ENGAGE – Compassion
From Careless To Caremore
Jesus (your Savior King) spoke the following words in what many refer to as His inaugural address on the mountainside by the Sea of Galilee.
Letting people know who they could be and who they really are in Him.
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men.14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:13-16
Prayer
OKAY SO – we are in the final weeks of our series…"Becoming the church He intended'
AND B/S – as I stand before you this morning (9-22-2019)…
I want you to know that there is nothing that I desire more than for we who meet at 3210 Proffit Road to become the Church and the people that HE (the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace) intends for us to be.
YES – I sooo want that for us.
BECAUSE – countless people’s eternities are in jeopardy if we do not.
GET IT?
AND – what we have been discussing as we’ve been wrapping up this series is that the church that Jesus intended is made up of people who are living their lives on MISSION…
(seeking the lost, making disciples and showing compassion)
AND – here is the diagram that we use at The Grove summarize the path to that life.
A life lived on Mission…
- Begins with BELONG (belonging to Christ through faith repentance, confession and baptism… AND – belonging to His church through church membership)
- Deepens with GROW (committing to those 6 SG growth habits)
- Expresses itself within in the Body with SERVE
- AND… Unleashes the Spirit and Power of God with ENGAGE (when we actually become the light of the world and the salt of the earth through acts of compassion and the sharing of the Good News)
UNDERSTAND – ENGAGE is about His church being the light of the world and the salt of the earth… OR - we could put it this way… ENGAGE – is all about Jesus-followers making a positive difference in His world. IT’S - about leaving the 4 walls of this building and making our community a better place.
NOW UNDERSTAND - what we do in here, in this building is great, essential and important.
LISTEN - according to God’s Word… BELONG – GROW – SERVE… are vital to you living your life on mission
BUT – if that is all we do… if we do not leave this place and ENGAGE this our community through acts of compassion and the sharing of His Gospel… we are for the most part just wasting our time… and are nothing more than self-centered, internally focused Jesus-club.
OKAY – let’s do this…
ENGAGE – Compassion (from careless to caremore)
NOW – there are just 2 points in your notes that we are going to unpack.
#1 – God has always called His people to Compassion (to Caremore)
#2 – Moving from careless to caremore
I. God Has Always Called His People To Compassion
UNDERSTAND – God has always wanted His people to make His world a better place. To show compassion, to caremore.
I MEAN – right there in the very beginning you have the call of Abraham, where see God making it very clear that it was His intent for His people to have a positive impact on the world he created.
The Lord said to Abram: I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing… and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. – Genesis 12:2,3
QUESTION - who will be blessed through His people?
AND – as we move on from Genesis, we quickly see that God has a special place in His heart for those who live on the edges and margins of society – and that He has a plan for His people to minister to those broken people.
IN FACT – there are nearly 400 biblical passages demonstrating God’s concern for orphans, widows, prisoners, foreigners, the homeless, the poor, the sick, the hungry and the disabled.
YEAH – if God says something 400 times, I think it is pretty safe to assume that whatever that something is – it matters deeply to Him.
NOW – God’s call for His people to display compassion to those living on the edges throughout the Law of Moses…HERE – are a few examples. In Deuteronomy 10 (in regards to caring for the poor), God basically says be like me, and remember you were once like them.
18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing. 19 You also must love the foreigner, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. – Deuteronomy 10:18,19
GOD - also made provisions in the law for His people to use special offerings to look out for those living on the edge.
28 “At the end of every third year, bring the entire tithe of that year’s harvest and store it in the nearest town. 29 Give it to the Levites, who will receive no allotment of land among you, as well as to the foreigners living among you, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, so they can eat and be satisfied. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all your work. -Deuteronomy 14:28,29
AND GOD – commanded the farmers to be sure not to squeeze every bit of profit from their land, but instead to always leave some behind for the poor to harvest.
You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident; I am Yahweh your God. - Leviticus 19:10
AND GOD – Deuteronomy 15 asks us to open up our hearts and be generous.
