Clothed in Compassion

Alan Smith: **AUTOMATED TRANSCRIPTION** Good morning, Springhouse. Good morning, those that watch online. It's good

Alan Smith: to have you with us. Michael, if you'll just stay right there for a little

Alan Smith: bit. Did this in the 1st gathering. Why does he always cry?

Alan Smith: Anybody

Alan Smith: going through anything? Anybody been sick lately? Anything

Alan Smith: weighing heavy on your minds? Work

Alan Smith: situations, relationships? I know just today, I've

Alan Smith: heard that there's gonna be somebody that has to have a hip replacement. I've heard

Alan Smith: that somebody is, sitting in the hospital.

Alan Smith: In fact, I went and saw them. They're in ICU room

Alan Smith: 12 with ketoacidosis, something along

Alan Smith: that line. I just know that there is stuff

Alan Smith: there is stuff going on in people's lives.

Alan Smith: But aren't we glad that we have a father?

Alan Smith: Aren't we glad that we have a savior that is touched by our

Alan Smith: infirmities? And he knows what it is that we go

Alan Smith: through, and he's moved with compassion toward us. And he seeks compassion toward us.

Alan Smith: And he seeks to answer our prayers. I

Alan Smith: got turned on to Oswald Chambers about 16 years ago, and I've

Alan Smith: I

Alan Smith: read

Alan Smith: But I read something again February of this

Alan Smith: year at the beginning, and it's been hounding me for the last

Alan Smith: 10 days, and I just wanna share that with you.

Alan Smith: Because sometimes, I don't know about you, but when I pray, I start asking

Alan Smith: God for answers. And

Alan Smith: that's not the key to prayer. Whenever the

Alan Smith: insistence is on the point that God answers prayer, we are off track.

Alan Smith: This is February 7th. The meaning of prayer is

Alan Smith: that we get hold of God, not the

Alan Smith: answer. Because here's the deal. Too many

Alan Smith: times we seek the answer versus the giver of the answer.

Alan Smith: He knows what's best for us. He knows the

Alan Smith: timing that it needs to take place. He knows the way and the method it

Alan Smith: needs to take place. But the most important thing is

Alan Smith: not the answer we seek is the giver. We

Alan Smith: get 2 let me rephrase that. Maybe y'all got this down.

Alan Smith: I get too caught up looking for his hand

Alan Smith: than his face. When the

Alan Smith: the answer is this, if I'll seek his face,

Alan Smith: I'll receive the rest of it because then he's gonna freely give. So if

Alan Smith: that's you this morning and you're in something, I don't

Alan Smith: know what it is, but if you're in something, will you just yield?

Alan Smith: Will you yield this morning? Raise your hands. Father God,

Alan Smith: we come to you because you are a good

Alan Smith: God. And we don't understand the depth of the meaning of that word good,

Alan Smith: but you are a good God. And your

Alan Smith: word says you watch over it to perform it in

Alan Smith: our lives, lord. So today, God, we come

Alan Smith: broken. We come in despair. We come hopeless. We come

Alan Smith: tainted and tattered and torn and dirty and filthy in our

Alan Smith: righteousness, God. But we seek your face.

Alan Smith: Give us the spirit of Mary that we would sit at your feet,

Alan Smith: God, and not look for

Alan Smith: your hands, but we'd look for your presence

Alan Smith: because in your presence is a fullness of joy.

Alan Smith: God, and when we draw close to you, you draw close to us, and

Alan Smith: you buoy us up, and you hold us up in your right hand, God.

Alan Smith: Hear the cry of your people today. In Jesus'

Alan Smith: name. Amen. Amen.

Alan Smith: Today's gonna be a little different.

Alan Smith: So much that I don't have a lot to pray. But yesterday, the bikers I

Alan Smith: work with had a chili cook off. And it's bad when the

Alan Smith: pastor is the Ghost one at the bar, isn't it? I beat all the bikers

Alan Smith: to the bar yesterday. I was the 1st one in the well, not the Ghost

Alan Smith: one, the bartender and her helper. But I was the Ghost one. I'm knocking on

Alan Smith: the door. It was locked. And I said, hey. Where's everybody at? So I beat

Alan Smith: them to the bar. I had 9 shots of chili,

Alan Smith: little 2 ounce cups of chili because we

Alan Smith: had 8 different pots. You know what? A cup of chill

Alan Smith: or a a shot of chili is okay, but when you got 8 different ones,

Alan Smith: some of them were Ghost, And some of them were not,

Alan Smith: but they were they were chilly.

