Kindness and Gentleness

Good afternoon, brethren. I'm very pleased to be here. I don't think I need to speak for the students. They're very glad to have this opportunity to serve in these roles, but I'm very glad for them to have that opportunity. And I thank our students for the special music. I wonder if anybody's tuning in from down under, considering three of them were Australian. So if you're in the middle of the night—is it the middle of the night in Australia? It's the other side of the world. Who knows when it is? But we're thrilled to have the young adult Australians that are here and obviously all of our students. This is a special time, and I don't mind sharing. I think I've got the best job in the United Church of God. I'd say that, although I don't like to say it too much among some of the other ministers, they might think it'd be a good job for them to have. Although I was corrected, I said this at the Feast of Tabernacles this last year, and later during the feast, Troy Phelps got up and said, Dunkle doesn't have the best job. He said, I have the best job. So we considered doing an arm wrestling contest to see, but he'd beat me anyways. I should say none of this has anything to do with my sermon, so you'll have to bear with me as I warm up into it. I will apologize a little for my voice. Actually, I'm thrilled. I sound more like myself than I have all week. Like many in the area, ABC had a wave of sickness come through. It's been a couple weeks ago, but at one point we had half the student body out sick at once, and then I came down with whatever it was and was down for a while, and my health came back, but my voice didn't quite. But it's getting there. The students bounced back like that because they're young and resilient. That's one thing about ABC students is they bounce. I'm glad you chuckled at that. I just made it up off the cuff. Before I get into more trouble, let's talk about what I came here for. Of course, we're God's people that he called out of this world. We're Christians. I think it's safe to say, ultimately, we want to be in God's family. We want to be in the kingdom of God. We understand that Christ's sacrifice is the center of that. It's impossible for us to enter God's family without his sacrifice paying for our sins. But we also understand that we need to make an effort. We need to make our calling and election sure. It makes sense for us to focus on anything in God's word that tells us how to do that. The Apostle Peter gave us some instruction on that. You can begin turning to 2 Peter, if you will. Peter wrote on that. I want to focus on what he said, and then especially on one particular aspect. One element of what he wrote on that. I'd like to acknowledge early on that I was largely inspired on this subject two or three or four weeks ago when Mr. Antion gave a sermon on one of the fruits of the spirit. It sort of moved me to want to address a different one. Let's pick up in 2 Peter 1.

Yes, the 2 Peter. Starting in verse 10, where he says, I'd sure like to never stumble. Let's continue in verse 11.

So it doesn't say we'll make that entrance. The entrance will be supplied to us. And I want that. So it certainly seems that I should pay close attention to these things that he mentioned. If you do these things, you'll never stumble. What things? Are there steps for how to make my calling and election sure? Let's back up a little bit. A few verses earlier in verse 8. Peter writes here, Again, these things. Well, it's not a mystery. The answer comes in the previous verses.

So let's begin in verse 5. I've read, I've heard some Bible scholars call this spiritual ladder of virtue. That's kind of a nifty name for it. I'm partial to Mr. Antion's description. I've heard him call it a spiritual life insurance policy. Because it makes your calling and election sure. That's pretty good. So starting in verse 5, Peter writes, Wow! Who could argue against that? Those are some pretty good traits. No wonder Peter said, if these are in you and abound, you'll never stumble.

I wonder, did any of you notice that several of these overlap with what Paul described as the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter 5? Galatians 5 verses 22 and 23, I won't turn, but I've gotten an habit of rattling them off pretty quickly and then lose the last few.

So I wrote them down. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And every one of these are worthy of deep, intense study. We could give not only a sermon on each, but I'm sure several. But I want to focus today on particularly kindness. Kindness and then also its partner, gentleness. I consider them together because they are pretty closely related.

