Lord God, we would not come to this part of our worship service this morning without beseeching your help, understanding, Lord, that the one who speaks and those who hear are but vessels of clay. And Lord, how we need your help, how we need your spirit, how we need your love to give us guidance in all truth, to speak and to hear words of truth. Lord, we pray for help, and we pray that this Exercise in listening and in speaking would not be by the arm of flesh, but by your Holy Spirit. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, some 2,000 years ago, an infamous man by the name of Pontius Pilate asked a very profound question. He asked, what is truth? What is truth? The irony of the question was that truth was staring him in the face when he asked it. A Christian never has to ask the question, what is truth? Right? That's a question that should be readily answered by any true follower of Jesus Christ. This is truth. Right here. The Bible. God's Word. This is truth. Sixty-six books in one. from Genesis to Revelation, the infallible, inerrant, God-breathed truth. Now, of course, there are many who don't believe this. There are many who would claim this book to be not true. Out of that many, I'm going to guess that probably most of them, or at least relatively few, have actually read it or sought to find truth in it before even making that claim. And yet, it needs to be said that there are Scores of truths in the Bible that even these people would not be able to refute, to deny. There are certain what we might call universal truths in scripture that are very difficult to argue with, even for those who say they don't believe the Bible. Let me give you an example. You reap what you sow. This is a biblical truth, right? Galatians 6 tells us, whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. This is true. Men have even paraphrased this biblical statement with words like, you made your bed, now you lie in it, right? Few would dispute this universal truth. You reap what you sow. Another example might be the golden rule, what people call the golden rule. Treat others the same way you would like to be treated by them. That's hard to argue with, right? Even for those who say they don't believe the Bible. would admit the world would be a better place if everyone could actually live by this golden rule. You see, there are many universal truths in scripture. There are at least enough for those who deny the claims of scripture to at least want to take a second look. And so what I want to do is I want to point to and park on a universal truth this morning that again is really hard to argue with, hard to dispute. It's found in Luke's Gospel chapter 6 and verse 35. I'd ask you to turn there with me. Luke 6.35. It's actually Luke 6.35b to be exact. Well, here it is, a very simple universal truth. He himself, that is God, is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Literally read, God is kind to the ungrateful and evil. This is a universal truth. I want to examine this truth by way of its context. and by way of its content, then I want to take into account some considerations and then find its connection to us. So just as a simple outline, we've got context, content, considerations, and connection. So first we begin with its context. Who spoke these words and to whom were they spoken? You see rather quickly, especially if you happen to own a red letter Bible, that these were words spoken by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the incarnate truth himself. And if you look back to verse 20, You'll see that he spoke these words mainly to his disciples. It says, in turning his gaze toward his disciples, he began to say, and Luke goes on to record those words we've come to regard as Christ's beatitudes, those snippets of truth that characterize all who've come under the saving influence of gospel grace. That's the context right there. Jesus is speaking to his disciples. This brings us, secondly, to the content of these words. What do we find in these words? We're told that God is kind. No big surprise here, right? We see God's loving kindness throughout scripture, throughout the Bible. But this verse says God is kind to the ungrateful and evil. Two adjectives that I think just seem to go together, ungrateful and evil. What do we find in these words? Well, we all know what ingratitude is, right? Because we've all been on both sides of it. We've given in gratitude, we've received in gratitude, but in gratitude towards God, not only is that evil in and of itself, but in gratitude towards God actually breeds more evil. Romans 121 says, even though men knew God, they didn't honor him as God or give thanks. And it's in this ingratitude that it says they became futile in their speculations and their foolish hearts were even more darkened. Ingratitude toward God is evil. And evil, though it may show itself in many ways, it's always ungrateful to God. The Greek word translated ungrateful is only found one other time in the New Testament, and that's in 2 Timothy 3 where it's used to describe one of the things that are going