Alan Smith: And then you could buy a flight. You could buy 4 bowls for

Alan Smith: $10. And so I had 4 bowls of chili,

Alan Smith: 4 cans of diet dew because I've thank God I've changed from

Alan Smith: sun drop to diet dew. There's 0 calories in dew. So I got them to

Alan Smith: make that conversion for me. But then like a

Alan Smith: dummy, I said, hey. Bring me some of them creakle cut fries, and

Alan Smith: I'll make chili cheese fries. And I thought it was gonna

Alan Smith: hit me last night, but it hadn't hit yet. So be warned today.

Alan Smith: For the person that told me this morning that I'm channeling my inner Patrick

Alan Smith: Mahomes with my, thing because he I'm

Alan Smith: no. And for the person that was older, and this

Alan Smith: is for people 50 and older, it said I look like Robert Tilton because

Alan Smith: of my haircut. Honey, I need a haircut, Wednesday. I want it spiky again.

Alan Smith: If you're from the old generation, name it, claim it, and the televangelist.

Alan Smith: Somebody said I had a Robert Tilton haircut, so I don't know

Alan Smith: about that. 2 quick things. We had

Alan Smith: we've got 37 people signed up to go to Mexico.

Alan Smith: If you are praying about this, you need to see

Alan Smith: me ASAP because I'm gonna have to cut it off at 50. So,

Alan Smith: wow, Alvin. You're gonna have to cut a missions trip to 50. Who knew? But

Alan Smith: God has put the people. So if you're interested, see me soon. And

Alan Smith: then next Sunday, we'll talk about, Ghost responders. So that's right

Alan Smith: after service. If you hadn't registered, come on anyway, and we'll talk about

Alan Smith: that. So all that being done, hallelujah.

Alan Smith: Oh, we'll still get out of here by 12:40 or 11:45.

Alan Smith: I'm not making a promise. If you would, let's stand and read the

Alan Smith: word today. Hey. They fixed me. Thank you.

Alan Smith: As pastor Kevin and miss Vonda says with gusto.

Alan Smith: Alright. Praise be to the God and father of our

Alan Smith: lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion

Alan Smith: and the God of all comfort who comforts us

Alan Smith: in all our troubles so that we can comfort

Alan Smith: those in any trouble with the comfort we

Alan Smith: ourselves receive from God. In Colossians,

Alan Smith: therefore, as God's chosen people,

Alan Smith: holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves

Alan Smith: with compassion, kindness, humility,

Alan Smith: gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other

Alan Smith: and forgive one another if any of you has a

Alan Smith: grievance against someone. Forgive as the lord

Alan Smith: forgave you. Father, thank you that you are

Alan Smith: the God of compassion. And, lord, once more,

Alan Smith: your son modeled that out for us. So today, lord, we ask you

Alan Smith: to pour into our spirit. Let your word remain. Let my

Alan Smith: foolishness go away. And, lord, teach us your

Alan Smith: ways today in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated.

Alan Smith: So So if you're looking for slides today, that was your 2. That's all you

Alan Smith: get today. No clicker. Boy, I'm not don't tell

Alan Smith: pastor Kevin. Don't tell pastor Ronnie. But boy, I feel so liberated. Y'all

Alan Smith: better watch out. I don't have to worry about half of my time whenever I

Alan Smith: get to speak. I'm worried about it in my click, and y'all ain't gotta worry

Alan Smith: about that today. Now you just gotta worry about if I can scroll and read.

Alan Smith: Help him, lord. Listen.

Alan Smith: We serve a God who is full of compassion. From

Alan Smith: the very beginning with Adam and Eve when they fell prey to sin in the

Alan Smith: garden, to the Hebrew children who were captive in Egypt. And

Alan Smith: God it says the word said he heard their cries and was

Alan Smith: moved. And he brought a deliverer through Moses all the way to

Alan Smith: Jesus hanging on the cross and bearing the sin of humanity,

Alan Smith: though he was blameless and perfect because of

Alan Smith: the compassion and the obedience he had to his father. All through

Alan Smith: scripture, we see the compassion of God bleeding

Alan Smith: through. Now

Alan Smith: listen. That being said, we all should

Alan Smith: know that God compassion, like

Alan Smith: his grace, is something we can't earn.

Alan Smith: It's it's something that he chooses to give to

Alan Smith: us. And if that's the case, Alan, in your filthiness,

Alan Smith: when you receive the compassion of God, it should

Alan Smith: be easy for me to be able to give compassion

Alan Smith: to somebody else. No matter what it is, it should be.

Alan Smith: But yet, somehow I seem to put

Alan Smith: conditions and qualifications and

Alan Smith: requirements on the amount of compassion that I give to somebody.

Alan Smith: It's easy to be compassionate toward Renee.

Alan Smith: 35 years this May. Hallelujah. She's put up

Alan Smith: with me. God bless her.