10 Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. 11 There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need. - Deuteronomy 15:10,11
NEXT - we see this call for His people to display compassion and to caremore in the Proverbs…
Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him. - Proverbs 14:31
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. - Proverbs 19:17
The one who gives to the poor will not be in need, but one who turns his eyes away will receive many curses. - Proverbs 28:27
The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern. - Proverbs 29:7
We see also this call for His people to display compassion in the Psalms…
Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor! The Lord rescues them when they are in trouble. The Lord protects them and keeps them alive. He gives them prosperity in the land and rescues them from their enemies. - Psalm 41:1,2
AND - we see this call for His people to display compassion and to caremore all through the Prophets…
IN FACT – we see God through His prophets saying that…
IF - His people do not show compassion and seek justice and care for the needs of the poor…
THEN - they should not bother worshipping Him at all.
In the prophets Isaiah’s day that is what they were doing.
Coming ‘to church’… singing the songs, bringing the sacrifices…
But they did nothing to help those living on the edges.
And so God through His prophet says to the people…
Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me… I cannot bear your worthless assemblies… I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening… stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. - Isaiah 1:13-17
AND - we see this call for His people to display compassion and to caremore modeled in the Gospels in the ministry of God the son…
UNDERSTAND – Jesus did not have to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, heal the diseased, cleanse the leper, cast out the demon, eat with the sinner…
IN ORDER - to bring about our redemption on the cross.
BUT – He could not help Himself because He is God and He as He said Himself in Exodus 34… when He passed in front of Moses…
Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth… - Exodus 34:6
AND – since Jesus was God when He saw hurting people, people in need He was always moved with compassion and He went to them, and touched them…
NOW - I love what a guy named Paul Brand says. Now, Doctor Brand worked among the lepers in India for many years. And as he reflected on how Jesus interacted with the crowd, especially those who were diseased. He writes…
Jesus reached out and He touched the eyes of the blind.
The skin of the person with leprosy. The legs of the cripple.
I sometimes wonder, why Jesus so frequently touched the people He healed. Many of whom must have been unattractive, obviously diseased, unsanitary and smelly.
With His power He easily could have waved a magic wand.
But he choose not to. Jesus mission was not chiefly a crusade against disease… But rather a ministry to individual people, some of whom happened to have a disease
He wanted those people one by one - to feel His love, His warmth and His full identification with them.
Jesus knew that He could not readily demonstrate love to a crowd, because love usually involves touching.
AND LISTEN – the very first words that Jesus spoke as He launched His ministry were these…
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come. - Luke 4:18,19
AND SO – it should come as no surprise that Jesus said to His followers in Luke 14…
12 Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. 13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.” - Luke 14:12-14
SO – we God’s call for His people to show compassion and caremore… IN THE - call of Abraham, in the law of Moses, in the Psalms – the Prophets and the Proverbs… and in the Gospel.
AND – we see this call continue in and for His people, the Church.
In Galatian 2 Paul is talking about His encounter with the apostles as he shared with them the call God has given Him to take the Gospel to the Gentiles…
9 James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. – Galatians 2:9-10
AND – James (Jesus ½ brother) said it about as clear as it could be said in chapter 1 of His letter.
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. – James 1:26-27
AND – the apostle John in his first letter…
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. – 1 John 3:16-18
OKAY… Point number one - God Has Always Called His People To Compassion
Now for the second point in your notes
II. Moving From CareLess To CareMore
A) From Careless
The University of Michigan did a study of 14,000 college students from 1979-2009 and what they found was that there was a drastic decline in compassion and empathy. And what their study revealed is that…
We care 40% less than people did in the 1980’s.
40% (and what it unsettling to me is that I made that statement – and I not sure that your care)
NOW – in their research they asked questions like… (1-5)
• I often have tenderhearted concern for people who are less fortunate then me
• Would you considered yourself soft-hearted
• Are bothered by the misfortunes of others
40% drop in how much we care about each other since the 1980’s…
AND – this raises the question as why this drop.
AND – many researchers argue that one of the primary reasons for the careless epidemic in our world today is the rise of social media.
Check this out… 79% of Americans (247 million people) have a social networking profile.