to characterize the spiritual darkness of men in what Paul calls the last days. Paul says, in the last days, men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, and the list goes on. That's the only other time we find the word ungrateful, this word translated ungrateful in the New Testament. Now, on the other hand, the word for evil, that's a word we find pretty frequently throughout the New Testament. It's the same word that we find translated malignant, bad, wicked. In Mark 7, 23, it's the word that Jesus uses to describe what pours out of the heart of every natural born man and woman. Let's look there. Turn with me to Mark 7. You know, the world's definition of evil, it seems to be getting smaller. It seems to be getting narrower. Flying planes into buildings, shooting people from a window, innocent people from a window, and hopefully pedophilia. Hopefully these things are still considered evil in this world. But sometimes it seems like almost everything else is up for redefining. But Jesus says in these verses, he says in verse 21, he says, for from within, out of the heart of men, proceed, and then he goes on with this list, and he starts with evil thoughts. That covers quite a bit of ground right there, doesn't it? And then he goes on to say fornications, that's sexual impurity, whether in thought or in deed. Thefts, taking what is not yours. Murder, hatred that begins in the heart. Adulteries, lust that is born in the heart. Verse 22, he says, Coveting, that's the inordinate desire for what belongs to another. Deceit, misrepresenting the truth, whether it be in word or deed. Sensuality, idolatry over that which pleases the senses. Envy, being jealous of others. Slander, speaking evil of another. Pride, thinking more highly of yourself than is true. And foolishness, living like there is no God. In verse 23, Jesus says these are all downright evil. This is the sin that flows from the heart of man that makes us sinners. And yet our text tells us that God is kind to sinners. Now, why did Jesus say this to his disciples? What are in these words? Go back with me to Luke 6. I believe in the big picture, Jesus is pointing to the ideal outworking of this golden rule. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. With these words, Jesus is basically describing just how different we are from God. because of our innate inability to love our neighbor, especially those who don't love us. He says in verse 32, he says, if you love those who love you, well, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. In verse 33, he says, if you do good to those who do good to you, well, what's the big deal? Even sinners do that. Verse 34, if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, well, even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same. And then our verse, verse 35, begins with these words, but love your enemies. Love your enemies. You see, this is where the great divide occurs, right here. The great divide between God and man, and even among people. Jesus says when you encounter enemies, when you encounter those who don't love you, those who hate you, those who oppose you, he says treat them the way you would like to be treated by them, in spite of them. And if you do, he says, your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High." Now, it's very important to understand two things about this. First of all, Jesus never gives a command apart from the willingness to help you carry it out. Right? If Jesus says, do this, then He is willing to give you what you need in order to do this, right? The Apostle said, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. But secondly, it's important to understand Jesus is not saying, if you do this, This will make you sons of the Most High. He's very clear in John 1.12 when he says, as many as received Jesus, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe. In other words, becoming a child of God, becoming a son or a daughter of God, that's always wrapped up in faith. It's always wrapped up in believing, in trusting in Him, in trusting in His love for enemies rather than your own. Nobody becomes sons of the Most High by their deeds. God is not watching from heaven to see who's going to love their enemies so that He can figure out who His redeemed children are. Adoption by God into His family is always by grace, it is always through faith, and it is always in Christ alone. What Jesus is saying here in these words, He's saying, When you do good to your enemies, when you can show your enemies love, when you can do them good, when you can pray for your enemies, he's saying when you treat them the way you want to be treated by them, when you are, verse 36, merciful as your Father is merciful, he's saying this is proof, this is evidence that God has wrought some inner change in you. Loving those who love you, that's easy, right? Appreciating and loving those who appreciate you. Anybody can do that. But to really love, to really show love to someone who would just as soon spit in your face or hurt you or oppose you, he says that takes divine intervention. That takes divine influence. 