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[0:00] God bless you. Please consider. And shortly go to the message, and I know you've asked Brother Peter Richardson to come and bring a reading for us.

[0:10] ! So Peter, come forward and we thank God Doreen's here. Welcome back, Doreen. I've had a little time of sickness and ill health, but we thank God for you, Doreen, that you're back with us again.

[0:24] God bless you. Let's go to the Word of God, to John chapter 11. Thanks, Peter. The text we're reading is John 11, verses 32 to 44.

[0:47] Then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died.

[1:04] When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping, which came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him?

[1:21] They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold, how he loved him.

[1:33] And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

[1:46] Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone.

[2:01] Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days.

[2:13] Jesus said unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

[2:25] Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

[2:38] And I knew that thou hearest me always. But because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

[2:52] And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with the grave clothes, And his face was bound about with a napkin.

[3:12] Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Amen. The word of the Lord.

[3:24] The compassion of Jesus is my topic here. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you again for your word as we come to it. Open our hearts to it.

[3:34] Lord, let it penetrate. Let our hearts be as the good soil. That it would be bringing forth fruit. That it would be planted and grow. And bear fruit.

[3:45] Lord, we pray. May you give us ears to hear. What your Holy Spirit would have us to hear. In Jesus' name. Amen. Jesus wept.

[3:56] It's this. Jesus wept. Jesus wept. This is going to be somewhat of a disturbing message. Sorry, I just tried to follow where I put my...

[4:09] This is going to be somewhat of a disturbing message. Jesus wept. It's disturbing because it needs to be.

[4:22] I may disturb some people today. In fact, I hope that I do. I believe God wants to shake us up. And wake us up as the church of God. We mustn't get too comfortable.

[4:33] It's good to be disturbed in a godly way. And there's an emotional aspect here. This is an emotional subject. Jesus wept. There was a time where a preacher once put his hand down on the pulpit.

[4:46] And there was a wasp there. And he let out a yell. And the people out in the churchyard could hear the preacher yelling. And one of the people in the congregation nudged his companion and said, I'm going to like this preacher.

[5:00] We need to have some... A bit of enthusiasm. A bit of emotionalism. Even for us Baptists, we can get a bit emotional here. We can have a bit of an emotion. A godly emotion.

[5:10] Jesus had emotion. Jesus wept. Jesus wept. Amen. And I pray that this heart... That our hearts may be stirred. That our hearts may be touched. As we consider the truth that Jesus wept.

[5:23] We see the message here of the occurrence of Lazarus in the tomb. And Jesus came and he saw the grief. And Jesus wept.

[5:35] Jesus had compassion. Friends, he still has. He still does. He still has compassion. Jesus has compassion. Jesus has compassion over suffering.

[5:46] Over suffering, friends. When we hear that someone has passed away, our heart is filled with great sorrow and pain. Many have had that experience.

[5:59] I can share with you. Likewise. And our hearts go out when we hear of such a loss, of the parting, of that sadness. And it's even more hard when we are uncertain that the person was saved.

[6:16] Jesus wept. Jesus wept about death. And death is all around us. It's approaching every one of us. I'm closer to my death today than I was yesterday.

[6:29] And in fact, I'm preaching as a dying man. Preaching to dying people today. We're all dying. Our heart is touched when we think about the reality of life, of death.

[6:44] Of sadness, of sorrow. It's the human lot, isn't it? But, friends, the holy comforter is for us. He is with us. And death might challenge us, but God is with us.

[6:54] God is our comforter. And in this time, we see that we can't turn to God in knowing his comfort and strength.

[7:05] We can't turn to him. And our Lord and Saviour wept at Lazarus' grave. That speaks to us that he cares. That he knows about suffering.

[7:16] He has compassion for suffering. It tells of this one who we love. It says he is a man of sorrows and equates it with greed. He's full of compassion for us.

[7:28] And we can be embraced by this one who loves us so. So, he's tasted death and he's triumphed over it. And our personal hope can give way to resurrection hope.

[7:42] We know we will be lifted up. And our loved ones who know him, they'll be lifted up from their graves. And many have experienced the same weeping, the same mourning as the loved ones of Lazarus.

[7:57] As we see the grieving widow of the town of Nain. In Luke 7, verse 12, it reads of her. Now when he, the Lord, came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out.

[8:10] The only son of his mother. And she was a widow. And much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her.

[8:24] And said unto her, weep not. And he came and touched the bear. The, that platform that the man was lying on. The stretcher, if you like.

[8:36] He touched the stretcher, the bear, as it's called. And they, they that bear him, stood still and said. And he said, young man, I say unto thee, arise.

[8:51] And it says then that the dead sat up and began to speak. And the Lord delivered him unto his mother. This widow's son, her only son, was dead. He was her only means of support in her old age.

[9:04] And he was dead. And when Jesus saw the distressed mother, it says he had compassion. On her. He was moved with compassion. And he restored her son.

