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Kindness & Goodness: The Twin Fruits That Change Everything · Fostering Faith

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  Welcome back to Fostering Faith. My name is Tracie
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  and I'm going to be your host today and we are
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  going to be talking about what we're going to
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  call twin fruits. kindness and goodness the fruits
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  that change everything and so welcome back if
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  you are not a regular listener welcome to fostering
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  faith we are here to walk with you on your faith
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  journey and if you are continued follow -up guests
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  we welcome you and we hope that your week is
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  going great and so let's get real honest and
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  get to the root of what we're talking about today
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  and We're gonna be talking about the two fruits
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  of the spirit that absolutely walk hand -in -hand
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  Which is kindness and goodness and so if you've
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  not listened to the last couple of episodes We
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  are walking through each fruit of the spirit.
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  And so now listen these are just not Quote -unquote
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  be nice Christian rules. These aren't Don't be
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  rude or smile at your strangers kind of vibes
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  These are Holy Spirit fruits that show up when
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  God actually gets down into the soil of your
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  heart and starts rearranging things. Kindness
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  and goodness are not just random personal traits.
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  They are evidence. They're receipts. Proof of
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  the Holy Spirit is alive and active in your life.
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  And so walk with me because today we're going
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  to be diving deep, learning, hopefully letting
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  the Holy Spirit tap on a few areas. Where we
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  can all grow and so let's dive into it. And so
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  what is the fruit of the spirit really and so
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  Galatians 5 22 through 23 says But let what the
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  fruit of the spirit is love joy peace patience
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  kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and
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  self -control Notice something paul doesn't say
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  the fruits of the spirit are he says fruit singularly.
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  And so, but the fruit of the spirit is love,
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  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
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  gentleness, and self -control. Meaning, you don't
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  get to pick and choose which ones you're naturally
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  good at. It isn't like a spiritual buffet. This
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  is one fruit with nine flavors. If the whole,
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  if the spirit is working in you, you get all
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  nine and they begin to grow. And today we're
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  going to be looking at the two that get overlooked
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  but I think are absolutely essential for everyone
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  who wants to be more spiritually mature. And
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  so let's break it down. And so let's get back
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  to the words. like adults in Bible class. And
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  so if not, let's I love learning new things.
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  And so if we can talk like we were at a coffee
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  table, because that's what fostering faith is.
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  It's just us not walking through seminary, but
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  it's about us learning, you know, life together.
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  And so I promise that what we're going to talk
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  about is easy to understand. And so kindness.
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  And so what is it? What does that word mean?
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  And so it's compassion that moves. It's not a
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  vibe. It's not a feeling. It's not, oh, you poor
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  thing. It means your heart bends towards people
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  instead of away from them. It's mercy in action.
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  It's gentleness in motion. It's emotionally awareness
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  of what's shaped by the Holy Spirit. And we have
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  goodness. This is not, quote, be a good person.
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  This word means moral courage, integrity, spiritual
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  backbone, the willingness to do what is right,
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  even when it's uncomfortable, unpopular, or requests
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  and makes you sacrifice. And so here's what it
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  is. Kindness equals a soft heart. and goodness
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  is a strong spine. One blesses, one protects,
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  one comforts, and one confronts. So if we put
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  them together, that's where you are looking at
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  Jesus. Not religious, not fake, not forced. Real,
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  compassionate, strong, righteous, and loving.
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  Kindness that looks like Jesus and so let's talk
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  about the kindness actually looks like and so
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  because kindness isn't don't yell at people Kindness
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  isn't I held the door open Kindness is Jesus
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  seeing people when no one else did Jesus and
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  the woman that caught in adultery He didn't shame
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  her. He didn't expose her He defended her dignity
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  and he lifted her up and if you don't know the
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  story this woman was caught in adultery and so
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  she was dragged out in front of everybody and
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  by that common law, they were going to stone
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  her. And so he was like, for any of you people,
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  and he started writing in things in the sand
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  and no one really knows what he was writing in
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  the sand, whether the people that were around
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  her, whether he was writing his their sins in
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  the sand or their names or what they did or whatever,
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  no one really knows. But we just know that he
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  was writing something in the sand. And then he
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  says, for those who have not sinned, throw the
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  first stone. And everybody walked away. Because
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  none of us are perfect. We are all the same messed
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  up people that he chose to die for. And so the
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  woman that was called to an adultery is no different
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  than what you have done or what I have done.
