Built For This

Welcome to Free Life Chapel, where we help you discover and live the free life in Christ. My name is Kati, and I'm so glad that you decided to tune in with us today. If you ever find yourself in the central Florida area, come visit us. We want to see you face to face, but until then, feel free to visit our website, freelifechapel.org, to find out more about what's happening at your church. There's an amazing message in store just for you. I hope you're encouraged. I need everybody to say, built for this. I need everybody to say, built for this. In the balcony, say, built for this. I heard y'all. Come on, I need everybody to say, built for this. There we go. Say, built for this. Now, together, say, built for this. Did y'all know that y'all are built for this? Built for this. This is what I want to talk to you about today. What if I was to tell you that there was something that you were born to do? God created you to do this, but you and I, if we're not careful, we will water it down to just be a good idea and not our divine calling. We'll water it down to be something that it can be nice rather than it having the divine impact that God created for it to have when he made you and when he made me. Have you ever been in a line at maybe Starbucks, maybe Dunkin' Donuts? You ordered your food. You get up there to the line. You go in to pay. If you're at Dunkin', you're paying with a smile on your face. If you're at Starbucks, you're a tearful giver because it costs $58. I'm joking.

You go to pay. You go to pay for your Starbucks. You go to pay for your drink. And then they don't take your card, and they tell you the person in front of you paid for your drink. That ever happen to you? Boy, when that happened, that made me do it. It got the church dance going. I love that. That happened to me one time at Chick-fil-A. That's a great place to make it happen. You know what I'm saying? It hasn't happened at Longhorn yet. We're praying and believing, but at Chick-fil-A, it has. I went to Chick-fil-A. You ever had one of those days where it wasn't a bad day? You just had so much going on that you were just in the zone, and you weren't meaning to be intense or overly direct, but you just were? Yeah. Y'all know how to pray for my wife. I am this much all the time. I was having one of those kind of days where I was on my P's and Q's. I had to get things done. I was going to get to Chick-fil-A in the middle of the workday, and of course, the line to get to Chick-fil-A up here on 98 started on I-4. You had to get off of I-4 just to get on the line, so I was going through there. I was not listening to worship music, so my headspace was—I was getting even more frustrated. You get there. There's 28 different lines in order to get into Chick-fil-A, which is great, but the people in front of you never know which line to get in. They're stopping back, waiting five feet, because they want to see which one's going to go first.

Choose. I said it in my head. Get through on the line. I'm talking with a young lady. I'm placing my order. I like to think that I'm being nice and I'm being respectful, and I also know I wear my emotions on my sleeves, so I'm probably being a little—hey, man, let me get a four-piece count, large, with Coke zero, and give me a spicy chicken sandwich on the side, no pickles, Chick-fil-A sauce and buffalo sauce, please. Now that I said it, I appreciate it. I'm being a little—I'm being a little—I'm being a little—I'm being a little—I'm being a little—I'm being a little—I'm being a little—I'm being a little—I'm using the right words, but I don't mean it. Never happened to you? Okay, just me. Cool. It's none of my business. So I go through. I do that whole thing. I go out to get my food. Thankfully, they do a great job with getting food out, so I'm going to get my food or I'm going to pay. When I went to pay, the lady told me, sir, the car in front of you just paid for your meal. They said whatever it is, they wanted to pay for you. Got out the truck, did a little dance, got back in the truck and was so grateful. But then it's like she just kept looking at me like, yes, sir, the car in front of you paid for you. Almost like waiting to see if I was going to pay for the person that was behind me. It's funny how we start to spiritualize things.

My Bible talks about stewardship and I ain't signing no blank check, so how much did they spend? Because I got diapers I got to buy, you know what I'm saying? This pay it, pay it forward, pay it backwards, pay it whatever direction they're coming through. It was so kind of the person that was in front of me. They had no idea the day that I was. having, they didn't know the mindset that I was in, but that one act of kindness, it was a Chick-fil-A meal, but that one act of kindness, so them just paying for it, completely changed my mood, my demeanor, and my perspective for the entire day. It just completely shifted because of that one act of kindness. Have you ever experienced kindness before? Not somebody being nice to you, kindness. Like, you don't have to do this, I can't repay you, you're not asking for anything in return, but you're just doing this anyway. When I was growing up, I used to think that kindness was weakness. I was the nice guy in school for a bit, and I had a big smile, I had a bigger personality, and I was six foot seven, and so there was a lot all at once. People. Trying to figure, Drew, me and you can rock out, I'm trying to figure out what's so funny, a six foot seven on the inside, five foot seven on the outside, and so when I was going through school,

I was a nice guy for a little bit, and then some things happened to me that I started getting a little callous, that I was like, you know what, I don't wanna be the nice guys, because nice guys finish last. It was this narrative that I started bringing up in my head, that when it came with friend groups, and when it came with dating relationships, when it came to football, I played football. Aggression was celebrated. The more aggressive you are, the more the coach liked you. I learned really quick how to be aggressive. I went and I played rugby at university. Even worse, you gotta be crazy to play rugby. Football, plus soccer, minus the pads, a mouthpiece if you want to. Aggression, over the top, celebrated, and so my identity came up in not being a nice guy, but being an overly intense person everywhere that I was at. So if I was talking, it was intense. If I was looking at you, it was intense. I was not being kind to anybody, because I saw it as a weakness. As I continued to mature, I realized how childish that mindset was, that truly, kindness is not a weakness. Kindness is a controlled strength. It's even in the face of whatever situation that is coming at me, I have enough internal strength to be kind to you, no matter what you just did to me,

no matter what you said to me, no matter what you posted about me, no matter what's going on, I have the ability to be kind. It's a controlled strength, and if you have accepted Jesus into your life, you have this thing called the Holy Spirit. It's the third part of the triune Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. That's a tag team straight out of heaven, and you get Holy Spirit on the inside of you, then you have the capacity to carry this thing of kindness, not just to be nice to people, but to make a divine impact into those that are in your circle of influence, in your home, and in your world. This message is titled Built For This, because I want you to know that you were built to carry kindness. You were built, the Bible says this, that if you're a follower of Jesus, you are the salt and the light of the world, which means you are supposed to be attractive, and you are supposed to push back darkness. One of the most attractive things is somebody that is being kind. My friends, I want my friends to be kind. It's a, I want to be around them. I love being around nice, kind people. I want to, when I get treated kindly at a store, oh, you better believe I'm shopping there again.

Why? Because there's a way that not just what they say, but it's the way that it makes me feel, makes me feel dignified, makes me feel like I'm not just another person walking, but like I'm a human being, like there's honor that is going through with this thing of kindness, and kindness is exactly who God is. That's why you and I resonate with kindness so much. It's not just because it makes us feel good, it's because it reminds us of our God, and I like things that remind me of how amazing God is. Don't, don't believe me, watch this, Titus chapter three, verses four through five, and I want you to read this highlighted parts with me. Here's what the Bible says. But when God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things that we had done, but because of his mercy. It was his kindness. The law of first mention says whatever's at the front, whatever's first mentioned is the biggest. If you look at the ingredients label on your food, that first ingredient, it has the most of that inside of that food. Kindness and then his love is the thing that saved us, is the thing that forgives us, is the thing that gives us mercy, is the thing that gives us grace,

is the thing that gives us what we don't deserve and that keeps us from getting what we do deserve. It's his kindness towards you and towards me. Can anybody say God has been kind to you in your life? He's treated you better than what you've treated yourself. He's treated you better than somebody else might have. Not that they were even wrong, but can't nobody do me like Jesus? Can't nobody love me like the Lord. Old school song, my bad. This word kindness, it's used so many times in the Bible and the Hebrew word for it, now pause. I'm not Pastor Scott. Pastor Scott does all the Hebrew stuff and all the, that's not me. You know what I'm saying? My little disclaimer on that, I'm gonna give you the Polk County education version, which hey, we educated, we can do it now. I just might not say it like that. Might have a different twang to it. The word for kindness used many times in the Bible, it actually is one that describes God's character, is chesed, chesed. Here's what it, in the King James Version, it's often translated as his loving kindness. In the ESV Version, it's often translated as his steadfast love, a love that endures, a love that is just gonna be there no matter what. In the NIV Version, it talks about it,

translates it as unfailing love that is not just gonna drop, it's not gonna let you go. It's not gonna just quit whenever things start to get hard or when things don't go his way. He's still going to be there. Loving kindness, steadfast love, unfailing love, covenant loyalty is how a lot of scholarly research begins to talk about chesed, a kindness that describes God. All God knows is kindness. Here's why. Kindness is his motive. His methods are grace, mercy, forgiveness. Love, it starts from this thing of kindness. Because he is kind, you and I are able to pray a prayer and get forgiven of our sins, have a complete status change from being somebody who was unworthy to somebody who's called a son and daughter of the king. This idea of mercy and grace, he didn't get me the way that other people would have gotten me. He's held things back, he's protected me, he's loved me, he's cared for me, he has been kind to me. Kindness is the motive that God does everything through. It shows where his heart is. God, look to your neighbor and say, God has been kind to you. God has been kind to you. Romans Chapter 2 talks about it's the kindness of the Lord that draws us towards repentance. It's not us being scared of his fist.

