Title: Love’s Truth

Date: 2009-02-15

Reference: Acts 10: 1-8

The Senior Pastor of a large congregation surveyed his members and found that fewer than 3% of the adults in his church family were doing anything at all to communicate compassion to the poor. Most were not even involved in any ministry in the church. They came on Sunday, sat through worship and went home. In a series of sermons and studies, he challenged the members to get involved in the community around them, to serve through the church. A year later 70% of them were involved in a ministry of compassion or service. The impact in the community was phenomenal. Lives were being changed, people were being introduced to Jesus in positive ways. Even more important, the congregation was revitalized as church members felt compassion for the hurting and the helpless, and began doing the work of Jesus.

Our task in ministry is to share the news of God’s Amazing Grace with the world around us. Our motivation is to be a witness for Jesus, to represent him in our community. God has determined to use us as the carriers of His message. We have the joy of telling others of God’s love through our actions. Ours is a great responsibility and an astonishing privilege.

God uses whatever we offer to God..our time, talents, prayers, gifts, interest, and service. I think of the time Jesus’ disciples went out looking for food to satisfy a multitude. They came across a little boy with a basket of fish and bread. Imagine they saying to the boy: “Jesus needs your help.” There were thousands of hungry people there. As the boy looked down at the lunch in his hands he could have felt insignificant.

He could have said: “I’d like to help but have nothing to offer. Better let someone else do this one.” He was asked to give and he gave what he had, his lunch. Jesus transformed his tiny lunch into a meal for five thousand hungry people.

Today we wonder if Jesus really needs our help. Will our small efforts in ministry really make any kind of difference at all? If it were just up to us we probably wouldn’t make much of a difference. God works through our efforts and makes all the difference.

Jesus was the epitome of compassion. He was constantly reaching out and connecting with the sufferings of people from all stations of life. He rescued the lost, healed the sick, fed the hungry, touched the untouchables. Prompted by a heart of love, Jesus always cared enough to act.

To follow Jesus today is to live a life of true compassion. To share Jesus’ love in every way possible. In doing so we get God’s attention. We heard about one man’s life and ministry today. Cornelius was a Roman Army Officer who lived in the city of Caesarea. The city was the Roman capital of Judea. Cornelius had grown tired of pagan myths and empty religious rituals. He turned to the Jewish Faith in hopes of finding a closer walk with God. It’s always interesting to see how religious a person can be and still not know God personally. Cornelius was devout in keeping the law. He fasted and was generous in sharing with the Jewish congregation. He was compassionate with those in need. He was a model of religious respectability, and yet he was not saved. Many years later John Wesley found himself in a similar situation. Wesley was a very religious man, the son and grandson of ministers. He belonged to a religious club at Oxford. He even served as a foreign missionary.

He preached to many others but had no assurance of his personal salvation. When Wesley did believe he never looked back. God used his efforts and the result was the Wesleyan Revival. The Bible says Cornelius and his whole family, like Wesley, were devout, God fearing people who gave generously to those in need. They prayed to God regularly, asking for more. One day Cornelius had a vision. God said: “I have noticed your prayers and gifts to the poor.” In both cases God noticed the compassionate acts of both these good men. God honored their lifestyle and used both of these kind hearted, generous men to further the work of the Kingdom.

Cornelius was told to send for the Apostle Peter. The faithful prayers and ministry of Cornelius got God’s attention. God rewarded his compassionate heart by allowing him to be the very first Gentile to hear the Good News. When we are generous with what we have, God blesses all we do. Before God could save the Gentiles he had to prepare Peter to bring the message and God had to prepare Cornelius to hear the message. Salvation is a Divine Work of Grace but god works through human channels. At the same time God spoke to Cornelius, god gave Peter a vision about foot. God used this vision to teach Peter the Gentiles were not unclean people. God’s timing is always perfect. The three men from Caesarea, sent by Cornelius, arrived at the door just as Peter was pondering the meaning of his vision. The Holy Spirit commanded Peter to meet the men and go with them. Peter obey, went, preached, and the Holy Spirit came. Another chapter of the church began.

God notices what we do and appreciates what we do for others around us.



Shortly before his death, Jesus was eating a meal with his disciples in the home of a man named Simon. Jesus had previously healed Simon of leprosy. While they were eating a woman came in off the street. She had with her a bottle of very expensive perfume, which she poured on Jesus’ head. The Disciples were angry and complained: “What a waste. We could have sold the perfume for a lot of money and given it to the poor.” Jesus said: “She has done a beautiful thing for me. You may be sure that wherever and whenever the Gospel is told, over the whole world people will remember what she has done. They will tell others.”

It is amazing to know God looks down from heaven and notices our small acts of kindness, mercy, and ministry. God not only notices but honors our best efforts. Again Jesus said: “Whenever you give a cup of cool water or a piece of bread to any of my sons and daughters, no matter how unimportant they may have seemed, you have given to me. In one of His parables Jesus said God notices when a person if faithful in small ways and will use him or her in much greater ways.

The Sunday School Class I facilitate is beginning a study on The Fruit of The Spirit this morning. We all know the Holy Spirit does not work instead of us, or in spite of us, but in us and through us. God looks down and takes notice of our faithful ministry. God blesses our efforts and allows us to be even more fruitful.

Our congregation will celebrate our 150th anniversary in just four years. We have a long and rich history to be proud of. We also know the world has changed greatly since 1863, the year of our birth. I continue to believe our best days are out in front of us. God is with us and God will speak to us and lead us to the next level of ministry.

We must do our part. We need people with a heart full of compassion who are praying regularly seeking the leading of God. God will notice our compassionate acts and God will hear our prayers. And God will lead us to where we need to be. Again we must be open to the leading of God and we must do our part in ministry.

One hot African day, when he was 85 years old, Dr. Albert Schweitzer look out and saw an African woman struggling uphill with a huge armload of wood. He went to her, took the wood from her and carried it the rest of the way for the woman. When asked why he did things like that he said: “Because no one should have to ever carry a burden like that alone.”

Albert Schweitzer could have looked the other way. After all he had done his part. He had been faithful for years. This was just one woman in a sea of need. He could have sent someone else to help her. He understood kindness is love’s touch. He understood we have never, ever, done enough for God. He knew love isn’t love until we give love away.

We are not in ministry in order to earn our standing before God. We can never earn or deserve the Grace God gives. God lavishes His grace upon us and Grace is a free gift from a loving God.

Never the less, God looks down and notices our efforts. And God appreciates what we do and God rewards us for what we do. Because of God’s love and Grace we care enough to act. Compassion literally means to suffer with. To feel what others around us feel, to identify with their plight. To feel sorrow for the sufferings of another. To have an irresistible urge to help.

To follow Christ today is to live a life of true compassion. To life a life that desires to share the love of Jesus in every way possible. To care enough to act for the sake of the least, the poor, the lost, the helpless among us.

If each of us would do our part, God would notice and bless us, and We would change this sad, tired, old world of ours for Christ.