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  A sin is a sin. And so you have Jesus and Zacchaeus.
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  Everyone hated. This dude, everyone hated his
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  ex, he is... And Jesus said, I'm coming to your
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  house. That's kindness. Jesus feeding 5 ,000.
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  He saw their hunger. He saw their need. And scripture
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  says he had compassion on them. Kindness is love
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  with legs. It moves. It sees. It steps into someone's
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  moment and brings the heart of God with them.
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  Kindness is not weakness. Kindness is Christ
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  -like. And we're talking about this in class
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  last week. And so it's about having faith with
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  action. And so we can know all of these sayings.
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  But if people are not seeing these sayings, our
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  faith in action, our faith in what we are reading
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  in Scripture, and we're not living this stuff
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  out, then what is the point? There is no point
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  in you sitting in hours and hours and hours and
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  reading scripture and memorizing it if you're
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  not going to act it out. If people can't see
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  your fruit, then how do we know what you're growing?
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  What tree are you coming from? And so it's just
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  so important that we are living out what scripture
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  says, that we are kind like Christ is. Now, are
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  we going to be perfect? No, we are human. And
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  there was only one guy that was perfect. And
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  he's the guy that died for us. He's the guy that
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  says, I'm going to take all of this and I'm going
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  to die for you. And so you could have eternal
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  life. That's the guy that we're trying to measure
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  up to and we're going to miss the mark because
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  he was perfect and we are not. But he gives us
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  scripture. He gives us the Holy Spirit to be
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  more like him. And so we move on to goodness,
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  the spiritual backbone. And so now goodness is
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  this Christians don't talk enough about goodness
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  isn't be a good girl Goodness isn't don't get
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  in trouble Goodness is create courageous righteousness
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  Joseph Resisted potters wife not because he was
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  scared because but because he valued God's standards
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  Daniel prayed with the windows open even if it
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  would have cost him his life. Jesus cleansed
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  the temple, kindness held babies, and goodness
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  flipped tables. Goodness is strength and integrity
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  that refuses to bend or bow to sin, culture,
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  pressure, or convenience. Goodness says, I love
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  you enough to tell you the truth. I love God
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  enough to obey him even when I don't feel like
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  it. I call, I love my calling enough to keep
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  my character clean. Goodness is a holy backbone.
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  And so how do they work together? And so this
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  is where it gets beautiful because kindness without
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  goodness becomes compromise and goodness without
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  kindness becomes cruelty. So we need both. Kindness
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  says, come here. Goodness says, let's grow. Kindness
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  says, you're loved. While goodness says, let's
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  walk in truth. Kindness is how Jesus touched
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  the leper. Goodness is how Jesus confronted the
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  Pharisees. A believer with kindness and goodness
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  becomes gentle enough to restore, strong enough
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  to confront, compassionate enough to care, and
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  courageous enough to stand. And that's spiritual
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  eternity. This is Christ -likeness. And so let's
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  make it practical. You know I'm not gonna leave
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  you with something theological and no real -life
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  steps to take. And so here's kindness on a Tuesday.
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  encouraging that co -worker that everyone else
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  avoids, choosing tone instead of tension, letting
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  an offense die instead of feeding it, asking,
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  how can I pray for you? But actually doing it,
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  it drives me and say, oh, I'll pray for you.
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  If you say you're literally gonna take their
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  request to God, please do it. Don't do the, you
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  know, Christian -ese or fake whatever. Don't
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  be a faker. Actual be a follower. If you tell
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  someone that you're going to pray for them, do
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  it. Mean it. Listening without planning your
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  response. These are things that you could do
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  every day to show that kindness that He has shown
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  to us. And here's what goodness could look like
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  in real life. Walking away from Gospel. Keeping
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  your character stable when emotions are unstable.
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  Saying, I can't be a part of that. Standing for
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  the truth with humility and not pride. Raising
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  your kids to love Jesus more than they love culture.
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  And I know that Gia could just puke. As many
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  often times that I have said, is that kingdom
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  standards? Is that heaven standards? Or is that
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  earthly standards? Because we don't want to settle
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  for where we don't belong. We don't belong here
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  We are citizens of heaven if you have chosen
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  Jesus as your Lord and Savior. We are citizens
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  of heaven We are not citizens here on earth.
