There is so much talk about ‘what is your passion?’ these days. Wherever you go among businessmen, sportsmen, church people and politicians everyone wants to know what one’s passion is. But if I understand Jesus’ life he did not try to tell people what his passion was in life, but rather showed COMpassion! Listen to this sermon

Show Compassion
Andre Pelser
11/26/2006

There is so much talk about ‘what is your passion?’ these days. Wherever you go among businessmen, sportsmen, church people and politicians everyone wants to know what one’s passion is. But if I understand Jesus’ life he did not try to tell people what his passion was in life, but rather showed COMpassion!

Psalm 111:4

Psalm 112:4

Matthew 9:35-38
35And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Compassion
splagchnizoámai, splangkh-nid´-zom-ahee; mid. voice from ; to have the bowels yearn, i.e. (fig.) feel sympathy, to pity:— have (be moved with) compassion.
Slagchnon referes to the spleen or intestines – figuratively it speaks of an inner yearning.

Jesus had compassion on them because they fainted:
Ekluo -eákluoµ, ek-loo´-o; from  and ; to relax (lit. or fig.):— faint.

Ek -eáx, ex; a primary prep. denoting origin (the point whence motion or action proceeds), from, out (of place, time, or cause; lit. or fig.; direct or remote):

Luo -luoµ, loo´-o; a primary verb; to “loosen” (lit. or fig.):— break (up), destroy, dissolve, (un-) loose, melt, put off. comp. .

So Jesus had compassion on them because the point of origin in their lives made them faint and helpless. He wanted to become the centre of their lives. He wanted to give them a new point of reference! He wanted to be the centre of their universe! With God and His Kingdom at the centre of everything they did their lives would subsequently take on a whole new dimension and they would not so easily faint or allow themselves to melt away in the heat of life’s battles. This is the task of a shepherd: to prevent the flock from being dissipated and scattered. The dissipation is caused by the enemy of our souls. He scatters people. He dissipates our strength. He removes God from the inner core of our being and places other things there that will weaken us and remove our inner strength from us so that we faint and become helpless.

But today the Lord wants to restore the inner core of our being: this is what His compassion will do for you if you respond to him in faith.

What has become the focal point of your life and caused you to stray from the truth? What takes up your time? What has become the bane of your life? What has the enemy of your soul been using to dissipate and dilute your inner, god-given strength?

Sin, sickness and a selfish life-style can dissipate strength, but so can other people and circumstances. Sometimes we are bound in a soul relationship with someone and a cord has been formed between us that allow the transference of negative feelings. Parents often abuse this cord between them and their children and download negative feelings onto them which weigh them down. Parenst need to be wise and to use the bond of love that naturally exists between them and their children to build their children up, not to break them down. Marriate partners often do the same. Sometimes it ends in the disaster of divorce and then they say things like, ‘I don’t know what I did wrong to deserve this!’ But perhaps the constant harassment of negative feelings and criticism became too much for the other partner and they could not longer bear that heavy burden in their lives. It became like carrying two people at the same time!

Wolraad Woltemade was a brave man. He lived here in Paarden Eiland. When a ship hit the rocks and sunk, he got onto his horse and rode into the water to save people. Together with his strong horse he could only manage to save 15 people, because people jumped onto him and his horse could only carry one or two at a time. He drowned with the people he was trying to save.

This is a picture of people who want to do good and how they are abused by people who need help. We need wisdom not to go down with them.

Often in counseling we have to listen to sordid, sinful stories and we have to be cleansed ourselves from the contamination of the images washing over our own minds. If we leave a backdoor open in our souls that same spirit would try to come in and when it doe we need to cast it out as well.

There is no one that is immune against the wiles and the attacks of the enemy.

That is why God’s wonderful plan of salvation is so great: if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It is such wonderful news to know that if any of us should sin, we have an advocate with God, even Jesus Christ the righteous! He represents us in the court rooms of heaven because he understands our human condition. He knows what is like to be human. He is touched with the feelings of our infirmity and He has paid the ultimate price, his life, his blood, to open up a new and living way for us into the Holy Place where we can receive constant forgiveness of sin and He also made it possible for us to overcome the sins that so easily beset us. He has given us His Word and His Spirit to help us overcome our sinful nature and to partake of the divine nature of God through the great and precious promises in His Word. As we believe and practice what God tells us to do in His Word, life completely changes for us. We come to have an entirely new attitidue towards life things and people.

When you draw a plan for a house, you see the possibilities. Then when you build the house, ever ything has to go according to plan or you have to break down the walls again. Then once you have lived in that house for nine years you have to repaint and repair it. You do not feel guilty for improving the house because you live there.

The same with our bodies: we have a house to live in. It has been designed by God. But after a while there are things that have to be repaired and improved. God has made provision to keep our house intact. There are plumbers, carpenters, roof specialist and electrical engineers that can help us keep our lives together: this is what the five fold ministry in the church is called to do!

It is only when we ignore the changes that have to be made that we get into trouble!

Let us make use of the wonderful provision Jesus has made through His blood and by giving His life for us, a sinful race, and let us share in His great compassion so that we no longer faint, nor are scattered by the forces of darkness that want to destroy us completely and send us to hell.

Let us allow the Holy Spirit to place Christ, our Great Shepherd, at the core of