[9:16] There is hope for you mothers who are weeping for your lost sons. And your unconverted daughters. The Lord Jesus sees your tears. You weep alone sometimes.

[9:27] But Jesus knows. He was always tender to his own mother. And he cares for you. You who mourn over those who have been taken from you.

[9:38] Jesus sympathises with your tears. And he'll dry them. And give you comfort. He feels your worry.

[9:50] He knows. He has compassion for the suffering. He knows your suffering. He knows the load, the burden you carry. And he wants to share that load.

[10:02] If you feel crushed. And broken hearted. He knows your despair. And he feels for you. In this time of heaviness. Since he was moved with compassion.

[10:13] He was moved with compassion. He reaches out. And he touches you. In 1932. Thomas Dorsey's beloved wife Nettie died in childbirth.

[10:23] And the tragedy overwhelmed him. He went through a time of deep personal pain and loss. And he wrote. We never really miss anyone. Until they are gone for good.

[10:35] I miss Nettie on every turn of the way. When I come in after a hard day. When there's no one to greet me at the door. When I sit at the table to eat. No smiley face to greet me across the table.

[10:50] And I eat alone. And when I retire for the night. No goodnight kiss. And he said. I became so lonely. I did not feel that I could go on. Alone.

[11:01] I needed help. My friends and relations had done all they could for me. I was failing. And did not see how I could live. And Dorsey wrote about God's closeness and love.

[11:13] When we suffer loss. How that when the storm hits. He is there. By our side. And he wrote the hymn. Precious Lord. Take my hand.

[11:24] Lead me on. Let me stand. I am tired. I am weak. I am worn. Through the storm. Through the night. Lead me on. To the light. Take my hand.

[11:35] Precious Lord. Lead me home. There's meaningful words there. The Lord weeps. He has compassion. He sees our grief.

[11:46] And he shares our pain. He carries our sorrows. It tells us. And he's moved with the feelings of our infirmities. He can take our hand. And he can lead us on. Many of us have experienced funerals.

[11:58] And stood by a grave site. And I've seen the anguish and the heartache. The Lord knows. Jesus knows. Jesus wept. He knows. Our feelings.

[12:10] He's experienced the same pain and loss. That he would share in the grief of the loved ones of Lazarus. And he can take our hand. And lead us home.

[12:22] Friends, he's moved with compassion. He's moved with it. He's moved with compassion for the suffering. For the heavy laden. As he was with the demoniac of the Gadarenes. We read of him in Mark 5.

[12:34] In his compassion our Lord set this man free. A tormented man. And he said to him as he set him free. Go home to thy friends. And tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee.

[12:46] And have had compassion on thee. This devil possessed man was driven to madness. Christ was moved with compassion.

[12:58] And reached him. He commanded that evil spirit to come out. Are you suffering? He could set you free. Our Lord was moved with compassion. Friends, get a handle on that.

[13:10] Think of that. Contemplate on that. As he saw sick people. We see in Matthew 14. It says, And he went forth and saw a great multitude. And what happened? He was moved again.

[13:21] He was moved with what? Compassion. He was moved with compassion towards them. And he healed their sick. He ministers to the sick. When you're feeling low.

[13:32] You know, some people in the gathering here today. You're not feeling the 100%. You're feeling low maybe. That's how it happens sometimes. We feel those times of feeling low.

[13:44] We're feeling in that bad way. I want to assure you with that blessed assurance that we can know that his sweet presence is with us. And he has that comforting touch. He sees us.

[13:56] And he's moved with compassion upon us. And he makes the wounded spirit whole. He heals the sin-seeked soul. As he did with the two blind men in Matthew 20. What did he do?

[14:08] Jesus had compassion on them. And he touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight. And they followed him. Likewise with the leper in Mark 1.

[14:19] He reached out to this outcast. This reject of a man. This leper. Now these were the ones you wouldn't have anything to do with. You wouldn't go near such a man.

[14:30] And he knew what it was to be isolated. And rejected. In Mark 1 verse 40 it says there came a leper to him. To the Lord Jesus. And this leper came to the Lord Jesus.

[14:41] And it says he was beseeching him. He was kneeling down to him. And saying unto him. If thou wilt thou canst make me clean. Verse 41. And Jesus moved with compassion.

[14:54] Put forth his hand. And touched him. And saith unto him. I will. Be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken. Immediately the leprosy departed from him.

[15:07] And he was cleansed. Amen. This poor man was covered with a foul horrible disease. You know. He would have maybe been on the nose.

[15:19] He had been someone that you wouldn't want to go anywhere near. But Jesus went to him. Jesus was full of compassion. Jesus cares. And he cares about you. He cares about you.

[15:29] He stretches out his hand. He cares about your need. And he will touch you. Friends. He's moved with compassion. And he's moved with compassion still. For the unhealthy. For the bedridden.

[15:41] For the maimed. For the sickly. For the weak. For the afflicted. For the stricken. For the crushed. For the broken hearted. And if you're unwell. He has compassion for you.