I’d like to suggest 3 reasons why we careless today (and all are tied to social media, though it is not the only cause for these ‘careless’ reason)
We care less because
1. We’ve become more obsessed with ourselves
OKAY – America has been an
‘it’s all about me’ … ‘have it my way’ … ‘look at for #1’
‘I deserve to be happy’ - for quite sometime and social has put our self obsession on steroids.
NOW - for those some of you who are younger… the concept of ‘selfie’ has just been a part of your vocabulary, as normal.
BUT LISTEN - That’s… not… normal.
Turning a camera on yourself… is not normal.
NOW – when it comes to selfies there are many different types of selfies…
(show images of the following)
Driving in my car selfie
Duck lip selfie
Me and My Bestie Selfie
Me and My food selfie
Me and my cute pet selfie
I am at the beach and you are not selfie
I’m at the gym and in better shape then you selfie
I am with a famous person selfie
Now I can’t take a selfie selfie... (show a bad selfie of myself)
Those are some of the selfies… you have the new haircut self selfie,
OKAY - you gotta admit that we have become massively more obsessed with ourselves. And the rise of selfie is evidence of it.
AND – hey this out…
Studies have been done that found that 80% of what a person does on social media actually relates directly to the user. In other words when I go on social media I am going look at what I am interested in, and at what you are saying about me…
Did you like my picture – did you comment on my post.
We careless because
2. Overwhelming Exposure to suffering desensitizes us
I remember years ago, when they first showed those photo’s of starving children around the world… I would often change the channel. Because it made me feel bad and uncomfortable
But over the years I have been exposed to so much suffering here and around the world – that I have in many ways become desensitized… “Oh 43 died in the Bahamas in hurricane Dorian. That’s awful, what time to we need to leave for the game”
AND – when it comes to social media we see everything on a timeline and it becomes harder for our brain to determine what is more important.
LIKE – you scroll through your news fed and you see
• A new recipe for guacamole
• Another football player hits his girlfriend
• Funny cat video
• A Christian martyred in another part of the world
Overwhelming Exposure to suffering desensitizes us
We careless because
3. A lack of personal interaction makes it easier not to care
Let’s say that you get a bad report from the doctor and the cancer has come back and it is already stage 4…
And I see that on my newsfeed
And I might comment ‘I am so sorry, praying for you’ with a sad face emoji.
And I might pray for you, or I might forget to pray for you.
I mean let’s just be real.
HOWEVER – if I am sitting across the table from you and I am looking you right in the eyes.
And I see the pain, and the fear and the suffering on your face.
And I hear you tell me about…
• how you don’t know how you are going to tell your kids…
Suddenly I am moved to caremore…
YOU SEE - it is so much easier to disconnect from a distance.
UNDERSTAND – I really do not think there is much of a debate that people in our culture careless today.
AND LISTEN – the church has not been immune from this…Self-obsession (internally focused) – desensitized
disconnected mindset
B) To Caremore
NOW JESUS – once told a story to illustrate the importance of Compassion, of caringmore…
(along with the story of the prodigal son – it is one of Jesus most well known parables even outside the church… and has furnished the names for many hospitals across the nation)…
IT’S FOUND - in Luke chapter 10.
NOW – this story by Jesus was prompted by a question… that was designed to set Jesus up…
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” - Luke 10:25-27
I love how Jesus, so quickly turns the test around… and now it’s this guy who is in the hot seat.
27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” 29 The man wanted to justify his actions,
so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied with a story. - Luke 10:27-29
It’s a story about three men who are traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho (which was a very notorious road, known for criminals and thieves… it was about 20 miles long, it dropped in elevation about 3000 feet. And it’s rocky and mountainous terrain provided great places for bad guys to hide… it’s not a good road, no lights, no highway patrol, no 911).
“A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. – Luke 10:30
What we have here - is a crime scene… Try to picture it…
OKAY – this guy has been beaten… left for dead…. He is in bad, bad shape… he probably will never make it back home to his family in Jericho.
Jesus continues…
By chance a priest came along.