So much so that in older times, translators seem to have some difficulty with how exactly to render those. So I'll just mention, if you happen to have an older King James Bible, if you look at that word, where the Old King James says meekness, the New King James translates it gentleness. Where the Old King James says gentleness, the New King James says kindness. And we see these coming together, and I'll add along with meekness. Meekness, gentleness, kindness. They're interrelated, similar traits that as Christians we must have. They're fruit of the spirit. They reflect God's personality in many ways. Now, I'm being a little academic here, but it's ABC Day. So I will note, in some places in the New Testament, the Greek word, I think the pronunciation is prau.

It's transliterated as p-r-a-u. So I'm going to say prau. In some places it's translated gentleness. In other places, kindness. There's a similar Greek word that adds to it. It's prautes, which is almost always translated meekness, humility. Prautes could be translated to mean teachable. Someone who's willing to be corrected, willing to learn, I'd call it pretty much the opposite of being a know-it-all. Rather, it's someone who's more willing and ready to listen than to speak. That brings to mind something for me, as I said with my voice. Often, it's funny, there was an online meeting this week where Len Martin was joining. As soon as you heard me say something, he said, Frank, you've got your camp voice.

He told everyone else on the meeting, if you ever go to Camp Catubic by Wednesday, this is how Frank sounds a lot of times. I've been working in recent years to try to keep my voice by saying, Frank, listen more, talk less.

If you listen more and talk less, it's amazing how much more your voice will last. Being meek is someone who is willing to listen. Now, if Prau or kind is a partner with meek, in our society today, a lot of people want to shy away from that because it's considered a weakness to be meek. You're just a pushover, you can't do anything. I think as Christians and people of this book, we know better, a person can be gentle while having great strength.

As I remember hearing many times when I was in college, meek does not equal weak. It's not the same. And so a person can be gentle and show great strength. And kindness and gentleness go together. They're Christian traits. And as such, if they're fruit of the Spirit, certainly they come from having God's Spirit in us. Peter wrote this, you're still there in Peter, among the things he said that we must do to make our calling and election sure, was brotherly kindness.

Brotherly kindness is something we do. I want to emphasize the do part of that. We shouldn't think that because kindness is a fruit of the Spirit, it just automatically happens. That it'll develop with little or no effort in our part. Now, Paul wrote some points to encourage us, I would say, to consciously choose to be kind. I want to visit a few scriptures here. If you'll start joining me in Ephesians 4.

Ephesians 4 will start with verses 1 and 2. And amazingly, I turned right there. Ephesians 4, beginning in verse 1, Paul writes, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling in which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering bearing with one another in love. Notice it's bearing with one another. We have to deal with one another as Christians, but in this way, with long suffering, lowliness, gentleness.

And I would say, with kindness. It's going to take that effort. If you'll turn now to Colossians chapter 3. Colossians 3, picking up in verse 12.

It's funny, in the class when we're in here, I stop talking, I stop and say, wow, it's so quiet in here. But that's okay, I expect that during Sabbath services. Colossians 3, verse 12, Paul writes, Therefore, as the elect of God, that's us, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

But backing up to where this started, Paul said to put this on. Something we put on is something we do intentionally. Not accidentally, not that it just happened. There is a choice to be made. So, look, one more time with Paul, I want to go back up to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 4. We'll read verse 21.

1 Corinthians 4 and verse 21. We'll see the Apostle Paul having a choice and explaining that clearly to the congregation of Corinth. As you know, if you've spent much time in that, Paul wrote to correct the Corinthian congregation in several points. So that reminds us, correction can be done with gentleness and meekness, but it can be there. Paul addresses this, sorry, I lost my point.

In 1 Corinthians 4 verse 21, he tells them, What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod or in love and a spirit of gentleness? Paul is saying, I can come with a rod. I've got the option of strength and authority. But he also, I think he's showing, he's motivated by kindness, gentleness, and love. And I stop and think, that should be me. I should be motivated by gentleness or kindness and love. I say I should be because too often I look in the mirror and I say, Well, Frank, you're not the way you should be.

