Touches of Compassion on Tons of Needs, Part 1

What does it mean to show compassion. How do we express sympathy in tangible ways that are readily received by those who suffer as a relevant question, especially in times when acts of kindness and concern are rare today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll continues our study of the New Testament book of Matthew we come to a passage that demonstrates the opulent love of Jesus through several of his personal encounters, we discover timeless lessons on how to receive love and how to share check title. Today's message touches of compassion on tons of means survival with you this morning. Please turn to the 15th chapter of Matthew, Matthew 15 I'll be reading verses 29 down to the end of the chapter verse 39 were traveling with Jesus these days in our study of Matthew and the journey never gets boring, nor is it ever predictable though on occasion we come across scenes that seem identical, but they're not the different.

However, when we get into them. We realize the same Lord is meeting the needs of those who are part of the story and how magnificent it must've been to to be one of the disciples who was right there at his elbow for most of the things that took place. The tragedy is they often didn't get it they heard what he said and they saw what he did and they witnessed what others did in response. But much of it never came through and will see an example of that today. As we look at Matthew 15 Matthew 1529. I'm reading from the new living translation Jesus return to the Sea of Galilee, and climbed the hill and set down a vast crowded brought to him. People who were lame, blind cripple, those who can speak and many others.

They laid them before Jesus and he healed them all. The crowd was amazed those who hadn't been able to speak were talking the crippled were made.

Well, the lame were walking in the blind could see again and they praised the God of Israel.

Then Jesus called his disciples and told him I have compassion for these people.

They have been here with me for three days and they have nothing left to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry or they will faint along the way. The disciples replied permit we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd Jesus asked how much bread do you have the replied seven loaves. The few small fish.

Jesus told all the people to sit down would ground that he took the seven loaves and the fish.

Thank God for them and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples who distributed the food to the crowd. They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. There were 4000 men who were fed that day. In addition to all the women and children. Then Jesus sent the people home and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan. I hope is to lift the print from the page and see the scenes in our minds and enter into it in such a way that we realize these are words for us to learn from them to be changed by not just another lesson found in the Bible study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll.

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Studies by going to Insight world.or/studies and other message from Chuck that he titled touches of compassion on tons of needs compassion for others begins with a love for others it is a love that is willing to be vulnerable, knowing that when we reach out. The response may not be what we expected. Compassion is offered a one-way street or we we witness the need and we want to be a part of helping to meet that need.

But the response may not be something that brings us a sense of satisfaction but love doesn't wait for that. It doesn't even need that is a love that reaches out regardless of how others may reach back. No one ever said that better than CS Lewis in his immortal work.

The four loves for. He writes to love and all is to be vulnerable love anything in your heart will certainly be wrong and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal rapid carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries. Avoid all entanglements lock it up safe in the casket of your selfishness. But in that casket save dark, motionless airless, it will change.

It will not be broken. It will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.

Nevertheless, how great it is to live with a huge heart of compassion, how powerful that action is you. I think it strange that I call compassion in action, but it's not truly compassion until it is becoming that compassion means suffering with another. In fact, the word compassion is from the two Latin words with suffering when I suffer with someone else. I have a sympathetic concern for their suffering, and I look for ways to be involved in helping to meet the need that individual may have showing support or mercy, or even giving words that are timely.

Solomon wrote that the words are like apples of gold in pictures of silver as an ornament of golden words are like a wise reprove her on an obedient year when we reach out with our words of compassion including words that say things like I I care enough to help in any way I can.

They mean something I take you all the way back to the year 1963.

It adjusts the gun I was finishing my fourth year at Dallas seminary and it was the beginning of the first semester actually it had not yet quite begun.

It was in the in between time was January Cynthia and I with our only child at the time our son Kurt had traveled to Houston to visit are two folks who were both living at that time, but in separate parts on opposite sides of the big city of Houston so we would go on those particular holiday occasions and we would stay with one and then later we would stay up and with another of our parents and we were on our way out of church this icy morning driving carefully, because I knew it was dangerous and when we reset intersection.

