Kindness
PSALM 36:7-10
7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
(There is a pleasure in nature and the things of God that will satisfy the human heart like no other worldly pleaser could ever do – what the world call pleasure is a very poor and inadequate substitute for what God designed to satisfy the human heart)
9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
10 O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
Kindness
Previous two services we have done word studies in the light of the scriptures and message of the hour on – Patience, Trust, and now this week “Kindness”.
Lovingkindness = Hebrew word “checed” {kheh'-sed} = goodness, kindness, faithfulness
PSALM 63:1-3
1 ¶ A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
3 ¶ Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
What is better than life? Nothing is better than life, so there must be two kinds of life.
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E-17 And when I heard David here say, "Thy lovingkindness is better to me than life," then thinking that nothing could be any better than life, there must be another definition, or there must two different kinds of life.
And there is two kinds of life. There's life that leads to destruction, and there's life that leads to everlasting.
E-18 And this life that people think that's life, the devil has perverted the real genuine life and making you think that you're really living when you're not. He tries to make you think that to have plenty of good clothes, to own a nice automobile, have the taxes paid up on your place, you're living. But you're not. That's where America is deceived today.
And some people think because they're having life, they're out riding, revelling around. That's not life; that's death.
…But that kind of life leads to a place to where man wants to gets rid of that type of life; they take a pistol and blow their brains out. So David couldn't have been speaking about that kind of life. It gets so miserable until people jump off of bridges. They take poison to end that life. So David could not been speaking of that type of life.
- He then goes on to tell the story of when he meets these two young ladies that were drunk in a motel hallway that thought they were having fun, but in reality they were living but they were also dead at the same time.
I TIMOTHY 5:6
6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
Pleasure = to give one's self to pleasure, this is talking about perverted pleasure - to have pleasure in things that are contrary to the word, by trying to satisfy the thirst of God in the human soul by the perverted pleasures of the world.
II TIMOTHY 3:1-4
1 ¶ This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Opening scripture:
PSALM 36:7-10
7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
When we think of the word “Kindness” we think of such things as someone being nice to you, and of gentleness and goodness and faithfulness and mercy, of which these things are all the attributes of what God’s very nature is.
**Kindness has a natural effect of causing love to be generated toward the person who is being kind to you. Almost all animals will respond very positively to kindness. Kindness is something that is understood by all life, all cultures and the animal kingdom alike.
I JOHN 4:19
19 We love him, because he first loved us.
Because of the kindness of God shown to us because of his great love for us, it should cause us to love him in return, if it does not, then it is because you are ignorant of his love, or you are not acting normal in your response to someone who is being kind to you.
ROMANS 2:4
4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness (kindness) of God leadeth thee to repentance?
**PSALM 107:43
43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
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II PETER 1:5
5 ¶ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
Notice that Kindness is placed just before love because kindness and love are connected together.
EPHESIANS 4:29-32
29 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.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: (these things are all the opposite to kindness)
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
***This is the culture that is to be amongst the believers.
PROVERBS 31:24-26 (Proverbs 31 is describing a woman in her correct position)
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
MICAH 6:8
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy (Kindness), and to walk humbly with thy God?
PROVERBS 11:17
17 ¶ The merciful (Kind) man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.
***Love is expressed in kindness – “Thy Lovingkindness” (God’s character of Kindness toward us expresses His great love) is better than any life of living in the pleasure of this world that is contrary to the word.
I CORINTHIANS 13:4a
4 ¶ Charity suffereth long, and is kind;
As works is faith expressed, so is kindness Love expressed. Kindness is the outworking of love - “Thy Lovingkindness”.
PSALM 63:3
3 ¶ Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
LUKE 6:35-36
35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
TITUS 3:3-6
3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
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25-4 Moses represented the law. The prophets represented His justice. We could not live by His law. We could not live by His justice. I don't ask justice; I want mercy, not justice. I can't keep His law, and I can't meet His justice; but I need His mercy. And God said the law and justice has been met in Him. "He's My beloved Son. Hear ye Him. That's Him; that's the One."
Now, in the Old Testament when that son was adopted or placed into the family, his name was just as good on the check as his daddy's was. Yes, sir. They didn't have a... They had a ring in them days, a--a sign, signet; and they'd spit on it [Brother Branham makes a spitting sound and hits the pulpit with his fist--Ed.], place it. That was a signet. That was just a... He wore his daddy's ring, his--his signet; and that was just as good as his daddy's. Now, when Jesus had been obedient, Jesus to God, God placed Him positionally: "This is Him."
Now, when the member is born by the Holy Ghost into the family of God and has proven to have these virtues in him, that God can see virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, and godliness in him, then God seals him or places him. And there, that's when you see the sons and daughters of God.
This is our maturity – when we can see God being reflected in man again.
**We have seen much kindness over the years in the message, and it is also unfortunate that we have also seen a lot of unkindness, and that is certainly not the character of Christ that is being reflected. People may be saved and even have a revelation of the revealed word of this hour, but they need to go on into a maturity of where the attributes of God are being reflected through them because that is when we become positionally placed sons.
PSALM 103:2-4
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;