"Love is the basis for all Christian activity. Compassion is an ingredient of divine love."How do we know this is so?
- Reidt
Because God so loved the world that He gave Jesus. And Jesus so loved us that He gave Himself for us. And in His earthly ministry, again and again we see compassion.
As we look at that wonderful truth, remember that Jesus said, "...he that hath seen me hath seen the Father..." (John 14:9). If you want to see God, look at Jesus. Jesus is the will of God in action. Jesus is the love of God in action. And in His earthly ministry, He was moved with compassion.
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.Jesus was moved with compassion and healed the sick (Matt. 14:14).
(Matt. 9:36-38)
"Jesus had compassion on the people and asked us to share in that compassion by praying that the Lord of the Harvest would send laborers into the field."
- Reidt
Jesus' compassion led to the feeding of the four thousand (Matt 15:32).
In His compassion, Jesus healed the blind (Matt. 20:34).
Compassion led to the healing of the leper (Mark 1:40,41).
"In His compassion, Jesus healed every person who asked (Matt. 4:23,24; Mark 6:56; Luke 6:19).Jesus' compassion brought deliverance. If we have the divine compassion of Jesus, there will be deliverance. But I think too much of the time we've tried to bring deliverance without God's divine compassion. That's where prayer and intercession come in.
Jesus taught His disciples to share in His compassion by sending out the twelve (Luke 9:1-6) and the seventy (Luke 10:1-19).
His compassion was to be carried on after His Ascension as He made healing one of the signs of the believer (Mark 16:16-18).
His compassion was demonstrated after His Ascension (Acts 5:15,16; 19:11,12; 28:8,9).
In every instance where Jesus was moved with compassion, the person or persons were delivered.
Human sympathy says, 'I know how you feel; I'm so sorry.' Divine compassion says, 'I feel how you feel.' And it brings deliverance. Jesus felt as Mary and Martha felt as He groaned within and also wept."
- Reidt
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled...Jesus wept.
(John 11:33,35)
Weeping by the unction of the Holy Spirit with them that weep brings deliverance (Rom. 12:15).
Dr. John G. Lake is known for his ministry that was well marked with apostolic ideals. He did an amazing work in South Africa just after the turn of the century.
So many healings took place in his tabernacle in Johannesburg, report of them reached the leaders of the nation. Some of the top government people sought him for help on the behalf of the wife of a certain government official.
When Lake went to her home, he found her bedridden with terminal cancer. He determined that she was a Christian. Then he began to give her Scripture to teach her about divine healing and to get her faith activated.
She made a decision to trust God for her healing. The doctors had given her up to die and were only giving her pain relievers to keep her comfortable. But she decided to stop all drugs.
She said, "If I'm going to trust God for my healing, and I am, then I'm going to throw myself completely over on His mercy."
"This woman was in such pain," Lake said, "that one of the ministers of the church and I stayed at her bedside around the clock, praying. As we prayed, she would get relief."
One morning, after having prayed all night, Lake went home just long enough to bathe and shave. Then he started back.
"When I came within two blocks of the house," Lake said, "I heard the woman screaming in pain. At the sound of those screams, somehow I seemed to enter into a divine compassion...."
Lake entered into the sufferings of Jesus. He began to feel just like Jesus feels. For Jesus can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities (Heb. 4:15).
Lake said, "I found myself running those last two blocks without even thinking what I was doing. Without thinking, I rushed into the room, sat down on the edge of the bed, picked up that emaciated body in my arms like a baby, and began to weep. While I was weeping, she was perfectly healed."
Somehow, the compassion of Jesus, the love of God, was able to permeate his heart, his spirit.
Dedicated believers can enter into that area of compassion by one way - and you will not get there any other way - and it is by fellowship with God.
You cannot fellowship with God, you cannot sit in the Presence of the Great God of this universe without His love permeating your being, and without His compassion flowing into you.
And it is when you can get into this place that you will be able to do as Jesus said in John chapter 14 (v.12): "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."
The works that He did were born out of love and compassion. The works that the believing ones shall do, including prayer, are products of sharing in His ministry of love and compassion.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications