His Loving-Kindness by Debra Driggs April 14, 2019 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN) Kind: teaching Scripture: Titus 3:3-7, Matthew 23, Ephesians 4, Romans 2:4 Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/debra-driggs--his-loving-kindness Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page. Free to copy and share with attribution. ------------------------------------------------------------ My name is — good morning. My name is Debra dregs, and welcome to day 13 of this 21 day devotional, Restart Your Heart, with the Pentecostals of Murphysboro. I'm glad that you could join us this morning. I'm sorry for the short delay; I had some technical difficulties. Each day someone new will be walking us through the 1-day devotionals. I encourage you to go back and review the ones that you maybe have missed so far. This morning we're looking at "His Loving-Kindness." Titus 3, 3 through 7, sets the foundation for this devotional. The passage describes us all as once being foolish, disobedient, deceived, hateful, and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God appears in our lives, change begins. I'm so thankful that God's loving kindness towards us comes not by our works or by our righteousness, but because of his mercy in His grace. When God's loving kindness consumes us, we become empowered above this human condition described in Titus 3. The author highlights two differing responses from our encounter with the loving kindness of Christ: religion, contrasted with relationship. Religion is said to be based on rules and regulations that often bring about guilt in condemnation in others. Religion is depicted in Matthew 23, when the scribes and the Pharisees of the day are called hypocrites and blind guides that strain it in that and swallow and a camel. Relationship, on the other hand, enables an individual to see imperfections and failures, and then to take a step back and apply God's grace, mercy, and loving-kindness. To see one described in Titus 3 as justified by his grace, heirs according to the hope of eternal life — such a contrast in the description of the individual there. And we're admonished in Ephesians 4 to be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as — as God in Christ forgave us. And according to Roman's, to God's kindness leads us to repentance. That suggests to me that through our demonstration of his loving kindness to others, we may become a bridge that leads others to repentance and into relationship with God. So I asked us this morning: how is the loving kindness of God being manifested through us? Our devotional references the forgiveness test, and it places — it places the forgiveness test on a continuum. This continuum would suggest that mastering loving-kindness, and even forgiveness, is a process. Perhaps at the left of the continuum, it could be represented as a newly established relationship with Christ and coming into the church. At that point, we have a ways to go. We're still a work in progress. We're moving along that continuum — away from the human condition described in Titus 3, away from just religion, if you will — toward relationship. Through deeper relationship with God, we become a quit to be kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving to ourselves and to those around us. Forgiveness and being tender-hearted is — is something we need to give ourselves, as well as others. We establish relationship with God through pursuing him and experiencing his loving - towards us. We keep praying. We keep loving. We keep asking God for healing in those areas within us that have been wounded by life and by others. We keep forgiving and asking God to help us love others like he loves. We're moving on that continuum toward deeper relationship and toward his loving-kindness, which is going to change us. Through relationship with him, the shame, the hurt, unforgiveness that we feel, will be covered and changed by his loving-kindness, His grace, and His mercy. He creates something beautiful, inside and out. At that point, we're empowered through his loving kindness, His grace and mercy, to pour into others in a similar way as Christ has poured into us. But it all begins with relationship. I challenge you today to pursue relationship with him. Allow his loving kindness to saturate you and change you today. Then take that beautiful you and extend that loving kindness to those that are around you. Let's pray. Lord, I thank you for this beautiful rainy Saturday morning. I thank you, Lord, for the technical difficulties that I experienced trying to log in this morning. God, I lift you up. I thank you, Lord, for your loving-kindness, for your grace and your mercy, Lord, that is not judgmental or harsh — the God that extends love and compassion to me, into your children, every day. I pray, Lord, as we move along this continuum of moving into relationship with you, God will never settle for just religion, but God, we will pursue deep, lasting relationship with you, that will change us. They'll change our hearts in God, that will empower us to love like you, and to be a bridge, God, to relationship with others — to you. Help us, Lord, today, as we go about our day. Help us to be like you, and to remember your loving-kindness. In Jesus' name. Thank you for joining me for day 13 of "His Loving-Kindness." Take some time today to read the devotional for yourself if you have it already, and join us live again tomorrow at 7 a.m. with day 14, "Blessed Are the Peacemakers." Have a blessed day.