[15:51] He's moved with compassion towards you. His heart feels for you. And he gives you hope. He's moved with compassion. He knows your pain. When you suffer pain. You know.

[16:01] Sometimes we hear. Such accounts. Of ones. As we know. Yesterday. In our exchanges. With people. As we were witnessing. People in. In. In heartache.

[16:12] In. In. In hurt. In brokenness. Broken people. Damaged people. And Jesus cares. Some would think. Well. Where was God.

[16:23] When this happened to me. Or that. And we just try to assure them. That. That's behind you now. He. He. He. He. He. He. He's. He's. Helped you. Even unknowingly.

[16:33] He's helped you. To get through it. And you're on the other side of that now. Try to assure them. That there is a saviour. Who cares. And in John chapter 20. At the garden tomb. The angels asked Mary Magdalene.

[16:45] Woman. Why are you crying? And pain wasn't something. That angels could understand. But Jesus does. Jesus does. Mary was crying.

[16:56] She was overwhelmed. With the loss. With the disappointment. And Mary turned around. And she saw Jesus. She saw Jesus. Standing there. And his eyes were full of tears.

[17:07] Her eyes were full of tears rather. And she didn't recognise him. But one word from the mouth of the saviour. Brought peace to Mary's troubled soul. He spoke her name. Mary.

[17:19] He speaks our name. He knows us. His love healed her pain. Hurting people needs a hear. His loving voice. To hear him.

[17:29] Calling their name. And he lifts darkness away. He restores the joy. He softly calls your name. But listen. He calls you.

[17:41] He calls you. Your name. He calls you by name. And he calls your name softly. Through that veil of tears. At times. Through the veil of your pain. And he understands your tears.

[17:53] He feels you hurt. We have a saviour. He's a God with skin on. Isn't he? He feels you hurt. He's concerned about you.

[18:04] Jesus wept. Jesus had compassion. Over the suffering. And he still does. Some would think. Where's God in my suffering? He's there.

[18:16] He knows. He knows all about suffering. Don't think that God doesn't know what suffering is all about. Because he does. Jesus knows.

[18:27] Jesus wept. Over suffering. Jesus wept. Over a city. Over the sin. Of a city. Called Jerusalem. Luke 19. 41.

[18:37] And when he. The Lord Jesus. Was come near. It says. He. The Lord Jesus. Beheld the city. The city of Jerusalem. And it says. He beheld the city. And he wept.

[18:47] Over it. In the context here. The Pharisees. Were calling him. To hush up. The praises. Of the people. As they were. Rejoicing.

[18:58] At his coming. He wanted. They wanted him. To silence. The praises. Of his own people. As the Lord. Entered Jerusalem. And the Lord Jesus. He knew the heart of man. The Pharisees.

[19:09] Wanted to shut down. The people's praises. And our Lord. Wept over the city. He knew what would happen. He knew that Jerusalem. Would still be in the. In the front pages.

[19:19] Of our newspapers today. All because of what they did. That day. That sinful city. He knew the city. And it's sin.

[19:31] He knew that Jerusalem. Would reject. The peacemaker. The prince. Of peace. And it struggles. Still today. Amen. Jerusalem is still. On the headlines today.

[19:41] Because of that day. When they rejected him. The very prince of peace. Jesus wept. The answer was there. The. Saviour was there.

[19:54] And they rejected. Him. Jesus wept. For Jerusalem. He showed his love. And care. And he expressed. The sorrow. The sorrow of his heart.

[20:05] He beheld the city. And he wept over it. Friends. Think of what breaks. The heart of God today. It should break.

[20:15] Our heart as well. There are many lost. Many hurts. In souls. Suffering abuse. And poverty. Hardship. Right on.

[20:26] Our doorstep. Our doorstep. All around us. In our city. You know. Adelaide. And suburbs. Surrounding.

[20:37] Country towns too. He beheld. The city. And he wept over it. Friends. Again. As we could reflect on. The streets.

[20:49] And homes. The families. Of. The surrounds. And. In my secular. Career. I've worked in. In health care.

[21:00] Primary health care. In disability care. I've worked. In. In welfare. In. In income support. In.

[21:12] Assisting people. In. In. Government departments. Of different kinds. And you see the. Human faces. Of people. In. In hardship. And loss. And. Suffering.

[21:24] You hear. Of. Of child abuse. There's family members of mine. Working in this sector. Where the hearing reports. Of the most vile. Child abuse. And child neglect. And.

[21:36] And the suffering. And hurt. And hardship. Of many. And. It's real. It's. Around us. We're living in it.

[21:48] Christ was moved. With compassion. He was moved. Several times. With compassion. It says. And it was the deepest emotion. His big heart was filled. With intense yearning.

[21:59] Bursting with pity. It showed on his face. His eyes. Flushed. His eyes gushed. With tears. And he was moved. With compassion. He feels the pain. The hurt.

