and that God has shown to me.

So I would encourage you to reflect on that at some point today.

How has God's kindness showed up in your life?

There's a couple of things that we see and understand also is this, that God's kindness is not limited.

We should never put limits on God because God's not limited by anything.

And one of those things we see is the fact that God's kindness is not limited as well.

In Luke chapter six, verses 34 and 35, we read these words.

And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you?

Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount, but love your enemies and do good and lend expecting nothing in return.

And your reward will be great and you will be sons of the most high.

For he, God, is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Have you ever thought about that?

You know, we think about God's kindness, God's love.

We think about God's kindness would be shown to those that love God back.

We think that God would show kindness to those who also shown kindness.

But according to what we read here in Luke, we see and we understand that God shows his kindness to the ungrateful and to the evil, those who are evil.

See, his kindness is not limited by who.

It doesn't matter who you are.

It doesn't matter where we come from, what our background, none of that matters to God.

His kindness is not limited.

That should cause you and I to think about our personal kindness then.

Are we limited?

And sometimes we are, aren't we?

We're limited by what others do for us, whether or not we show kindness.

We're limited by the interaction we would have somebody on whether or not we show kindness.

But according to God's word, God is not limited by his kindness.

So when you and I are to reflect the kindness of God, you know, it's not natural for us to do that.

Maybe I shouldn't say us.

It's not natural for me at times to show kindness.

What about you?

Is it natural?

I think we can look in our world and we can look in our society that kindness is not natural, especially when we're in this mode of, I got to get out ahead.

I've got to get in front of, and sometimes we do things and aren't really what we need to be doing as people in general, let alone a follower of Christ.

See, God calls you and I to reflect his kindness.

And even in the moments where it doesn't seem natural, we're called to do that.

You see, kindness is a requirement.

Look at Micah chapter six, verse eight.

He has told you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require?

What does the Lord require?

Of you, but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.

To do justice, to love kindness, to walk humbly with your God.

To love kindness.

That doesn't mean, you know, I just love kindness and I'm going to be good with it.

That means I love kindness to the point where it pushes me to do.

Kindness causes me to do something with my life in reflection to somebody else's need.

To love kindness is a requirement as we see there in scripture.

But another thing that we see in God's word related kindness is that you and I are to put on kindness.

Think about that.

We're to put on kindness.

In Colossians 3 verses 12 through 13, we read these words, put on then, plain and simple, 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.

Put on then kindness.

It's like you put it on, like you're putting a piece of clothing on and it stays on.

If you remember, we talk about, you've read this about the armor of God where you put on the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness.

You're putting on the whole uniform of God.

And the idea behind that is once you put it on, you leave it on, you never take it off.

We can look at that here is that once we put it on, we leave it on.

We're to put on kindness.

Who do you spend the most time with?

Think about that for a moment.

I kind of went off on that path a little bit this week.

How much, where do I spend all my time?

You know, seven, eight hours of sleep, eight hours of working here at the church.

Then I've got another eight hours.

What do I do with that eight hours?

You know, I'm all the time coming in contact with people, right?

You go to the grocery store.

You go to a department store.

You go to a restaurant.

You go to all these different places.

So there's encounters that you're having with all this other time.

Your family needs your kindness.

Your coworkers need your kindness.

Your friends need your kindness.

Your neighbors need your kindness.

And the everyday passerby needs your kindness.

You know, sometimes we forget about our family, though.

A lot of times they don't get our kindness.

They get the blunt end of our day.

Or they get the blunt end of our last confrontation that we had or encounter.

I've got a good friend here at the church that told me one time, sometimes when he comes home from work, he has to park in his driveway and give it several moments, depending on his day, to allow his day to flow in and out.

Before he goes inside.

Not a bad practice.

Because why would we unload and not show kindness to our family just because of the day that we encountered, right?

God calls us to put on kindness and to show it to everybody, not limited by just our family, not limited.

You know, we try to put them on maybe the good face in our work environment because we want to make an impression or we want to do what's right.

And then when we get home, we let down our guard.

No, we are to show kindness everywhere.

It could be a word of encouragement spoken.

It's amazing just the power of encouragement and kindness, what that does.

It could be a word of thanksgiving.

Thanking somebody simply for something that they do, whether it be a restaurant, whether it be your kids, whether it even be your spouse.

When's the last time your spouse, and I'm not saying just the wife or just the husband, whoever happens to do the meal that day.

When's the last time you said, hey, thanks for that meal?

Because they took time to think about it.

They took time to prepare it, right?

When's the last time you maybe thanked your kid for probably even doing something you had to tell them to do, but you at least said thanks for doing that?

A word of appreciation expressed.

