A Compassionate Lord Matt
A Compassionate Lord Matt. 9:36 EBC 10/21/07
With so much material available today for building a great church, you would think there would be a great church on every corner. But, with all the materials available today it still boils down to compassion for the lost. Jesus was moved with compassion because of seeing that people were like sheep with no shepherd. Jesus saw the pain, the hurts, people that had no direction in their lives. We must see this world through the eyes of Christ, we must be moved with compassion. Christ’s desire is here to give direction and purpose into people’s lives. Compassion – to feel sympathy or affection in the heart.
ILL. A secretary on the job is engulfed in problems. Her husband left her; a son is in rebellion; she can barely make ends meet. She cries out for help. We don’t hear. A fellow employee is overwhelmed by the complexity of overcoming his chronic drinking problem. He longs for a friend. We’re deaf to his cries. The owner of the gas station where we’ve traded for years has just lost his wife. His eyes echo his loneliness. We don’t see. A wife would love to share with us the trauma and trivia of her day—just to have a listening ear. Our ears are closed. And as the “perfect” ending to such a self-centered day, we hurry to the church building and get our weekly door-knocking assignment as we hasten to engage a cold prospect in an ambiguous process which we have labeled evangelism. Does that approach make sense? It seems to me it is time we acknowledged the fact that a good translation of the Great Commission has it reading: “As you are going into all the world. . . .” You see, we are in such a hurry to “go!” that we miss the very ones whom God brings into our path—“as we are going.” May God awaken us to the realization that true evangelism is loving the world the way God loves it; allowing our hearts to be broken by the things that break God’s heart;
Mark 1:41- Today, compassion will cause us to touch the untouchables of our world. Compassion will reach out, compassion will love those discarded by the world.
Luke 7:12-13- Today, we need to see the world of broken lives, broken hearts and broken dreams around us. We must be moved with compassion to touch them, love them and help them through their hurts, and pain.
Jude 22- when our preaching might not be heard our compassion will.
I. The Compassion we See (Matt. 9:36)
A. Character of his compassion
1. Unique among religions- John Butler said "So far as we know, this pity for the sinner was a new note in religious history." Christianity stands alone as a religion of compassion. John MacArthur- The great Puritan writer Thomas Watson said, “We may force our Lord to punish us, but we will never have to force Him to love us.” The God of Scripture is the God of love and compassion. How different are the gods of paganism[1]
2. Uncommon among men- The compassion of Christ for the spiritual needs of man is uncommon among men. Men often have compassion for the physical and material needs of others, but compassion for the spiritual needs of others is sadly lacking in most men. Yet, spiritual needs are the greatest of all needs.—Studies of the Savior.
a. Rom. 9:2,3-
b. Phil. 2:5-
1. J.C. Ryle- the Christian who doesn’t have compassion for the lost certainly doesn’t have the mind of Christ.
B. Cause of his compassion – he saw the sheep as weak, wounded and wandering.
1. Weak- they fainted. The world is feeding the lost a diet of husks and cobs in materialism and carnal pleasures. Out of this they get no strength.
a. Sin only weakens the man
b. Rom. 5:6-
2. Wounded- they were scattered. This means to throw, hurl or cast down.
a. Sin brings much harm to the sinner. Go into hosp. See how many people are there from alcohol or drugs.
b. Prov. 23:29-
3. Wandering- the lost intend to do it their own way.
a. Isa. 53:6- all we like sheep ..
b. Prov. 13:15- he way of the transgressor is hard
c. Without a shepherd the sheep don’t know which way to go. a few years ago when Justice William Brennan of the Supreme Court retired (he was one of the leading liberals of the country), his comment about defining obscenity was, "I tried and tried and waffled and waffled and finally gave up”. What a shame when one so important is so confused about such an important issue in life.
II. The Command we See (Matt. 9:38)
A. John MacArthur- who can reach the lost, hell-bound world of sinful, hurting people who need to hear and accept the gospel? Who will tell them of their plight and show them the way of escape? Who will share with them Jesus’ love and compassion and power? Who will warn them of the false shepherds that lead them deeper and deeper into darkness and hopelessness?
1. It is possible to pray regularly for the salvation of a loved one, a neighbor, a friend, or a fellow employee and to let our concern stop with our prayer. But when we earnestly pray for the Lord to send someone to those unsaved people, we cannot help becoming open to being that someone ourselves. It is possible to pray for someone’s salvation while keeping them at arm’s length. But when we sincerely beseech the Lord to send someone to witness to them, we place ourselves at His disposal to become one of His workers in that ministry.
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