Glorious Way Church

Compassionate Jesus | James Buntrock

• James Buntrock

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In this episode, “Compassionate Jesus,” the message explores the heart of Jesus as both fearsome King and deeply tender Savior. Starting with Matthew 9 and Revelation’s fiery-eyed Christ. the speaker hows how Jesus’ compassion moves Him to heal, teach, rescue, and confront evil—and how that same compassion now flows through believers by the Holy Spirit. Through vivid stories of sacrifice, protection, and simple everyday kindness, listeners are challenged to see themselves as the “Jesus people see” in a lost and hurting world: carriers of His warmth, courage, and power. The episode closes with a personal commissioning from Luke 4:18, inviting listeners to say, “Here I am, Lord, send me,” and step into their role as laborers in a ripe harvest field.

SPEAKER_00:

Let's just get started with uh with the word tonight. Um, I have something that I believe will be uh encouraging for you. It it was encouraging for me to to read and study up on. Uh we're gonna start tonight uh in Matthew chapter 9, verse 35. And before I read that, um I just want to remind you that there we're talking about Jesus tonight. And Jesus is known as uh a lot of different things. He's known as the Lord of the armies of heaven, he's the good shepherd, he's the uh the bread of life, the son of God, the Christ. He's the Lamb of God. Um, he's our soon coming king, and he's the king of kings. Um he was also known as the rock and also a stone, a stone of stumbling for those who didn't believe. Um, but tonight we're gonna talk about uh a part of his character. We're gonna talk about the compassion of Jesus or our compassionate Jesus. And that's the title of tonight's message is Compassionate Jesus. And so we're gonna begin in Matthew chapter 9, verse 35, and it starts out by saying, Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. And it says, But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. And so right after this, Jesus uh equips his disciples, the twelve, and uh gives them authorization and power and sends them out. Uh and then shortly after that he sends out the 70 disciples, and so he's kind of ramping up here. You know, Jesus was one man, and he came, uh he is God, uh, he is part of the Trinity, but he came and lived on earth as a man, not as a deity, not as a God figure, but as a man. And so he was one man with a ministry and a lot to accomplish in a very short period of time. And uh and so this is why he was equipping people. He was first equipped his his twelve disciples, then the seventy, and then after that, uh at the end of his dis his ministry, uh he uh lets his disciples know, hey, I'm about to leave, and I'm gonna go be seated up there, and you're gonna be here, and they start to get sad, and he says, But don't be sad, I'm gonna send you another, and this is gonna be the comforter, the Holy Spirit. He's gonna dwell in you and with you and abide with you. He will never leave you, and he's gonna be here in my stead. And if I don't go, he can't come. And uh, and so then uh at the end of his ministry, he he tells uh believers, which includes all of us and all the believers throughout all of history, to go into all the world and preach the gospel and to do the things that he had demonstrated uh as a man uh on earth. And so uh he's multiplying. There was one Jesus, and then there was twelve, and then there was seventy, and then there's thousands. And we are the Jesus that people see on this earth. Uh and for some people, you might be the only Jesus that they see on this earth. And so let's make it count when people see us. Let's make sure we're we're projecting the image of Christ and the character of Christ. And so that's why we're talking about the compassion of Jesus tonight. Uh, we know in Hebrews, it says in in 4.15, Hebrews 4.15, that we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. And then it says, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And so he is our high priest, he is seated up there. Uh, we have the helper on the inside of us, and we are not perfect. He lived a perfect life here, he is our perfect example, uh, and we're on our way, but we haven't arrived yet. Um he is full of compassion, and he sympathizes uh when we get off and when we don't get things right. He sympathizes with us because he has been there and experienced that same struggle. Uh, just any any struggle we experience here, he has experienced the same struggle. And so he still has compassion for you and for all of us. Um I'm gonna skip forward um to the end of the book in Revelation chapter one, and we'll read some of the end time uh notes on Jesus here. So Revelation chapter 1, uh verse 10. Um and this is this is uh the Apostle John, uh, and he's writing his vision. He's written his vision. Here it is written for us so that we can see what he saw uh in words. And uh Revelation 1, 10 said, I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet saying, I'm the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, and what you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, uh Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke to me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to his feet and girded about his chest with a golden band. It says, His head and hair were white like wool, uh, as white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. He had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead, John writes. But he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, Do not be afraid. I'm the first and the last. I am he who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of hell and death. And so that was Jesus, um, the deity Jesus, uh, revealing himself