Let me make a reference to a couple of definitions. I'm not using these terms. I consulted my 20-pound dictionary, which if you've been attending here very long, you know, is only really an 8-1 by 2-pound dictionary. That's not mine, it's Sue's. I borrowed from her. But I got a Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. It defines kind as, of a good or benevolent nature or disposition. Good, benevolent nature, disposition, indulgent, considerate. Considerate part, I think, is very important. Webster's defined gentle as kindly amiable, and so on in that way. And then within the lengthy definitions, because, you know, there's a lot of definition in a 20-pound dictionary, it further explains this.

It says, gentleness has a reference to disposition and favor, and often suggests deliberate and voluntary kindness or forbearance in dealing with others. I was surprised to see that in the dictionary, but it sure fit with the point I was trying to make in this message, that, you know, kindness can be deliberate and voluntary.

As Paul said, do you want me to come with a rod? Or with kindness? Gentleness? I've got a couple quotes I wanted to share with you at this point. Samuel Johnson, the famous author, he said this, Kindness is in our power even when fondness is not. So sometimes it's hard to control your emotions to be fond of someone, but we can always be kind. That's within our power. And let me add to that a statement from President Franklin Roosevelt. And I'm not sure when exactly he said this, but he said, Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people.

A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough. And he led a nation that fought a vicious war and tried to free the world and had to be tough. But I'm glad that the United States made an effort to not be cruel at that point. Well, I've been saying a lot of things about this concept and being deliberate in it, but still you might be wondering, how in particular can we be kind? What do you do or not do? I doubt you'll be surprised when I tell you there's not a specific list somewhere in the Bible that says, This is kind, this is kind, this isn't.

It's not there because people aren't all the same. Each of us is unique. But there is a really good guide on how to be kind. And I'm making this connection. I'm going to ask you to trust me on this one, but I think you'll agree. It's in Matthew 7 and verse 12. Matthew 7 verse 12 is a very brief statement, and one I'm sure you're quite familiar with, at least when you hear it you'll go, Of course.

Matthew 7 and 12, Jesus Christ said, Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them. This is the law and the prophets. We call this the golden rule. And that name's justified. If everyone lived by this, how much better would the world be? What you want people to do to you, that's what you do to them. It is worth noting there are a number of other religions besides Christianity that have a sort of version of this, but they're almost all in the negative.

The way they put it is, if there's something you don't want people to do to you, don't do that to them. Okay, that goes a little ways, but you can accomplish that by not doing anything any time. And I believe that doing nothing is not a fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is outgoing towards others.

Being kind often requires doing or saying something. And it seems to me to be kind to someone else, I need to do as I would have done to me. I'm going to pause here, and I almost feel like I should apologize because we get several, a number of ABC students and ABC graduates who have heard my stories over and over again.

Sorry, guys, you'll get it again, but because I think, how literally should I take this doing to others as I would have done to me? Because I'm an early riser. I share that. Most days, I'm up by 5 a.m. And if for some reason I should miss that and oversleep, I want someone to wake me up. That falls on my wife now. Her alarm sometimes can be pretty loud. Okay, I want someone to make sure I'm up by 5.30.

So, if I'm going to do unto you as I would want done to me, that means I should get out my church directory tomorrow morning, start making some calls, right? I was hoping for more chuckles than that. How ridiculous is that, right? But the golden rule, how does it apply?

Well, the way I like to think of it is this. As I would like people to respect my particular sleep habits, so I should respect other people's sleep habits. My habits are, yeah, I want to get up early. But if I'm going to do for you what I want done for me, that is respect that habit, then maybe it'll be a kindness if I don't give you a call tomorrow morning. Yeah, I get a feeling that's true. So, as Christians, we can and we should show kindness to anybody and everybody, but it's not always going to be expressed in the same exact way because people are different.

And I think it's a kindness to have some perception of what other people will take and how they'll take it. Jesus Christ set an amazing example of this, and there's one particular instance in the Bible where I said, man, He really showed us a way to appreciate someone's differences. It's in John 11. If you want to turn there, I won't read the whole account.