AND – I kind of picture this ½ dead guy squinting through his bruised and bleeding eyes and thinking, “awesome, a pastor (I think I saw him coming out of his church while I was in town) - what luck. Everything is going to be fine now…”
Yeah, he is probably feeling like the famer I heard about the other day…
He was coming out of this field along the back roads in the hills, just as he pull onto the main road, a guy speeding over the hilltop hit his rig.The farmer ended up pinned under his trailer, his dog seriously injured was not far away, and his poor mule was across the road in the other ditch. The driver, who already had one DUI, quickly left the scene, just in time - because the sheriff was the next car to come by.
The farmer couldn't believe his luck in having the Sheriff so close behind until he saw how the sheriff handled the situation. Looking over the carnage, the Sheriff sees that the mule had broken legs, and was suffering badly, so he pulled out his 9 mm and shot it putting it out of its misery. He walked across road and saw the dog was just as bad off, so we shot him, too. Then he walked back over to the Farmer and ask if he was in pain. The farmer quickly replied, “never felt better in my life.”
Yeah unfortunately, when people are hurting, sometimes the last person they actually trust to help them is someone that should be able to trust.
But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by… - Luke 10:31
I MEAN – this guy actually went out of his way to avoid doing the right thing…
YEAH - somehow on this religious guys list of ‘things to do to please God,’ this one just didn't make the cut.
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side… - Luke 10:32
AGAIN – he just avoids the guy… I don’t maybe he was thinking what if the guy is actually dead. The LAW says I can’t touch a dead body or I will be unclean and unable to serve in the Temple. “Yeah, I’d really like to help, but…”
SO – what we have so far in this story is two of God’s people seeing a person in real need and caringless.
AND THEN JESUS – throws in this HUGE plot twist…
AND REMEMBER – who His audience is (Jewish religious leaders) AND SO FAR – it is obvious to them, that Jesus is casting them as the bad guys in the story…
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them.
Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” - Luke 10:33-37
QUESTION, SO – how can we…
• ‘Go and do the same...?
• Go from careless to caremore
WELL – the Samaritan teaches us that compassionrequires that we do three things…
1. SEE
The Bible says in Luke 10:33, when he saw him, he had compassion…
UNDERSTAND - Compassion begins with the eyes, with the way we look, with the way we see.
Compassion always begins with our vision…
I MEAN – how can we care about the needs of the poor and people living on the margins in our community if we do not see them?
QUESTION – our there any people, any families, any people living on the edge in our community who need God’s people to care more?
HEY…
Did you know that there are about 4,000 single parent homes in Greene and Albemarle County
AND - that about 10% of people living in our community live below the poverty line.
LIKE. How many hurting people in need of compassion do you think are within a 15-20 mile distance from our church?
OKAY
SEEING – that’s the starting point…
SEEING – is what begins to engage and unleash our caringmore…
When he saw him, he had compassion…
AND LISTEN - If our Compassion level is not > than our desire for personal Comfort we will refuse to see and instead continue to pass by on the other side.
To move from careless to caremore
We need to SEE, and we need to
2. Stop
UNDERSTAND - instead of passing by on the other side, we've got to stop…
QUESTION – if we see the need (and even feel a twinge of compassion rising in regards to that need), what’s the problem, what’s keeps us from stopping…
I honestly believe that the greatest hindrance to the mission of Christ is the busyness of his agents.
– Tim Harlow (Life On Mission)
UNDERSTAND – compassion does not happen on our schedule.
AND - caringmore is often inconvenient and takes time.
I MEAN - sometimes in order to stop and caremore, our entire schedule for that day (or maybe even weeks, months or years) just goes out the window.
To move from careless to caremore
We need to SEE, and we need to
3. Seize
We need to seize the moment.
Don’t wait. Don’t delay. Don’t procrastinate.
We must do what you can, and do it at that very moment.
UNDERSTAND – though compassion stirs our emotions… it is so much more than an emotion, it is an action.
Compassion (Splagchnizomai) – to have the bowels yearn, to feel sympathy, to be moved to action.
(splaog – needs – zomai)
AND LISTEN… here’s the deal, here’s the bottom line
To say you care but not act is to not care at all
UNDERSTAND B/S - CARING is not clicking… CARING is not simply – making a comment, posting an emoji, holding up a sign, wearing ribbon, loudly protesting and demanding that someone (usually other than you) do something to help others.