to John in the end book of Revelation. Um, and so John was somebody who was close to Jesus. Um, he had spent a lot of time with Jesus. Uh, six times in the Gospel of John, John refers to himself as the one whom Jesus loved. Uh he had looked into the eyes of Jesus many times before when Jesus was teaching his disciples. He was very close. He had an intimate, close relationship with Jesus. And so he he knew who Jesus was, and yet, here in this end-time revelation, this vision of Jesus, it was a terrifying sight, and he fell on the ground as dead. And yet that comforting, soothing voice came back and said, Um, don't be afraid. It's me. It's the same Jesus that you knew. All those days I spent with you on earth, when you were my disciple, I'm the same one. And so it was a comforting voice coming back to John in that moment, but a terrifying sight, the sight of Jesus. But it says there that he got to look into the eyes of Jesus, and it said his eyes were like a flame of fire. In Revelation 19, uh, another example of this in verse 11, it says, Now I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he who sat on him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head many crowns, and the name uh written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name uh is called the Word of God, and the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, uh white and clean, followed him on white horses. Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, and that and with that um he should strike all nations, and he himself will rule them with an iron rod. He himself treads the wine presses and the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God, and he has on his robe and on his thigh a name that is written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So this fearsome sight, this is the Jesus that's coming back, by the way. This fearsome sight of Jesus coming back. He's the judge, he's gonna judge, he's gonna make war with those who war against him, but he's also coming back for his bride. He's coming back for us, for the church who is longing for and looking for and prepared and ready for his return. And I want to remind you that we are also the laborers that the Lord of the harvest is sending into the harvest, and it's harvest time right now, and so there are people who need what you have. They need to be brought into the kingdom of God, they need to hear the gospel, they need to receive salvation, and they need to make Jesus their Lord because that fearsome sight is coming back, and he's coming back soon. And we don't know the day, but we do know the season, and I believe we are, if we're not in that season, we're very near in that season. If you look at the prof the prophecies throughout scripture, these things are getting checked off one after the other, and we are all the more closer. And so time is of the essence. It is urgent right now to bring people in because that fearsome sight is coming back. And I don't want to look into his eyes and see disappointment coming back at me. I want to hear, well done, good and faithful. How many of you want to hear, well done, good and faithful servant? He's coming back. And you know, we get to have the same intimate relationship that John got to experience. We don't see him face to face, but we have his word written right here for us. And it says that he is the word. In the beginning was the word. Jesus is the word. And if you want to know Jesus and know his characteristics, know what he's like, if you want to hear his voice, read his word. And we can know him. We can have that face-to-face meeting, as it were, when we're face to face with his word. And so we can have that intimate relationship. But I want to get back to that uh two points there where it says that his eyes were like a flame of fire. Um, how many of y'all have sat around a campfire? I just want you or your campfire or fireplace at home, and maybe it's a cold winter night and you're gathered up around a campfire, you know, or the fireplace. When it's cold, you kind of draw near to that fire, don't you? When it's dark, you want to stay close to the fire. You're not out in the dark somewhere, you're drawing close to the light. And so, you know, I was a Boy Scout and spent a lot of time around campfires at night. Um, and it was just mesmerizing for me to sit as close as I could. You feel the warmth of the fire. There's a certain comfort, a certain warmth, and um, you feel that you see the light. Um you you watch those flames of the fire, and they're just mesmerizing to watch those flames just kind of whirl and swirl and flicker and twirl, and and occasional sparks will will fly up and float up in the night, in the dark, and and it's just a a mesmerizing um captivating thing to sit around a fire and just get lost staring into the fire. And that was what John was experiencing staring into the eyes of Jesus. He got lost, he was captivated, he was mesmerized by the light, by the warmth, by the passion, by the intensity, by the flickering flame in his eyes. He was he was captivated like that. To the Israelites, the uh the fire, the pillar of fire, uh was comfort, it was light, it was warmth, warmth. But uh to the Egyptians that were uh coming after the Israelites, it was terror. And so you can look into the eyes of Jesus and it might be comfort to some and terror to others. But when you know him, it's comfort. Um when John saw this vision, he saw the eyes of Jesus. It was irresistible, it was riveting, it was compelling for John. And yet there was this fearsome sight, but yet it was the familiar eyes that he had seen before, all mixed up into one. Um and yet that voice came back, do not be afraid. It's the same, I'm the same guy that you knew before. In Revelation 1, uh Jesus begins to