Alan Smith: Pray, it's easy to give compassion to my

Alan Smith: children because I love my kiddos. 30 and

Alan Smith: 25. I love my kids. It's easy to be compassionate with them.

Alan Smith: I'll be honest with you. It's pretty easy to be compassionate with most of you.

Alan Smith: That was supposed to be a laughter. In my notes, I've

Alan Smith: got a bracket. Maybe they'll laugh. So we'll no. I'm

Alan Smith: kidding. He's preaching. He's

Alan Smith: talking. But there are so many times

Alan Smith: where I will put a distinction or a

Alan Smith: qualification on whether I truly am compassionate

Alan Smith: to somebody. See, in in this, pastor Barbee

Alan Smith: gave me a great word between services, and I wanna share it now before I

Alan Smith: lose it. There is a difference between sympathy,

Alan Smith: empathy, and compassion. And the

Alan Smith: difference is this, I can empathize with

Alan Smith: somebody in a time of sorrow or struggle. I can be

Alan Smith: sympathetic towards somebody in a a a difficult

Alan Smith: situation. But compassion requires

Alan Smith: an action on my part. Yes.

Alan Smith: Empathy is a feeling. Sympathy is a thought.

Alan Smith: But genuine compassion requires

Alan Smith: an action on my part. And we see all through scripture

Alan Smith: lord, I don't know. Boy, help me stay with notes somehow. We see

Alan Smith: all through scripture that God the

Alan Smith: father when moved with compassion created a reaction.

Alan Smith: The word or phrase compassion happens 43 times in

Alan Smith: scripture. 22 in the Old Testament, 21 in the New.

Alan Smith: Specifically that phrase. But there are near I got exhausted trying

Alan Smith: to look them all up of phrases like feels

Alan Smith: like, or moved with, or stirred within. There are so

Alan Smith: many passages littered throughout the scriptures of God the

Alan Smith: father and Jesus Christ and others, his

Alan Smith: disciples, reflecting that compassion.

Alan Smith: Now here's the thing. We

Alan Smith: say we words are tricky, aren't they? I remember how many years

Alan Smith: ago, Justin? 5, 6 years ago he preached about words are

Alan Smith: hard. We just use so many words in our

Alan Smith: vocabulary. Sometimes we really forget

Alan Smith: the true meaning or the depth that's contained in a word. So

Alan Smith: I had to look up the word compassion because Allen thought with his big 12th

Alan Smith: grade education that he knew what it meant.

Alan Smith: And I wanna jump back to some scripture.

Alan Smith: The Hebrew word that is most often

Alan Smith: connected with the word we translate as compassion,

Alan Smith: It it it comes from a derivative of root word that means

Alan Smith: and we'll read it to you so I get it right. A word related

Alan Smith: to a mother's womb. Suggesting the depth

Alan Smith: of God's compassion for us is likened

Alan Smith: to a mother's care for her child within a

Alan Smith: womb. Now I've never given birth. I went like I'm

Alan Smith: about 7 months prayer. But but I've never gone through that process.

Alan Smith: But I've watched my wife and I've seen other women that have. And

Alan Smith: here's what I know. There is something

Alan Smith: about that life within that womb for that mother.

Alan Smith: That there is just a connection on such a deep

Alan Smith: guttural level. And when that that life is growing within

Alan Smith: that womb, and they start to feel that baby move. And when

Alan Smith: they're speaking and that baby responds within that womb,

Alan Smith: there is such a depth in connection to that

Alan Smith: child that that mother has. That when that

Alan Smith: child is born, no matter how excruciating, no matter how

Alan Smith: painful childbirth may be, when that child is put

Alan Smith: in that mother's arm and she puts it to the bosom.

Alan Smith: That mother would fight through heaven and hell to protect that child

Alan Smith: from any pain or injury that it could ever she would do

Alan Smith: anything she could to take away any pain or suffering that child

Alan Smith: may ever endure. That is

Alan Smith: what compassion is from the father God. That is how he

Alan Smith: feels about humanity. And there are so many Holy testament

Alan Smith: scriptures that bear that witness. Let me give you just a few.

Alan Smith: The psalmist have several. Psalm

Alan Smith: 103 is a father has compassion on his children. So the

Alan Smith: Lord has compassion on those who revere him. Psalm

Alan Smith: 86. But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,

Alan Smith: slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Isaiah

Alan Smith: 3018. Yet the Lord longs to be gracious. He

Alan Smith: yearns. He earnestly desires to be gracious to you.

Alan Smith: Therefore, he will rise up to show you compassion. For

Alan Smith: the lord is a God of justice, and blessed are those

Alan Smith: who wait for him. Too many times, we don't have the patience

Alan Smith: to wait on God in our situation to allow

Alan Smith: him to come through with his compassion.

