“The Patience and Kindness of Jesus”
Series: Winning the War Within: Fruit of the Spirit
Sunday, March 22, 2009; Galatians 5:22-23, 2 Corinthians 6:3-7

Introduction: As I walk out to start the sermon, say “Excuse me, but I think I forgot my sermon in my office.” (Then walk into my office with my microphone still on pretending to search for sermon, making little comments to myself).
Many of you are probably wondering how I could forget my sermon. How could I just leave you waiting? I did that as a test, to make a point. Most people have trouble waiting. Maybe you get stuck in traffic, or in a long line at the bank. And we have to wait. In our waiting we become impatient. Our goal today is to see how Jesus exhibited patience and kindness so that we can in turn build up these fruit in our own lives.

I. The Virtue of Being Patient- (Luke 8:40-48)
a. Rushing- We live in a society that is fast moving. Because of this
we too have busy and hectic lives. We rarely stop for anything. And if anything stops us prematurely, we can become very annoyed, or even angry. But most of the time we are oblivious to much that goes on around us. Check out this video clip… (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myq8upzJDJc; 2:52).
The backstory to this is that a Washington Post writer did an unofficial sociological study where he wondered if morning subway commuters would take time to listen to a world-class violinist or if they would rush by. As you saw, the majority of people, even though they were hearing a world-class violinist play for them for free, didn’t even bother to slow down to hear him.
Too often in life, we don’t slow down. And if we do have to slow down, we get frustrated, because we are so used to a fast paced life. But in our fast pace, we tune out the voice of the Spirit; we pass by the beautiful things of life; we miss much of what God has for us to see and do.
b. Slowing down- In Luke 8:40-48 we see a wonderful story about
slowing down and being available to the opportunities God gives to us… “Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.’ 46But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.’ 47Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48Then he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’”
Here we see Jesus is very busy: a crowd was all around Him, welcoming Him and trying to listen to Him, and follow Him. Then Jairus, a influential man, a ruler of the synagogue gets Jesus’ attention and asks Him to help his dying daughter. At this point Jesus would want to rush to her aid; right? But something else is happening; a woman, who has been sick, bleeding for 12 years, has faith that all she has to do is touch Jesus, and she will be healed. She fights her way through the crowd, pushes forward, determined to touch Jesus. She is close, but still can’t reach, so she pushes harder against the crowd. Finally, she gets close enough to just barely touch the edge of Jesus’ cloak; and immediately she is healed.
First of all, it is amazing that Jesus even realized that she touched Him, because everyone was pushing in on Him and touching Him. But this was a different kind of touch. Jesus felt the power go from Him to the woman. Second, Jesus could have ignored the whole incident. The woman was healed, why make a deal out of it? Besides, Jesus was in a hurry to go help the dying girl.
Why did Jesus stop and have this encounter with the woman? Jesus understands that without slowing down, without patience for interruptions, we miss the importance of life; we let too much go by us. Jesus also knew that by stopping and connecting with the woman, she would have more than physical healing, more than just a strong body, she would have a strong faith as well! And Jesus affirms her in this when He tells her: “..your faith has healed you..”
How do you respond when you have interruptions? What happens when you find yourself having to wait? I know that I often get frustrated. It might not always be visible, but I feel it inside. This is not an effective way to live. This is not a realistic way to live. Life is going to make us wait. Life is going to have interruptions. We can’t be so stuck on our own agenda that we miss opportunities to be available to others. We must learn how to be patient if we are going to fulfill our call in life: love God, and love each other.

