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So my message will be for a person today who feels deeply for people but never quite do anything about it. The message is also for the one who sees there's a need. They get emotional. You know when we go on social media, when people tell their story, somebody will so much get emotional and even put a like there and in their mind saying how I would like to help this person. This is who the message is for. But yet, by lunchtime, you forgot. The message is actually also for somebody who think they so much want to help, but still doesn't have anything to show for it or to prove for it or to give. You know the person that always gives, do you call, excuse? The person that always gives excuse to say, but I don't have. This is who the message is for today. because the reason I'm saying that is who the message is for it's part of our principles we're standing on principle number 10 feeling sorry for someone isn't enough so this is a principle that feeling sorry for somebody isn't enough I'm entitling my message also feeling sorry for someone isn't enough and remember this is principle number 10 of the previous principles so the series when you say so read this when we say the series that we had it's principle number 1 which is come closer even when you feel too far gone to be touched too far gone to be touched Principle number two show up yourself Do not just pay the bills. This was the one for the Father's Day. So as a father, show up. Don't just give that paycheck. Number three, release what was never yours to carry. some of us carry things that is not supposed to be ours to carry and therefore it comes up too much on yourself principle number four take the root to your god not the symptoms sometimes we ask god for a job and you forget that the reason why you want a job is actually to have money so don't give the God say I want the job say I want the money because that's the actual thing that you're looking for not the job itself so don't give this the symptoms give the root principle number five is take the first real action before you feel ready some of us wait until we have everything in place before we do something You will never feel ready. You just have to take the step. That's principle number five. Principle number six, bless the little you have and start with it. Bless that little that you have and start with it. Principle number seven, step out and own the thing you are hiding and you will stand. Principle number eight, pull away to the secret place and get refilled. or refueled. Principle number nine was the last one we had last week is press through and reach for him in the crowd. Press through and reach for him in the crowd. So sometimes we go through all these things and people preach as if we are all holy you know how people in church preach they preach as if they preaching to the elders that is in heaven that scream every day, Holy, Holy, Holy are you. Holy are you, Lord. But what they forget is that as much as we're trying to be holy, we are also human beings. We do make mistakes. and some of the mistakes that we make is not for anybody to judge but it's for somebody to help us let me make an example i read a an article and in the article the person don't or wasn't going to church she never went to church it's a specific woman she never went to church and then because she's trying to go to church every time she goes she doesn't so it happened that things doesn't go well she doesn't she end up not going and the time when she now wanted to go to church just as she entered the church yard and she even says I'm telling you guys I was wearing very very like neat not exposing anything and here comes the same pastor that was preaching the same day just outside the church telling her God put you through God put you your body nicely for me to feel like I need to go out with you married pastor so to us we can see the fingers pointing every finger point to that man of God which is wrong but we also tend to forget that there's something that we need to understand that humans will always be human they will disappoint I not saying it right Please don hear the other side of this section I asking you to hear the side where any man of God is also human beings. But now, do you know what the Bible says? the Bible says go to that person and tell the person I did not like what you were doing if the person doesn't hear you get somebody else in let there be two witnesses now it's your word against that one's word so what a church can do a church can say you tempted the pastor. You get my point? Because it's only you and the church now that have, I mean you and the pastor that have the whole conversation. Who said you don't make up a story? Because so many stories has been made up with pastors today that they are in jail and the person afterwards come and say, oh, sorry. I don't say it doesn't happen. I'm saying sometimes it does that somebody makes up a thing. But still, both of them are human beings. Don't lean on the arm of flesh is a word that comes from the Bible. But my question to you is that you need to understand that as much as we are human beings there will always be a problem. So somebody who preached to the people who is holy in the church I am sorry for you because even yourself you are not holy. Okay. So some of these things happen because of we get into a space Where we think as preachers, we are the most holiest of everybody in church. Did you hear what I say? We think we are never going to be the best. We just know how to speak the best. Just because you don't know how to speak your mind, doesn't mean you are a bad person or worse off than me. You will never be worse off than me. If I can guarantee you now, when you go to outside, like in the field, or let's call it out where people are not knowing Christ, the best Bible they will ever read is what you have done. so it's very important to understand that we do that and yeah I'm off the whole the message now but that felt at this moment it felt like I needed to make sure that I'm saying it so that people can understand