BJ Not BK

Chuck Norris is a man's man.  Tough, bad to the bone, unmatched in supreme dojo skills.

Guns don't kill people. Chuck Norris kills People.
There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of animals Chuck Norris allows to live.
Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
The chief export of Chuck Norris is Pain.
There is no chin under Chuck Norris' Beard. There is only another fist.
Chuck Norris has two speeds. Walk, and Kill.
The leading causes of death in the United States are: 1. Heart Disease 2. Chuck Norris 3. Cancer
Chuck Norris drives an ice cream truck covered in human skulls.
Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer....too bad Chuck Norris has never cried.

Sound familiar?

Christians do not extend grace, they expect it.
The chief export of most Christians is their wants and their needs.
Most Christians have two speeds whine and cry.
The leading cause of death in the United States and the world is still death.
The love and prayers of Christians avail much....too bad most Christians never love and pray.

We love Chuck Norris because he is a man's man and doesn't let anything get to him physically or emotionally and he certainly doesn't let other people slow him down.   I sometimes take that same mentality into my daily life when faced with the bad news of others.

"Oh, they died in a drug overdose?  Too bad.  They shouldn't have done drugs."

"What?  They lost their house because they had too many credit card bills?  Too bad.  They should have budgeted better."

"They don't know Jesus?  Oh well, I am sure they have been witnessed to many times before.  They shouldn't have hardened their hearts."

The problem we have today is not lack of information but way too much information.  We get more news thrown at us in more ways that our minds and our hearts become numb to human suffering.  

Question:  How did you react when you heard the following?

The shootings at Virginia Tech?  What did you think about the gunman?  The victims? 

Question:  How is your heart today?  Would you be willing to spend a few minutes and take a spiritual stress test?

Matthew 9:35-10:1 

"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

 "He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness."

Central Truth:  To accomplish Christ's mission for my life, I must see my community with a heart of compassion.

When you read the gospels, as you focus on the above passage what is it that controls the motives of Jesus?  What was His response to the lost people around Him? 

First and foremost Jesus is our only pattern to follow.  When we talk about mission we should be focused on what Jesus' mission was.  When we talk about service we should look to Jesus for how to serve.  When we talk about leading we should look to Jesus for how to lead.  Jesus told us to 1. Love God and 2. to love people but very often we are backwards in our lives caught up in loving ourselves and stuff and using people and God for our own desires.

1.  We have to pattern ourselves after Jesus.

In the above passage Jesus is busy, He's preaching, teaching, traveling great distances and is becoming very popular yet he always makes time for those around Him, those close to Him.  Jesus heals of "every disease and sickness" leaving no one person sick, no one person with disease that sought Him out and Jesus shares the good news always.  Jesus meets the physical needs of those around Him through service and He meets the spiritual needs of those around Him by sharing the gospel. 

Our pattern is Jesus.  We are to always share the gospel when given the opportunity and we are to always help others who are in real need as God places people in our lives. 

2.  We have to regain our compassion

We are more than conquerers in Jesus.  Our mandate is not to crush unbelievers but to love them so much that they will be drawn to Jesus.  But in order for us to do that we must first regain our compassion.  Jesus, "When He saw the crowds had compassion on them."  Why?  Weren't these the same people who had been denying God for years?  Generations?  Didn't they get what they rightly deserved?  Weren't they paralyzed, blind, lame, sick, hit with leprosy because of their sins?  Isn't that justice?  Isn't that what they deserved?  God clearly warns us that none of us are righteous, not one and for anyone of us to hold themselves better because they are saved is a form of religious prejudice and is an act of the greatest sin, pride. 

Jesus came to save and to serve and His heart broke over the people He saw because:

They were harassed - stressed, worried, under a great deal of pressure, had things hanging over them, had no future hope, couldn't see past the present gloom.  Sound like anyone you know?  What are some of the things in society that can cause this in the lives of those around us?

They were helpless - Why is it that we often hold lost people to a higher standard than Christians?  Most Christians are given the hand of fellowship and forgiveness and grace when they have sinned yet when someone who is dead to God, an unbeliever, sins, we push them as far away from us as possible.  Shouldn't we extend the right foot of fellowship to our sinning brother?  Shouldn't he know better as a child of God?  By the same token shouldn't we feel compassion on those dead in their transgressions?  Helpless in their own ignorance? 

They had no shepherd - Sheep without shepherds are easily led in the wrong directions.  Paths that can lead to hurt, heartache, and death.  Sheep without a shepherd can't find food, nourishment or even manage to stay together....Wow!  What an incredible image to describe lost people.

Question:  How do you see lost people?  Are they getting what they deserve?  Are we to crush them with the cross?  Motivate them into morality?  Or are we to have compassion on them as Jesus had on each of us?  We mocked Him while He loved us, we played games at the foot of the cross while He cried father forgive them.  

By the way, the phrasing "had compassion" goes a little deeper than just a warm fuzzy feeling.  The term actually refers to Jesus becoming sick to His stomach, to the point of puking.  He had to do something He was so moved.

As a result of His heart, Jesus issued a challenge to those who would follow Him.  "beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers"  

That has been done with the great commission.  You and I are answered prayers lifted up by the families of lost ones over the years begging God the Father and Jesus to place godly people in the path of their lost loved one, just one person who would share Jesus with them so that they too would be saved.

The problem is not a lack of workers, the problem is the workers are not in the filed and we are not in the field because we care more about stuff and ourselves than we do about loving God and loving people.

I am not saying that our tears will cure the ills of the world, besides, only the tears of Chuck Norris can cure cancer, what I am saying is that each of us need to seek God, serve Jesus, read our Bibles, pray for those around us who are lost and share the gospel when we are presented with the opportunity out of a repentant heart, out of a thankful heart, out of a compassionate heart.

Love God and love people.

See those around you with a heart of compassion.