II. The Act of Kindness- (2 Corinthians 6:3-7; John 21:15-17; Leviticus
19:33-34; Proverbs 14:21; Romans 12:15; Galatians 6:1-3)
a. The challenge- Kindness is the act or the state of being kind and
marked by charitable behavior, pleasantness, and concern for others. Kindness is considered to be one of the Knightly virtues and found in the medieval code of honor, and is recognized and valued in many cultures and religions. Actually, patience leads to kindness. You cannot be kind to another, you will not have a pleasant disposition, if you are not patient with people.
The apostle Paul challenges us with these words from 2 Corinthians 6:3-7, “We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left.” In this passage, Paul is talking about the importance of living out his calling for Jesus. He didn’t want to be a stumbling block to anyone in keeping them from Jesus. And part of the behavior he needed to model was patience and kindness.
In the midst of the challenges and struggles of dealing with people, we are going to face difficult situations, and difficult people. But in the midst of that, we still need to find a way to be kind. Paul could do this when he allowed himself to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and the Fruit of the Spirit, and not by his own sinful behavior. And so for us to do this, we must let ourselves overcome our sinful behavior, thinking, and responses, and follow the Spirit’s leading.
Jesus also gives us direction in caring for others in John 21:15-17, “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’ 16 Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ 17 The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ Peter said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.’”
There are a couple of observations that I want to make here. First, this encounter shows us the patience and kindness of Jesus. Even though Peter had denied Jesus three times after Jesus was arrested, Jesus wanted Peter to know that He still believed in Peter. This is why Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves Him, to let Peter know 3 times that Jesus had a call for Peter. Jesus wanted Peter to know that he was still going to be the rock, the foundation of the Christian mission. Second, Jesus wants Peter to display kindness to all people. This is why Jesus uses the metaphor of sheep; a shepherd is always kind to his sheep, even when they are stubborn or stray away. And we too need to be kind to those around us when we love them for Jesus.
b. The reward- Story: (Stories for the Heart, p. 15, “The Day Philip
Joined the Group.”) There is a story about a Sunday school class of 8-year-olds, who one day had a boy named Philip join their class. He was different than the rest, not only because he was older, he was 9, but because he had Down’s Syndrome. Because of this Philip looked a little different, and was slower in his responses. One day the teacher gave the students an assignment; to go out and fill a plastic egg with something that resembled “new life.” So out the children went to see what they could find. When they returned, their eggs were to be opened and each child would describe their symbol of new life. One by one the eggs were opened: a seed, representing the new life that would come from the seed; a flower, which was full and alive; and on and on the teacher went opening the eggs. But then the teacher opened an egg that had nothing in it, the teacher wondered for a moment if it was a mistake, so she started to put the egg to the side. Just then Philip tugged on her shirt and said: “That’s mine.” At this all the kids laughed, and said some mean things about Philip thinking that he didn’t understand what he was supposed to do. But then Philip spoke up: “I left it empty because the tomb is empty; I have new life because the tomb is empty!” At this the room fell silent as the kids thought about what Philip had just said. From that day on the kids were kind toward Philip and treated him like everyone else.
Why do kids have to be so cruel? More importantly, why do we have to be so unkind to others? Just because they are different? Just because they do think like we do? Because they are slower or haven’t learned how to love?
Let me read for you a few ways the Bible tells us to be kind:
Leviticus 19:33-34, “When foreigners reside among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigners residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” We are to show kindness to strangers.
Proverbs 14:21- “It is a sin to despise one's neighbor, but blessed are those who are kind to the needy.” We are to be kind to the poor and needy.
Romans 12:15- “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” We are to be kind to those who are happy, and those who are sad.
Galatians 6:1-3, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” We are to be kind to those who have fallen in sin, and those who are burdened…. These are just a few of the many ways we are called to be kind.
And when we are kind, we will touch people’s lives in a deep way. And we will feel so much better about ourselves, because we will know that we are living the way God has called us to live!

Conclusion: In 1 Corinthians 13:4, the passage on love, it starts out “Love is patient, love is kind…” In 1 John 4 we are told that God is love. If we are to be anything like God, we need to love like God loves, and to do this we have to have patience and kindness in the way that we respond to others. Without patience we will lose track of the meaning and purpose of life. Without kindness we will be hardened to the world and lost in ourselves. And in the end we will fail to enjoy this life that God has given to us.
Even though these fruit are hard to live out, they are worthwhile; they are worth the effort. So where do you need to be more patient? Whether it is in one area, or every area, let God fill you with His Spirit and lead you to become a more patient person. To whom do you need to be more kind? Make a list, either physical or mental, and begin to pray that the Holy Spirit would help you to take the steps towards being kind. Let us give ourselves over to patience and kindness, and we will see a transformation in our own lives, and in the lives of those around us. Amen.