give commendations and criticisms and instructions and promises uh to the seven types of churches that were uh referenced there. And so we have those seven churches that are in the earth today. There was the loveless church, the persecuted church, the compromising church, the corrupt church, the dead church, the faithful church, and the lukewarm church. And he had commendations and recommendations and promises and warnings and instructions for each of them. Um and to the dead church, uh, and I think he said, You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. And the instruction was, therefore, strengthen what little remains. Strengthen what little remains. And I see those, I see examples of those churches in the earth today. And that's, you know, that's really this is really a driving force of why this ministry is doing what we do, why your pastor stands up here and says what he says, because you know, God gave him that warning to wake up the church. Why would you need to wake up the church? Because they have a name that they're alive or awake, but really they're asleep or dead. And we've got to strengthen what little remains. And so this same compassion and this same passion is what drives this ministry, it's what drives your pastor, it's what drives us to go out into these places and and meet pastors and other churches where they're at and help them take another step in these end times to get into position because they they are like the when you have a pastor that's not leading sheep the right way, when they're not providing leadership, when they're just got their head in the sand, they don't understand the times that they're in, and they don't know what to do, I can tell you that King Jesus sees those sheep under that would-be shepherd. He sees those sheep as sheep without a shepherd. And the compassion is overwhelming for him. He can't stand to have his sheep not have a shepherd. And so, you know, we have a role to play in that. We're not going to be the shepherd for all the sheep, but we are here to help pastors know what time it is to wake up, to get engaged, to get involved, so that we can be doing the end time things that the end time church needs to be doing. And it's just that compassion that drives us. Um in the in the Greek and Hebrew, um, compassion, the word for compassion, uh, literally means to have bowels that yearn to feel sympathy, to feel pity, uh, tender mercy, and feelings of affection toward. Um, compassion also means to suffer together. And so it can be defined as that feeling that arises when you're confronted with someone else's suffering. You feel motivated to relieve that suffering, but you're also compelled, and it's it, you don't, you're not suffering the same thing with them, but you do have that sympathetic suffering with them. And so you're you're driven and compelled to relieve that suffering, and that's what Jesus was. He was driven and compelled to relieve the suffering of a lost and dying humanity. And so, all the way his through his ministry, he was driven by that love which came from the father. The father loves his kids. He's a good father. Um, he saw that humanity was was going down a course and they weren't gonna make it. He saw the end of humanity and they weren't gonna make it. And so, what was his solution? He said, I'll go stand in their place, I'll suffer in their stead, I'll take their place for them, and I'll rescue them. And so he was driven by compassion to rescue humanity, and he sent his son Jesus, and that's that's how we got rescued. Um, now Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but the end result of that was that Israel, and it prophetically so, Israel has rejected their Messiah. And and they've been blinded this whole time. Uh but the Gentiles, we reap the benefits of this. We have been grafted into his family, we've been adopted, we cry, Abba Father, he's our Father by adoption, and he's received us. When Jesus began his ministry again with that overwhelming compassion, he opened up in Luke chapter 4 and he read about himself. So it was um prophetic, the scripture that he was reading, because he he found the place that was written in Isaiah about him, and he opened up these scrolls, and in Luke chapter 4 it documents this, and and in the Amplified, I'll just read a couple of pieces of it here in the Amplified. In verse 18, it says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me, the anointed one, the Messiah, to preach the good news, uh, the gospel to the poor. He sent me to announce the release to the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed, who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity, to proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord, the day when the salvation and free favors of God profusely abound. Then he rolled up the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing attentively at him. So in that day and culture, they had a seat in this synagogue that they reserved for their soon-coming Messiah. They're waiting for the Messiah to come. And he read this scripture in Isaiah, and he read about himself, and then he sat down in the Messiah chair, and he offended all of them, and they were ready to take him out and stone him and be done with him. I mean, that was like the greatest blasphemy right there. He sat down in the Messiah chair. He was the Messiah, and he said, I'm here. And they didn't recognize it. They were so familiar with Jesus, because he grew up there. He was in the synagogue, he grew up, they knew him as a little boy, they were so familiar with him that they didn't recognize the anointing on his life, and that he really was the anointed one. And so he was rejected from the start. And Isaiah talks about this, talked about how we esteemed him stricken, he