that people in front of churches pastors they don't have it all figured out they don't even know if they are on the right path. Can I tell you something? They don't even know if they would go to heaven one day. Because heaven has a strict rule of, or set rules of things that you should and shouldn't be doing. And most of them comes down to sin. And who on earth can tell me, have no sin? just saying are you going to heaven because you sin or you're going to heaven because you don't sin it comes because of the grace of God it has nothing to do with what you have done or not a murderer next to Jesus got told I will be seeing you and that guy was never knew God He never knew how to do the right things Okay My message is entitled Feeling sorry for someone isn enough There's some things in our lives that we do and as time goes on we make the mistakes of thinking we will be able to do it. I met a young guy by the name of Marcelino. Marcelino was somebody that everybody else saw as the naughtiest kid in Rivoli. Like this guy, whenever somebody see me with Marcelino, they will ask me and he didn't steal anything from you as yet. I said, no, I trust Marcelino that he won't do it. Marcelino was a guy that I can tell you now. All he needed was somebody to sit with him and listen to him and take the moment to make him feel that he's also a human being. That's all Marcelino ever wanted. But everybody else in the whole town was giving him a bad name. And every time, whenever I speak to Marcelino, he was this kid that dream, high dreams, like you know like the guy will tell you me I will drive that Ferrari one day and everybody else says otherwise here Marcelino will tell you about his dreams all I had to do was to just make sure that he feel heard that's all I had to do and this guy got so much time with me that he was in school at the time but by the afternoon the moment I get off from work he will sit in front of the yard reverently sit and wait for me. After school, they say he will go wherever, wherever, but as soon as he knows my time is coming that I must come from work he will come and sit in front of my yard waiting for me now the question you might ask is that when somebody has been stealing by everybody else why is it that he come to my house get into our whole spaces everywhere and for the years or months or how long he's been with us, nothing was stolen. Nothing. I am saying to you now, we sometimes so much want to help people, but we look at the most expensive things to do to help the people. while there's smaller things that can be done. No need for you to run over hoops. Just do the smaller things. Let me explain why I'm saying the smaller things you should be doing. For a kid, I can't remember how old was he, but he would have been probably still grade 7, grade 5 or somewhere around there I can't remember but at that time 2006, 2007 somewhere around there Marcelino all he wanted was just somebody to prove to that he is a good kid and can I tell you something when I put the sound up in church with his small arms and his doesn't have things like doesn't have the power to pick up things. Like he was helping me with speakers while no one else was there to help me And everybody else only had one word to say He's a thief. He cannot be trusted. I trusted him in the church where there was many things that he could have stolen. He didn't. and this is one message I can tell you now sometimes it's the feel good messages that we preach that makes you to feel very nice yes well done but can I tell you something that's just about motivation you are feeling motivated but you are not feeling moved because if you felt that you felt moved you would have done something I have not done my wait wait let's read scripture take your Bibles and go to Matthew 9 36 Matthew 9 36 Matthew 9.36 reads as follows it says but when he saw the multitudes he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd I want to bring the the emphasis to Matthew 9.36. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion. Let's read Matthew 14. Verse 14 also. Now Matthew 14 verse 14 says the following. And Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion towards them and he healed their sick. So we read how he was moved with compassion towards them. As if Jesus felt pity for them. As if Jesus felt sorry for them. But lo and behold, this wasn't out of pity. This wasn't, neither was it out of sorry. Because if you go and feel sorry for somebody, It's mere a feeling. It's just a feeling. The compassion was never the destination. It was just a, you can almost call it an engine that showed how he moved. That showed how he moved. Now, when you go to the Greek word, moved with compassion, the Greek word here is splachryzomai. So, it comes from the word for your inner organs, your gut. It means to be moved deep in your gut, in your bowels. so this is not a polite surface shame, ach shame it's like you can almost say ach shame that is said it's not a polite ach shame that is said it's a gut wrenching it's like from deep within your whole intestines are moving with the feeling that's how Jesus was moved with this compassion and here's the difference we sometimes feel with our heads and not with our hearts I think the person needs a t-shirt he's getting cold he needs a jacket Sometimes it not a jacket that makes you to feel warmer It a house that is warm that you sometimes need It deeper than just the cold feeling It's probably just helping the person with a warm shower. I hope my message doesn't come out wrongly. because the way I'm saying it might sound like somebody think it might be a different way. But the head does not help the heart. And I need you to understand something. Jesus when he saw the person he let it move him not just touched him do you know when somebody is touched the feeling goes away here's the thing do you know when I give you a hundredth rent the feeling at that moment of getting a hundredth rent will make you to feel like wow I won that's a moment of nice feeling let me let me turn the pages like this now there's some things that we do in our