But it's the story of when Jesus' friend Lazarus became sick, and he would die because Jesus didn't rush off to heal him right away. Jesus deliberately waited. He let Lazarus die of whatever sickness it was, and then he went to him because we know Jesus planned to raise him from the dead. I think not only because he wanted Lazarus to live, but this was building to a climax of where the priests and the Pharisees would determine they had to get Jesus out of the way.

Jesus was deliberate in this. But as you know, Lazarus had two sisters. I'm not going to turn there, but you can meet them in John 10, where there's an interesting little anecdote of Jesus having dinner with them, and boy, did they have different temperaments. Martha was a doer, on task. I've got to serve the food. I've got to clean up. I've got to do this. But Mary, the other sister, seems to have been more of a people person. She sat right down, and she wanted to hear Jesus' teaching. The dishes can wait. You know, fill in people's glasses.

She saw that as differently. Okay, so when Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus, Mary, and Martha lived, we'll see a difference in how he interacted with them. And amazingly, my Bible is open to Matthew 7. So I'm going to turn to John 11 and join you there, picking up in verse 20. In John 11, verse 20, says, Martha, as soon as she heard Jesus was coming, went and met him.

Mary was sitting in the house. Now, Martha said to Jesus, so she goes out and meets him outside of town and said, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, I know whatever you ask God, God will give you. But I want you to note those words, if you'd been here, my brother would not have died. And I won't read all of it, but Jesus continues and he talks with Martha. He gives her a bit of a lesson about the resurrection. You know, your brother will rise again.

Well, I know he will. And the last day, Christ says, I'm the resurrection and the life. And he discusses this. And then we can move on to how he treats the other sister. Okay, let's drop down to verse 32.

That's just what Martha said. And maybe we shouldn't be surprised. They're sisters. They have a lot in common. Same upbringing, almost the same genetics, same culture and history. So they say the same thing. But these ladies had very different personalities, different temperaments. So let's notice how Jesus reacts to Mary. Because with Martha, he gave her a little lesson and a talk. With Mary, we'll pick up in verse 33, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, he groaned in the spirit, he was troubled.

Where have you laid him? Come and see. Jesus wept. Whereas Jesus talked with Martha, and he reasoned things out, he cried with Mary. Even though they were in the same situation. But crying with Mary was the way to show a kindness to her. I'm not sure it would have been the kindness to Martha. Martha might have said, what are you blubbering about? Let's talk about this. Now, I'm guessing at that. I don't know for sure.

But Jesus wasn't being inconsistent. He was applying the lesson of the golden rule. For some people in emotional situations, it's best sometimes to talk with them. And there are some times when that talk needs to be in a pretty strong voice. Perhaps in a tone that's very firm. But that's not that way for everyone. Jesus showed, I think, that for some people the best thing to do in a certain situation is to cry with them.

Whenever I read this, I imagine Jesus giving Mary a gentle hug and just sharing the emotion with her. And that was a kindness in this situation. How do we do in this regard? Am I attentive to other people's dispositions and their personalities when I deal with them? Can I show kindness as I should? Am I willing to change my normal mannerisms to be kind to another person if my normal mannerisms might seem abrasive to that person? And I'm going to admit that's not my strength.

Part of the reason I'm writing this is to give a sermon to myself because it just doesn't come naturally to me. But I think God's Word is showing me that I should think about this. It's one of the fruits of the Spirit. It's part of that spiritual life insurance policy, the spiritual kindness. Now, I've connected kindness with the golden rule. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

And you can see I'm convinced that's a good connection. Obviously, practicing these things is a way to show godly love to other people. Kind and gentle, they go together. But Scripture does show sometimes words of love do need to be corrective. It just is. Matter of fact, let's turn to Leviticus chapter 19, where we see an element of that. Leviticus 19 verse 18. There we go. Well, the latter part of this will sound very familiar, at least. I know we're not always going to Leviticus and sermons very often, but this one's well quoted. It says, And God says, Jesus referred to this as the second great commandment.

