2/23/14 EQUIPPING TO SERVE

God’s Character

    God sees the needs of the world.  He sees the REAL needs of the world.  There are times when a person has a pain and goes to a doctor.  They think they know what is wrong.  “Doc, it’s my _______________.”  The doc checks that out and finds nothing wrong.  Then he finds something else wrong that gives the same symptoms.  He discovers the real issue.
    What are the real issues of life people face today?  If you listen to the politicians and news people, you would think that the only issue people face today is financial.  Take care of that and all the world’s problems would be solved.  People just need more money.
    Let me share a story with you about needs.
Girl Carves the Word “EMPTY” into Her Skin
    Psychologist Madeline Levine has been counseling teenagers for over 25 years, but recently Levine has begun to see a new breed of unhappy teenagers—smart, successful, and privileged kids who feel utterly lost and empty. For Levine, one client in particular typified this kind of unhappy teenager.  Levine saw a 15-year-old girl who was “bright, personable, highly pressured by her adoring, but frequently preoccupied … parents.” The girl was also “very angry”.
    Levine quickly recognized the girl’s “cutter disguise”—a long-sleeve t-shirt pulled halfway over her hand, with an opening torn in the cuff for her thumb. Such t-shirts are used to hide self-mutilating behaviors: cutting with sharp instruments, piercing with safety pins, or burning with matches. When the young girl pulled back her sleeve, Levine was startled to find that the girl had used a razor to carve the following word onto her forearm—“EMPTY”.
    Levine commented:  I tried to imagine how intensely unhappy my young patient must have felt to cut her distress into her flesh …. The most common thing I hear in my office from the kids is, “I’m fake”.  The surface of [their family life] always looks good …. The lawns are always perfectly manicured, the houses always look beautiful. But when you get to what’s going on beneath these kids’ T-shirts, there’s not much happening inside.
sources: Madeline Levine, The Price of Privilege (Harper Perennial, 2008), pp. 3-5; Joy Lanzendorfer, “All and Nothing”, Metro Active, (1-3-07)
    The truth is that many people are really hurting.  The pain is real.  The trials destructive.
    As we continue to look at God’s character, today we want to look at a characteristic that is the answer, the solution for this kind of pain.
    God is compassionate. Out of this compassion we also see that God is the Savior.
    A few passages to read as we start that tell us that God is compassionate.
II Kings 13:22-23 NIV
22 Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. 23 But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to destroy them or banish them from his presence.
Psalm 86:11-15 NIV
11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.
14 The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life-- men without regard for you.
15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Psalm 111:4 NIV
4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.
    One who is compassionate feels sorrow for someone else’s suffering.  This sorrow includes a desire to help.  Genuine compassion requires action.  Because God knows the real needs of people, He went in to action. He provided what we really need.
    It was out of His genuine compassion for people, God provided the only real means of forgiveness and salvation.  It took Jesus to come to earth, live as a man and then die on the cross.  When Jesus resurrected from the grave salvation was completely paid for.  Jesus, the perfect son of God come in the flesh was the ONLY way to overcome sin.
    Jesus showed compassion for the masses when he shared the good news with the poor.  He healed the brokenhearted and pronounced freedom for prisoners.  Jesus gave sight to the blind and delivered people from spiritual oppression.
Luke 4:16-19 NIV
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Mark 6:34 NIV
34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
    Real compassion is deep and heartfelt.  It is sorrow for the suffering and trials someone is facing.  Beyond simply a feeling, compassion identifies with the distressed. Compassion takes action to help the person in need.
    Because this is a characteristic of God, and we are to be like Him, God expects an attitude of compassion to be in the hearts of believers as well.
    At the beginning, we talked about the real needs people have.  What is the foundational need of the world?  Where do we start?
    What the world needs is Jesus.  The world needs Jesus as Savior and Lord.
1 John 5:4-5 NIV
4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
    The only way anyone can overcome the world is through faith in Jesus, through receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Jesus is the ONLY way to overcome the passions and destruction of sin.
Review two well known passages.
Romans 6:23 NIV
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 10:9-10 NIV
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
    The earliest creed or confession in the church was not “Jesus is Savior,” but “Jesus is Lord”.  He is called “Savior” 16 times in the New Testament and “Lord” more than 450 times.
    Some people teach that Jesus can be your Savior, forgive you of your sins, without actually being your Lord.  This is not biblical.  If you receive Jesus as your Savior, He must be your Lord.
    When He is your Lord, then God’s power will give you His victory.  We overcome through what God will do in our lives.
    A true story from Missionary H. B. Garlock.  Liberia in the 1920s.  Sacrifice and Triumph.  P 49 ff.

    God’s compassion, His gift of eternal life offered to hurting people, IS the answer this area needs.  I shared this story to show us that God’s power can overcome ANY obstacle.

LIFE APPLICATION: The Next Step
What are the key points of this message?
How can we apply this message?

Prayer
We need to specifically pray now together.
Prayer for the hurting people of this community.
Drugs, heroin is making a negative impact.
Second armed robbery at the cash store.
Salvation.