[22:09] The suffering. He knows what it is. It's not some. God. Far removed. Out of touch. Some. Wooden statue. He is. God.

[22:22] Often. It is said of him. Move with compassion. As he reached out. To hurting people. And he looks with grace. He sees the shame. He sees the guilt. The failure. The regret.

[22:33] And even as he sees. Your sin. My sin. Yet still. He has moved. With compassion. Think of the compassion. Of our Lord. And seen in his forgiveness.

[22:44] In Matthew 18. It's illustrated. As he pictures it there. In Matthew 18. Verse 27. He tells the story.

[22:55] Of a man. Of a man. In debt. And of a debt forgiven. And it tells of the Lord. The master of our servant. That he was moved. With compassion.

[23:06] And he lost him. He forgave him. The debt. The compassion of Jesus. Is seen. In his great forgiveness. In Luke 15. We see. Another account. Of course.

[23:16] You would recollect. The account. Of the prodigal. The son. Who was lost. And who returned. And of the father. Greeting this. This man.

[23:26] Is. Been living in the pig pen. Luke 15. Verse 20. We again see. The compassion. Of our God. And here.

[23:36] This man. In the pig pen. He realises. He's better off. Back home. And he arose. It says. And he came to his father. But when. He. The son. Was yet a way off.

[23:47] A great way off. It says. His father saw him. And what did the father. Have. He had. Compassion. And he ran. And fell. On his neck. And kissed him.

[23:59] Think of the picture of that. It's astonishing. Isn't it? As. As you could. Imagine it to be. This man. He's. Spent.

[24:09] Weeps. In the. The. Filthiest. Of. Filth. Amongst the pig squirrel. The pigs. The foulness of it. He would have.

[24:21] Been a sight. To see. And a stench. And. He came. It says. And his father saw him. His father was looking. And saw him. And his father.

[24:32] It says. Had compassion. He has compassion on you. Now what did that son have? He. He. He. Damaged his.

[24:42] His. Family reputation. And he. He. Thrown away. His father's. Wealth. And. He. He. Wasted his.

[24:53] Life. In. Rights. Living. In. In. Foolishness. In. In. Cowlessness. In sin. And what did the father have? Compassion. Friends.

[25:04] It's the same with you and me. What do we have to offer? In all of our. Filthy rags. As. As it were. But the father sees. And he runs.

[25:15] He grabs a hold of us. He. He falls on our neck. And he kisses us. It's got a sense. I think. Of. Of a. A very. Loving kiss. A very.

[25:26] Tender kiss. Tender kisses. And. That's what God does to you. To me. As we come to him. In faith. As we turn. And. Come.

[25:37] In faith. He receives us. In all of our foulness. As we simply have faith. As we simply trust. In his tenderness. And though we are strayed from the path.

[25:49] Though we are broken and cursed. And burdened down because of sin. Yet. He comes. And he has compassion. He runs to us. And he has compassion. Though we ragged and ruined.

[26:00] He has compassion. He has compassion on you. On me. And the father hugs us to his bosom. Though we are filthy and foul. Yet. He draws us close to his dear heart.

[26:15] Do you feel unloved? He is moved with compassion. He is moved with compassion for you. This man had no one. But the pigs. But he had the father. And so do you.

[26:26] He can be your friend. He can. Receive you. He wants to reach the disheartened. The outcast. The guilty. He still receives.

[26:38] Those who will but come. And he offers you. His great friendship. Beyond compare. Isn't it? The Lord Jesus. He beheld the city. And he wept over it. Amen. He had compassion.

[26:49] And he comes to our own city. The city of Playford. The city of Adelaide. The streets of Elizabeth. Of Salisbury. Of all the surrounds. And he sees the broken. He sees the torn.

[27:00] The broken homes. He sees the despair. The heartbreak. And he has compassion. Do we like our Lord here? The lost souls. In heathen darkness.

[27:12] We're not talking about Africa. That too. But the heathen darkness that's in Australia. This is in darkness, friends.

[27:23] The heathen land. That is called Australia. Do we hear them crying out for the gospel light? In this favoured land.

[27:34] Where they can tune in every which way. But they don't, do they? And they still slam the doors. To those who would come. Simply care and share.

[27:45] But yeah, this is a heathen land. Do we weep? Do we care? Like Christ did. Over the dune city. Friends, this city is in peril.

[27:58] Do we care? Do we weep over the blinded ones? The perishing ones? Do we care enough? Do we earn? Do we weep? For these lost ones. They're all around us, people.

[28:09] Lost souls. Do we long that they be saved? Can we hear the cries? The cries that are out there. Not far from here. Davin Park, Smithfield, Elizabeth, Monopara.

[28:23] Maybe even Burnside. They're everywhere. There's crying souls everywhere. Even in the well-to-do suburbs. They're crying out for the saviour.

[28:35] Aren't they? They're crying out in Angerston. In the Barossa. In Gaula. All over. Do we listen? Do we hear? Do we care? Jesus cares. Jesus wept.

