“Pursue A Heart of Compassion and Love”
Matthew 9:9-13
John 5:1-9
The call of Jesus to follow Him is not a call to follow him without challenge and adventure. Jesus did not say, “Follow me and I will give you a pain free life.”
We are called to walk in the steps of Jesus. Sometimes those steps are not easy, but we know that with each step Jesus is by our side and at times reaches down lifts us up and carries us.
As a Christ follower we are called to live as Jesus lived. Jesus had a heart of compassion and love. Are we pursing a heart of compassion and love? How do we measure up to the compassion and love of Jesus?
Paul gives us this challenge: “Follow God’s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ…” Ephesians 5:1-2
This morning I want to look at two examples of how Jesus expressed compassion and love.
I. Jesus Had Compassion and Love for Spiritually Lost People.
Matthew 9:9-13 NLT
Jesus and His followers are walking into the town of Capernaum. Jesus sees Matthew sitting in the tax booth collecting taxes. Tax collectors were looked upon as the scum of the earth. They worked for the Roman government and were looked upon as traitors by other Jews. They made their living by overcharging and cheating the very people they collected taxes from.
Matthew was despised by the Romans because he was a Jew, and despised by fellow Jews because he was working for their enemy.
When Matthew went to work that day he was probably searching for a friend. He was looking for acceptance and love.
When Jesus saw Matthew he saw a man with a lonely heart. Jesus saw his pain, his loneliness and his lack of purpose in life. Jesus saw a man who needed a Savior.
Jesus had compassion and love toward Matthew the tax collector and called out to him, “Matthew, come be my disciple.” Matthew got up and followed him.
To follow Jesus meant for Matthew to give up a lucrative business and an income that provided for a comfortable life. Matthew made a radical decision that forever changed his life. He became a follower of Jesus. He didn’t care what the Romans might say or what his fellow Jews might do. He left his way of life and followed Jesus.
Do you make excuses for not following Jesus? Do you say or think like some of the following comments?
“Use me, oh Lord! Use me, oh Lord! But not just now....As soon as I’m out of college And pay all the debts I’ve carried, As soon as I’ve done my army stint, As soon as I’ve gotten married. I want you to use me, oh Lord, Use me, oh Lord, but not just now....As soon as I get my first real job, As soon as the house is built, As soon as my psychiatrist says that I am free of guilt. I want you to use me, oh Lord! Use me, oh Lord! But not just now...
“As soon as I’ve paid the mortgage, As soon as the kids are grown, As soon as they have finished college, As soon as they are on their own. I want you to use me, oh Lord! Use me, oh Lord! But not just now...
“As soon as I’ve reached retirement, As soon as I draw my pension, Just as soon as I am dead! I want you to use me, oh Lord! Use me, oh Lord! But not just now...”
There may be some who say, “I don’t have any talents to use for the Lord. I have nothing to offer. When spiritual gifts were given out I was at the end of the line.”
# If there was ever a person who could have offered Jesus an excuse, Robert Reed would be that person. His hands are twisted and his feet are useless. He can’t bathe himself. He can’t feed himself. He can’t brush his teeth, comb his hair, or put on his underwear. His shirts are held together by strips of Velcro. His speech drags like a worn-out audiocassette. Robert has cerebral palsy.
The disease keeps him from driving a car, riding a bike, and going for a walk. But it didn’t keep him from graduating from high school or attending Abilene Christian University, from which he graduated with a degree in Latin. Having cerebral palsy didn’t keep him from teaching at a St. Louis Junior College or from venturing overseas on five missions trips.
And Robert’s disease didn’t keep him from becoming a missionary to Portugal. He moved to Lisbon, alone, in 1972. There he rented a hotel room and began studying Portuguese. He found a restaurant owner who would feed him after the rush hour and a tutor who would instruct him in the language.
Then he stationed himself daily in a park, where he distributed brochures about Christ. Within six years he led seventy people to the Lord. Robert Reed didn’t see fit to offer excuses to the Lord. (Max Lucado, "The Applause of Heaven")
We are told that when Matthew heard Jesus call, “Follow me,” he “rose and followed him.” He left his old life behind and entered into a new one.
After Matthew decided to follow Jesus his first action was to throw a party for his spiritually lost friends. The most important thing about his party was that he invited Jesus to also attend the party. He wanted his friends to meet Jesus.
