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Be Compassionate      Deut. 6:4-14; 7:6-9 (HCSB)      Jan. 29, 2012

Introduction

My daughter suggested that we needed to get a house dog to help my wife as she recovered from a bad experience with gall bladder surgery. Then she heard of a family wanting to get rid of a 2 year old Bichon Frise dog. We told her okay. That dog has changed our home. It has helped my wife but has attached itself to me.  He growls at my wife if she kisses me. It is not the best example, but that dog knows how to Be Compassionate.


1.    Be Compassionate with . . Love that Shows Priority. Deut. 6:4-9

A.   Compassionate Love that Shows Priority and . . Listen to The Lord. 6:4-7

4 "Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.


B.   Compassionate Love that Shows Priority and . . Liberally obeys The Lord. 6:8-9

8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

 

       If we demonstrate our compassionate love for the Lord we will listen to His Word recorded in the scriptures. Then having listened to it as we read we will obey it with a liberal application. The world will know we love the Lord and do so in our active obedience. Showing a compassionate for the Lord will be a priority for us. Since Christmas Day recently fell on a Sunday one quote came across my desk that said, “you can demonstrate your desire for a Merry Christmas, or a happy holiday that is evidenced by what you do on that day.” Many of the churches I know about had high attendance on Christmas day and I believe that reflects the emphasis Christians have reemphasized on a Merry Christmas. Some families traveled to be with family but still went to church in their families’ church. We had several like that. It showed that compassionate love can be a priority.



2.    Be Compassionate with . . Loyalty that Never Forgets.. Deut. 6:10-14
A.   Compassionate Loyalty that Never Forgets and . . Receives the Provisions of God. 6:10-11
10 "When the Lord your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He would give youCa land with large and beautiful cities that you did not build, 11 houses full of every good thing that you did not fill them with, wells dug that
you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plantCand when you eat and are satisfied,

B.   Compassionate Loyalty that . . Repeats Your Oaths to the Lord. 6:12-14

12 be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 13 Fear the Lord your God, worship Him, and take your oaths in His name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you,


       What have you received simply because you are a Christian? I am sure you can mention many blessings both spiritual and material. Do you notice how God points out what the children of Israel will receive as they go into the land called “The Promised Land.” For a people who had lived only in tents wandering around all their lives this may have been hard to imagine. They had never lived in a city, a house, or had wells they did not dig or vineyards they did not plant. We might call that a life of grace. What an example of the New Testament way of life we receive in Christ. They were told to not forget but to repeat the oaths of faithfulness they made to the Lord and not to forsake Him. Necessary but how sad. But don’t all of us need reminders and encouragement not to follow other gods.        

3.    Be Compassionate Recognizing the . . Longing the Lord has for His Children. Deut. 7:6-9

A.   Be Compassionate Recognizing the Longing In the . . Choice of God. 7:6-7

6 For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be His own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth. 7 "The Lord was devoted to you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.


B.   Be Compassionate Recognizing the Longing In the . . Covenant of God. 7:8-9

8 But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a

strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.  

9 Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a

thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands. (HCSB)


       Do you have a special feeling toward your children and grandchildren? On one occasion a man spoke to me at the back door of the church and said, “you sure talk about your grandchildren a lot.” I told him, “If yours were as good as mine you would talk about them also.” I am prejudice and so was God. Israel was chosen by God and He had a covenant with them. They still have a special relationship with Him. But God expects His love returned and His people to receive His Messiah. Jewish people today who expressed to me an interest in a Messiah have looked only for a political leader. We need to Be Compassionate towards all people but especially God’s chosen people. Amen? Amen!