[28:46] He had compassion. He had compassion over suffering as he saw it at the graveside. Jesus wept. He has compassion over the sin-seeked city.

[28:58] Over our city. He sees them. He sees the city. And he has compassion. And another third point here is that Jesus, I believe, has compassion over the state of the church.

[29:11] Over the state of the church. It's interesting to read Luke 19, which follows on immediately after our Lord weeping over the city. It's immediately after that point. Immediately after he beheld the city.

[29:26] And he wept over it. Luke 19. You can pick it up for verse 45. And it says, And he went into the temple. And he began to cast out them that sold therein. And them that bought.

[29:37] Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer. But ye have made it. A den of thieves. I can picture there was a bit of emotion there in our Lord.

[29:49] I think he would have got a bit heated up here. I think he would have been a bit intense here. He might have got a bit emotional here. Maybe a bit Pantycostal here. In the sense, he got stirred up here.

[30:00] He saw something is wrong here. And he would have been a red hot Baptist preacher here. He would have said, You've made my house a den of thieves. And here he was.

[30:12] As he got a bit emotional here. As he attacked, as you could imagine, As you could reflect, The very institution that represented him, God, on the earth.

[30:23] This was, As much as dispensationally it is not, But it was in effect, In a foretaste of the church of its day. The temple. This should have been the congregation of the righteous.

[30:36] But it was a backslidden, worldly place. And those who should have been the guardians of God's truth, Were busy finding fault, While blind to God's truth.

[30:47] Let's get real, brethren. I think we should have some compassion. And weep over the state of the church. When you're seeing, The falling away.

[31:01] I was reading somewhere, There's some crazy statistic, Like, in America, Some 25% of pastors are female. I mean, where do they get that from?

[31:12] It's not Bible. You know, There's things that are completely astray from the Bible, That are going on, That people count that as normal, But it's not biblical. It's not biblical. It's not right.

[31:22] And, Friends, The church is in a state, Isn't it? A dry-eyed deadness. It's lost its love for the lost. It's the loss of the compassion, That we ought to have.

[31:35] People, We ought to get burdened. People used to get burdened. They used to weep. They used to weep over the state of sinners, The state of the lost, Of their own hearts.

[31:47] They used to weep about backsliding. Friends, We need to regain our compassion for the lost. I urge you today, To use what time that you have, And it's finite, Use it for the Lord.

[32:04] Use it for the Lord. Like Christ, Let's weep for the lost souls, And be moved. We see in Matthew 9, It tells of him, As he saw the multitudes, It says, He was moved with compassion again.

[32:16] He was moved with compassion, Why? On them, Because they fainted. They were suffering, They were, They were shepherdless, It says.

[32:27] They were scattered abroad, It says. A sheep having no shepherd. And then he said unto his disciples, The harvest truly is, Plenty us, But the labourers are few.

[32:38] Pray ye therefore, The Lord of the harvest, That he will send forth labourers into his harvest. I believe the Lord Jesus grieves over the state of the church.

[32:50] When I say the church, The church as the world would call it, The church as the world would identify it, And you know, Again, As we go witnessing, We see, Oh, The church this, And the church that.

[33:01] Look at the paedophiles, Look at this, Look at that, That's the church. No sir, That's not the church of God. That's not the people of God. That's not the work, That's not the people of God. That's the work of the devil.

[33:14] Isn't it? And yet, They would call that the church, Because that's the church. We know it's not the church, Not the Bible church. God forbid.

[33:25] God forbid. The Lord Jesus, I believe, He grieves over the state of the church, Over the neglected harvest field.

[33:36] He had compassion, It says, On the multitude. He cares. He cared for the multitude. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He cares for the fainting and the loss. He cares for their eternal destiny.

[33:49] Our Lord Jesus, He's moved with compassion. He's overflowing love. His inmost heart, It pulsates. As He grieves, For us.

[34:01] His heart bleeds for the lost. We need the same burden of our Lord. That's why we, Endeavor, God helping us, That what we, Endeavor to do as a church, Is soul focused.

[34:15] It's focused on souls. You know, We've got a Sunday school, That giving the children, Bible truth, Not just, Stories, But truth.

[34:31] And, Our youth group, The object is to reach these, Young people, To see them saved. That's the object. That's the object of every meeting, That we'll be Bible focused, We'll be heaven focused, That it will be God glorifying what we do.

[34:47] God helping us, And we don't always meet that mark, But God helping us, That's what my heart is. And we must feel that same burden of our Lord. Friends, It's a burden for souls, And the church lacks workers.

[35:01] It always has. God's people are failing to take up the yoke. He wants us to pray, To the Lord of the harvest, That he'll send forth workers, Into that harvest field.

[35:13] There's harvest work to do. We see the sad state of the church. It's mired in carnality, Godlessness, Sin, Compromise, Falling standards, The decline of truth and zeal.

