“Unquenchable Compassion”
The Mystery Revealed Series
2/1/09; 2 Corinthians 8:7, Matthew 5:43-48
Introduction: I have some questions I want to ask you:
1. What do you put in a toaster?
Answer: "bread." If you said "toast," maybe you should give up now.
2. Say "silk" five times. Now spell "silk." What do cows drink?
Answer: Cows drink water. You wanted to say "milk," didn’t you?
3. If a red house is made from red bricks, and a blue house is made
from blue bricks, and a pink house is made from pink bricks, and a
black house is made from black bricks, what is a green house made from?
Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass. Did you think green bricks?
These questions show us that we can easily get a little confused about answers. This is true in life as well. It is easy to get confused about how we are supposed to live out our lives. So far in our series, “The Mystery Revealed,” we have talked about having Unquestionable Character, Undying Commitment, and Unwavering Conformity. This morning I want to talk about how part of our call to be stewards for God is to have Unquenchable Compassion.
I. The Need of others- (2 Corinthians 8:1-9; Acts 20:35)
a. Our heart- We have talked before about how God gives us
resources for life. These resources need to be seen not only for taking care of our own needs, but also for the needs of others around us. Throughout the Bible we read of God’s desire for us to be generous givers; to live life open-handedly. As Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 8:7- “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” Here we see the apostle Paul commending the Corinthians for their wonderful faith, in their ability to speak, in the knowledge they possess, in the love they have for the apostles. But it is never enough if this faith, knowledge, and love, is not shown in action. The action to which Paul challenges them is the action of “grace.” When we act, we show that we are concerned with more than just ourselves.
Giving is an attitude first and foremost. That is why Jesus says in Acts 20:35, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive” It is not so important how much we give, but the fact that we have a heart to give. If our hearts are in the right place, then the amount of giving will be taken care of.
We need to challenge ourselves to excel in our giving. If you think about it, we all have a competitive nature somewhere inside of us. Some more than others. We want to do well in what we do. How often do you do something, and then need to do a little more, or do it over again, because you didn’t think it came out as good as it needed to? This is our competitive spirit. And this competitive spirit needs to be a part of our giving as well.
b. Gracious giving- So what is this gracious giving that Paul is
referring to here? We can see this answer by looking at the earlier part of 2 Corinthians 8. Let me read for you verses 1-6: “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 6So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.”
Paul uses the Macedonian church in comparison. The Macedonian church was a poor church. But they gave willingly, and generously (they gave beyond what they were able to give). Why did they do this? It was because of their attitude. They saw it as a privilege to give. They gave, because they were giving to the Lord. They were giving to be gracious.
Paul then says in verses 8-9, “8I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Grace is a gift given that is not deserved. When we recognize, as the Macedonian church did, that what Jesus did was a “gracious gift,” our attitude should be the same. This then leads us to understand gracious giving as having a heart of compassion.
II. A Heart of Compassion- (1 Corinthians 1:4-7; Philippians 2:3-8)
a. The nature of compassion- In fact, this is what we learn in
Philippians 2:3-8; the example that Jesus gave to us: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!”
I read a statement once that surprised me. I hadn’t thought of this before until I read this statement. The statement was this: “Suppose you are in a group photo. The first time you see the picture, where do you look? (At yourself, right?) and if you look good, do you like the picture? If you are the only one who looks good, do you still like the picture?….” This is true. Most people, if not all people, when they look at a picture with themselves in it, look at themselves first. And they immediately seek to judge whether or not they look good in the picture. Why is this? It is because we can be very self-centered by nature.
Philippians 2 reminds us of the grace that Christ showed to us. The grace was that instead of thinking about lowering Himself and becoming human, instead of thinking about the suffering He would go through, instead of thinking about Himself, He thought about us. Jesus thought about what we needed so that we could be made free from our sin and be made right with God. This is the grace shown to us, and this is the grace that Paul was us to understand; the nature we are to have.
b. The idea of giving- It is interesting to note that the idea of giving,
as well as the practice of giving, throughout Scripture goes hand in hand with developing a heart of compassion. 1 Corinthians 1:4-7 tells us, “I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— 6because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.”