Alan Smith: Nehemiah 9. I'm I'm not

Alan Smith: real edumacated with grammar. The word before

Alan Smith: is an adverb or an adjective, whatever it describes something.

Alan Smith: It says, have mercy on me, oh God, according to your unfailing love,

Alan Smith: according to your great we just read right through that pray compassion.

Alan Smith: Do you know what that word great means right there?

Alan Smith: According to your huge, ample, elaborate,

Alan Smith: remarkable, grand, superior. That kind of

Alan Smith: passion, God the father has for us,

Alan Smith: that he would blot out our iniquities. Lamentations,

Alan Smith: we don't like to spend time there, but there is such a great

Alan Smith: person there. Lamentations 322 says, because

Alan Smith: of the lord's great, use all those definitions, love,

Alan Smith: we're not consumed for his compassions never

Alan Smith: fail. Never fail. God's

Alan Smith: compassions never lose strength. They never fall short. They never

Alan Smith: fade away. They never stop functioning. They never become

Alan Smith: deficient or disappoint in our

Alan Smith: expectation.

Alan Smith: Hell you've lived through. It don't matter what life you're in. It It don't matter

Alan Smith: what hell you've lived through. It don't matter what life you're in. It don't matter

Alan Smith: what hardship you're going through. When you rise up in the morning, God

Alan Smith: compassion is there waiting for you.

Alan Smith: New every morning. I don't know I don't know about you, but I've

Alan Smith: used up my grace

Alan Smith: and compassion with some people in this life.

Alan Smith: I've burnt bridges. And that

Alan Smith: ran out in those relationships but God's compassion

Alan Smith: never fail. They'll never fail.

Alan Smith: Well, those are old testament, preacher. What about the new

Alan Smith: testament? What about Jesus? What about

Alan Smith: Jesus? Hebrews 1.

Alan Smith: Long ago, God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and

Alan Smith: in different ways. In these last days, he has

Alan Smith: spoken to us by his son, whom he has

Alan Smith: appointed heir of all things, and through him, he made the

Alan Smith: universe. He, Jesus, is the radiance of God's

Alan Smith: glory, the exact expression

Alan Smith: of his nature, And he sustains all

Alan Smith: things by his powerful word. John

Alan Smith: recounts the, occurrence with the disciples, and he's telling

Alan Smith: them that that he and the father are 1. Those who see the father see

Alan Smith: me. And Philip says, when have we seen the father?

Alan Smith: And Jesus says, have I been with you not long enough?

Alan Smith: When you see me, you've seen the father. For the

Alan Smith: father is in me and I am in him. We are

Alan Smith: one. Which means that Jesus carried

Alan Smith: out in the flesh the exact compassion that God

Alan Smith: the father carried out through the old history scriptures. He was the

Alan Smith: physical. What and listen, if God if

Alan Smith: God never sent him, his compassion as a

Alan Smith: godly father in heaven is enough. But he cared

Alan Smith: about us enough that he sent his son that we might

Alan Smith: touch him. That he could touch us in our

Alan Smith: infirmities. To know what it's like to be human on this

Alan Smith: earth. And in that part of Christ manifest

Alan Smith: in our life, his compassion

Alan Smith: is so deep. And it cuts to the quick.

Alan Smith: There's so many passages in the New Testament. I put a few of them together.

Alan Smith: Come on, Spirit. Here we go.

Alan Smith: Before I go there, I wanna tell you this. We were talking about the word.

Alan Smith: The Holy Testament word, the New Testament word in the Greek is too

Alan Smith: many letters, has a g h, a k, and an I and all those, so

Alan Smith: I'm not even gonna try. But here's what it

Alan Smith: means. It means a stirring of the inward

Alan Smith: parts. Usually, literally, the twisting of the

Alan Smith: intestines. Have you ever encountered somebody or been in a situation

Alan Smith: that it just gripped you inside, almost doubled you

Alan Smith: over because you felt the anguish of their

Alan Smith: their pain, the the situation they were in. That's the

Alan Smith: Greek word for compassion. So that changes the

Alan Smith: whole outlook when we start thinking about we read

Alan Smith: so many times we just read through, and I challenge you. Listen. The 5 for

Alan Smith: 5, I'm doing it with you. But sometimes we read it just to check it

Alan Smith: off and mark the little box and put the date by. Hey. Don't just do

Alan Smith: it for that. Read it. Take time and read it

Alan Smith: again, and look at words and understand words

Alan Smith: preparing for this when I have studied and read the word compassion, now

Alan Smith: that I understand that that depth of it from the father

Alan Smith: like a mother has for her child in the womb, in the inward

Alan Smith: twisting of the intestines, in that guttural thing. It's giving me a

Alan Smith: whole different look. Jesus said in Matthew 9 and Mark 6, it

Alan Smith: says, Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages teaching in their

Alan Smith: synagogues, proclaiming the gospel to the kingdom, and

Alan Smith: healing every disease and affliction. When

Alan Smith: he saw the crowds, he had compassion

Alan Smith: because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.