It's not us being scared of the damnation. It's the kindness of God that calls us towards repentance. His kindness does not change his standard. The kindness doesn't lower the bar to make us feel better. But his kindness is there in a way that coaches us in a way to say, you can do it. Keep pursuing, don't give up. He doesn't quit, he doesn't bail out on us. God has been kind to you and to me. It is literally who he is. Hebrews Chapter 4, Verse 16, the Bible says this. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive and find to help in a time of need. Out of kindness, God says, when you mess up, I don't need you to tuck tail and wonder if you can come in and see me. I need you boldly to come in. Why, because you feel good, because you look good, because you did good? Nah, not because of that. Because I'm that good and because I'm that kind that no matter what it is that you did, if you're coming to me, you're not gonna be greeted by a wall, you're gonna be greeted by a hug of loving kindness whenever you need it. So whether you're at the high highs or low lows, kindness is what you're gonna meet when it comes with God. Not because you did something to earn his kindness, but just because that's who.

He is. He is kind. So then what does it look like for kindness to play out in like our life? Like I'm not God. I'm glad He can do that but like what about me? Like I know He in me but like I'm in me too. And I got a little Pastor Scott and Pastor Cindy in me. And a lot of it is great. And some of it... Another message. What does it look like for kindness to play out inside of our lives? There's this story in the Bible about David and Mephibosheth. I'm so glad that there's not a student at the Blend named Mephibosheth. But if there's one in the room, you are welcome to come to the Blend. We'll have a great time. I will give you a nickname. David and Mephibosheth. David, okay, he's the guy that you've probably heard of. He's the one that killed Goliath. When I think of David, I used to think of John Jones, MMA fighter. Like I thought that boy was serious. Like the Bible says they used to celebrate Saul who was the king at the time. Saul would kill his thousands. But David, his tens of thousands. Everything's a movie in my head. That's how I hear it. Saul killed his thousands. David, his tens of thousands. I picture David wearing all black forces. Because you ain't never seen nobody lose a fight wearing all black forces. Like David was one of them cats. David was one of them dudes. I pictured him as a warrior. Like this guy who didn't take nothing from nobody.

The Bible says he's a man after God's own heart. So, okay, cool. You got to puff up your chest a little bit. Make sure you roar like, let's go, let's get this thing. Let's be David. There's a story in the Bible that I had never paid much attention to. Before this weekend. Before this week preparing. And the story's about David and Mephibosheth. David was the shepherd boy. Got anointed to be the next king of Israel. While there was already a king. The king had a son who was next in line to be king. So it's not like there wasn't another person. There was just a complete shift. Everybody say a shift. There was a shift. There was a change of direction. There was a pivot that God was making in the leadership of his nation. So David gets anointed. Well, David, you got to read your Bible. Like this is better than a Netflix special. David, he comes into the king's palace. He's got over 20 attempts on his life. Saul's trying to kill him. It's this whole ebb and flow. But Saul has a son named Jonathan. And because David's in the palace and David is around, Saul, they're fighting wars together. They're hanging out together.

They're eating brisket together. That's what I would be doing. They're having a great time together, right? David and Jonathan, they become boys. They got like a bromance going on. And then it turns to like a brotherhood. And then the Bible, in order to show the loyalty and the love between David and Jonathan, here's what the Bible says in 1 Samuel 18, that Jonathan became one spirit with David and he loved him as himself. Over the top loyalty. Jonathan, had it been me, I would have been jealous. My pride would have kicked in. I would have had a hard time. Now, bro, you're taking my legacy. You're taking the setup from my future kids and from my grandkids. I was supposed to be the next king. I've been working and learning and preparing how to be the next king. And you're just going to come over here and act like you're going to be the next dude in charge? I would have had a hard time. That's why I'm glad my name ain't written in the Bible. You should be too. Jonathan, he was cool. Here's why he was so cool. He loved God. And he understood if God anointed him, let me back up. He's at home base. He can't be touched. That's something that God, and if I mess with him, then now I'm messing with God. I don't want that smoke. He said, let me stay.