Paul is given the idea of being compassionate to others by seeing how Christ was compassionate. Rarely do we show compassion before we think about compassion. Compassion starts as an idea, and then translates into an action. We see that God desires to show compassion, and then maybe we might think that others deserve to be shown compassion.
Compassion shows that we care. And don’t people need to know that others care? This is a big need in our world. Let me tell you 3 stories:
Story #1- Her name was Kitty Genovese. One night she was brutally attacked as she returned to her apartment. She screamed, and fought, and screamed some more until she was hoarse. For 30 MINUTES she screamed and fought as she was beaten and abused while 38 people watched the episode from their windows! Not one so much as walked over to their telephone to call the police. She died that night as 38 witnesses watched and stared in silence.
Story #2- Andrew Mormille was a 17-year-old riding on a subway, minding his own business when he was attacked and repeatedly stabbed in the stomach. Eleven riders watched the stabbing, but none came to assist the young man, even after the thugs fled as the train pulled into the station!
Story #3- Eleanor Bradley was shopping on Fifth Avenue in busy Manhattan when she tripped, fell, and broke her leg. Dazed and in shock she called for help; not for 2 minutes, or 20 minutes, but 40 minutes! Business executives, students, and merchants all passed by ignoring her crisis. Finally a cab driver pulled over and took her in his taxi to a local hospital.
I hope these stories shock you, because all too often, in less dramatic ways, we fail to see the needs of others around us and show compassion.
III. Functioning in Community- (Luke 10:30-37; Romans 15:14;
1 Corinthians 12:7)
a. Designed to live in relationship- We were designed to live in
relationship. But because of our selfishness, because of our “I don’t want to get involved” attitude, we often fail to live in a compassionate manner. This was put to the test one day by some seminary students. The class had been given an assignment from Luke 10:30-37, the familiar story of the Good Samaritan. Just in case you don’t remember the story, let me refresh your memory. Jesus told this story in response to the question “Who is my neighbor.” So Jesus tells of this man who was going from Jerusalem to Jericho, and who gets beaten and robbed and left half dead. A priest goes by and doesn’t help. A Levite goes by and doesn’t help. Finally, a Samaritan, one who is at odds with Jews, sees the man and helps him. The seminary experiment was this: one of the seminary students put on old rags, disguised himself as though he was beaten and bruised, and then placed himself along the path the other seminary students would travel on to get to class. These seminary students, with their written assignment tucked under their arm, ALL PASSED BY WITHOUT OFFERING ANY HELP!
God desires that His people function in community. God desires that we share the heart that God has for people; the heart for the people God places in our path. Romans 15:14 says: “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” God has placed in us what we need to care for one another. We just need to let that idea come to fruition!
b. From isolation to connection- We all know that we need to connect
with others. But often times we isolate ourselves from the world. We isolate ourselves from the problems around us. We isolate ourselves from those who have great needs. We have the knowledge of needing to be a “Good Samaritan,” we just don’t like to put this knowledge into practice.
God has freely extended to each one of us His grace and mercy. As stewards of God’s grace and mercy we are called to extend this unmerited favor towards others. The whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 12 is about the Holy Spirit giving us gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:7 explains why: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” We are given spiritual gifts for the same reason we are given physical gifts and resources, to share them for the common good.
We are to think about the need to show compassion, then be open to the ways God brings us opportunities to show compassion, and then seek to use our gifts and resources to show compassion to others. This is how community is lived out. This is how God designed for life itself to be lived out. And if we do, our lives, and the lives of others around us will be better for it!
Conclusion: God has ordained all relationships. And we are called to be good stewards of those relationships. Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. In Matthew 5:43-46 we are challenged once again by the words of Jesus: “You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies… 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?” To show love to only those who love us is not compassion. We have to love everyone God places in our path.
We have a choice either to be a blessing and show God’s grace to others, or to be self-serving. I think we know which one God wants us to be. God didn’t give us this life, God didn’t give us our resources, God didn’t give us our gifts to be self-serving. God has clearly given us the command and the example of what we are called to do. Let’s seek this day to live with “Unquenchable Compassion,” so that we might fulfill our purpose, but also make a difference for the Kingdom of God. Amen.