Alan Smith: Matthew 15 in Mark 8 says, Jesus called the disciples to him. I have

Alan Smith: compassion on the crowd because they've been with me now 3 days and have

Alan Smith: nothing to eat. And I'm unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they

Alan Smith: faint on the way. He cares about our physical needs.

Alan Smith: The healing of the 2 blind men, they were sitting out, son of David have

Alan Smith: mercy on us. And everybody said, shut up. Leave the

Alan Smith: rabbi alone. And they cried out even louder, have mercy.

Alan Smith: And it said, Jesus looked at them with compassion

Alan Smith: and he healed them. And immediately they began to

Alan Smith: see the leper.

Alan Smith: Spirit what will I do for you? And he said, if you will, you

Alan Smith: can make me clean. And Jesus was moved

Alan Smith: with compassion. And he didn't just speak

Alan Smith: it. He touched him. He

Alan Smith: made him clean. Sometimes we just need

Alan Smith: to feel him touch us. And you know what? That's hard to do

Alan Smith: now because he is now seated at the right hand of the

Alan Smith: father. So do you know how he touches us now?

Alan Smith: With us. With each other. We

Alan Smith: are now the hands and feet of Christ. We are the ones that are called

Alan Smith: to be moved with that guttural deep level of

Alan Smith: compassion that requires an action on our part. And

Alan Smith: then when we are moved like Christ was moved

Alan Smith: and we church somebody, I'm praying for you, man. I

Alan Smith: know it's hard. I'm praying for you, sister. I know

Alan Smith: it's difficult to grieve the loss of a loved one. When we

Alan Smith: do that action, we become

Alan Smith: the hands and feet of Christ's compassion

Alan Smith: in this world. 2 of my

Alan Smith: favorites

Alan Smith: the stories of his compassion.

Alan Smith: Many of us know this story. It's John 11. Pastor

Alan Smith: Jonathan did amazing teaching in the 12 of couple of weeks

Alan Smith: ago. So if you have the capacity, go look it up online and watch it.

Alan Smith: Because he prayer some things that I I've seen it twice now. Once in

Alan Smith: person and 2 in my office. But he prayer something that I really didn't

Alan Smith: think about. And he was talking about when he's talking about Jesus was

Alan Smith: coming and they were traveling back Ghost, technically, there's 2 different Bethanies in

Alan Smith: the Bible. And so he was coming to where and

Alan Smith: he said, Mary and Martha and

Alan Smith: Lazarus lived. And he named the place and he names

Alan Smith: names because Jesus was making a connection

Alan Smith: that this is not just somebody. He knew

Alan Smith: them. He had relationship. They were important to

Alan Smith: him in life. And so he was moved. And

Alan Smith: we think, well, he waited and he delayed 2 days. And then by the time

Alan Smith: he gets there, he's dead. Why didn't he move quicker? Because his

Alan Smith: ways are not our ways. His thoughts and ideas are

Alan Smith: higher than ours. And there was a purpose because when he

Alan Smith: came, not only was he gonna raise Lazarus back in life,

Alan Smith: but it was that he might glorify the father.

Alan Smith: And those that would see would recognize.

Alan Smith: Sometimes we go through things in our life

Alan Smith: that is not about us. I sat in an ICU room for

Alan Smith: 14 days 2 years ago, and I am certain in my mind

Alan Smith: it had nothing to do with me. But it was so that I could minister

Alan Smith: to 23 different nurses, doctors, and technicians in that 14

Alan Smith: days to show them the love of God while I was laid up in that

Alan Smith: bed. It was because there were countless numbers of you that were

Alan Smith: praying for me that maybe Ghost stirred your faith to reach

Alan Smith: out on somebody else's behalf.

Alan Smith: And all that was that God would be glorified through it.

Alan Smith: So we see Jesus. He shows up. And Martha comes

Alan Smith: running in tears. And it says there were Jews around and they were

Alan Smith: crying. And then we get these words that says, Jesus

Alan Smith: was moved in his spirit and

Alan Smith: groaned. The

Alan Smith: grief and the compassion of God. And then we

Alan Smith: know, spoilers, pastor Jonathan said, you raised him from the

Alan Smith: dead. And then there's another

Alan Smith: story that I love in Luke 7. I've heard it before as a child, and

Alan Smith: I've heard it taught different times. But it says, Jesus, see it

Alan Smith: if you will. Forget these comfy chairs in the air

Alan Smith: condition. We're in Jerusalem

Alan Smith: and we're walking with the master and the disciples and

Alan Smith: the people that are walking around him. And Jesus

Alan Smith: sees a funeral possession. It made me

Alan Smith: think about Alice Taber this

Alan Smith: week. I was ready to went home to be with the Lord this past

Alan Smith: sun Saturday, Sunday morning.