was smitten by God and afflicted, he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we were healed. And so he was treated in such an awful and horrendous way. He was afflicted with every awful thing that humanity could put on him, and yet he was still driven with compassion and love for the same humanity that crucified him. He was driven with that. In John 7 and verse 37, it says, On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. And so he shouted this If anyone thirsts, let him come to me. He was so desperate for thirsty people to be satisfied with living water. And that was his mission, that was his ministry. Um all the while being mistreated in the worst ways. Even after, so after he learned of his cousin being beheaded, so his cousin, John the Baptist, uh, you know, John the Baptizer, uh, Herod had him imprisoned, and then he lost his head. John the Baptist was was beheaded. When Jesus got word of that, um, Jesus went to a deserted place. He was sad, he lost his cousin, he was murdered, and so he was grieved by that. And so in in uh Matthew chapter 14, verse 13, it says, When Jesus heard it, he departed from there uh by boat to a deserted place just to get away and be by himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. He couldn't get away from it. They followed him. And when Jesus went out, he saw a great multitude. And he yelled at them and said, Look, I just lost my cousin. Can you just leave me alone for 10 minutes, please? I just, no, he didn't do that. It says, and when Jesus went out and saw the great multitude, he was moved with compassion for them, and then he healed their sick. He responded to them with love and with the ministry that you and I have been had had delegated to us to go into all the world to preach the gospel, to heal the sick, to lay hands on, to cast out demonic spirits, to do all these same things that Jesus did. He was moved with compassion, and then he started operating in those gifts. The same account in Mark 6, 34, and Jesus, uh, when he came out, saw the multitude, the great multitude, and was moved with compassion for them. And then it gives the reason because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. And so he also began to teach them many things. He sees them without a shepherd, and he becomes that great shepherd. And so he began to teach them. And so compassion wants to heal. Um right after that, and Matthew, if you keep reading in Matthew chapter 14, uh, he was moved to compassion, he healed their sick. And then right after that, he fed them with the 5,000 with the loaves and fishes. And so compassion wants to heal, it wants to wants to feed, he wants to comfort, and he wants to teach. That's what compassion will drive us to do if we let it. Um, the leper. Remember when uh uh the leper came out and and worshiped Jesus, saying, Lord, if you're willing, you can make me clean. You know, and in under the Jewish law, the leper couldn't be around people, and you couldn't certainly couldn't touch him. If you're willing, you can make me clean. What did Jesus do? He said, Get away from me, you unclean thing. No, he had compassion once again. And compassion drove him to do something that everybody knew you were not supposed to do, and that is Jesus put his hand on him and touched him and said, I'm willing to be cleansed. And immediately the leprosy was gone. I'm willing. Are you willing? How many of you watching tonight? Are you willing to just put your reputation on the line and put your hand on somebody who needs it, who needs ministry, who needs healing? Are you ready to dispense healing to somebody out there? Are you ready to let your compassion drive you to do things and put this word on the line? Because he said, I'll back you up. The Lord working with them. The disciples did signs and wonders and miracles. The Lord working with us does the same thing. And so are you willing. Jesus was willing. In fact, he was eager, and he was willing. If you can let that compassion well up on the inside of you, the Holy Ghost is going to respond and back you up. And in fact, when you feel that compassion welling up on the inside of you, um, it could be an emotion in your head that you just plain feel sorry for somebody because they're having a rough time. But I'm talking about that compassion that comes from the inside that's deep within, that yearning on the inside where you're just compelled to do something for them. That is driven by the Holy Ghost. And so we can't get emotionally driven in our head about things, but you must be responsive to the compassion that wells up on the inside, on the spirit, on the inward man by the Holy Ghost, because that's your signal that there's something for you to do in that moment. Don't miss your moment. So that you can be found. Well done, good and faithful servant, that you're a responsive in these things. Um, compassion wants to carry your heavy load, wants to carry the heavy load of people. If you're carrying a heavy load out there, I want you to know that Jesus wants to carry that load. You're not designed to carry that. Jesus said, Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And he said, Take my here, take my yoke. I've got a light yoke. I want you to take mine and give me your heavy one. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you'll find rest in your souls, he said, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. He wants you to take your heavy load and cast your care on him. And he's so compassionate. He'll take your load and pick it up and carry it so that you don't have to. And then he's going to give you something that's light and easy. You know, compassion will also come to the defense of others. Compassion will cause people to do things that maybe don't look very compassionate, but they're driven by compassion. When Jesus went into the temple and kicked over the tables and and beat people with a whip, was that anger? Yes, it was, but it was compassion because the money changers were were thieves and robbers. It was they were thieves and robbers in in his father's house. There were people in there who were in the position of being a shepherd, the shepherd uh the the the Hebrews there, and and yet they weren't doing it. They were doing it the wrong way. There were wolves in sheep's clothing, doing things in the name of God that wasn't right, and he had compassion on the people as having no shepherd. And so he went in there and beat some people. He beat the wolves off and ran the robbers out, ran the thieves out, ran the vipers out of there. And so, you know, in a practical sense, how many remember it's this is back in 2017, but it's a it's an example for me anyway, that's still fresh, you know, because we're a church and we we do some things, we're kind of on the forefront and on the leading edge of putting ourselves out there. We're a target and we're determined to protect and defend the sheep here and to never let the devil come in here to give no place to the devil. And so we take uh extra security measures to keep people here safe from those who would want to cause harm. And so in 2017, and in fact it was in November of 2017, uh, in First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. How many remember the story on that church? And so there was a 26-year-old gunman um that was shooting up the church. And uh, and Stephen Willeford, um, he lived nearby, and his daughter uh was at home uh when she came rushing into the bedroom to tell him that she had heard gunshots outside. They lived very close to the church, and so he didn't even have time to put his shoes on, and he went and he grabbed his rifle and he ran to the fight. And that young man was out there shooting from the outside into the church and killing people. He killed 26 and injured 20 others. And so Stephen Willeford grabbed his rifle and came after him, and he engaged that gunman. And I believe he shot him multiple times. Um, and the gunman got into a truck, and Stephen Willeford ran down the street, saw another truck at a stop sign, and hopped in the truck with a stranger, and they drove after this shooter down the street, and ultimately the shooter uh wrecked, and and when they investigated, uh the shooter was dead. And I got to hear Stephen Williford tell this story in person. And when he was describing this scene of this shooter and what what drove him out of the house and to go engage that gunman was not hate, was not anger. Um, he said with tears in his eyes, um, he said, I didn't shoot that gunman out of hate, I shot him out of love. He had compassion for the sheep who were vulnerable. And so compassion will do us, will will cause will drive us to do some things that are not comfortable, that are perhaps even violent by one perspective, but by another perspective, it's compassion that drives us to do things, to protect the innocent, to protect the defenseless, to protect people who are vulnerable. And we've all got to be in that position, ready to defend, ready to beat the devil off of people, ready to protect and defend. That's what a good shepherd does. And he's the great shepherd. Um I guess I got time for for uh another story here. Um this one comes out of uh uh Baghdad, and there was a uh uh this this is Army Private First Class Ross McGinnis, and this is December of 2006, and so this is even further back. Uh, but this is also a famous one and one that that that I remember reading about right after it happened, or I guess after he was honored is when I read about it. But uh they were patrolling, he and so I think they're on a Humvee and they're patrolling through the neighborhood in in uh Baghdad. And uh McGuinness is is a gunner on the Humvee. So in the top of the Humvee, you all seen Hummers around town, nice, fancy vehicles, but uh the military version had a a gun on the top, a turret on the top, and it was an opening in the top of the vehicle. And so there's a strap that sits there, and so the gunner sits on this strap and is there ready, looking as they're driving down the street. He's ready to engage any threat with his gun mounted on the top. And uh and somebody from a rooftop threw a grenade and it landed down inside that Humvee, went right down through the gunner's turret into the Humvee, where he had four other uh uh fellow soldiers in that Humvee. And McGinnis didn't think twice about it. He grabbed the strap that latched on one side and he released the strap and he fell backward and laid down on top of that grenade. He put his body on top of that grenade and it killed him. But he gave his life for his fellow soldiers in that Humvee. Four lives were saved because one was driven with love and compassion for his fellow man and he gave his life. Greater love hath no man than he lay down his life for his friend. And you know, we've got soldiers that come home and after engagements like that, and they suffer survivor's remorse. They feel like, you know, this, my brother in arms, gave his life for me, and I didn't deserve that. I should have been the one to go. I shouldn't be here enjoying life when he gave his life for me. And it's a sad thing that they go through that that survivor's remorse. But in fact, really all of them who were who were serving that day had already committed the willingness to give their life to lay down their life for all of us. And so, you know, for somebody like Specialist McGinnett, after his death, he was honored with the Medal of Honor. He got a promotion after his death. He was honored with the Medal of Honor and a Silver Star. But I just look at a