1 John 4, we love because he first loved us. History has recorded some really incredible events of Christian persecution. where a tortured saint is able to look up at the torturer or even the executioner and actually pray God's blessing upon them. You see, this degree of kindness and love, this is an indication that you've already been adopted into God's family as a son or a daughter because you're becoming more like Him. You're showing yourselves to be sons of the Most High by actually caring for your enemy, by actually loving those who don't love you. Well, that's the content. That's what we find in these words. Thirdly, let's take into account some considerations. I have three, three considerations I'd like us to look at. Consider with me first just how good God is to enemies. Think about this. How good is God to the people who don't love him? Think for a moment of the ways in which God deals with mankind universally, on a universal scale. Think of the abuse God receives regularly from people, simply in the form of ingratitude. Think about this. The advent of sin coming into this world way back in the garden, it's introduced some really ugly stuff to the world, hasn't it? The world God created, it was radically changed by the entrance of sin. Think of the sicknesses and the diseases that sin has brought into this world. There have probably been enough plagues and diseases to wipe out mankind many times over. in our history, and yet God has almost always allowed us to discover remedies, cures, and antidotes to counteract some of the deadliest blights on human health, right? And when you think about it, sometimes those discoveries have been very providential. I can't help but think of Louis Pasteur, right? A brilliant man who sets out to find a solution to soured wine and spoiled milk. And he ends up coming up with a germ theory that leads to the invention of vaccinations, which have no doubt saved millions of lives. That led no doubt to the future discovery of penicillin by a man named Alexander Fleming. Now, let me ask you, was all of this just a big old stroke of dumb luck? No, of course not. God did this. Why did God do this? Because he's good. because he's kind, because he has a genuine heart of compassion universally toward those created in his image, all of his creation. But we gotta ask the question, is God usually recognized in all of this? Is there gratitude? Or is man more often exalted for his glorious scientific academic achievements? Think again, now think of just the natural order of the universe that God in his kindness has put into place. Think about the universe, right? Look with me at Genesis chapter eight. Turn to Genesis eight. These are some of the things that are right on the surface of scripture and we often take for granted. Look at Genesis 8, verses 21 and 22. In verse 21, he declared, this is just post-flood. He said, I will never again curse the ground on account of man. For the intent of man's heart is evil, evil and ungrateful, we might add, from his youth. And yet God says, I will never again destroy every living thing as I have done. And then verse 22, while the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease. Now, who benefits from this? Not only has God determined to keep things running in the midst of a diversity of seasons within the earth, but he's also committed that he will not suddenly lash out in a fit of anger and just destroy everything. Look at the next three verses, Genesis 9 verses one to three. It says, and God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. You know, God's sanctions for all mankind, the enjoyment of male, female, marital intimacy. Now look at the next verse. It says the fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky with everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea into your hand they are given. Now, do you ever think about this? Had God not proclaimed the animal kingdom fearing man, we would all right now be in a very violent, bloody coexistence with nature. The raccoon invading your garbage can at three o'clock in the morning might not run away when you open up your front door and shine your flashlight on him. He might even bolt towards you. Right? The birds of prey in the sky, the big ones with the sharp talons, the eagles, the owls, the hawks, they might not think twice about wanting to perch on your shoulder when you're standing outside. They might not think twice about wanting to rip out some tufts of your hair for nesting material. Bugs wouldn't scatter from you. Rodents wouldn't care about hiding from you, and wild animals could be waiting at your front door on a cold winter's day to rush inside when you open your door in the morning, right? See, there would be a lifelong struggle for dominance between the beasts of the earth and those created in the image of God. Now, let me ask, who's benefited from God's decree here? Who benefits from this? Who's on the receiving end of this kindness of God? that the animal kingdom should fear man. Look at verse three. Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you. I give all to you as I gave the green plant. God feeds us freely, evil and ungrateful men with animal proteins and edible plants. This is why you see people giving thanks before a meal because some have come to know that even our eating and our drinking is a gift from God. You know, the fact of the matter is we all, every one of us, we all live and move and have our being. We exist because of God. Mankind survives. Mankind gets through this life, not by their own gritty determination, but because of the kindness of God. And yet, for the most part, you gotta say God is not recognized in any of it. Right? Instead, you could say there's a steady continuum of ingratitude that wafts up from earth into heaven like a stench in God's nostrils. In large part, you could say God is treated like a mighty, powerful giant. And this giant is holding up a broken bridge so that people can cross the bridge. And as the people cross the bridge, some of them ignore the giant altogether as if he didn't even exist. Some of them are cursing the giant, shaking a fist at the giant for allowing the bridge to be broken. Others boast of their worthiness and goodness to have a giant holding up a bridge for them, and still others brag of their achievement in being able to cross a broken bridge all by themselves. You see, what I'm saying is that the heart of man, generally speaking, is not a heart of gratitude towards God. And this is evil. And yet it's a universal truth. That God just gives and gives and gives. And he just keeps giving. Does anybody remember the Shel Silverstein book, The Giving Tree? You ever read that book, The Giving Tree? I read it many, many years ago. It's an odd little book. It begins like this. Once there was a tree and she loved a little boy. It's about a tree who loves this little boy. And what the tree does is the tree just keeps giving, giving, giving of itself to this little boy because the tree loves this little boy so much. So the little boy gets a little older and the tree says, take all my fruit and sell it. And so the young man, now he's a young man, he takes all the fruit and he sells it to make money. And then he gets a little older and the tree says, take my branches and build a house for yourself. And so he takes all of the branches from the tree and he builds himself a house. And then he gets a little older and he wants to build a boat to sail away and escape life's troubles. And the tree says, take my trunk, make a boat out of my trunk. And so he takes the trunk of the tree. And at the end of the book, the little boy is now just a feeble old man and he comes limping along. And there's nothing left of the tree but a stump. And the tree says, come, take my stump, sit on my stump and rest yourself. I don't know what the author was thinking when he wrote this book. You can see a bit of a metaphor going on. But the point is, no matter who you are here today, regardless of who you are, every single one of us are breathing God's air and drinking God's water every single day. And though he is worthy of all the glory, praise, honor, allegiance, thanksgiving, gratitude, love, and worship, he goes on giving, giving, giving to those who render no gratitude and to those whose gratitude still falls far short of what he's worthy of. Matthew 5.45, God causes his son to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the unrighteous and the righteous. God is kind to all people. He's kind to everyone. This is why the renowned author and atheist and academic Richard Dawkins A man who equates God with being an egotistical monster. A man who rails against the existence of God. This is why Richard Dawkins can enjoy the taste of a wonderful meal. Or friendship. Or good health. Or vacations. Or vaccinations. Or marriage. Apparently three times over. This is why both rain and sunshine falls on Richard Dawkins' garden just as anybody else's, because God is kind to ungrateful and evil men. This is the inescapable universal truth that Jesus is pointing to with these words. God is kind to ungrateful and evil men. As God looks down upon this sinful, messed up, fallen, cursed world, He is still pleased to extend His kindness to it. I had a conversation with a man who was complaining about his life. And he said something interesting. He said, he said, ah, he said, that's all right. It can only get better after this. And I stopped him. I said, wait a minute, what do you mean by that? And he said, well, he said, well, this is hell. I mean, we're living in hell right now. He said, so it can only get better after this. I said, no, no, no, I got to stop you there. I said, hold on. I said, this is earth. This is not hell. I said, you know, the Bible talks about a place called hell. Hell is a place that lacks God's kindness and compassion. I said, while you're in this earth, you are still experiencing the kindness and the compassion and the mercy of God. I said, no, Doug. I said, hell, that's the angry presence of God. That's void of his mercies and kindnesses. I said, no, this world is far from what hell is. Hell's a place of continual weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. I said, that's not your experience right now. And yet, this does leave us to consider, secondly, this is my second consideration, the fact that there is a real hell, tells us something about God's kindness, doesn't it? It tells us something about God's kindness that a lot of people don't like to hear. It tells us that God's kindness to ungrateful and evil men has an expiration date. It has a limit. There's a time for judgment, the Bible says. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. See, God is kind to all, but not all are going to experience God's kindness without end. While God patiently endures man's rebellion, the clock is ticking. The clock is ticking. The meter is running. Turn with me, if you would, to Psalm 73. Psalm 73. This psalm is written by a man named Asaph. What I love about this psalm, it sort of tells a story. Everything going on inside this man's heart, he just puts to paper. He just reveals his heart in this psalm. It's just opened up with vivid candor. As Asaph saw God's kindness to ungrateful and evil men, it actually made him angry and bitter and even a little jealous because Asaph, for a few minutes there, thought that God was not playing fair. Which is kind of funny because I've heard people say, you know what, it's not fair that a God should send anyone to hell. That's not fair. You ever hear someone say that? It's not fair that God should send anybody to hell. Asaph is saying the opposite. Asaph is saying it's not fair that God should be so kind to ungrateful and evil men, to those who hate him, to those who are indifferent to him. It's not fair. And you see, it's this wrong view of God that almost causes this man to stumble spiritually. Look at verse one. He says, surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, my steps had almost slipped, for I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, and their body is fat. In other words, they live very sensual, gluttonous lives, and they just seem to get away with it. He says, they're not in trouble like other men, nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore, he says, pride is their necklace. The garment of violence covers them. Their eye bulges from fatness. The imaginations of their heart run riot. He goes on to say, these men, they mock. They wickedly speak of oppression. They speak from on high. They've set their mouth against the heavens and their tongue parades through the earth. In verse 11, they say, how does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High? See, they even arrogantly bring up God's name, almost tauntingly. Verse 12, he says, behold, these are the wicked. And always at ease, they've increased in wealth. What's going on here? Solomon would later put this into perspective in Ecclesiastes 8-11 when he says, because a sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. You see, Solomon is saying fire doesn't come down from heaven and immediately consume man's rebellion against God. You know, I suppose if it did, this earth probably would look like hell. No, God is patient. And God is long-suffering to a point. Now, here's the rub for Asaph. Look at verse 13. He says, Asaph says, I love God, and yet my life is tough. He says, these people, they hate God. They thumb their nose at God and they seem to live on easy street. But then look at verse 16. He says, when I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight until, until I came into the sanctuary of God. It seems almost, it may be in the midst of worship. God opened up the eyes of his understanding and he says, then I perceived their end. Now listen, verse 18, here's what he says. As he comes to the full realization, he says, Surely you set them in slippery places. You cast them down to destruction, how they are destroyed in a moment. They're utterly swept away by sudden terrors, like a dream when one awakes, O Lord. When aroused, you will despise their form. Asaph marvels at God. He says, You allow the wicked, you allow those who hate you, those who reject you to be lulled with a false sense of security. They live their lives in rebellion to God and they seem to be prospering in it. But all the while, the clock is ticking. The meter is running. The expiration date is drawing near. Asaph says these people, they're so distracted with their idolatries. They're so distracted with filling their desires and their pursuits and their plans, they don't even think about their souls. They don't give a thought about eternity. They don't think about God. I mean, if they do think about God, they have very tiny views of him. They say God doesn't see. God doesn't know. He doesn't care. Verse 19, he says how they are destroyed in a moment. They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors. You see what happens? The clock stops. And God's judgment comes down upon them like a sledgehammer. And as Asaph ponders this. It seems to fill him with a renewed sense of the awesome, pure justice of God. It restores to him the fear of God. Verse 27, he says, Behold, those who are far from you, they