Jesus didn’t care what the Pharisees and others thought of his partying with Matthew and his spiritually lost friends. Jesus said that His mission was to seek and to save the lost. The Pharisees said that by His very association with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus was also a sinner.
Jesus saw the worth of Matthew and looked beyond his faults. The Pharisees worried about associating with sinners and following the letter of the law.
Jesus was concerned about mercy and compassion. The Pharisees were concerned about their reputation in the community. Jesus was concerned about the lost souls in the community and how to reach them.
Do you believe Jesus is still radically changing the lives of people? Do you have confidence enough in Jesus to do your part in reaching out in love and compassion to people who are spiritually lost?
Paul gives us this admonition in Romans 12:11, “Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.” What is your level of passion for spiritually lost people?
When do you give up on praying for a friend or family member? My mother never gave up on praying for her husband, my father. During her lifetime she did not see her prayers answered, but I did.
Jesus did not give up on Matthew. He gave the call and Matthew responded to the call.
Our task as a church and as individuals is to never give up on reaching out in love to people. Jesus didn’t wait for people to come to Him. Jesus went to where people lived and worked. Jesus took the initiative and got involved in the lives of people.
Jesus worked with them in the synagogues.
He went to their weddings.
He went fishing with them.
He laughed and cried with them.
Jesus healed their hurts.
# At the Sierra Pacific Annual Conference held in Orangevale last Saturday, a young man from our San Mateo FMC gave his testimony. He was reached through the witness of a layman in the church who was leading a small group. The young man testified that he was in and out of jail. He was charged with drug trafficking and using all kinds of drugs. He said his method of transportation was to steal a car and drive the car until it ran out of gas and then steal another one. By the time he was caught he had gone through 13 cars. He said, “Why should I buy gas for the car belonging to someone else.”
He said that now he has put his faith and trust in Jesus and is getting God’s Word through the small home Bible study group. His wife and two small children were with him and she told how the Lord is now blessing their family.
This past week Pastor Dwight and I had the opportunity to show Christ’s love and compassion to a young girl from Arlington, WA. Her mother called our home Sunday evening and said that her 20 year old daughter was in the Santa Clara County Jail. The girl’s car had been impounded and the car belonged to the girl’s grandmother. Could we help get the car out of the car storage yard and check on her daughter?
Pastor Dwight and I went to the Sheriff’s office and got a release for the car and then went to the towing yard in Milpitas. The storage yard was close to the Elmwood Jail so we tried to see the young lady, but we needed to get clearance first so we weren’t allowed to see her .Pastor Dwight drove the car to our church parking lot. After several attempts Pastor Dwight finally did get to visit her and gave her encouragement and prayer.
Dr. Howard A. Kelly was a renowned physician and surgeon, and also a devout practicing Christian. During the summer and holidays when in medical school Dr. Kelly sold books to help with expenses. Becoming thirsty, he stopped one day at a farmhouse for a glass of water. A girl came to the door. When he asked for a glass of water, she sweetly said: "I will give you a glass of milk if you wish!" He drank the cool, refreshing milk heartily.
The years passed, Dr. Kelly graduated from medical school, and became the chief surgeon in the John Hopkins Hospital. A patient, one day, was admitted to that great hospital. She was from the rural area and was seriously ill. She was given special care, being placed in a private room with a private nurse. The skilled chief surgeon spared no effort to make the patient well. After undergoing surgery, she convalesced rapidly.
One day, she was told by the head nurse, "Tomorrow you will go home!" Though her joy was great, it was somewhat lessened by the thought of the large bill she must owe the hospital and surgeon.
She asked for it. The nurse said, "I will bring it to you!" She brought the itemized bill. With a heavy heart, the patient began to read the different items from the top downward. She sighed. But as her eyes lowered, she saw the following notation at the bottom of the large bill: "Paid in full with one glass of milk!" It was signed: "Howard A. Kelly, M.D." (Story published in the Gospel Herald)
The young girl’s gift of a glass of milk paid great dividends.
If we are going to follow in the steps of Jesus, we will pursue a heart of love and compassion and reach out in love and compassion to spiritually lost people. Let’s take a moment of silent prayer and ask the Lord to bring to our mind someone who is spiritually lost and needs the love and compassion of Jesus. Pray that God will use us to demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus to that person.
