SERMON SUMMARY
Matthew 9:18-38
Empathy is powerful. Principle: Scarcity increases value. Empathy/Compassion is hard to find.
Believers are prepared by God to enter into the emotional world of empathy. We love it when we emotionally resonate with others. Sometimes it comes naturally. Sometimes it is a choice
We can make the choice to draw near. We can connect. We can choose to see the need. Jesus did.
God has chosen to connect with us – Psalm 56:8
God commands us to connect. He even commands us to have emotions! Romans 12:15
Big Idea: Evangelists seek to create a connection with their audience that would have been missed if they made other choices.
Why do we make these choices? For the love of God. For the love of man. Because we follow Jesus.
Empathy is: Seeing with the eyes of another
Hearing with the ears of another Feeling with the heart of another.
Back to Matthew 9… Jesus saw the synagogue official
He recognized the pain of the woman He heard the cry for mercy He reached out to the demon possessed. He looked upon the crowd and had compassion. And acted accordingly.
The heart of evangelist connects with empathy as we connect with people.
We actually See them through the eyes of another – God’s eyes
We feel for them with the heart of another – God’s heart And we hear their stories through the ears of another – God’s heart
And as we do so, the Holy Spirit works in us and we find compassion. We express compassion. We connect, we learn to resonate which often is one component that God uses to lead them to Jesus.
Love and compassion are driving forces in the heart of the evangelist. Effectively sharing our faith will involve having compassion for others as Jesus did. Love and compassion help us deeply connect with people, and in the midst of strong connection the message of the gospel flows well. In a step of Faith, we are going to trust God to enable us to see with another person’s eyes, in order that we will have empathy and compassion, which will lead us to talk about Jesus more often.
APPLICATION CHALLENGE
- Review the first two sets of Application / Challenges for this series: October 23 and November 6. Pray about how you can make the connection between your commitment to the Great Commission & Great Commandment and building empathy into your redemptive relationships.
- Do you want to know more about a personal relationship with Christ, learn more and get in touch with us here.