BE COMPASSIONATE (11)

TEXT: MATTHEW 15:32-37

 ³² Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” ³³ His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”³⁴ “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “a³² Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” ³³ His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?” ³⁴ “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” ³⁵ He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. ³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied.

In the part one of this message, we talked about how Jesus empathised with the multitude that had been with him for three days without food. He realised that they must be hungry and he did not send them away to look for what to eat, instead he made provision for them to eat and be satisfied.

We also talked about how church leaders of these days are different from Jesus in the way some of them relate with their congregation. They preach the word, but they don’t live the word. The type of Christianity we practice these days is centered on greed, self-centeredness and lack of genuine love to fellow believers. Shepherds are living in affluence while the sheep are living in abject poverty without the leaders doing something to “be their brother’s keeper.” When Jesus was leaving the earth he told one of his disciples (Simon) to feed his sheep. Unfortunately these days the statement of our lord Jesus has been turned the other way round, it is the sheep that are feeding the shepherds now! They are ready to milk their members dry, all in the name of "sowing".

The scripture recorded that when the disciples started their ministry, they were breaking bread together; they shared things in common, selling their possessions, and gave to EVERYONE as he had needed. The church of the old were doing things in common, nobody was oppressing anybody. It is a different ballgame these days; many believers left their churches because there was no help coming from the so called “family of God.” Many spirit filled believers have gone into the world to seek solace in unbelievers that are ready and willing to help. Instead of love, empathy and compassion, oppression is the order of the day in our churches. Let us learn from Jesus, he did not discard the multitude after preaching to them, he met their physical and spiritual needs. Don’t use and discard your congregation! Always minister to their physical and spiritual needs, be part of their lives.