Continuing Pastor Herk's sermon message, The second word is sympathy. We feel sympathy for another when we see them in distress, or when we are informed of their distresses. In Greek, the word is sympathḗs, having a fellow-feeling ("sympathetic"), (by implication) mutually commiserative: —having compassion one of another. There are brothers and sisters in the body of Christ who are hurting for many different reasons, and we need to be willing to call and visit with the love of Jesus as our individual personal ministry within the church community. This extends outside of the church, into our societal community also as Christians reflect Jesus in our secular culture, because it is the very character and spirit of Christ.
1 John 3:17 asks, “But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him?”
The third word is loving / brotherly love. The Greek word here is philádelphos, meaning love as brethren. We are to treat one-another as brothers and sisters in the family of God to which we belong. Believers are members of God’s spiritual family in relationship. John 1:12-13 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.” Romans 12:10-11 tells us to “be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”
The fourth word is tenderheartedness (Susceptibility of the softer passions). Peter is not saying that we are to be pitiful ourselves, but we are to be sensitive and take pity on those who truly need compassion because they need a tender spirit. Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” This is another characteristic of Jesus Christ. Be moved at the real pain and suffering that others are experiencing. Colossians 3:12-13 “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” To be tenderhearted requires a certain amount of self-denial (giving up your own wishes to meet someone else’s legitimate need, for the Lord Jesus said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
The fifth word is courtesy. Courtesy is defined as; Elegance or politeness of manners; especially, politeness connected with kindness; civility; complaisance. Friendliness of mind and loving in attitude towards others. Loving God and loving others is not all of it, we are to treat everyone with courtesy also. Imagine that change that would take place in this country and around the world if everybody encountered everyone this way.
The sixth word is blessing. Give people a blessing rather than exchanging an insult for an insult. Psalm 34:12-16 “Who is the person who desires life and loves length of days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears are toward their cry for help. The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to eliminate the memory of them from the earth.” Though the world is becoming increasingly evil, remember the faithful words of Romans 12:14 “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Yet stand boldly on the Word of God as James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: keep oneself unstained by the God-rejecting secular world. You have been blessed to be a blessing to others.
These are six words that Christians are to practices as part of our discipleship in our faith and godly walk with Christ. It is very, very important for us to strive to be good disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Being Disciples of Jesus Christ means that we are commissioned by the Lord to make other disciples by the Gospel truth in strong faith.
Be strong in Christ, Brian
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