If God is the one that appointed you, then I'm going to be here with you. They continued to develop this amazing, amazing friendship. And then Jonathan ended up making a covenant with David, a promise. Hey, bro, we got to be locked in. I know I'm not going to be the king, and I know that that is going to affect my family. I don't need anything from me. Just, David, promise me that you are going to be kind to my family once I am gone. That's what Jonathan asked. He wanted the security for his family. He wanted to know that they're going to be looked after. They're going to be cared for. Not that people are gonna be nice to them, but there's gonna be a kindness that is gonna be shown to them, that they're gonna be able to feel. David locked in with Jonathan and said, bro, that ain't no pressure, I got you. Story goes on to talk about how Jonathan and King Saul, his dad, they were out at war, and King Saul and Jonathan end up passing away. They die while at battle. And everybody was so frantic, and they had Jonathan in their arms, and while they were running to get away, the person that had Jonathan in his arms actually dropped Jonathan, and he became crippled for the rest of his life. A tragedy that he could not control, something that was done to him, that this was not what he had experienced,

but there was this time that happened, and then now, what do I do? He was a young boy at the time, but then from there, the people that had taken him, they were so nervous knowing that David would be the next king, and culturally, whenever a new king came into place, you eradicated the family line of the prior king to make sure that somebody didn't try to come up and take yours. There was no heist allowed, so we're gonna get rid of everybody, we're gonna clear house to make sure everybody knows we're the ones that are standing in here. They were so nervous that that's what David was gonna do to Mephibosheth, that they ran him away, and they put him in Lodabar. So important, so important. Lodabar, this place is not somewhere you went to, this is a place you got sent to. This wasn't a place that you would go vacation from, this was a place for outcasts. This was a place for people that nobody wanted to be around. This was a place of shame, this was a place of guilt, this was a place of depravity. You didn't have anything, if you were in Lodabar, lo means no, dabar can mean pasture, word, or communication, together. Scholars will state that that word Lodabar, that place, that city, could be translated

to no pasture, no voice, no future. Mephibosheth, grandson to the king, was living in a place of no future. Because he was hiding, he had shame, and now he was living in lack. He was hiding because he didn't want to get killed, he was hiding from his past. Hiding from not even what he had done, but what my family had done. My granddaddy made attempts to you, so I guess you're gonna try to make attempts to me. Have you ever felt like you were having to pay the price for people that went before you? Where it's like, because of everything that happened over there, now I'm the one that is having to take all these hits. I can only take it for so long, I go into hiding, I don't want to be a part of that, that was not me. So in protecting himself the best way that they knew how, he went into hiding, shame. He was ashamed, not because that he got crippled, but because of how people treated him. Nothing changed in who he was, but how people saw him changed. And because of the difference of how he was being treated, he became shameful, because people weren't honoring him, they weren't giving him the dignity. At this time period, which is such a shame, if you were crippled, you were considered second class, considered lower class, that's why they would push you out.

And so for him, he felt shame, and then on top of that, he got crippled by doing something that was somebody else's fault. Now I'm paying the price for something that somebody else did, now I'm shameful, this is written on me, and in those days, you were known not just by your name, but also by your condition. Mephibosheth, the cripple. So everywhere he went, he was known by his condition, he was known by something that had happened to him. I don't know if you've ever walked around with the guilt of what you've done, if you've walked around with the guilt of what had happened to you. It put him in such a heavy, deep place that he was choosing to stay in a place of lack. Royal bloodline, but having to live like a beggar, scraping things up where he could. This is the story of what Mephibosheth was dealing with. And so David, after Saul and Jonathan die, Mephibosheth's father and grandfather, he remembers his promise that he made to Jonathan, that I will be kind to your family, even after your absence. King David, he calls in some servants, some of them that are not his own, I had worked with Saul and said, some of them that are not his own, surely there is at least one person

and he says, I will be kind to your family, even after your absence. out of the lineage of Saul that I can show kindness to. That's counter what any other king would have done. Any other king, they might've done that, but they might've set it up in order to kill him. His whole thing was, I want them to come, not because I'm gonna ambush them with violence, I wanna ambush them with kindness. I wanna bring them in and embrace them. I don't wanna bring them in where they don't feel like they're welcome. They don't feel like they're invited. They feel like they're an outcast. I want them to sit down here. David asked that, they said, for sure there is. This guy Mephibosheth, he's in Lodabar. He's in a place of no future. He's left there. He can't even get over here. David said, that's not an option. You go get him and you bring him back over here. It's not enough for them to have to make it to me. I will send my presence to you and help it guide you back towards me. Anybody else glad that Jesus sent his presence to us where he died on the cross for you and for me? And then now as we continue to follow him, we continue to get closer and closer to God. David, he sends out a servant.