A smile reflected at a checkout.

Now, that's still, in my mind, I'm writing like a research paper, like some type of doctoral, whatever.

I'm not working on a doctorate by no means, but anyways, that sounded good at the moment.

On the encounters that I have when I go through a line at like Target or Walmart or Lowe's, and I see what kind of reaction I can get out of the person at the cash register when I simply respond, have a great day as well.

You know, because most of them are trained to say, you know, have a good day.

Our son's been working at Chick-fil-A, and their response is, my pleasure.

Well, most, he's said it so many times, if you ask them something or say something, my pleasure.

You know, it's just ingrained.

Maybe that's what, you know, we need to do, right, as believers to the point where it's ingrained, right?

But to see what the reaction is when I simply say, thank you, have a great day, I challenge you to practice that.

In your mind of the hustle and bustle, get through that checkout as fast as you can, especially if you walk up to the counters,

and it looks like somebody forgot to tell people they need to be at the cash registers, right?

Even all the self-checkouts are all backed up, and so you're trying to get through, and take a moment, that one second, just to say some type of interaction.

You'll be amazed.

I'm telling you, it happened again the other day, coming through KJs.

I said, I hope you have a great day, and it, like, it shocked this young lady that I even said just that simple phrase.

What about a door held open for somebody?

Don't forget, the simple expressions of kindness go such a long way.

How can you show the kindness of the Lord this week?

Another thing that we see is this, allow for interruption so that kindness has an opportunity to show up.

That was hard for me to even type that into my notes after I had read it, but I thought,

yep, so, so true.

Allow for interruption so that kindness has an opportunity.

Some of you in here know me.

I'm a list kind of guy.

You know, I check things up.

My family will kind of tell you that.

I mean, if I get an agenda in my head, man, I want to stick with it.

And for an interruption to happen, oh, just to say that and think about it, man, it just hurts, you know?

But that's what happens.

Because interruptions come because a lot of times somebody has a need.

And as a believer in Christ, you and I are to respond to that need.

It's that opportunity to show kindness.

I look at this as like that's that upper level of kindness because it's quick and easy for me to say, have a great day, right?

But it's not quick and easy for me to go to my fence when I'm in the backyard working and trying to accomplish my list of what's in the backyard to get done.

And my neighbor walks by and walks up to the fence.

I'm not talking about just walking by and doing what they're doing.

But they walk by and they stop at the fence.

Dave, that's time to engage.

You know, they're wanting to have a conversation about something, right?

And that means I got to put that on pause.

It's that moment where you realize that you've got to stop what you're doing to meet the need.

You know, that could have been just a simple need of they got something to say because they need somebody to listen.

So just listen.

You see, when we look at Scripture, especially when we look at the New Testament, we see Jesus' interaction.

We see how much Jesus was interrupted, wasn't he?

Think about that for a moment.

How many encounters that Jesus had were interruptions?

You see, he listened, he healed, he engaged with whatever the need called for.

In Mark chapter 2, as soon as I start talking about this, you'll remember it.

You had four men who took another man who was paralyzed.

And because it was so crowded in his house where Jesus was teaching and preaching that they said,

Hey, this is a good idea.

Let's go up on the roof.

Let's rip open the roof of this house.

And let's lower our friend in.

That's the last thought I would have, right?

But that's what they did.

Can you imagine Jesus is standing there teaching and stuff starts falling down?

You know, Jesus could have said, Yo, I'm in the midst of preaching.

Y'all guys need to stop.

We'll get to you later.

And apparently it kept happening, right?

Lowered the man down, lowered him right in front of Jesus.

And Jesus stopped what he was doing.

He stopped the preaching and teaching.

And in that moment, in that interruption, he looked at that man and he healed that man in that moment.

We don't see that he blessed those guys out, that he did anything without the man there,

other than stopped what he was doing, allowed the interruption, and healed.

And then Mark chapter 5, Jesus is walking through the crowds.

It's one of those hilarious kind of passages of Scripture when you read it.

When Jesus is walking through the crowds with his disciples, and he feels something tugged at his robe.

I'm like, oh, great day.

Anybody could have done that.

You know, you walk through a crowd, you're getting bumped and stuff, but he feels it.

And Scripture says he felt power leave him because of that.

And he says, this is the funny part.

And he says to his disciples, find out who just did this.

And the disciples look at him and they kind of go,

you want us to find out who just tugged at your robe in this crowd?

That's their response, you know.

And to me, I'm like, that's funny.

That's funny because that might be my response too.

And Jesus says, yes.

Find out who did that.

In this very moment, we're going to stop and we're going to find out who tugged at my robe.