will perish. But as for me, he says, for me, your nearness is my good. I want you near me. You see, it's vitally important for us when we're thinking about God to understand not just God's kindness. But also his justice. Asaph almost forgot this. God is kind to all universally. But God is also just. God is a just judge. You know what it's like when you hear of an unjust judge, right? Sometimes, you know, you're watching the news and some unjust judge passes some light sentence on some corrupt politician or, you know, a Hollywood actor fakes his own mugging and then the judge gives him a little slap on the wrist and sends him away. When you see that stuff, you go, that's an unjust judge. That's not fair. Well, God is not like that. God is not an unjust judge. He's kind in every possible sense of the word. But he's also pure in his justice. Only in him, the Bible says, has justice and mercy kissed each other. You see, turn with me to Exodus 34. Exodus chapter 34. This is a unique portion of scripture because in it we find God's autobiography. Very few places in scripture do you have an actual autobiography of God. This is his own description of himself to Moses in verses 6 and 7. Remember, this is God's definition to Moses of himself. The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth, who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. This is God. And many people would be really happy if the verse just stopped there, but it doesn't, does it? It goes on to say, yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. It's no wonder verse 8 says Moses made haste to bow down low to the earth and worship. Moses finds himself in the presence of a God of perfect mercy and pure justice. You see God is not that kindly old forgetful grandpa in the sky that people like to make him out to be. But neither is he the tyrannical hateful deity that others like to paint him. God is the sovereign, all-knowing, all-seeing, all-loving God of justice. But he has to be. He has to be. If God is not absolutely pure in his justice, then he's not a just judge. And if he's not a just judge, he's not God. So here's a question. Is God's kindness to mankind universally only so that they can all feel comfortable in their sin and then perish on a slippery slope of rebellion? Is that why God is kind? Of course not. There's a grand purpose behind the kindness of God, a grand purpose. And so consider with me thirdly, my third consideration, the grand purpose behind God's kindness to evil and ungrateful men. Listen to the question that Paul lays out in Romans 2.4. Paul says, do you think lightly of the riches of God's kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? God's kindness is meant to lead men to repentance. Everybody here knows what repentance is. Repentance is to turn away from your sin and turn to God, right? Peter said, the Lord is patient towards you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. I know a man who many, many years ago, while living in Atlanta, Georgia, was actually led to repentance and faith in Christ by seeing the kindness of God. This was a man who hated God. And yet this guy had everything he'd ever wanted. He had it all. He had the great, high-paying, high-energy job he always wanted. He had the beautiful home. He had the beautiful wife. He had beautiful children, right? Everything he'd ever wanted with not an ounce of gratitude toward God. And then one morning before work while taking a shower, this man was just suddenly out of the blue stricken with a deep, dark sense of dread. And he started asking himself the question as he's thinking about all the good things he has, am I going to have to pay for this someday? And he was filled with fear while taking a shower, filled with this sudden crippling fear that a day of accounting was going to be coming. And he was right. Well, this began him on a quest to seek after truth and to find the giver of these good and perfect gifts, which he did. And I can say now, decades later, this man lives as a forgiven, born again son of the Most High God. See, he was led by God's kindness to repentance. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul, right? What does man that you take thought of him, or the son of man that you would even care for him, God is kind to all people, even to ungrateful and evil men, so that they might repent, so that they might seek Him, so that they might turn to Him with all their heart. Well, that's my third consideration. Fourthly and finally, where's the connection? How is all this connected to you and to me? Where's the connection here? What are the implications of this truth for us? Well, let me ask you all a very honest question. Has God been kind to you? Has God been kind to you? I dare say that he has. See, I can preach this and I don't even have to know the people that are before me and I can say God has been kind to you. Even if you're one of these people that walk around with that dark cloud over their head. You know, there are people who walk around saying, life stinks. All is gloom and doom and darkness. Oh, it can only get