The Heart Series, Part 3: Moved With Compassion

  (1 Corinthians 14:1 LB)  “Make love your greatest aim…”(Ephesians 3:17-19)  “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge…”Title of my message today is:  Moved with Compassion(Mark 1:40-41)  A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.How can we have more compassion?1.    Experience God’s love for myself.(Luke 7:47)  “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”(1 John 4:19)  “We love because he first loved us.”2.    Take the first step.(Matthew 9:35-36)  “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them…”3.    Open my eyes to the needs of others.(Luke 10:30-37 Message)  “There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man. A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’  “What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?”  “The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded. Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”Every person we encounter is either…•    A victim to exploit.•    A problem to avoid.•    A person to be loved.4.    Do something about it.(Proverbs 3:27-28 Message)  “Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God’s hand for that person.  Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now.”I hear this all the time(2 Corinthians 1:3-4)  “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” For more information on the vision of Freedom Church, please visit our website at www.freedom-church.org.