And of course, when someone asked him, what is the greatest commandment? Of course, it was love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might. That's not here in Leviticus. That's found in Deuteronomy chapter 6. But let's note that one particular way of loving my neighbor as myself appears in the previous verse. Right here in Leviticus 19 and verse 17, it says, And of course, And of course, loving my brother and not hating him should go together.

But it says, But it says, We don't always think of loving someone and rebuking him in the same thought, am I right? Then again, maybe we do more than others because you're well versed in Scripture. And they absolutely do go together. And this verse shows us when they do, because it doesn't just say, it says, If someone I know is caught up in a sin, this is telling me I shouldn't just ignore it.

You know? There might need to be some rebuke. And rebuke seems a little harsh to me. I like to use the word correct. I might need to correct that person. Can that be done with words that are gentle and kind? I believe it can. If you want to reference, one of my favorite Scriptures is very simple. It's Proverbs 15 verse 1. It says, Someone, face it, when you get corrected, it can arouse a little bit of a wrath. I don't like being corrected. I'll bet you don't. But if it's done with a soft answer, it could be a little better.

Jesus Christ described a method that we can and should use. We usually refer to it as the Matthew 18 model. Because that's... Excuse me. I was wondering when that would happen. That's where we find it. Matthew 18 verse 15.

If you'll turn there. I was really pleased. Because it's the ABC Sabbath, I attended services this morning. And I learned that Mr. Dean referenced this passage, which I guess he did here in the afternoon last week. So I was pleasantly surprised how our messages, I think, fit together. So if you were watching last week, it wasn't planned, but maybe God had some planning for it.

Anyway, Matthew 18 verse 15. Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. And if he hears you, you've gained your brother. Now, this doesn't guarantee that he will hear. It says, if he hears you. But imagine showing the kindness of going to him yourself.

Rather than gossiping about the matter to others, going to him yourself, rather than spreading it on social media. Going yourself, you and him alone, instead of going to the pastor and expecting him to do something about your brother. No, if you in kindness go to your brother, I think that makes it much more likely that your brother will hear. Especially, notice it says, tell him his fault. Tell is different than blast or shout or rub it in.

You know, you can tell someone something, even something that's rather unpleasant, in a kind and a gentle way. It doesn't have to be with yelling, doesn't have to be with insults. You know, we can speak the truth, you know, but it doesn't have to be with sarcasm or a rough and gruff tone of voice. And again, I'm talking to myself in this. Sarcasm comes really naturally and easy for me, and sort of rubbing, rubbing something in.

But when I discuss this scripture, it always brings to mind an incident that I experienced, and it's been more than 40 years ago. So I was a fairly young man, and I had a good friend of mine, somebody I'd been friends with for years. He showed up at my house one day. I was getting ready to go to work, and you know, we actually worked together, so we were going to go.

But he showed up early, and he said he wanted to talk to me. What's going on? Well, he came to me because in recent months, I'd sort of made a new friend that I was spending a lot of time with. And I'd started adopting some of the mannerisms and some of the traits from this new friend, and they weren't all good. You know, it's just some things rubbing off on me. And so my older friend came to me, and he was nice.

He was kind, but he said, Frank, you've been acting like a bit of a jerk. And you know what? He was right. He was absolutely right. And because of the way he came to me, he came in love with the goal of reconciliation, not of getting back at me or chewing me out. He just wanted to help me see things the way he and some of my other friends saw it. And I got it. I look back on this, and I've shared this story a lot of times, because I think it's one of the nicest things any of my friends ever did to me.

Telling me I was a jerk. But he was trying to pull me back. Now, it wasn't caught up in a sin. I'm thankful, you know, I wasn't dealing drugs out the back door or anything. But you can come to someone as a brother and gently rebuke them. At least, that's exactly what he did. As I said, he corrected me, I heard, and he gained his brother. And I made some changes. Now, the passage here in Matthew shows what to do if the brother won't hear. And one of the things I feel like I should insert here, you know, say I'm the brother going to someone who's caught up in something.