The Mystery Revealed Series
2/1/09; 2 Corinthians 8:7, Matthew 5:43-48
Introduction: I have some questions I want to ask you:
1. What do you put in a toaster?
Answer: "bread." If you said "toast," maybe you should give up now.
2. Say "silk" five times. Now spell "silk." What do cows drink?
Answer: Cows drink water. You wanted to say "milk," didn’t you?
3. If a red house is made from red bricks, and a blue house is made
from blue bricks, and a pink house is made from pink bricks, and a
black house is made from black bricks, what is a green house made from?
Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass. Did you think green bricks?
These questions show us that we can easily get a little confused about answers. This is true in life as well. It is easy to get confused about how we are supposed to live out our lives. So far in our series, “The Mystery Revealed,” we have talked about having Unquestionable Character, Undying Commitment, and Unwavering Conformity. This morning I want to talk about how part of our call to be stewards for God is to have Unquenchable Compassion.
I. The Need of others- (2 Corinthians 8:1-9; Acts 20:35)
a. Our heart- We have talked before about how God gives us
resources for life. These resources need to be seen not only for taking care of our own needs, but also for the needs of others around us. Throughout the Bible we read of God’s desire for us to be generous givers; to live life open-handedly. As Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 8:7- “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” Here we see the apostle Paul commending the Corinthians for their wonderful faith, in their ability to speak, in the knowledge they possess, in the love they have for the apostles. But it is never enough if this faith, knowledge, and love, is not shown in action. The action to which Paul challenges them is the action of “grace.” When we act, we show that we are concerned with more than just ourselves.
Giving is an attitude first and foremost. That is why Jesus says in Acts 20:35, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive” It is not so important how much we give, but the fact that we have a heart to give. If our hearts are in the right place, then the amount of giving will be taken care of.
We need to challenge ourselves to excel in our giving. If you think about it, we all have a competitive nature somewhere inside of us. Some more than others. We want to do well in what we do. How often do you do something, and then need to do a little more, or do it over again, because you didn’t think it came out as good as it needed to? This is our competitive spirit. And this competitive spirit needs to be a part of our giving as well.
b. Gracious giving- So what is this gracious giving that Paul is
referring to here? We can see this answer by looking at the earlier part of 2 Corinthians 8. Let me read for you verses 1-6: “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 6So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.”
Paul uses the Macedonian church in comparison. The Macedonian church was a poor church. But they gave willingly, and generously (they gave beyond what they were able to give). Why did they do this? It was because of their attitude. They saw it as a privilege to give. They gave, because they were giving to the Lord. They were giving to be gracious.
Paul then says in verses 8-9, “8I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Grace is a gift given that is not deserved. When we recognize, as the Macedonian church did, that what Jesus did was a “gracious gift,” our attitude should be the same. This then leads us to understand gracious giving as having a heart of compassion.
II. A Heart of Compassion- (1 Corinthians 1:4-7; Philippians 2:3-8)
a. The nature of compassion- In fact, this is what we learn in
Philippians 2:3-8; the example that Jesus gave to us: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!”
I read a statement once that surprised me. I hadn’t thought of this before until I read this statement. The statement was this: “Suppose you are in a group photo. The first time you see the picture, where do you look? (At yourself, right?) and if you look good, do you like the picture? If you are the only one who looks good, do you still like the picture?….” This is true. Most people, if not all people, when they look at a picture with themselves in it, look at themselves first. And they immediately seek to judge whether or not they look good in the picture. Why is this? It is because we can be very self-centered by nature.
Philippians 2 reminds us of the grace that Christ showed to us. The grace was that instead of thinking about lowering Himself and becoming human, instead of thinking about the suffering He would go through, instead of thinking about Himself, He thought about us. Jesus thought about what we needed so that we could be made free from our sin and be made right with God. This is the grace shown to us, and this is the grace that Paul was us to understand; the nature we are to have.
b. The idea of giving- It is interesting to note that the idea of giving,
as well as the practice of giving, throughout Scripture goes hand in hand with developing a heart of compassion. 1 Corinthians 1:4-7 tells us, “I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— 6because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.”