And he finds that it was a woman who wanted to be healed.

And she knew if she could just get close enough to Jesus to pull at his robe, that she would be healed.

And she was.

Jesus allowed for that interruption to take place.

Here's what you and I are.

Here's what I've discovered that I need to do.

Don't squash the interruptions.

There may be a tendency just to say, I ain't got time for this.

Don't squash the promptings to be kind.

Maybe it is that God is prompting you to be kind, to interact, to engage.

Where there is an opportunity to be God's vessel of kindness, you can be guaranteed that there is Satan giving you reasons why not to.

I'm too busy today.

I've got an appointment I've got to get to.

I've got this, this, this, and this.

Satan's going to whisper in your ear all the reasons on why not to.

God's prompting your heart to respond to the interruption.

Do it.

Fanny and I went and saw Top Gun Maverick the other night.

And there's a line in the movie.

And he said, and Tom Cruise says, and it gets said back to him at the end of the movie.

I'm not spoiling.

It's just one of the lines.

Shouldn't spoil the movie for you.

But he says in the movie, don't think, just do.

Don't think, just do.

I was at Chick-fil-A the other day having lunch with Trish.

And one of the servers came out from on the counter, you know, trying to carry a bunch of stuff.

And just one of the items on the tray just falls off the tray.

And out of the corner of my eye, this lady just responded.

I mean, man, it's like somebody shot her.

She responded so quick.

There's times in our lives we don't need to think about it.

We just need to respond to what God has placed in front of us.

And allow for those interruptions to happen in our life.

But, you know, there's something that we see in God's word that shows us that you and I, when we engage, when we allow the spirit of God to work in and through us, we get benefits from that.

Proverbs 11, 17 says, a man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.

A man who is kind benefits himself.

When you and I start practicing kindness, our family, our friends, our coworkers, our neighbors, you're going to see the repercussions of that in a wonderful, wonderful way.

Maybe you've got a relationship that's not so great right now.

You start showing kindness to that person.

Even when it's the hardest thing to do, I guarantee you, God will start working on that relationship, not just with them, but with you, more importantly.

You see, when you and I engage in kindness, it affects us.

And it also deepens our relationship with God.

Proverbs 21, 21 says these words.

Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.

You see, what is being said here about this life is not the life of talking about, man, you're just soaking it all up.

You're getting everything you want.

It's not that whatsoever.

The life that this Proverbs is talking about, the life and the purpose that is found in God, where we get real purpose, where we get true understanding about life.

When we pursue righteousness and kindness, we find life that can only be found in relationship with God.

In Romans 2, verses 3 through 4.

Do you suppose, O man, you who judge those who practice such things, and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?

Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

See, one of the things that God does in your life and in my life when we are exercising His kindness, when we see God's kindness, is it leads us to repentance.

We realize in those moments that it's because of who God is that I'm even able to do an act of kindness.

And it reminds me of who God is and who I am.

In that moment, it reminds me of my sin and God's holiness.

And it reminds me that I need to seek after the forgiveness and the repentance of the Lord, to make those changes in my life that represent who He is.

Repentance causes me to change the things that don't look like God in my life, to change the things that look like who God is.

The fruit of the Spirit.

When you and I experience the kindness of God, all His qualities that we read throughout Scripture begin to flow in and through our lives.

There's a well-known theologian, John Stott.

It said that every morning he prayed this prayer.

Every morning, same prayer, over and over.

Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in Your presence and please You more and more.

Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow You.

Holy Spirit, I pray that this day You will fill me with Yourself and cause Your fruit to ripen in my life.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Would you join me in prayer?

Lord, just thank You for Your Word.

Your Word is living.

Your Word is active.

And Lord, it penetrates our heart and our mind and our spirit and it shows us who we need to be.

Lord, if kindness is a struggle to display in our life, I pray for Your Spirit that You will empower us and strengthen us and push us to let kindness show.

Father, so many people in our lives just need to see a simple act of kindness.

And maybe some people in our lives need to see an extraordinary act of kindness.

But Lord, You know what it is that they need and You know what it is that You need from us.

So Lord, help us just to be in tune with You and what You desire in our life.

Lord, may we be about living out the fruit of Your Spirit.

So that all those that we come in contact in this world that is so broken and so desperately wants hope and so desperately needs You,

needs Your love, Your forgiveness, Your mercy, Your grace.

Lord, we can be that vessel to show them.

Lord, thank You so much for loving us.

We ask this prayer in Your name.

Amen.

Thanks again for listening to the Willow Ridge Church Weekly Podcast.

We hope that you enjoyed listening to this week's message.

If you'd like to learn more about who we are or explore additional resources,

visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com

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