The Apostle Paul calls us Jars of Clay (2 Corinthians 4:7). As followers of Jesus we must allow the Word of God to fill us with it's message of Truth and Grace. In this way, we become a "vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work" (2 Timothy 2:21).

Saturday, October 19, 2019

God’s Promise of Compassion - September 15, 2019 sermon



Micah 7:18-19

A panda walks into a diner, sits down, and orders a sandwich.  He eats the sandwich, pulls out a gun, and shoots out the restaurant's windows.  As the panda stands up to leave, the owner shouts, "Hey! Where are you going? You just shot my windows out, and you didn't pay for your sandwich!"  The panda yells back at the owner, "Hey man, I'm a PANDA! Look it up!"  So, the owner opens his dictionary and sees the following definition for "panda": "A tree dwelling marsupial of Asian origin. Eats shoots and leaves."
Okay.  I didn’t know pandas had such a sharp temper.  It’s not the sort of characteristic one associates with pandas.
Out of curiosity, what sort of characteristics do you associate with God?  I’m curious.  What is God’s personality like?  Do you imagine that He is angry all the time?  Do you think God is anxiously waiting to punish us for an offence?  Is He the Divine Policeman who is just waiting to catch us breaking the law?
I think you might be surprised at how God is described in the Bible.
There are several places in the Old Testament where we discover God’s personality – His “Character.”  David, an Old Testament King of Israel knew God’s heart; he experienced God through times of love, grace, mercy, and compassion.  In Psalm 145:8-9 he wrote,  8 “The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The Lord is good to everyone.  He showers compassion on all his creation.” [1] 
The Old Testament Prophet Micah also knew God’s heart.  He knew God was loving, gracious, merciful, and compassionate.  Micah asks, 18 Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love.  19 Once again you will have compassion on us.  You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!” [2] (Micah 7:18-19).
To be sure, Micah admits people may receive the Lord’s discipline, but it is intended to correct a behavior, not destroy; this is God’s personality – His “Character.”  As Tim Keller points out, “…the God of the Bible is not like the primitive deities who demanded our blood for their wrath to be appeased. Rather, this is a God who becomes human and offers His own lifeblood in order to honor moral justice and merciful love so that someday He can destroy all evil without destroying us.”[3]  God intends to do something about all the evil and injustice in this world, but before that happens, He provided a way for us to be spared.  He saw our helpless situation and offered to do something to help.  That’s compassion.
The compassion of God is mentioned over 100 times throughout the Bible.  Those who lived in Old Testament times and those who lived in New Testament times spoke of God’s promise of compassion.  And since Jesus is “the visible image of the invisible God[4] (Colossians 1:15) - to know Jesus is to know God – we can easily see the compassion of God through the actions of Jesus.
What does it look like when God is compassionate?  It looks like Jesus kneeling before a crowd of Pharisees who are accusing a woman of adultery.  It looks like Jesus touching a leper, a dead body, or the woman with the bleeding problem.  It looks like Jesus feeding a great crowd of people, healing the blind, or loving the demon-possessed man who lived in the tombs.  It looks like Jesus seated next to a Samaritan woman who has been divorced five times or weeping before the grave of Lazarus.  We see the compassion of God through the compassion of Jesus.
Our Lord and our God not only promises to forgive our sin, but He has compassion for us as we deal with the consequences of our sin.
Yes, you heard me correctly; the compassion of God is something He extends to us even though we sin.  What did Micah say?  Where is another God like you, who pardons our guilt?”  Or, to put it another way, when we commit a sin, God doesn’t tear up the adoption papers; He doesn’t throw us out in the street.  Instead, He shows us compassion.  How do I know this?  I know this because Jesus demonstrated compassion toward those who had sinned and had fallen out of favor with society: Judas, the political revolutionary, Matthew the Tax-collector, Peter, who denied knowing Jesus, or Zacchaeus, the corrupt public servant.  I know God shows compassion because He has been doing this from generation to generation.
It was compassion Jesus demonstrated toward Paul; even though he was killing Christians, the Lord called Paul to take the message of Jesus out into the world.  It was God’s compassion that pointed Peter to the home of Cornelius, a Roman soldier.  It was with God’s compassion Paul and Silas were able to pray with their jailor in Philippi.
On and on I could go, pointing to people who had failed God over and over.  Yet, in His compassion, God, “Trampled their sins under His feet.”  And since God’s character does not change - He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8) – we can be convinced that He will be compassionate toward us.
I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose,” [5] says the LORD God (Exodus 33:19).  Like the father in the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-24), God has compassion as he sees you struggling under the burden of sin.  You have done things and said things that dishonor God.  You have turned your back to Him.  But He has not turned His back to you.  Living in this world is difficult enough, let alone trying to live a life that honors God.  We will sin from time to time; we will fail to be perfect.  And our Lord knows this.  He knows what it is like to deal with all the temptations that assail us.  He knows how sorrowful life can be; He sees our sadness and our loneliness.  But rather than turn His back to us, “The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.  The Lord is near to everyone who prays to him, to every faithful person who prays to him” (Psalm 145:14, 18). [6]
God’s compassion toward us is seen at the cross.  Jesus offered to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.  On the cross, Jesus fully demonstrated His compassion toward all who humbly recognize their sinfulness.  His death on the cross becomes God’s greatest demonstration of compassion for all time.  You see, I know God is compassionate because He offered His Son Jesus to die in my place; in your place.  God saw our inability to stop sinning, and chose to “lift those bent beneath their load of sin.”
God is compassionate.  He sees the mistakes we have made in life.  He sees us struggle to live a good and decent life.  But rather than point His finger and condemn, God reaches down into our despair and offers us grace, mercy, and love.  Through the sacrifice of Jesus, God demonstrates His compassionate heart.
I share this with you today because there was a time in my life when I turned my back to God.  I had no love for the Lord.  And when I came wandering back to Him I expected to be punished for my past sins.  But instead, I found grace and mercy; I did not expect God to be so compassionate.  I did not expect Him to celebrate my return.  And according to the Bible, this is exactly what you will experience as well.  When you accept the sacrifice of Jesus, God will trample your sins beneath His feet and throw them into the depth of the ocean.  He will make you feel like a person once again; He will make you feel valuable. 
This is a lesson everyone needs to hear; those who have already accepted God’s act of compassion need to be reminded of this from time to time.  And to those who are still trying to figure out God or are worried about being punished by God, hear this Good News: God is compassionate; He is ready to pardon your guilt.  He delights in showing unfailing love.  Come to Him today and you will find compassion.



[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ps 145:8–9). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mic 7:18–19). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[3] Tim Keller, The Reason for God
[4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Col 1:15). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[5] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ex 33:19). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[6] GOD’S WORD Translation. (1995). (Ps 145:18). Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group.

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