better after this, right? My life's been a horror. There are people like this, and there are people like this because there are some really sad stories in this life, right? And sometimes these people are even blaming God. But even if you happen to be one of these people, If you're within the sound of my voice right now, you're not in hell. And this in and of itself is an immense kindness of God. You are not in hell right now. And you know what that means? That means there's still time. That means you still have time to repent and to believe. Now how much time do you have? I don't know. But I know this, the clock is still ticking. The meter is still running. Why has God been so kind to you? Because you deserved it? Because you've earned it from Him? No one can lay hold of that claim because all of us have sinned. We all fall short of the glory of God. We're all in the red. We all have a deficit. We all have a bill that we can't pay. The Word of Truth says that there's none righteous. There's none who does good. We're all children of God's wrath. Because we've all practiced the evil that we read about earlier in Mark 7. All of us, right? We're all a bunch of liars and thieves and fornicators and adulterers and slanderers and murderers. That's us, right? And if we say we're not, if we say, no, that's not me, then we're deceiving ourselves. So why has God been so kind to you? Why has he been so good to you? Could it be that somebody here is on what Asaph called that slippery slope of destruction? Could you be in that slippery place where God's kindness towards you is such that you are being lulled into a false sense of security? You know, oh, I'm doing great. Somebody up there must like me, right? Because a sentence isn't carried out immediately. Do you carry on in your sin as though you have immunity to it? As if, like they said back in Psalm 73, God doesn't see. God doesn't know. Could it be that there's somebody here, right now you're gliding through life, and you're enjoying all the good gifts of God, maybe even occasionally throw out a thank God, right? But you're not really giving much thought to eternity. You're not giving much thought to your soul. Are you distracted with only the things that you can see and taste and touch and hear? And are you thinking that somehow when the clock stops ticking, Everything's just gonna fall into place for me somehow, and I'm gonna find myself in heaven. If there's anyone here thinking this, I beg you, don't be blindsided by God's kindness. Don't be blinded by it. God is kind to you so that you'll look to him, so that you'll turn to him. He's the giver of every good and perfect gift. Whoever you are here this morning, God has been kind to you. What do you have that you haven't received? Right? Have you enjoyed the sights of God's creation? My wife and I just, we love driving through Lancaster. We just enjoy, we just soak in the sights. The green, we were looking at, marveling at the green grass, how green it was this morning. We haven't gotten that green yet up in Jersey. It's just so green out here. But have you enjoyed God's creation? Have you ever just wondered at majestic mountains? Or the immensity of the ocean? You ever stand on the beach and just marvel at God's oceans? You ever just sit and watch a beautiful, colorful sunset or a sunrise? Have you experienced the gift of family? The hug of a loved one? the laughter of grandchildren, right? The warmth of a home, the warmth of being in a home. Have you experienced, ever experienced expressions of human love? Have you ever been moved by a beautiful musical composition? Have you enjoyed good food and drink? Have you felt the warmth of the sun on your face on a cool day? Have you known times of health and times of healing? How about that first taste of that cup of coffee in the morning? You ever give thanks for that? Did you get a flu shot this year? Have you laughed? Have you cried? Some of us were doing a lot of that yesterday. Have you known times of joy and times of peace? You see, whoever you are here, God has been kind to you. He's been good to you. But I'm here to tell you this morning, you haven't even begun to scratch the surface of God's kindness until you come to the foot of the cross. Because nowhere else, all of what I've just mentioned pales in comparison to what God has done in Christ. Nowhere else is His kindness better displayed than at the cross, because this is where God took on flesh and faced enemies. with a love that none of us here will ever be able to fully comprehend. While we were helpless sinners, the Bible says, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. The ungodly. He didn't die for good people. He died for ungodly people. The Holy Son of God willingly sacrificed himself for liars and thieves and fornicators. He could have stopped it at any time. He could have called 10 legions of angels to stop it. He could have obliterated his enemies. He could have called fire down from heaven. And he didn't. Instead, he willingly hung there and suffered and died. What a supreme act of kindness. Why did he do