During His time on earth, Jesus was the embodiment of God’s compassion. Scripture frequently tells us that Christ was “moved with compassion” by the suffering of the people (see Mark 6:34, 8:2). If that was the case in the first century, what grief must be in our Lord’s heart now.
I believe it is all God can do to restrain Himself from moving in before the end of time and putting an end to it all. I will never believe He is just some benign spirit who sits in heaven, unmoved by the horrible spirits loose in this world. No — He is a compassionate Father who agonizes over His suffering children.
The Bible tells us: “His compassions fail not” (Lamentations 3:22). “Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15).
We read of an incredible scene: "Great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them" (Matthew 15:30).
Can you imagine this scene? All around Jesus, hundreds of afflicted people were sitting and lying on the ground — little children too sick to sit up, people crying aloud for help, groaning in pain, fevered, demon-possessed, diseased, despairing.
Jesus did not turn them away. He performed miracles of healing and deliverance. The dumb spoke, the crippled leaped, the blind saw, the sick and diseased suddenly were made whole. And with every healing, the people pressed in even closer. I imagine the people picking up their sick children and pushing forward — as the disciples struggled to keep order.
These people had been out in the wilderness for three days without food and they were fainting from hunger. That's when Jesus said, "I have compassion on the multitude . . . and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way" (Matthew 15:32).
God wants every one of us to be a part of His compassionate heart to the world. If you are willing to do that, He will send the needs to your doorstep. Present yourself to the Lord to be used and He will open doors to you. Then you will truly know His heart of compassion.
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David Wilkerson (1931 – 2011)
Founder of Times Square Church in New York City with over 100 different languages spoken in the congregation. Wilkerson wrote many powerful books such as: The Vision and Cross and the Switchblade. His ministry was prophetic as God called him to be a watchman to the Church in North America. He gave clear messages on repentance to the Church.Wilkerson also founded Teen Challenge where there are hundreds of centres for Christ-centered drug recovery and addiction recovery. He also organized and spoke at pastors gatherings in many countries where he gave prophetic strong messages to encourage pastors and leaders.
Recommends these books by David Wilkerson:
The Vision and Beyond, Prophecies Fulfilled and Still to Come by David Wilkerson
Knowing God by Name: Names of God That Bring Hope and Healing by David Wilkerson
God's Plan to Protect His People in the Coming Depression by David Wilkerson
David Wilkerson is an American Christian evangelist, most well-known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade. He is also the founder of Times Square Church in New York, an interdenominational church.
Wilkerson is well-known for these early years of his ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. He co-authored a book about his work with the New York drug addicts, The Cross and the Switchblade, which became a best-seller, selling over 50 million copies in over thirty languages since it was published in 1963. The book was included among the 100 most important Christian books of the 20th century.
For over four decades, Wilkerson's ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. He has authored over 30 books.
David Wilkerson is the founder and president of World Challenge, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated on September 22, 1971. Reverend Wilkerson, the author of over thirty inspirational books, is perhaps best known for his early days of ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. His story is told in The Cross and the Switchblade, a book he co-authored which became a best-seller. (The story has been read by over 50 million people in some thirty languages and 150 countries since 1963. In 1969, a motion picture of the same title was released.)
For over four decades, Reverend Wilkerson's evangelistic ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. Throughout that time a distinctive characteristic of his work has been his direct efforts to reach the neediest members of the population with help for both body and soul. Even now, the almost 70 year-old minister often goes out alone or sometimes with an assistant to walk through the streets of New York City, along Broadway and Eighth Avenue or down 42nd Street and nearby "Crack Alley" on 41st Street. His mission is always to seek out the lost, the disoriented, and the addicted , to tell them of the power of the risen Christ to set them free.
David Wilkerson, born in Hammond, Indiana on May 19, 1931, was married in 1953 to Gwen Carosso. The Wilkersons' two sons are ministers, and their two daughters are married to ministers. They have 11 grandchildren. The Wilkersons served small pastorates in Scottsdale and Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, until Reverend Wilkerson saw a photograph in Life magazine of several New York City teenagers charged with murder. Moved with compassion he was drawn to the city in February 1959. It was at that time he began his street ministry to what one writer called "desperate, bewildered, addicted, often violent youth.