Alan Smith: It says that after he was on his way to a town called

Alan Smith: Nain, his disciples and a large crowd were traveling with him.

Alan Smith: And just as he neared the gate of the town, a

Alan Smith: dead man was being carried out. You know what I love

Alan Smith: about the state of Tennessee? That when we see

Alan Smith: funerals, we pull over.

Alan Smith: And you know, I know I get in my flesh and it makes me so

Alan Smith: upset when I see people pass by.

Alan Smith: Listen, I've been on the way to somewhere, and

Alan Smith: I've been late because of it. But I pull over

Alan Smith: and I put my lights on and I sit there because

Alan Smith: somebody in a hearse, somebody in the car behind the hearse,

Alan Smith: and people in those numerous cars behind it are

Alan Smith: grieving the loss of a mother, a father, a son, a a

Alan Smith: loved one, a coworker. And for just

Alan Smith: that moment, as simple as pulling over and put my lights on,

Alan Smith: it renders an action of concern.

Alan Smith: I've been in those lines and seen the

Alan Smith: cars pulled over and I felt, man.

Alan Smith: So imagine Jesus is walking through the crowd, and they're he's

Alan Smith: going, hey. If you've tried to leave a ballgame somewhere and there's thousands of

Alan Smith: people, if you're trying to go that way and the crowd's going this way, you're

Alan Smith: just gonna walk all the way around till you get over there because you're not

Alan Smith: gonna get through that crowd. And Jesus was moving

Alan Smith: with that throng of people, and it says he saw

Alan Smith: the dead man's funeral. He saw the woman.

Alan Smith: Sometimes we have to just

Alan Smith: stop and look.

Alan Smith: Sometimes we just got to be able to see

Alan Smith: what's right in front of us.

Alan Smith: And she was a widow.

Alan Smith: A large crowd from the city was also with her. And when

Alan Smith: the lord saw her, he had compassion.

Alan Smith: Sometimes I see the need,

Alan Smith: but I stop there. And I

Alan Smith: fail to be moved

Alan Smith: with compassion. See,

Alan Smith: the difference is that's Alan. But if I

Alan Smith: yield myself to the Holy Spirit, Jesus says it's expedient that I should go because

Alan Smith: I'm gonna send 1 just like me, and he will teach you in all things.

Alan Smith: He will comfort and guide you in all

Alan Smith: truth. And most of the time, he doesn't use a

Alan Smith: bullhorn. It's the whisper.

Alan Smith: It's that tug. It's that,

Alan Smith: and he wants to see if you'll be obedient. He wants to see,

Alan Smith: I know you see it. Will you now

Alan Smith: do it? And it says Jesus saw

Alan Smith: her. And then it says he was moved

Alan Smith: with compassion. And he said, don't cry.

Alan Smith: Then he come up and touched the open coffin. The pallbearer

Alan Smith: stopped and he said, young man, I tell you get up.

Alan Smith: And he rose and began to speak and Jesus

Alan Smith: gave him to his mother. Can you see it?

Alan Smith: A widow with no husband to provide. Her

Alan Smith: only it didn't say her son. There's

Alan Smith: a reason it said only son. He was

Alan Smith: her only source of provision. Her only source of

Alan Smith: protection, her only source. And

Alan Smith: now she's with nothing. And Jesus was

Alan Smith: moved with compassion and he gave her back

Alan Smith: life. What is it you need him to

Alan Smith: give you life in today? Is it a relationship?

Alan Smith: Is it a mental state? What is it that you feel is gone

Alan Smith: and I have nothing left? That you need

Alan Smith: him or somebody

Alan Smith: used by him to give you that life

Alan Smith: back.

Alan Smith: Just as Jesus set for us an example when he washed

Alan Smith: the disciples' feet, his immeasurable compassion

Alan Smith: displayed throughout his season of ministry on earth has left for

Alan Smith: us as an example, not just to one

Alan Smith: another within the kingdom,

Alan Smith: but also to those that yet believe. If you come

Alan Smith: on midweek, pastor Wayne's been

Alan Smith: doing a series about seeing Jesus the last 6 weeks. In a

Alan Smith: couple of weeks ago, when he wrapped it up again with the the one this

Alan Smith: Thursday, he used the scripture in 2nd Corinthians 5, and it said that God

Alan Smith: himself, through Christ Jesus,

Alan Smith: was reconciling us. And Wayne asked the question, who

Alan Smith: is us? The answer is not us.