Paul is given the idea of being compassionate to others by seeing how Christ was compassionate. Rarely do we show compassion before we think about compassion. Compassion starts as an idea, and then translates into an action. We see that God desires to show compassion, and then maybe we might think that others deserve to be shown compassion.
Compassion shows that we care. And don’t people need to know that others care? This is a big need in our world. Let me tell you 3 stories:
Story #1- Her name was Kitty Genovese. One night she was brutally attacked as she returned to her apartment. She screamed, and fought, and screamed some more until she was hoarse. For 30 MINUTES she screamed and fought as she was beaten and abused while 38 people watched the episode from their windows! Not one so much as walked over to their telephone to call the police. She died that night as 38 witnesses watched and stared in silence.
Story #2- Andrew Mormille was a 17-year-old riding on a subway, minding his own business when he was attacked and repeatedly stabbed in the stomach. Eleven riders watched the stabbing, but none came to assist the young man, even after the thugs fled as the train pulled into the station!
Story #3- Eleanor Bradley was shopping on Fifth Avenue in busy Manhattan when she tripped, fell, and broke her leg. Dazed and in shock she called for help; not for 2 minutes, or 20 minutes, but 40 minutes! Business executives, students, and merchants all passed by ignoring her crisis. Finally a cab driver pulled over and took her in his taxi to a local hospital.
I hope these stories shock you, because all too often, in less dramatic ways, we fail to see the needs of others around us and show compassion.
III. Functioning in Community- (Luke 10:30-37; Romans 15:14;
1 Corinthians 12:7)
a. Designed to live in relationship- We were designed to live in
relationship. But because of our selfishness, because of our “I don’t want to get involved” attitude, we often fail to live in a compassionate manner. This was put to the test one day by some seminary students. The class had been given an assignment from Luke 10:30-37, the familiar story of the Good Samaritan. Just in case you don’t remember the story, let me refresh your memory. Jesus told this story in response to the question “Who is my neighbor.” So Jesus tells of this man who was going from Jerusalem to Jericho, and who gets beaten and robbed and left half dead. A priest goes by and doesn’t help. A Levite goes by and doesn’t help. Finally, a Samaritan, one who is at odds with Jews, sees the man and helps him. The seminary experiment was this: one of the seminary students put on old rags, disguised himself as though he was beaten and bruised, and then placed himself along the path the other seminary students would travel on to get to class. These seminary students, with their written assignment tucked under their arm, ALL PASSED BY WITHOUT OFFERING ANY HELP!
God desires that His people function in community. God desires that we share the heart that God has for people; the heart for the people God places in our path. Romans 15:14 says: “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” God has placed in us what we need to care for one another. We just need to let that idea come to fruition!
b. From isolation to connection- We all know that we need to connect
with others. But often times we isolate ourselves from the world. We isolate ourselves from the problems around us. We isolate ourselves from those who have great needs. We have the knowledge of needing to be a “Good Samaritan,” we just don’t like to put this knowledge into practice.
God has freely extended to each one of us His grace and mercy. As stewards of God’s grace and mercy we are called to extend this unmerited favor towards others. The whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 12 is about the Holy Spirit giving us gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:7 explains why: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” We are given spiritual gifts for the same reason we are given physical gifts and resources, to share them for the common good.
We are to think about the need to show compassion, then be open to the ways God brings us opportunities to show compassion, and then seek to use our gifts and resources to show compassion to others. This is how community is lived out. This is how God designed for life itself to be lived out. And if we do, our lives, and the lives of others around us will be better for it!
Conclusion: God has ordained all relationships. And we are called to be good stewards of those relationships. Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. In Matthew 5:43-46 we are challenged once again by the words of Jesus: “You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies… 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?” To show love to only those who love us is not compassion. We have to love everyone God places in our path.
We have a choice either to be a blessing and show God’s grace to others, or to be self-serving. I think we know which one God wants us to be. God didn’t give us this life, God didn’t give us our resources, God didn’t give us our gifts to be self-serving. God has clearly given us the command and the example of what we are called to do. Let’s seek this day to live with “Unquenchable Compassion,” so that we might fulfill our purpose, but also make a difference for the Kingdom of God. Amen.
posted by Logan's Blog at 1:20 PM
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