figure like that, and that's really what Jesus did. He just laid back and gave his life willing, just like this soldier did for us. And it was the compassion. Jesus looked beyond the cross. He despised the cross, but he looked beyond the cross towards us. He saw you and me and all of us on the other side of the cross, and that's what drove him to go through that for us. He went through that as a man. But it was the compassion of Jesus that did that. And so I want to encourage you tonight to respond to that compassion. When that compassion wells up on the inside of you for somebody, respond to it. When it comes from here, it's the Holy Ghost. When it comes from here, it's just a mental emotion. Don't be emotionally driven. You can get caught up in emotions and end up doing the wrong thing. We are not an emotional, uh, we're not uh ruled by emotions. We are a spirit being. We have emotions, that's up here. But let's not be ruled by emotions, but let's be driven by the Holy Ghost on the inside of us. And he'll he'll he'll show you that compassion. And so uh Claire and I were at lunch here recently, and uh there was uh uh a young waitress uh serving us through the entire meal, and and she was pregnant, she's expecting, I don't know, long before she's due. Um and and we got to talking to her about her her pregnancy, and she's got another young son at home, and and uh and I just had that compassion well up on the inside of me for her. And so I asked her about the tip. I said, How does the tip work around here? If we leave a tip, do you get the tip or do you share that with the whole staff here? How does that work? She said, Well, if I get cash, I get the tip. But if it's written on the card, then you know we share that across the board with all the all all the all the servers here. And so I started digging in my wallet, and I don't know, I had about eight dollars in ones. And I was like, Oh, Claire, what do you have in your wallet? And she pulled out, I don't know, maybe$10 or$11. So, like between the two of us, we didn't have$20, and it was all in ones, and I just felt bad. And so, you know, while she's standing there at the table, I said, Well, I wanted to give you a big tip, and this is all the cash that we have. And so we threw the cash on the table, and I said, and this is what I wanted to do for you. And I wrote down on the tip line in there,$100. And uh, and she said, Oh my gosh, I'm getting nervous. My hands are I'm starting to sweat. She said, Oh, I think I'm gonna cry. And I said, Well, that's not all. We want to do one more thing. And I said, Claire, would you pray for her unborn child and pray for this mama? And she grabbed our hands right there at that table with all the other things going around in that restaurant, and she was so grateful, and she was just so receptive to the prayer, and we have no idea what that did for her. I know it made her day, but that's not the ultimate goal. Jesus doesn't want to just make your day, he wants to make your eternity. And so I don't know where she's at, but Claire and I got to do something to be a witness, to show the love of God towards somebody, and they were ripe and ready to receive it. And the the harvest is ripe and ready, and they're looking, they need laborers. Jesus is looking for laborers. Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers. And so I want you to think about as you're watching tonight, as you're here tonight, maybe you just want to close your eyes and just see the eyes of Jesus in front of you. Just like we read that scripture back in Revelation, how it says that uh his eyes were a flame of fire. His eyes were like the flame of fire. John was looking into his eyes and he saw that flame of fire. And I just want you to, just like you're sitting around a campfire, watching that mesmerizing fire, the flames just kind of twirling and whirling and and moving upward, the sparks rising up heaven. I want you to see that in the eyes of Jesus tonight. And I want you to let the compassion of God rise up on the inside of you. And I want you to say, Here I am, Lord. Send me. You're watching live stream tonight. I want you to say, Here I am, Lord, send me. I feel the compassion welling up on the inside of me. It's the compassion that you've put on the inside of me. It's the compassion of Jesus for a lost and dying world. Lord, I want to be one of those laborers. Send me. And then I want, I'm gonna read as I close here, Luke chapter 4, verse 18. And this is your ministry description. Because remember when we started the message tonight, there was Jesus, and he multiplied himself by by sending his 12 disciples out, and then there were 70 after that, and then there's believers after that, thousands and thousands of believers. But you're not just believers, you're image bearers of Christ. You have the ministry of Christ here on this earth, and so you are the Jesus that people see in this lost and dying world. This is your ministry description. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He's anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. That's your ministry description. If you can let that compassion well up on the inside of you, then you can be one of those laborers in the harvest and you watch and see what he's gonna do with you. If you said those words, here I am, Lord, send me. Watch what happens tomorrow. Watch what happens this week. And I'm excited to hear the testimonies because his disciples came back excited. After Jesus sent them out, they came back excited and they said, Jesus, even the devils are subject to us in your name. You're not gonna believe this. And they came, it came back excited, and he's like, Yeah, yeah, that's just normal. And so it's normal for us. Anyway, I hope that's an encouragement for you tonight.