They bring back Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth is shaking in his boots. I think I'm about to get killed. I think I'm gonna get ambushed. David does the complete opposite. David actually says this, the land that was your grandfather's, that is now yours. I'm giving you the birthright of your land. And in 2 Samuel 9, verse 11, David says, and Mephibosheth, I want you to sit as my table as one of my sons and had a table to eat at for the rest of his life. This cat went from a place of no future and of lack to eating in the king's palace and having a pasture that was formerly owned by a king. How could that happen? Because of kindness. Because of kindness. Kindness is so much more than an emotion. Kindness, it has a divine power. How is it divine power? Because it is a characteristic of God. Kindness was God's idea, not man's idea. But kindness is something that God challenges you and challenges me to act out in this world. God says, I'm gonna be kind to you. Now I need you to go be kind to everybody else. At your job, I need you to go be kind. Inside of your family, I need you to show kindness. While you're at work, be kind.

While you're at school, be kind. While you're shopping, be kind. Because you don't know where people are and you don't know where your kindness is gonna help people get to. And it's not your job or my job to know all the details. It's our job to extend the kindness that was once extended that is currently being extended to you and to me. If David, a man, because no man should be idolized. I love reading the story about David and I have so many connection points with David, but David messes up just like you and just like me. David ain't to be worshiped, David ain't to be praised. But because of David's relationship with God, the Bible says that David was a man after God's own heart. Because of David's relationship with God, he had this conviction of being kind to all those around me. Whether it made sense or whether it didn't. Whether people understood it or not. Whether I was gonna be held accountable or whether the person I made the promise to is now dead, who would know? Had this conviction of I'm gonna stay kind to all those that are around me. If David is able to do that as a man, how much more is our heavenly father gonna make sure that he remains faithful to his promise and to his character of being kind to you and being kind to me? Know this, you're not just in the kingdom of God,

he's called you sons and daughters. That you and I might have first been an outcast, but now he sees us as part of the royalty, the royal bloodline. That you are now in his royal priesthood. That he has now had a spot at the table that was set up for you, just waiting for you to accept his invitation of kindness. Everything he does is out of this kindness. And just like David, you and I are built for this. Everybody say I'm built for this. You wanna know how I know you're built for this? The Bible says this, when you accept Jesus into your life, you have Holy Spirit, say Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit's job is to change you and to change me. from the inside out. At first, we were a vacant house. We allow Holy Spirit in our lives. You live here. He says, perfect, now it's my time to decorate. It's my time to make some things arrange. And the Bible in Galatians shows us how does Holy Spirit begin to decorate us from the inside out? You might have heard this called the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians chapter five, 22 through 23, the Bible says this. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives. Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against any of these. Meaning nobody can say that there's something bad about any one of those fruit of the Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is the one that produces them, which means you and I aren't that good in order to make those happen. Without Holy Spirit, without a relationship with Jesus, I cannot expect to have any of that. Anybody got a green thumb? You like plants. I like fake plants because they actually stay alive in my house. I can't keep a plant alive, but I have some buddies, my boy, Mike. I got some buddies that they like to grow crops and I have a buddy, he's got an apple tree. I would be stupid to go over to him and say, let me get a banana off your apple tree. Because it don't produce that, like the math ain't mathing, right? I would not be able to go and say, hey, let me get a watermelon off your watermelon crops, right? But the root is all cut up. The health of the root determines the health of the fruit. The healthier the root is, the healthier the fruit is. The healthier the root of your relationship with Jesus is, the healthier the fruit of the Spirit is gonna be evident inside of your life.

That's why the Bible says, seek first the kingdom of heaven. Then all these things are gonna be added to you. Don't go after kindness alone, go after Jesus and then kindness is gonna be that byproduct. Gentleness is gonna be that byproduct. Patience is gonna be that byproduct, but Jesus is always gonna be the focus. That's why Jesus told this parable, the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. So it was all about kindness. This guy gets jumped, beat up, left on the side of the road. People who knew better just walked right past him. They knew that they should stop. Ah, but I ain't got time to wait till my schedule's set up. People not who just knew better, but the people who had the resources in order to make a difference for the guy, they just walked past him. They just kept scrolling on TikTok. They're like, eh, it's an inconvenience. I don't have time for that. But then this Good Samaritan shows up, somebody of a different race, a different social class in the time, somebody who you're not supposed to be the one that is doing this. Everybody else should, but not you. Jesus purposefully calls that out in order to say that kindness knows no boundaries.