Alan Smith: The answer is humanity. All us.

Alan Smith: Said God was reconciling to himself through Ghost,

Alan Smith: us while we were still in sin, not counting

Alan Smith: our transgressions against us. In other words, he

Alan Smith: didn't quantify, qualify, or place requirements

Alan Smith: on it. He did it for all of

Alan Smith: humanity. And then it says that we have been given the

Alan Smith: ministry of reconciliation, which means we are to go do the same

Alan Smith: thing. It's pretty easy.

Alan Smith: That's a oxymoronic statement. To

Alan Smith: be compassionate to somebody in this room.

Alan Smith: We're almost 400 between the 2 services and all the children.

Alan Smith: And I apologize if you've been coming 6, 8, 10 months, 2 years,

Alan Smith: and I can't get your name right. I I but I see your face.

Alan Smith: And it's pretty easy to go, yeah. I'm gonna help you. Or I see you're

Alan Smith: in need or you're moved in something and I've come to try to help

Alan Smith: you. But he's not just talking about taking care

Alan Smith: of us, us ins.

Alan Smith: We have to be compassionate to those

Alan Smith: who don't speak like us, who don't look like us, who

Alan Smith: don't smell like us, who don't dress like us, who don't act

Alan Smith: like us. Let me tell you something. A sinner's gonna act like a

Alan Smith: sinner, but we're still called to love and minister

Alan Smith: to them. And if they find themselves in a

Alan Smith: place that is deserving I'm sorry. That's the

Alan Smith: wrong word. None of us deserve compassion. If they

Alan Smith: find themselves in a place of needing

Alan Smith: compassion, it is our responsibility

Alan Smith: to be those hands and feet and see them

Alan Smith: and be moved to meet their

Alan Smith: need and compassion. And sometimes, it's as

Alan Smith: simple as just sitting with a grieving widow.

Alan Smith: Sometimes it's as simple as hugging that

Alan Smith: lonely person.

Alan Smith: It'd be amazing what small acts of

Alan Smith: compassion can do. I wanna read something to you that came from one of our

Alan Smith: brothers in the men's ministry. We have 3 or

Alan Smith: 4 different threads in our pursuit minutes

Alan Smith: page. One's a prayer thread. One's a help needed page, And then

Alan Smith: one's just a thing where we try to encourage each other. And I think it

Alan Smith: was maybe Wednesday or Thursday of this week, this maybe Thursday,

Alan Smith: This brother posted this. He said, I was walking from one area of the gym

Alan Smith: to another yesterday, not really paying attention when I noticed a little bit

Alan Smith: of water on the floor. Then about 2 feet in front of it,

Alan Smith: there was more. In another kip couple of feet, there was more water.

Alan Smith: I looked up and I saw a woman carrying a water bottle by her sit

Alan Smith: side, but the lid wasn't screwed on tight. And the angle at which she was

Alan Smith: holding it caused water to pour out every few feet.

Alan Smith: This had gone on for about a stretch of maybe

Alan Smith: 50 feet or so. So I called up to her and I told her, I

Alan Smith: said, you're you're spilling water

Alan Smith: in in your drink, and I just didn't want you to be thirsty

Alan Smith: because you ran out of water.

Alan Smith: Now he could've said, hey. Hey. You're

Alan Smith: making a mess. You're spilling water all through here, and I

Alan Smith: almost tripped on that. I almost slipped. Clean up your

Alan Smith: stuff. He could've.

Alan Smith: Sometimes we do,

Alan Smith: but that wasn't his heart posture.

Alan Smith: His heart posture was I didn't want you to be out of theater.

Alan Smith: I didn't want you to be thirsty. And it says she looked at

Alan Smith: him. She looked embarrassed, but said thank you, and

Alan Smith: that she'd clean it up. I almost went right back to my

Alan Smith: workout, but instead you ever had one of those?

Alan Smith: I was going to and then

Alan Smith: I went and grabbed some paper towels and started walking

Alan Smith: the water from the opposite end of the trail.

Alan Smith: And when we met in the middle, she looked as if she was

Alan Smith: about to cry. She said thank you

Alan Smith: because I'm not used to people helping me.

Alan Smith: And I could see the genuine gratitude in her eyes.

Alan Smith: I'd never seen her before, but I told her if she ever is in need

Alan Smith: and sees me here, she can come ask.