[35:29] We're living in a community, That's headed for destruction. Well, We have compassion. Friends, The compassion of him, Should be our compassion. We should share that compassion.

[35:41] Well, We put our shoulder to the wheel, Our nose to the grindstone. Well, We yield our heart and soul, Our strength and energy. It makes you feel like weeping, When there's work to be done, And not enough workers.

[35:55] It makes you want to weep, When people are making issues, Out of non-issues, And withdrawing from, Fellowshiping with God's people. You know, I can, I can tell you stories of that.

[36:09] People leaving the church, Over some minor, Manta, Really, In the heaven, In the heavenly scheme of things. And Jesus wept.

[36:21] Can we sense his heartache? His, His soul ache? What does he want us, To be? I put to you, He'd rather us be like the people, Of 1 Corinthians 16.

[36:33] Now, You might say, I've got this addiction, That addiction. Well, This is an addiction, You never want to get rid of. Alright? The Bible says, We can be addicted, To the ministry of the saints.

[36:45] In other words, We can be so sold out, That, We can be so thoroughly devoted, That this is an all consuming, Love, Motivated, Holy work.

[36:58] And we can be, We can be, Brought into this. It's his compassion, That makes us, So, George Whitfield, An old time preacher, Said this, Speak, Every time, My dear brother, As if it were your last, Weep out, If possible, Every argument, And compel them to cry, Behold, How he loves us.

[37:22] We should be driven, By his love, That our words are, Ministered in love. And what really counts, Is the love of Jesus. And when we witness to others, We're not there, To win an argument, We're there to see, And trust him.

[37:36] We want to see them, Go to heaven. We want to see them live, And walk forever, In the fellowship, Of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, On the golden streets, Of that city, And enjoy the fellowship, Of angels, And God himself, Forever and ever.

[37:52] That's the perspective, That we have. But where's the compassion gone? Brother, Sister, Where's the compassion gone? We live in a concrete jungle, Of sin, And sorrow, And somebody needs to care.

[38:06] We need to have the compassion, Of Jesus, Friends. It says of him, He is despised, And rejected of men, A man of sorrows, And acquainted, With grief, And we hear, As it were, Our faces from him, He was despised, And we, Assteem him not.

[38:24] Think of how they treated, Our precious Lord, What they did to him, He was treated, As an outcast, By his own people, Betrayed by his friend, Denied by his disciples, Forsaken by his companions, Tortured and nailed, To the curse of the tree, And we could reflect, As the psalmist prophesied, He would feel the reproach, That has broken his heart, His heart was broken for us, Literally, At a cross, They medically, Consider that, There was a brokenness of heart, As his heart was very, Much ruptured, At the very cross, His heart was broken, For us, So what of us today?

[39:09] I'd like to draw this down, To bring this down, To a personal level here, What of us? Will we be a church, That is quiet and comfortable?

[39:21] Will we be content, With the status quo, With token efforts? Will we be a people, To strain out naps, And swallow camels? Will we argue, Over the finer points, Of doctrine and practice?

[39:34] Not neglecting that, But while the world, All around us, Is going to a burning, Eternal hell, Friends of perspective, Matters, Doesn't it? Will we take seriously, The word of God, And his call, His message, His compassion, Shouldn't we share it?

[39:55] Shouldn't we take, The cross seriously, And carry it? Shouldn't we be a church, That truly cares for the lost? Will we be like Jesus?

[40:09] Like him, A man of sorrows, Acquainted with grief, I'm not saying, It's your best life now, As in the sense that, Everything's going to be, Plain sailing, As a Christian, But, There'll be much, Tribulation, And he was moved, With compassion, When he saw the, Souls of men, He was moved, With compassion, When he, Saw the, Sorrows of his friends, Jesus wept, Will we be like him?

[40:42] He calls us, To his fellowship, It's the fellowship, Of his, Sufferings, Will we go, That second mile? Friends, A Christian life, Is not meant to be, Easy breezy, It's, A walk, It's a marathon, We see a song, It says, Even, Of our Lord's followers, Some of his disciples, Went back, And walked no more with him, Imagine that, That he, Who loved them so, They, Went back, And walked no more with him, How would he have felt of that?

[41:24] Now when people have left our fellowship, I've shed many a tear, We long that the Lord will draw them back, We see that, We wonder what, What made that happen? How long has it been since you cried?

