Compassion
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
Living compassionate lives is essential to living like Christ.
25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!
Being compassionate is truly caring about those around us.
Caring about those around us is having empathy and sympathy.
This empathy and sympathy should cause us to move and act and have compassion for one another.
If we live 1 Peter 3:8-12 it will build compassion with in our hearts.
8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;
9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.
10 For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Peter says that we are all to be of one mind and that having this one mind will cause us to...
have compassion for one another
Love as brothers
Be tenderhearted
to be courteous
to never return evil for evil or reviling for reviling
to always return a blessing for evil
It is having this one mind which is the mind of Christ that will put all of this together and really draw out compassion in our lives as Christians.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
The more we become like Christ the more compassion we will show to others.
So what is compassion?
Compassion = empathy or sympathy + action
Body:
Compassion begins with a feeling of sharing emotions.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
If we are going to have compassion then we must empathize or sympathize with people.
Empathy is sharing the experience that causes them pain and hurting with them.
Sympathy is hurting with them but not sharing the experience.
Jesus’ compassion on the ignorant and going astray (sinful people) is His empathy and sympathy for humanity.
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
1 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
2 He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness.
Jesus has empathy for us in that He was tempted (Matt. 4:1-11) and sympathy for us in being susceptible to sin or weakness (Heb. 4:15).
It is because of this that He can have compassion on the ignorant and those going astray and help them find grace in a time of need.
When people are hurting our compassion can help them find grace.
Jesus desired to have compassion on Isreal because He knew they were hurting and He sympathized with them and wanted to gather them together to help them find grace in a time of need.
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
But unfortunately they were not willing to receive His compassion.
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
And because they were unwilling to receive His compassion their house was going to be left desolate.
38 See! Your house is left to you desolate;
Jesus offered His compassion to them and they refused it but Jesus did not modify God’s word to be “more compassionate”.
Near the end of the lesson we will briefly discuss this more with what false compassion is.
Compassion involves recognizing the person I aspire to be.
On the TV show NCIS, there was a mother struggling with drug addiction and homelessness who was trying to improve her life.
Her background was filled with all different kinds of problems but she did not want to be seen just for her problems.
She was being accused of a crime she did not commit and law enforcement would not look past who she used to be.
She was going to mess up and relapse because what she was going through wasn’t easy.
She was worried that if she admitted her problems there would be consequences and she might even lose custody of her son so she did not turn to help.
An MI 6 agent who was attracted to NCIS recognized her struggle and that she was trying to better her life.
He had empathy for her because his mother was homeless and trying to raise him. So he knew first had the struggle.
This empathy cause him to act and recognize her struggle and consider that she might not be guilty.
In the end this lady was guilty of many different sins but she was trying to be better.
An MI6 agent had empathy for her and this motivated him to take action and try to help. This empathy plus action equalled compassion.
The compassion he showed her helped to prove her innocent and demonstrated to her that she could finally trust someone with her secrets.
The last thing she said to the MI6 agent was thank you for seeing who I was trying to be.
This is what, we as Christians, should strive to do—see people for who they are trying to be instead of just seeing the mistakes.
Compassion is motivation.
James teaches that we have to have empathy or sympathy plus action to have true compassion.
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
In Matthew 9:35-38 Jesus was moved with compassion because they were weary and scattered and Jesus could empathize with being weary.
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
Jesus could empathize with being weary.
Jesus came to his own and his own recieved Him not.
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
At one time Jesus had no where to lay His head.
20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
When he was praying at the Mount of Olives He was in agony.
44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
He was weary worn down from the struggle.
43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.
In Mark’s account of this same encounter it demonstrates what His empathy motivated Him to do.
33 But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him.
34 And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.
In Matthew’s account He emphasized with them because He understood being weary.
Mark’s account demonstrates what that empathy led him to do.
He began to teach them.
His empathy (understanding weariness) led to action (teaching them) which moved Him with compassion.
What moved Jesus was understanding of being weary which led Him to try and help.
In every instance that Jesus shows compassion He is always moved to act.
In Matthew 14:14 Jesus was moved with compassion so he healed the sick.
Matthew 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-10 Jesus was moved with compassion so he fed them.
In Matthew 20:29-34 Jesus was moved with compassion and healed the blind.
In Mark 1:40-45 Jesus was moved with compassion and healed the leper.
In Mark 5:1-20 and Mark 9:14-29 Jesus was moved with compassion and cast out demons.
In Luke 7:11-16 Jesus was moved with compassion and raised a widow’s son from the dead.
We must be careful of false compassion.
False compassion is modifying God’s Word to accept sinful behavior.
This condition happens when we have the feeling of empathy or sympathy which moves us to desire to help to relief their suffering without removing the sin that might be causing the suffering.
We have to remember that the heart can be deceitful.
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Something can seem to be right and not be right.
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Empathy and Sympathy can cause deep feelings and something we can even think God’s not going to condemn them or if I try to tell them that they are wrong they are going to leave so we disguise our tolerance of sin as compassion.
James say....
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,
20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
Paul says the purpose is...
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.
5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,
We never want to allow our feeling to take us beyond God’s word so we never become prideful.
6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.
Conclusion:
Compassion begins with a feeling of sharing emotions.
Compassion should motivate us to help.
We always need to be cognizant of false compassion.