Alan Smith: You see, even the smallest acts of kindness can have the biggest impact on

Alan Smith: people. It cost me less than 5 minutes,

Alan Smith: but I can imagine that she thought about it for much longer. I

Alan Smith: bet she did too. And you know why

Alan Smith: I know she did? Because she said when she looked at him, I'm not used

Alan Smith: to people helping me. 5

Alan Smith: minutes of wiping up water on it. I don't know the woman's

Alan Smith: spiritual state. Maybe she's a believer. Maybe she's

Alan Smith: not. But I believe that brother in that 5

Alan Smith: minutes of extending his kindness because he

Alan Smith: was moved by compassion to help her

Alan Smith: Could be seeds that Ghost an eternity for her. Maybe she's

Alan Smith: a believer and she's wandered because she's felt deserted or left

Alan Smith: alone. And this act restored

Alan Smith: her hope that God has not forgotten me. Maybe

Alan Smith: she's an unbeliever and can't believe anybody would take their

Alan Smith: time out. And he listen. It's easy to point out people's

Alan Smith: mess ups. Guess what? Most of the

Alan Smith: time we know we're messing up, but

Alan Smith: sometimes we don't. But how

Alan Smith: much better is it when we negate the error

Alan Smith: in the pointing out of the thing rather than getting in the ditch and helping

Alan Smith: and minister onto them.

Alan Smith: The smallest acts of kindness can have the

Alan Smith: biggest impact on people. It Ghost me less than 5 minutes.

Alan Smith: Then he writes, lend a hand. Be the change.

Alan Smith: Be like Jesus.

Alan Smith: Don't worry about what others think. Praise and worship team, you can come

Alan Smith: out. Don't worry about the snickers or the stairs

Alan Smith: because we all need help

Alan Smith: at times. So help someone when you

Alan Smith: can.

Alan Smith: John says this in first John.

Alan Smith: This is how we know what love is.

Alan Smith: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us,

Alan Smith: and we ought to lay down our lives for our

Alan Smith: brothers and sisters. If anyone

Alan Smith: has the material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need,

Alan Smith: but is not moved with compassion for them,

Alan Smith: how can the love of God be in that person?

Alan Smith: Dear children, let us not love with

Alan Smith: words or speech, but

Alan Smith: with actions and in truth.

Alan Smith: I can say all pray,

Alan Smith: and I can preach and proclaim it all I want

Alan Smith: to with my mouth. But until my

Alan Smith: life reflects through my

Alan Smith: actions, my words are useless.

Alan Smith: You ever been told something by body? And you know,

Alan Smith: you know you know, they ain't gonna

Alan Smith: do it. They

Alan Smith: have every intention. They mean

Alan Smith: well. But you know,

Alan Smith: soon as it comes out it falls to the ground. Coach, you know.

Alan Smith: But have you met people also? That they never

Alan Smith: say a thing? But when you need them,

Alan Smith: when you're in that grind, you're in that hard place,

Alan Smith: you know they're coming. You know they're praying.

Alan Smith: You know that whatever you need, they're gonna do.

Alan Smith: Because their actions speak louder than their

Alan Smith: words. I wanna be a person

Alan Smith: that my words

Alan Smith: reflect my actions.

Alan Smith: I want my life to be one that's consistent.

Alan Smith: So if I say, you know I will.

Alan Smith: And listen, I'm gonna blow it. I'm gonna miss it. You

Alan Smith: are too, so don't point at me. But God,

Alan Smith: that my heart would be so attuned

Alan Smith: to his spirit that when I hear him

Alan Smith: whisper, if I say, then I will

Alan Smith: do. And I think that's what he's called us

Alan Smith: as believers to be. Because there's a world out

Alan Smith: there, Spirit earlier, sinners gonna

Alan Smith: sin. And they already have a misconception

Alan Smith: about the genuine body of Christ.

Alan Smith: But oh, that we would be a people

Alan Smith: that genuinely lived a life

Alan Smith: of grace, and mercy, and compassion

Alan Smith: with no restraint, with no qualifications

Alan Smith: that they could taste and see that the lord is good. For

Alan Smith: those that are gonna pray with people, if you'd come down.

Alan Smith: Maybe you're here this morning and you're on one side of the

Alan Smith: coin or the other. Pastor, I'm in a difficult place.

Alan Smith: Brother, I'm in a place of grief, mental

Alan Smith: anguish. I've got sickness. I've got things in my life. And I

Alan Smith: just need to sense the lord's compassion in my life again.

Alan Smith: There are people here that will pray with you.

Alan Smith: Maybe you're on the other side of that. Lord, I blow

Alan Smith: it. I blow it more than I get it right. And I need your Holy

Alan Smith: Spirit to help me to hear your

Alan Smith: voice so that I can move with compassion

Alan Smith: when you speak. There are people that are here pray with you for that

Alan Smith: too. So would you stand and let's worship? And if that's you,

Alan Smith: come spend some time down here with