I've told myself, Frank, you need to be prepared, because I might say, you know, this guy is caught up in this problem. I've got to go get him straight. And as we talk it through, I might discover, oh, he's not in the wrong. I'm the one. I saw it wrong, or I'm doing something wrong. So when I go to my brother, following the Matthew 1815 model, I need to be prepared to realize that it might not be him. But say that's not the case. You know, he is caught up in something. That next step afterwards still should be conducted in a kind way.

You know, coming back with one or two others, as it says in verse 16, if he won't hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. Okay, that's still not sharing with the crowd. Still not posting it on Facebook and anything like that. If reconciliation then isn't accomplished, that's the time to bring in the church. I believe to talk to the pastor, as it says in verse 17, if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to hear even the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

Well, a heathen and a tax collector isn't something we deal with a whole lot today. What I'd like to say is it could be ending fellowship with the church. If someone's caught up in a sin and it's brought to them and they're not willing to change, it might be a pastor's responsibility to end fellowship with the church. I think that's what it means, heathen and tax collector. Nowadays we would say a non-church member.

It's worth asking, though, how do we treat a non-church member? How do we treat our neighbors and our co-workers who are not called into God's church? With animosity and hatred? I hope not. No, we can be kind. We must be kind because God's people are kind. Kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It should be something that grows in us, even though I made a point to say it's a deliberate choice. If sin ends a relationship with someone that you've had, I shouldn't act towards that person with animosity and cruelty and hatred. I should still retain Christian kindness.

But how much more should I have that Christian kindness for those with whom I do have an ongoing relationship? This last part of the Matthew 1815 model is something I'm pretty sure is rare. It should never come to that point. Generally, I think the first step is all it takes. Go to your brother if your brother hears, you've gained your brother.

But I want to move on. We've been looking at instructions for us. The Bible gives us a lot of direction on what to do as Christians and how the fruit of the Spirit should grow in us through God's Spirit. In the Old Testament, we don't see so many admonitions for this kindness, maybe because God's Holy Spirit wasn't widely available. But we can see some pretty powerful statements about God's kindness. Let's look at a couple of those. One is in Psalm 31 and verse 21.

There we go. Psalm 31 and verse 21 says, God's kindness to us, God's kindness to mankind, is marvelous. It's something for us to marvel at. The Hebrew word that's translated here as kindness is hesed. I don't do the guttural very well. I've seen it spelled with H-E-S-E-D or C-H. Hesed is a powerful word. It seems like it needs several English words to convey its meaning. Sometimes it's translated as mercy. Other times it's translated as favor or blessing, even occasionally as beautiful. But one of the most common ways we see it put in English is loving kindness. Loving kindness. I wonder, to me that seems almost to be kindness and more. It's like super kindness. Maybe. Well, it is marvelous. God's kindness is marvelous. If you will, turn with me ahead to Isaiah 54. We'll see another comment or two on God's kindness. Isaiah 54 verse 8.

54 verse 8, God says, That's everlasting kindness. Let's skip ahead to verse 10 in the same chapter.

This tells us God is not kind for a while, but when His patience runs out, look out. No, God's kindness lasts forever. Now, that doesn't mean God never punishes. It doesn't mean that God is soft or wishy-washy. Any parent knows sometimes you have to correct someone you love. And sometimes you have to be firm. That firm strength in correction can be an act of kindness. But I've always loved that phrase about God. It's commonly said that God is slow to anger and quick to forgive. There is a more thorough version of that we can find in the book of Joel. So turn ahead in the Bible a bit to Joel chapter 3 and verse... no, Joel 2 and verse 13.

Joel 2 and verse 13.

So, so, rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and He relents from doing harm. God endures our weaknesses. He endures our offenses to Him. When He does that, He's showing kindness. When God pardons our sins, when He applies the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, He's showing the ultimate kindness.