Our light was green as I want to cross upcoming fullbore against us was a man who was drunk and driving at a pretty good clip and he hit our car on the left side drove the engine over the right wheel broke the windshield threw me under the window on the left Cynthia into the steering wheel and our son against the front windshield and broke his jaw is a terrible experience also broke the back of the man who had hit us. Oh, by the way, when I said our son was standing up some of you look at me like, why wasn't he in in infancy while member the date there were such things or they were usually didn't have them in the car and seatbelts were not heard of. So your children suit up and parents made a habit of this as they would come to a stop and throw their arm out. In fact, we still do that when people ride with Cynthia said the other days he was riding along with her executive assistant and Kathy was here and Cindy was here in the ships option through Jackie said I'm really fine and I really be okay all buckled in, but in those days you your you suffered terribly in our son with a broken jaw.

We did know a pediatrician in the city were we had grown up, so we were left to the hospital to wait on not going to the all the details, except to say, the Lord set his jaw, and I rarely say things like that. Lest you think I'm a little goofy, but that in this case, he really did mean it was a perfect jaw and all I had been broken. And in that it was set when the doctor finally got there it did the x-ray. There was a hairline but that it was perfectly reset and that was great but I still had no car, and we still had no money and our folks wondered where in the world were we and I don't remember how we got back to the school. It was the low watermark of my four years at seminary. I will never forget the angst that accompanied what in the world were we going to do when already lost the baby after the birth of our little curtain. We were afraid because she is not begun hemorrhaging again were going to lose another one and that was just almost a nondurable thought force I was on campus and making my way to a class and I am sure I look like death warmed over. When not Dr. Howard Hendricks saw me and he said shot was wrong.

You need understand. I'm a terrible poker player. You never want me as a partner playing poker because I go wow look at this hand. This is see. I just can't let it out and I I wasn't hiding my sadness. I literally didn't know where we were going to get food to eat, for we were going to get a car cassette.

I don't remember how we were driven back to the school. Maybe our parents brought but I told her the story you listen to some of the bench that he by now have made famous under the great oak tree out front just in front of the Mosher library and by now I was sobbing in the priest's arm around my shoulders and pulled me over to you know is wonderful.

He didn't quote 12 versus on how strong I should be. He didn't use it as an opportunity to preach last week's sermon that he had delivered somewhere on standing strong in the Lord. He told me he cared and if I didn't miss it. I I think I caught a tear in his eye.

He said I don't know what I can do but you need to know whatever it is I will. I'm here all through the semester and anytime I can help you please ask me. I will say yes. Here's a man with a full load to teach it here. I am finishing my time at the school, but for a moment I felt the warmth of compassion. What compassion does is it reminds you you're not alone in this journey from earth to heaven and that someone cares enough to demonstrate the love of Christ. Those are not idle words.

John writes in his first letter. If someone has enough money to live well and sees another and sees a brother or sister in need, but shows no compassion. How can God's love be in that person you see Jeff compassion for another means you love another person enough to reach out there not a bother there not more important than your schedule that there not an interruption of I remember seeing out of elephant man member. The movie years ago for this dear man with this horrible disease that has disfigured his face and enlarged it and wrinkled it and gave him the appearance of of an animal and is being chased down into the labyrinth of this building and he winds up in the latrine and the people are all around him, pressing in people wanting to take pictures and there was no compassion and he finally says with enormous emotion. I a you just want to burst into tears.

I'm a human being. I may have this grotesque disease, but I am no animal, I'm a person with enormous needs. Can't you see I said all of this up as we get into Matthew 15. In that way because I don't want you to do what you will be tempted to do and that is beyond your way through the story.

It is so similar to the feeding of the 5000 which really was the feeding of the 20 to 25,000, and yet you will think as the disciples did here we go again.

Just another story about another group of people have a lot of needs and Jesus heals him. What's next for the interesting part stop. It doesn't get a lot more interesting than the scene for this is God's love on display.