Kindness can go to anybody. Kindness can go for everybody. So I don't care if you're younger than me and older than me, you deserve kindness from me. I don't care if you're my race or a different race. I'm a mutt, so I don't even know what I am. You deserve kindness from me. Different socioeconomical status, you deserve kindness. From a different part of the world, you deserve kindness. You speak a different language. You deserve kindness. The point of this parable was to talk about the kindness that comes from the right heart. Because kindness is always tied to God's motive and motive comes from the heart. God is kind to you because his heart towards you is kind. His thoughts towards you are kind. His plans for you, they're kind. The ones that set you up, they're ones that protect, they're ones that hold you to the standard and cheer you on while you're going there. Jesus is kind to you and to me. If you're rooted in Jesus, kindness is gonna continue showing up. So here's what I would say. You and I, we need to stop treating kindness like it's optional. You need to stop treating kindness like it's an emotion and start treating it like you and I were literally created and purposed for this.

To be the salt and light to the world. To show people that God is not mad at them but mad about them. There's this phrasing I've heard in my life growing up. We talk about it with students. There's four Gospels in the Bible. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Your life, your story, your interactions is the fifth Gospel. Most people will read you before they read the other four. It's how I'm living, it's my level of kindness, my interaction with people. Is it pushing people to get closer to Jesus? Is it showing the kindness that Jesus has of calling us towards repentance out of kindness? Not obligation, not damnation, not through threats, through his kindness. Thoughts that he has towards you, so, so kind. Kindness is not a weakness, it's your superpower that you've been given from Holy Spirit in order to impact the world around you and create a legacy that will outlive you. Not for your personal gain, but for his gain. All of this for the glory of one. So in a culture and in a world that fights to be number one, fight for kindness. Fight for kindness, I don't have to be the first. Fight for kindness with your words, with your motives, with your action, fight for it. In a world that so celebrates the hustle and grind

and thinking that that's the way to get to the top, value kindness more. Kindness will take you further than your efforts ever will. Why? Because it's not a man-made idea, it's a heavenly idea. It's something that has divine power connected. All of us have a craving and a longing for kindness because it's the longing for God that comes from it. Stand for truth, but do it with kindness. Everybody stand on your feet. God, in his loving kindness, he pulled you out of Lodabar. He pulled you out of a place of no future. He pulled you out of the cycle that you, me, might have continuously been in. He pulled you out of a place of shame. He pulled you out of a place of guilt. He pulled you out of a place of lack and gave you a seat at his table, which has more than you and I could ever ask or think. And his challenge to you and his challenges to me is don't sit at the table alone. Who can you be kind to and invite to this table to experience and to feel the freedom and the liberation that comes from his kindness? We're called to do that to the world that is around us. There's this phrasing in theology, it's called the Imago Dei. You might've heard it before. It's a different way of saying that we're made in the image of God.

Imago Dei. Because kindness is a part of his character and because you and I were created in his image, kindness should be a part of your character and my character every day. Not the kind that changes depending on where I'm at or depending on who I'm talking to, but it is who I am regardless of the situation or the circumstance. I will treat you with kindness. My goal is to give kindness. Why? Because I recognize how kind he has been to me. It is my joy, it is my pleasure, it is my honor in order to be kind to those that are around me. Father God, we love you so much. Thank you for your loving kindness that sent Jesus on the cross for us before we even had the opportunity to choose him, to love him, to do anything. Thank you for how you have set us up. Thank you for where you have brought us from, where you are currently bringing us from and the plans that you have for us to get out of where we currently are. You are always in motion, you are always in movement and it is always from the motive in the heart of kindness. God, as we continue to pursue you, I pray that you build up kindness on the inside of us, that as we see people, we are able to look for ways

that we're able to be kind, that with our hands we're able to show kindness in different ways, with our mouth, we're able to express kindness to those that are around us, not just for our benefit, but for the benefit of you so that the world can be more restored, more healed, more repaired, more looking like you. God, help us add more of you into the world that we live in and help us be boldly doing this, knowing that we were built for this. In Jesus' name we pray, amen, amen, amen. I told you the message would encourage you. For more encouraging messages, feel free to visit our website, freelifechapel.org. Until then, I hope you have an amazing day.