[41:39] You can watch some soppy TV show, Some moving, Some tear jerker, Maybe your pet gets run over, And you'll weep tears of sorrow, But what about sinners going to hell, By the thousands, And nobody seems to care, We need to care, It says of the psalmist, 126, Verse 6, Hear the goers forth, And weep it, Bearing precious seashell, Doubtless come again, With rejoicing, Bringing his seers with him, Friends, It's got a picture there, Of the soul winner going out, Even in the heart's ache, You know, I know, Some of my colleagues, Share how, I missed out on the blessing, They got, They got cursed, And sworn at, And, I don't know, Almost things thrown at them, The dog unleashed on them, I didn't hear the full account, But, You can imagine, They were blessed, With that suffering, There's that sense where,

[42:40] When you tell someone about Jesus, You don't know what you're going to get, You're going to get hit in the, In the guts, Or, You know, You're going to get, Shouted down, And, And abuse held at you, Friends, They're not, They're not against you, They're against him, You're just a messenger, Do it in love, That's it, Show his love, Be gracious, You know, Don't, We don't swear back at them, We, We love them, Don't we, That's what we do, Because, We're messengers of his love, And we want to be like our Lord, His move of compassion, We were once there, We know, Where they were, Consider his love, Friends today, His groans, His sobs, He weeps, His eyes flowing with tears, Over that city, Because he shares, The pain, Of humanity, Are you downcast, And discouraged, If you're hurting, He weeps with you, He senses your hurt, You know, That's why we can pray, Because he can, He can weep with you, As it were, He knows your pain,

[43:41] The sufferings of life, He's not removed from it, Sometimes we can lack, The compassion of our Lord, There was a little girl, Sent on an errand, By her mum, And she took quite a while, Going and coming back, And the mum, Asked for a reason, Why it took her so long, And the little girl said, That her friend, Was crying, Because she'd broken her doll, And so the mother said, Oh, Then you stopped to help fix her doll, And no, The little girl replied, I stopped to help her cry, And there's times, When we've got to cry, With other people, And what does it say, Weep with those who weep, Rejoice with those who rejoice, There's hurting people, We need to have the heart of Jesus, To be, Moved with compassion, Compassion, To have that sensitivity, Towards others, Put yourself in their shoes, Compassion, It's been said, It's your pain, In my heart, Friends, He feels your pain, And He truly cares,

[44:43] There's more that I can, Fit in here, To share further, Many references, We could consider, For example, Mark 8 verse 2, Where He had compassion, On the multitude, They were hungry, What did He do?

[44:56] He fed them, He saw the real physical needs, And He did something about it, He was sensitive, To others needs, That's why sometimes, We say, Hey, There's a practical need, Can anybody help?

[45:09] Maybe, We can be moved with compassion, When we hear such a thing, He was moved with compassion, And He showed His disciples, How to feed the poor, As we read, Elsewhere, The Christian's love, Is not just words, But it's practical, It's practical, It's in deeds, And we, Here, Luke 10, Rather, Of the, Certain Samaritan, Where we saw, He saw this wounded man, And it says, What did he do?

[45:38] He had compassion on him, He was busy, He had things to do, Places to go, People to see, But he stopped, And he had compassion, On the man, It says, And he bound up his wounds, He poured in the oil, And the wine, He set him on his own beast, And he brought him to an inn, And he took care of him, So he did something practical, When we have the compassion, Of our Lord, We'll do something practical, To soothe the pain, To heal the hurt, To lift the load, To say, I'll help, Are you distressed, And hurting?

[46:11] Friends, Jesus comes to us, As the one, Who is the friend, Of sinners, He is, The one, Who receives sinners, And he can be, Our special friend, What a saviour, What a saviour, Your saviour, Praise him, It's the reason, Why he came, In Luke 1, We read, Of the very mission, Of our Lord, It says, Through the tender mercy, Of our God, Whereby the day spring, From on high, Hath visited us, Talking about the incarnation, So that God, Manifest in the flesh, Says, It is the tender mercy, Of our God, About the day spring, In other words, The Lord Jesus, That light of the world, Would come from on high, And has visited us, And it's interesting, This word tender mercy, Is two words, But, The one meaning, Spleen, Or intestine, It's like the, You know, The innards, It's the tender mercy, I think it's the word mercy there, And the word tender, Is the same word compassion, Where he was moved with compassion,

[47:13] So right from day one, Right before day one, As he was intending to come, But his mission was compassion, He was driven by compassion, It was the very purpose, Of his incarnation, The tender mercy, Of our God, In other words, The inward affection, The compassion, Of our God, Has visited us, And it says, To bring light, To those who sit, In darkness, Friends, Christ saw man's failings, And fall, He saw the, The failures of man, Failing every page of history, Now we, We see some folk, And they, They blame God for this, And they blame God for that, They never praise him, For the sunshine, For the green grass, For all the blessings they have, But they see the things, They can blame the God, They don't believe in, For all the things, That are going wrong, But Jesus came to fix, What was wrong, That's why he's come, That was, That's why God was made manifest, In the flesh, He had compassion, He took upon himself, Our infirmities, He was made like unto us,