He's been busy with crowds for a long time. He has walked a long way. He's making his way back to a place called 10 cities Decapolis which is alongside the Eastern rail of a shore of the Galilean see and he stop there it goes up on a hill, I'm sure to find a little time of refreshment. But that was not to be because soon you could hear the crowd in the distance moving toward. We read in verse 30 that a vast crowd brought to him. People who were laying wine crippled and couldn't speak, and many others. According to verse 38 there were in all 4000 men, not to mention women and children were talking on massive size crowd nameless, faceless human beings, all of whom had needs some admin caregivers and they're the ones that drop them off. Look at how it reads verse 30 ends with the words, at least, this version reads they laid them down before Jesus.

The word is an interesting term it means to kind of drop off in haste they they left them there as if to say we've done all we can to hear there's one man, Jesus the God man to be sure, in the shadows of the bar. The disciples and hear the people in need. Some paralyzed, some mute, not knowing where they were because they had no site.

Others on stretchers. Whatever they all wound up on the ground dropped off. I love it that the verse ends rather rapidly, but it represents three days he healed them all.

He loved able, he had compassion for them all their all human beings. And though they may have never met him.

They were worthy of his time as he saw them through the eyes of his father's love. Some years ago I was leading a group of interns on pastoral intern trip couple of other pastors from our staff in another church and we had traveled on in a in a van. We called it a thousand mile conversation. As we went up and down the coast of Southern California on up in the northern visiting 567 different churches to learn from them and to see how they do ministry in and to compare notes and hopefully to bring some encouragement as well as to make some discoveries ourselves. One of the churches we stopped at was fairly new in construction and you could see the overbuilding and now the larger building had been built in. The pastor wasn't available.

Right when we arrived we got there a little early so we decided we walk images maybe visit with someone he was there.

We met the custodian trust me custodian snow a whole lot and they're very helpful in knowing what a church is really like the great folks to talk to. If you wonder about your so we decided would visit with him and he was busy collecting the worship folders from the day before. This was a Monday and he was picking up the stuff from Sunday so I said to him why this is the lovely building. He hardly looked up together with that. We just wished built in a few months ago so that's great.

I said like how many would you minister to hear.

He says we would process about 2500 people. The church to hear my ears pop up this little Doberman pinscher years of mine go process. I didn't say it to him, but I did think and we talked about it later in the van. May we never process people and now I say the day here at this wonderful church. My hope is that you will never feel you are being processed.

We may not have time for each person as much as we would like to or elders as well as pastoral team as well as others on the staff.

We we care and we want to reach out and we want you to know that our mentality is never processing people we get that from Christ who didn't think of this as an opportunity to process a thousand sick people. He cared about each one.

He even cared about them after they were healed.

Compassion doesn't end just because a prayer is answered at this response.

The crowd was amazed because he healed them all. They were amazed those who had been able to speak or talk and can you imagine how much they talked, but below the chart for the longest time… A great job convert to compose good… And the one who had been carried and is now dancing. The one who had not been able to walk is not walking around look the one who would not been able to see is now able to see if it was one great see if you're into that scene.

It was magnificent and the best part is the crowning part of compassion they they praise the God is teaching from the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 15, listening to Chuck Swindoll this is Insight for living and there's much more to absorb in this message.

Chuck titled touches of compassion on tons of needs and to see what resources we have available for today's topic, please visit us online@insightworld.org. Perhaps you never stop to think about while you may be listening to this program all by yourself. You're not alone you're actually joined by countless others who were listening right now as well. If at some and left a message that said it this way. I am a senior citizen living alone. Your laughter is contagious.

It brightens my day. Thank you very much Chuck you are a blessing to many, both to the lost, who came to know the Lord because of your preaching and to believers who need daily spiritual feeding may God continue to bless you and your ministry was such an encouraging word from someone who listens to this program every day and if you are among those who financially support Insight for living. You played a significant role in reaching this person who lives alone were especially grateful to our monthly companions who understand the importance of their monthly gift.

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