God doesn't have to do any of these things, but He wants to. God wants reconciliation with each and every one of us. He wants that relationship. And when I think of it, someone who wants reconciliation would usually use a tone of voice that's not harsh, but rather one that's soothing.

As I said, kind and gentle tend to be closely related. So rather than look at more statements of God's kindness, I thought it might be worth looking at a couple of examples where we can see God had to deal with a servant that was a bit out of line. He needed some correction or guidance, but there are times when God uses that soft answer rather than wrath. The first one of these I want to see is the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah, if you'll turn to chapter 15 of Jeremiah, in ABC we've been rushing through the first part of this book, so it'll be familiar to our current students.

We know Jeremiah is one that God called to serve as a prophet when he was young. He might have only been 14 when God said, got a job for you. Come here, you're going to do this. And Jeremiah said, I'm just a kid, I can't do that. No, you're going to do that. But the point of Jeremiah taking it on at that age meant that he seems to have gone through some growing pains.

He wasn't perfectly mature. Jeremiah made some mistakes. And we're going to see there in chapter 15, it seems like Jeremiah is having a bit of an emotional blow up. Let's look at chapter 15, verse 15. Jeremiah is talking to God and he says, Oh, Lord, you know, remember me, visit me, take vengeance on my persecutors and your enduring patience.

Don't take me away. And he says something kind of surprising. Know that for your sake, I suffered rebuke. Jeremiah says some good things about God, but then he sort of says, God, you need to follow through. I'm suffering and it's your fault. Let's go ahead to verse 18. He says, Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? God, will you surely be to me like an unreliable stream as waters that fail? It's like Jeremiah is saying to God, are you going to let me down?

Can I trust you? God could have responded in anger. How dare you talk to me that way, you young whippersnapper? I wonder if God ever used the term whippersnapper. Probably not. But God would have been justified if he punished Jeremiah or said, hey, I'm sending you away. I'm going to get a more mature prophet. But what we see here is it seems that God calmly put aside Jeremiah's impertinent words, put him back to work.

Notice verse 19. Therefore, thus says the Lord, talking to Jeremiah, if you return, I'll bring you back and you'll stand before me if you take the precious from the vial. So, Jeremiah, you need to clean up your act. But if you come back to me, I'll take you back.

You'll be as my mouth. It's almost like saying, Jeremiah, you've got to straighten this up, but you're my guy. I want to work with you. God let Jeremiah blow off steam, but God didn't respond in kind. As I said, he invited Jeremiah back into a proper relationship with him and then said, let's get back to work.

Of course, get that precious out from the vial. And then God gives him some reassurance in verse 20. He tells Jeremiah, I'll make you to this people a fortified bronze wall. Yeah, they'll fight against you, but they won't prevail against you. God's telling Jeremiah, I'm not going to let you down. I'm not an unreliable stream. I am with you. But, like I said, he doesn't pound Jeremiah. It seems like God's tone is somewhat gentle. God is patient.