Michael Mandelbaum in his book, The Ideas That Conquered the World, tells about a young girl eating dinner at a friend’s house. Her friend’s mother asks her if she likes Brussels sprouts. “Yes, of course,” the girl replied. “I like Brussels sprouts.”
After the dinner, though, the mother notices that the Brussels sprouts remain untouched. “I thought you liked Brussels sprouts,” the mother asked.
“I do,” answered the girl, “But not enough to actually eat them.”
As Christians we love to see lost people come to Jesus, but do we have enough love and compassion for spiritually lost people to actually do something to reach them?
II. Jesus had Love and Compassion for People Who were Suffering and Neglected by the Rest of Society
John 5:1-9a NLT
Have you wondered why Jesus asked the man, “Do you want to get well?” After all for 38 years, every day of his life, the man was at the mercy of others. He was both helpless and hopeless. Why do you suppose Jesus asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
The lame man had an excuse for not getting well. “I have no one to help me.” For 38 years he was cared for on a daily basis. Healing would bring added responsibility and accountability.
The story is told of a cowboy in Arizona riding down a trail. All of a sudden as he rounded a bend, he saw an Indian lying down in the middle of the trail. He had his ear pressed close to the ground. As he got closer the Indian began to speak "Wagon," he said, "drawn by two horses. Horses both dapple gray. Passengers in wagon. Two passengers. One man, one woman. Man driving."
The cowboy was amazed. He just couldn’t believe it. "That’s incredible, I can’t believe it! You can tell all of that just by listening with your ear to the ground?
And the Indian replied, "No, they ran over me half an hour ago!"
Most of us get flattened out in life from time to time. Something comes along -- some disease, some circumstance, some broken relationship, some loss -- something comes along that knocks us off our feet and sends us staggering through life.
The man in our Scripture lesson was flattened permanently. There he was among a great multitude of sick people, lame and paralyzed.
Jesus reached out in love to the lame man and said: “Stand up, pick up your sleeping mat, and walk!” Instantly the man was healed! He rolled up the mat and began walking. Jesus reached out in love to people who are suffering and neglected by the rest of society.
Jesus touched and healed lepers. He cast out demons and reached out to the poor and oppressed.
A young lady took the challenge from her sociology professor seriously. She was to go out and smile at three people and document their reaction. The next day, she and her family were at a local McDonald’s. She writes: "We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away" -- including her husband. But she didn’t move an inch. As she turned to see what was going on, an "’overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside me," she writes. “I smelled a horrible dirty body smell, and there standing behind me were two poor, homeless men." One of them smiled up at her, looking for acceptance while the other, obviously mentally challenged and totally dependent upon his friend, fumbled with his hands. They stepped forward and only bought coffee -- that was all they could afford. Acting on impulse, she bought two extra breakfasts and took them to the table where the men sat. "I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman’s cold hand (who had smiled at her in line)," she writes. "He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, ’Thank you.’ I leaned over," she continued, "began to pat his hand and said, ’I did not do this for you, God is here working through me to give you hope."
Small acts of kindness showing God’s love go a long way in demonstrating compassion for people.
How do you love a person who despitefully uses and abuses you?
Anne Graham Lotz tells in her book, My Heart’s Cry“ about a young mother of two children who was active in Anne’s Bible study class. During the study the young mother had put her faith in Jesus and was growing in the Lord.
Anne received a desperate phone call from her. She told Anne that she needed to talk to her. Anne went to her home and the young mother told her that she and her mother were both involved in their family business. The mother looked at Anne and with an outburst of tears said, “My mother is suing me!” Anne asked her what she believed God would have her to do.
She said that she believed that she was to love her mother as Jesus loved her!
The lawsuit was settled out of court. Later the mother told Anne that her mother was moving into an apartment and she was going to help her decorate the apartment and sew new drapes for her living room. Anne blurted out, “How can you be so kind to your mother who finds fault with everything you do and even sued you?”
Anne replied: “I’ve chosen to forgive my mother. Not just once, but again and again. God has set me free to forgive my mother.”
Jesus alone can help you have a forgiving heart. Jesus can give you love and compassion for people who are suffering. Jesus is available to provide healing for those who are hurting.
This week will you become the hands and feet of Jesus at work in your family, at your work, and in your world?
Pray in your heart: “Jesus give me compassion and love for spiritually lost people. Give me love and compassion for people who are suffering and neglected by our society.”
Let us pray.