[48:14] So like the, The situation of, A man, King James V, Of Scotland, And he would on occasion, Lay aside his royal robe, And he would clothe himself, As a peasant, And in disguise, He would move freely, About the land, And make friends, And enter into their difficulties, He would appreciate, He would appreciate their handicaps, He would sympathise with them, In their sorrow, And then when his king again, As he sat upon the throne, He was able to rule over his subjects, With fatherly compassion, And mercy, So too, Our Lord, Our great God and Saviour, In his incarnation, He entered into the human experience, Friends, Surely, Surely, He's able, To be touched, With the feelings, Of our infirmities, As it says, He feels the grief, Of all mankind, Upon himself, He took our sicknesses, He carried our sorrows, And that's how we can have a place today, That we can go to, Onto him, As a 24 hour helpline, You know, You don't need to have the pastor,

[49:15] On speed dial, You can have this one, And the pastor, Might not always take your call, Immediately, But he will always take your call, Amen, And it says, Let us therefore, Come boldly, Unto that throne, Of grace, That we may, Obtain mercy, And find grace to help, In times of need, His mercy is connected, With his compassion, It says he is rich in mercy, It says he is full of mercy, Friends, Today, Will you, Aval yourself, Of that, Helpline, That, Throne of grace, Amen, Amen, Consider his compassion, Just, As we, Wrap up, Sure, We hear, Stripped, Stripped of his garments, Hanging on the cross, To die, He'd given up, All the comforts of life, He gave his life itself, He gave his very self, He was moved with compassion, That's what took him, To the cross, Jesus, Jesus is moved with compassion, And his heart,

[50:17] Yearns, For you, You, His back, Was bleeding for you, He took upon, His back, The scourge's whip, Upon his shoulders, That rugged cross, That ran, With blood, He was totally consumed, With love, And he showed his love, At the cross, And after he died, He rose again, And now, Ascended into glory, At the right hand, Of the father, What is he busy doing now?

[50:46] He's still having compassion, He's still having compassion, He's interceding for us, He's pleading for his people, He's our advocate, He still has compassion, He has compassion right now, And he pleads the merits, Of his blood, And will do so, Till all whom the father, Has given him, Shall be with him, Where he is, What about you?

[51:10] He calls us to compassion, Now I'm a great believer, In the living Bible, Not the version, But you and me, That's what we should be, We should be living Bibles, Because of to exercise, This compassion, It says in Colossians 3, That we should put on, Be clothed with, It says, That's the elect of God, Holy and beloved, Bowels of mercies, And this word, Bowels of mercies, There's a kind of bracket, In it there, It means tenderness, It means the tender heartedness, It's tender mercies, And it's that heart of compassion, He wants us to, To be clothed with such, That we'll be clothed with compassion, And we can see, As it reads on there, We want it, He wants us to be clothed with compassion, That our profession, Will be manifested, In compassion, And Paul demonstrated such too, In Acts 20, 31, Where he tells how, He pleaded, He urged, He warned, The people, Night and day, With tears, And as he reads,

[52:11] In 2 Corinthians 5, 2 rather, Verse 4, He tells of anguish of heart, Of many tears, And he is motivated by love, Friends, The question, For each one of us, Is do we care, Are we moved with compassion, He wants us to be moved, He wants to move us, He wants us to be moved, With his compassion, As we see the city, We see the sin, The suffering, The sinners, We see the city, All around us, Are we in tune, With his heart, Today, Friends, Thank God, One day, He's going to wipe away, All tears, Every tear, It says, As he comes, Behold the tabernacle, Of God is with men, He will dwell with them, They shall be his people, And he shall be their God, And God shall wipe away, All tears, Every single one, Wipe them all away, From all their eyes, And there shall be no more, Death, Neither sorrow, Nor crying, Neither shall there be, Any more pain,

[53:12] For the former things, Are passed away, Friends, Earthly sorrows, Will be no more, He has prepared for us, A tear free environment, Think of that, A place, Where there'll be no more tears, To say goodbye, There'll be no more tears, When we say, I'm sorry, There'll be no more, Standing at the open grave, No more broken hearts, No more tears, But the question is, Are you covered?

[53:38] Are you cleansed by the blood? Has he forgiven you, Your sin? Realise your danger, If not, He sends his messengers, To urge you, Come, He says, Come, Unto me, And I will give you rest, We must come, To that one, The one, Who has compassion, Still, And he, He has that compassion, And he wants us to share it, That same compassion, Over our city, Over the state of the church, He calls us to that same heart, His heart, Let us renew, Our heart's commitment, To him today, Let us pray, Lord Jesus, You came, You had compassion, And you still do, And Lord, We pray, May we sense that, Heart of God, As you came to, The Lazarus' grave,

[54:40] You wept, And Lord, You're moved, With compassion, Help us Lord, To have the compassion, That you, The Lord of the harvest, Would have, That you would, Send us forth, As harvest workers, Lord, While we can, Give us the strength, To be addicted, To such a thing, That matters more than anything, We can reckon, Of this life, Lord, Help us to be, Such a people, Pray that each one might know, The love of God, That was in Christ, That the cross, That there, Our sin was paid, We can know, Eternal life, And Lord, As recipients of it, May we be, Share us of it, Also, Lord, All to your praise, In Jesus name, Amen.