INSTEAD… Caring is acting… Caring is not liking a post it’s loving a person. Caring is beening moved from depth of our insides to get involved in the lives of other people.
YOU KNOW – when we read the Gospels we see that every time that Jesus was moved with compassion, that it was immediately followed by action. Just a few examples…
Then a man with a serious skin disease came to Him and, on his knees, begged Him: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched him. “I am willing,” He told him. “Be made clean.” - Mark 1:40,41
Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. – Matthew 14:14
There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd told them to keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” “Lord,” they said to Him, “open our eyes!” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed Him. – Matthew 20:30-34
NOW - in Jesus parable the Samaritan models for us the two necessary actions our compassion must take in order for us to caremore
a) We must come near
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. Going over to him… - Luke 10:33,34
IN OTHER WORDS - he made contact, he got close, he came near, he touch the wounded man…
IN - the book “Love Beyond Reason”
John Ortberg writes about “The Miracle of Touch… ”
The miracle of touch is that Jesus was willing to share another person’s suffering in order to bring about healing. This is a foreshadowing of the cross: Jesus taking on our sin so that we could take on his life. By his stripes we are healed. In a contagious world, we learn to keep our distance. If we get too close to those who are suffering, we might get infected by their pain. It may not be convenient or comfortable. But only when you get close enough to catch their hurt will they be close enough to catch your love.
To seize the moment, to caremore we must come near… get close, make contact.
And we must…
b) Use what we have and pay the cost
QUESTION – what did the Samaritan use?
ANSWER - what he had…. Jesus says the man poured oil & wine on his wounds… Why? BECAUSE - that’s what he had.
AND the wine worked ok, because it’s alcohol. It’s an antiseptic. The oil worked ok because it would be soothing to the wounds that he had.
THEN - it says he dressed him with bandages.
QUESTION - where did he get the bandages? Obviously this guy’s not a doctor. He doesn’t have a first-aid kit. And the guy on the road has been stripped naked so he didn’t have any clothes.
MORE THAN LIKELY - the bandages are the Samaritan’s own clothes. He takes his shirt off, rips it up and starts bandaging this guy bleeding on the side of the road…
THEN – he puts him on his donkey, takes him to a hotel and pays for his stay (with 2 days wages)… And says to the hotel manager, if it costs more, I will pay you when I pass through again.
B/S – if you want to move from careless to caremore, you must
• SEE the needs around you
• STOP and allow your life to be interrupted
• SEIZE – the moment by taking action (by coming near and by using what you have to pay the cost)
AND – let me be clear… Compassion and Caringmore will cost you…
• It will cost you time
• It will cost you energy and effort
• It will cost you financially – emotionally – physically
• It will cost you comfort
LIKE…
• If you decide to adopt an orphan as many in this body have done it will cost you
• If you decide to foster a child like people in this body will do it will cost you
QUESTION…
• When is the last time that you gave up an entire day or maybe even a weekend to serve somebody.
• When is the last time you went significantly out of your way to help someone financially… because your bowels starting yearning and you just felt it.
• When is the last time that you did not do what you wanted to do because you moved with compassion to help out someone else.
NOW – maybe some in here are like, pretty recently
And maybe others can’t remember the last time you did anything like that…
And if that is the case God is calling you to caremore.
In fact he is calling all of us to caremore!
If you feed those who are hungry and take care of the needs of those who are troubled, then your light will shine in the darkness, and you will be bright like sunshine at noon. The LORD will always lead you. He will satisfy your needs in dry lands and give strength to your bones. You will be like a garden that has much water, like a spring that never runs dry. Your people will rebuild the old cities that are now in ruins; you will rebuild their foundations. You will be known for repairing the broken places and for rebuilding the roads and houses. - Isaiah 58:10-12
God says this: “When you assume responsibility for the needs of hurting people around you… I Will…”
• Reward you
• Lead you
• Satisfy your needs
• Give strength to your bones
• Make you like a spring that never runs dry
• Rebuild both your foundations and what is now in ruins
• Repair the broken places
• AND YOU – will shine in the darkness like the sun at noontime!!!!
Resources - a sermon by Craig Groeschel I found on youtube