And it seems, I wonder if the reason this was written here, because this could have just been between Jeremiah and God. We never read of such a thing happening with Isaiah or even Ezekiel. But maybe God preserved it here for us to know. Not only is it Jeremiah that God's with, he's with you. He's with every one of us if we'll take the vial away from the precious, if we'll stand here and do his will. I want to look at one more example while we've got time. It's in the book of 1 Kings. 1 Kings and talk about our good friend Elijah. I say good friend. I haven't met him, but I spent a lot of time reading it. And I love this story. And I'm going to skip past chapter 18, but you probably remember the story where Elijah will confront the priests of Baal. There's been three years of drought where God's making a point, and 450 priests of Baal gather on top of Mount Carmel, and there's one prophet of the true God, Jeremiah. They have a powerful showdown, and God shows he's the true God. Baal is not. He sends fire from heaven, consumes the sacrifice, the altar, the dirt around it, and the water. Elijah directs the people to slay the priests of Baal. Don't let one of them escape. And then he goes and prays for rain. And God ends a three-year drought. He saves the nation. Whoa! Elijah! He must have been on top of the world! He'd accomplished all these great things. But it's not all that uncommon in human beings after a high point like this to sometimes have the emotions swing back down. And that seems to have happened to Elijah. If we look in chapter 19, starting in verse 2, Jezebel, the queen, sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also. By the way, she's not being very kind and gentle. So the gods do to me if I don't make your life is the life of one of them, meaning the priest that he had killed. And in verse 3 it says, When he saw that, he arose and ran for his life. Wow! That seems quizzical to me, but like I said, there's this letdown. He ran for his life, went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, left his servant there. The story goes on to show he went all the way to Mount Sinai. And he's ready to give up and die. At one point he lays down and says, Lord, take my life. I'm no better than my father's. He feels pretty sorry for himself. And so in verse 9, here in chapter 19, it says, He went into a cave, spent the night in that place. And behold, the Word of the Lord came to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah?

No, I don't think that's the way he said it. It doesn't tell us here, but later it says, well, let me make sure I read it properly. A still, small voice. A still, small voice. A calm, gentle voice. What are you doing here, Elijah?

Well, Elijah, as I said, feels sorry for himself. So, God, Elijah answers in verse 10. I've been zealous for the Lord, God of hosts, that you ought not have Israel forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars. I'm the only one left. Boy, it's easier to do that voice when I don't have a voice, but poor Elijah, he's, you know, and so he feels sorry for himself. God will instruct him. Go outside, stand there on the mountainside and wait. And the story describes a great windstorm. So powerful, it's breaking the rocks in pieces. But it says God was not in the windstorm. And then an earthquake. God wasn't in the earthquake. And then a great fire. God was not in the fire. But we should understand God could have been in any of those things. He's showing what power he has, but God didn't talk to Elijah in a voice or a tone of storm, earthquake, and fire. No, as it says in verse 12, After the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire, a still, small voice.

Some translations say a delicate, whispering voice. Okay? And so it was in verse 13, when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle, he stood at the entrance, and a voice came to him. What are you doing here, Elijah? Well, I've been zealous for the Lord God because they forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars. I alone am left. And the Lord, probably still, in a nice, gentle voice, says, Go to work. Go return on your way. Go to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, anoint Hazeel as king over Assyria. You anoint Yehu, son of Nimshih, king over Israel, and Elisha as a prophet in your place. And he describes some things, and he says, oh, by the way, you're not the only one. Verse 18 says, I've reserved seven thousand in Israel, all of whose knees have not bowed to Baal. Their mouth hasn't kissed him. I love this story. I think it shows us some wonderful things about God. Again, what power he had and how gentle he could be. Along with appreciating God's loving kindness, this is telling me, I need to strive to be like him. When someone speaks disrespectfully to me, do I respond with storm and fire, or a still, calm voice? You know, when I have to deal with someone who has an emotional meltdown, maybe someone who's feeling sorry for himself. Do I respond with a similar emotion? Do I unleash fire? It might be deserved, but I know what I need to do is exude the fruit of my life. I want to be a part of God's Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And as I said, those fit with what we read in 2 Peter, where Peter said, if we do these things, we will not stumble. God will abundantly supply an entrance to his kingdom. This isn't telling us it's a trick or a magic formula. What Peter and Paul both were describing is the process of developing God's characteristics. God is love. God is also joyful and peaceful and patient. God is kind. God's kindness is everlasting. It's marvelous. When anyone say Frank Dunkel's kindness is marvelous, don't speak up, because I don't think so. Not yet. I hope as I'm later in life, that's a goal for me to work towards. To be honest, I think it's a goal for all of us. Again, Mr. Antion spoke about having joy. I think God's Spirit in us can help us to develop kindness. We want to bear the fruits of God's Spirit, and I want to encourage us all. Let's be kind.