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  We are just here for a vapor of time and we get
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  to spend eternity at home and So kindness is
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  empathy Goodness is integrity if you are the
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  same Monday Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
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  Saturday, Sunday And I don't get a different
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  version of you at the office that I do with you
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  at church, that I do with you on the court. Integrity.
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  Be that same kind of person. Both are fruit.
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  Both are supernatural. And both require Jesus.
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  And so why does this matter today? Why are we
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  talking about fruit and the spirit? Why does
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  it even matter what the Bible says? And let's
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  be real, we live in a world that is snappy, offended,
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  sarcastic, impatient, self -centered, and loud.
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  Everybody is mad, everybody is tired, and everybody
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  is reacting. But the Holy Spirit is rising up
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  a generation that doesn't bend in with that noise.
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  We rise above it. And if I can say anything about
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  the youth that... They are so on fire for Christ
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  and it is a generation that I really feel like
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  there's just going to be a huge move with a faith
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  and everything like that. And so we are not called
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  to be louder. We are called to be brighter. You
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  are the shine in someone's darkness and you can
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  shine brighter when you walk in kindness that
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  heals. character that stands, and compassion
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  that reaches, and courage that obeys. These two
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  fruits show the world God more clearly than a
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  sermon will ever preach. Your life is a sermon.
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  The way that you live and you call yourself a
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  Christian and that you follow Christ, you are
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  a walking billboard for God. And so it really
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  is just so important. that we look at how kindness
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  is intentional mercy, that God isn't wasn't kind
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  because he avoided conflict. He was kind because
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  his heart was full of compassion. You know, we
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  had the lady at the well, we had Zacchaeus, we
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  had the woman that had adultery. He fed the 5
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  ,000. Kindness isn't about being polite. Kindness
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  is see a need and move. I think there's a movie
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  like robots, see a need, feel a need. And kindness
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  is spiritual awareness. Kindness is emotional
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  intelligence formed by the Holy Spirit. Kindness
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  is choosing mercy when irritation would be a
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  lot easier. If patience says, hold still, kindness
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  says, reach out. And goodness doesn't mean that
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  you're a people pleaser. It means that you're
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  morally anchored. Goodness... is when Joseph
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  walked and refused to do anything with Potiphar's
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  wife. Goodness is whenever Daniel stood and prayed
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  in front of the window and said, I don't care
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  who sees me worshiping my God. Kindness says
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  I care about you and goodness says I care enough
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  about you to not watch you self -destruct. And
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  working them together is so important. It's about
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  being gentle, but firm. It's about being comforting,
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  but yet correcting. So it's really about putting
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  them all together and looking at how we can be
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  a fruit of the spirit and letting our Vine be
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  connected to God and so we can grow and we can
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  mature and you can't fake fruit You can't manufacture
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  it. You can't try harder to be kind or good The
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  fruit grows whenever you stay in the word whenever
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  you pray whatever you are obedient to whatever
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  he says and that you stay fully surrendered and
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  staying connected to God. The branch doesn't
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  try to produce fruit. It just stays connected
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  to the vine. And whenever you're connected to
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  Him, God will produce that fruit. And so we hope
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  that you guys enjoyed this episode. We hope that
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  this is bringing you encouragement and knowledge
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  and wisdom and that it makes you so interested.
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  And I hope that this makes you thirsty to go
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  read Galatians and to pray about it and asking
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  him, hey, what are my fruits that are kind of
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  withered? What fruits need to grow? What can
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  I do to be better? And so we would love to pray
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  for you guys. And so dear Heavenly Father, thank
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  you so much for today. Thank you so much for
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  yesterday. Lord, I pray that we grow in kindness.
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  I pray that you grow kindness in us, real kindness,
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  Jesus -like kindness, kindness that sees people,
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  that reaches people, that blesses people, the
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  goodness in us to give us strength and courage
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  and purity and conviction and the ability to
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  stand when no one else does. Make us more like
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  you. Let us live our lives as a reflection of
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  your heart. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
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  All right, friends, and we are so excited to
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  continue to walk in kindness this week. Go walk
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  in goodness this week and show the world what
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  happens when the Holy Spirit actually takes a
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  hold of your character. And we hope that this
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  message encouraged you. If you know someone that's
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  struggling, send it to them. Show up every week
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  for these episodes. Like it, make a comment.
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  And we hope that this Helps foster your faith
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  until next time stay rooted stay surrendered
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  and stay on fire fire. We love you guys. Bye