this? Why did he endure such hostility and yet pour out kindness to sinners and enemies? Well, because God's justice had to be served. Because God is so pure in His justice, justice had to be served. Sin had to be punished for sin. There's no way getting around this. Sin must be punished. So it's either going to be punished in you or in Him. Now, which would you prefer? Let your sin be punished in you on the day of judgment or in Christ as he hangs on that cross. The cross is always about substitution. Remember that when you look at the cross think substitute, a substitute. Jesus who had no sin took upon himself the full fury of God's wrath so that we might know God's eternal kindness forever. and turning from your sin and trusting that all Christ has done, that's all He requires for you to know now in this life and forever God's eternal kindness. I think the only thing that's more amazing than God's kindness is who it is He bestows it upon. We're all natively ungrateful and evil, aren't we? Isn't that what pours out of our hearts in gratitude and evil? When a good king is good to all the subjects in his kingdom, how much better is he to his own household? Right? To his own family. Christian. Christian man, Christian woman, Christian boy, Christian girl. Has God been good to you? Has he been kind to you? He's revealed truth to you. Who are you? You're a nobody. We're the nobodies of the world. We're the not so many wise, the not so many mighty, the not so many noble. That's us. Jesus said, I praise you, Lord of heaven and earth, that you've hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to what? Nobodies, little babies. Why did God open up your eyes to see and believe the truth? All you ever did was feel your need of him and cry out to him. You know what an oxymoron is? An oxymoron is a proud Christian. I was driving home from church one night and we saw a bumper sticker on the back of a car that said, Christian and proud of it. I said, what? I wanted to roll down the window and yell at the guy. I said, are you kidding me? Of all the people on the face of the earth, it's the Christian that knows that they've got nothing to boast of, nothing to be proud of. Right? Paul said, may it be that I would never boast except in one thing and one thing alone, and that was in the cross. You are what you are because of God's kindness in leading you to repentance. Christian, has God been good to you? He guides you in paths of righteousness. He leads you beside quiet waters. He spreads a table before you right there in the presence of your enemies, right? He has a rod of correction with your name on it, but He only takes it out and uses it when it is absolutely necessary. He's given you His Spirit to guide you in all truth, and He's made a vow that He's never going to leave you or forsake you. And if that weren't enough, this God has committed to work everything, all things, for your good and for His glory. All things. You see, our God has committed himself that he will tailor his kindness toward each and every one of us. He'll tailor it. That means, of course, that God's kindness might be seen in a promotion at work or it might be seen in losing a job. God's kindness might be seen in finding a spouse or finding a tumor. God's kindness might be seen on the mountaintop of glory and prosperity. It might be seen in the valley of humiliation and need. God's kindness might be seen in healing. It might be seen in hurting. And as we saw yesterday, God's kindness is shrouded in mystery. But make no mistake, God abounds in loving kindness toward his people. He's committed to give you everything that you need. It doesn't matter what it is. He is going to give you everything you need in order that he can complete the work that he began in you. What a kindness. God ultimately cannot harm his people. He can't hurt us. Even in death, he can't hurt us. So whatever it is, Christian, Be assured, be encouraged, his plans are only for your welfare. Whether it is simply to move you to the next square in life or to teach you valuable sanctifying truths or to bring out in you possibly a needed repentance or simply just to draw you closer to him, God's kindness is always at work for your ultimate good and for his ultimate glory. Why? Because God is kind. He's kind to evil and ungrateful men now in this life. but he's kind beyond our comprehension in Christ for us who know him forever. Well, may God use this universal truth to both sanctify and save. Let's pray. Lord, words cannot describe what it is to be the recipients of your kindness unto eternity. And Lord, we pray that even now, Your kindness is enveloping Barbara and those children. Father, we pray that they would be so assured of your grace and your kindness toward them that they would not be able to grieve. without feeling a sense of your presence and the great comfort that only you can give. Lord, surround her with those who love her and surround her with your own supernatural love. And Lord, let us leave this place remembering that you are a God of supreme kindness and glory. We pray in Christ's name, amen.