Sermon Tone Analysis

COMPASSION 7

GOD, THE MOTHER, HEARS THE CRIES OF HIS CHILDREN

(cmpas7.doc)

*"JUST ASK FOR IT!"*

During the Spanish-American War, Clara Barton, the founder of the Red Cross, was working in Cuba.

One day Colonel Theodore Roosevelt came to her and offered to buy food for some of his sick and wounded Rough Riders.

But she refused to sell him what he wanted.

Roosevelt could not understand.

He cared about his men, and he was going to pay for the supplies out of his own funds.

So he went to the surgeon in charge, who said to him, "Colonel, just ask for it!"

A smile broke over Roosevelt's face.

Now he understood-the provisions were not for sale.

"I will ask for it," he said, and when he did, he got the food at once.

Sometimes we view God like we do other people, i.e. we think He wants us to pay for His provisions.

But God is a God of compassion Who daily loads us with benefits, if we simply ask Him!

This is study number seven in our series on the biblical doctrine of compassion.

We are presently studying the magnificent compassion of God.

Six messages ago we embarked on a long expedition through the uses of various Hebrew and Greek words translated "compassion," "compassions," and  "compassionate."

We have surveyed all the Scriptures where the Hebrew word /racham/ (raw-kham'), 7355, is translated "compassion," "compassions," or "compassionate," in relationship to God.

We are now working on the second most commonly used Hebrew word that is translated "compassion," "compassions," and "compassionate."

That word is /racham/ (rakh'-am), 7356.

After reviewing the Scriptures where the word /racham/ rakh'-am 7356 is used, I could see:

 

*Principle #3:*  Jehovah God, as to His nature is love, He demonstrates His love by consistently being compassionate.

In certain instances His compassion is depicted as a Motherly feeling towards His children.

/(As we look at how each of these principles concerning God's compassion is represented in the Scripture, we have been making specific observations in each individual passage of Scripture.

Although these observations will, in many cases, include an observation, an interpretation and an application, for the sake of brevity we have been calling these statements "observations".

We have been numbering them with a double number.

The first number indicates the principle that is being applied and the second number indicates the particular observation with respect to that principle./

/       We have already observed four Scriptures where the word racham (rakh'-am), 7356, was used.

Let's continue this study surveying the remaining usages of the word racham (rakh'-am), 7356, when it is translated compassion.)/

This particular word is used and translated "compassion" 27 more times in the Old Testament.

All of these usages have to do with God.

 

/(Let's get started on our journey throuth these Scriptures.)/

Genesis 43:14, "And may God Almighty grant you *compassion* in the sight of the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin.

And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."

*Observation 3.5:*  Jacob sent Benjamin, with His brothers, to Egypt to get bread from Joseph whom they had not yet recognized.

Jacob calls upon the grace of God to grant them compassion in the sight of Joseph.

He could do this based upon God's covenant with Abraham, but not on the basis of any merit on His part!

We observed that back in

 

*Observation 1.2:*

No man can lay any just claim to the grace and compassion of Jehovah God.

His grace and compassion are unconditional and they originate with Himself.

His grace and compassion are unconditional in the sense that there were no conditions stated whereby the Israelites first obtained this compassion.

There are conditions which must be met to keep this compassion or to restore it in time, but the ultimate salvation of Israel is based upon God's lovingkindness and compassion.

It seems that we can ask for God's compassion, based upon His covenant of grace through Jesus Christ, which includes us as Christ's body, but we must remember that God dispenses His grace by His own sovereign *choice*, not on the basis of request or merit.

John 1:12-13, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

On the basis of this understanding, we really don't need to pray for or ask for God's compassion from His perspective, because it is automatically forthcoming because of who we are in Christ Jesus!

On the other hand, we do need to pray for His compassion, not because of its impact upon God, but because of its impact upon us.

Prayer, in this instance does not change God, but changes us!!!

So go ahead!

Pray for God's compassion in your marriage, finances, job situation, relationships, ministry, etc.

We used to say, "Prayer changes things," but in actuality prayer changes people.

Coming from this perspective:  we need a lot of prayer.

\\ /(Let's move on to the next Scripture.)/

1 Kings 8:50, "And forgive Thy people who have sinned against Thee and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against Thee, and make them /objects of/ *compassion* before those who have taken them captive, that they may have compassion on them."

*Observation 3.6:*  This is the record of the prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple.

He prays concerning the various possible, future situations of the Israelites.

In the eighth chapter, he prays about their future sins, consequences and repentance.

He prays for foreigners who would become a part of the kingdom in the future.

He prays about future battles that they would encounter.

He prays about the future anger of God against the sin of Israel.

He prays about their captivity on account of the anger of God.

And finally, he prays about God making them objects of compassion before those who control their captivity.

*Who else can render a person or a nation as objects of compassion, but the God of compassion?*  Once again I remind you that Solomon, The king of Israel, is praying in the light and awareness of the covenant of God with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

So, he is not praying on the basis of merit or deservedness, but on the basis of God's covenant with Israel.

If you are going to need compassion before some person or persons and you are inclined to pray about it, you will need to pray to God, because He is the only one who can render anyone compassionate!

And I would pray on the basis of His covenant of grace with us.

I would pray for compassion that His name may be glorified.

That is His ultimate purpose for the church, i.e. to save us, sanctify us and present us spotless before His throne that we may glorify Him.

Our prayers to God are often based on other motives and are therefore, not answered!

James 4:3, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spent /it/ on your pleasures."

If you want to get your prayers answered, your motives must be biblical and theological, not anthropological.

Your motives must be to glorify God, not to indulge yourself!

\\ /(Let's move on to the next Scripture.)/

2 Chronicles 30:9, "For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your sons /will find/ *compassion* before those who led them captive, and will return to this land.

For the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn /His/ face away from you if you return to Him."

 

*Observation 3.7:*  These are the words of King Hezekiah.

King Hezekiah invited all of Israel to the celebration of the Passover.

The Passover had not been celebrated at the proper time because a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people been gathered to Jerusalem.

In the letter, Hezekiah warns these Israelites against being stiff-necked like their fathers who were carried away into Assyria.

Then he reminds them of the conditions of restoration of their brother and sons to the compassion of God.

The condition is the same as in the other places that we have studied:  repentance.

Let's deal with the converse of this statement first.

If it is true that God will not turn His face away from those who return to Him in repentance, then the converse of that statement is also true:  He *will* turn His face away from those who do not return to Him in repentance.

The face is very important in relationships.

The Greek in John 1:1 suggests that God and Jesus had a face-to-face fellowship in eternity past.

This face-to-face fellowship speaks of great intimacy.

Only those who are extremely close can look into each others eyes for extended periods of time.

*LOOK AT THAT FACE!*

An exhibit at the 1964 New York World's Fair displayed a unique kind of telephone that finally seems to be coming of age.

The American Telephone and Telegraph Company introduced the picturephone, which enables a caller not only to talk to the person on the other end of the line but also to see him.

Since then, AT&T has spent $17.5 million to develop the device, but so far it has turned out to be too expensive for widespread use.

However, it may become practical for large companies to use in making conference calls.

Instead of spending time and money traveling, people in business would be able to see as well as hear their clients in other cities by using a picturephone.

AT&T's investment shows that they believe the face is essential in maintaining relationships.

This will help us refine our understanding of the relationship between sin and compassion.

God's face speaks of intimate fellowship.

The turning away of His face speaks of a serious break in fellowship.

When we sin, it always affects our fellowship with God.

But every sin does not result in the withdrawal of His compassion.