lives that we say we have helped, but we have only helped the symptoms. If I give you a fish, I have not given you a meal for a life. If I taught you how to fish, I would have given you a meal for a lifetime. If I give you a hundred rent, it is just a mere hundred rent that can be used within four seconds it will be gone. But if I've showed you how to get that hundred rent that where the difference comes in God has made this so nicely for us He say Jesus was moved So the crowd was arrested and helpless like sheep with no shepherd. He did not just note it. He moved into a teaching and then he fed them. somebody is confused somebody doesn't have a shepherd somebody doesn't have a direction somebody doesn't know where to go and that's the same thing that happened in our lives today sometimes we don't know as we are going through certain thing at this moment we don't know what is the direction to follow you get my point and because of you don't know what is the direction Jesus can come into your situation and teach you how to look for direction how do you know what is direction because any road leads to any place where you want to go. Can I tell you something? If you don't have a vision, any place can take you anywhere. Any road can take you anywhere. But if you have a specific vision, that vision allows you not to be rerouted without knowing where you are heading and that's where the difference comes in and that is why it's imperative to understand that if you want to help somebody don't just help them for the mere fact that you want to help them help them that they don't feel lost even after you help them A feeling does not move you. If you feel yes it does not move you Compassion does I need you to understand if I look at my life let me make an example of my life. Here I am in in Postmasburg not having a job for long time, struggling. And my family also struggle. And the worst part of it is that every time I look at myself I'm thinking, yes but I'm a grown-up. and not having work as a grown-up made me feel like I was in the way of my mother and my father at that time. And as I prayed, my aunt came to visit us once. The visitation that she had was, oh, this is nice. wow there and then she asked me why don't you come to Riveli maybe if you are there in Riveli things might change she didn't help me out of a feeling she helped me out of compassion and do you know what auntie Sarah does she took me as if I was her only child. The other children was there, but it felt like she was looking after me more than she was looking after her own children. She felt compassion. And through that, I could start working. And through all the other things that happened following those years, she didn't just gave me a roof, but she gave me dignity. I wish I can explain what I mean by that. Because not be able to look after your children It's not a nice feeling. And here she took me to Joburg. The place that we taught is every place you go, you will find gold on the streets. They call it the city of gold, Igoli. And the city of gold, I could not find gold. But I found something else. The standing on my own. Mark plan for myself. You know, that's how he taught me. So, when Jesus moved, he did not just touch, he moved them. If I can ask you, when we're talking about love, do you know, when somebody says he loves you, but does the opposite of what you think love is. You will doubt that love. Love is not a saying word. It's a doing word. I love you shows in your actions. It shows in your actions. I want to I want to read a story about compassion and remember I'm reading the story I'm not I'm not making it up I got it from the from the internet, please I got it from the internet I know there's some difficult do you call it there's some difficult things afterwards that came but I'm not going to be talking about those ones I'm just saying what I got why can't I get this why Oh why Why Okay, I don't get that one now. If I do get it, I might. because I don't want to give you the story according to out of my head. I want to read it. Okay. Let's just use this one. If you go to this guy, what's his name? M.T.S. Suleiman. I think you all know M.T.S. Suleiman. M.T.S. Suleiman is this guy for the gift of the givers. Now, there was a town or there was a place in Mkanda, there was a drought there and it was very dry. now when people help a lot of people what they will do is when there's a drought they will take a truck with water and go and give it to the people the people will have that water for one day and they will they will be gone the guy with the truck must come almost every three days to help those guys. What Gift of the Givers did, they went there and they drilled 15 boreholes in that town whose steps had been dried for weeks. Anybody can track water in, but when the truck leaves, the town is dry again. But when you give them a borehole, it will still be there the next morning. It will still be there the next morning. Everybody loves that story. We love it because of how it makes people feel. We love it because how it makes people feel. Some of you even get goosebumps That feeling you have right now when you have that goosebumps is what the whole message is about But let me explain to you how fast it can go away. go away. By the time it will be when you are on your way home, that feeling will be gone. By Tuesday, you won't even remember this message. You won't even remember how gift of the givers helped those people. that's what we do when we say we have done it without compassion but when we do it with compassion we keep on keeping on there's some things that I wish somebody can understand if I can take a moment and ask you to help me do you know human beings would always want to help it's in our genes to help it's in our genes it's like it's like as if there's nothing else that we would love to do more than to help each other but then you find the one that you keep on helping and manipulating you to help you him or her yesterday we drove somewhere when we come back I told my wife I hate this uncle so much hate is a hard word to say but I don't like people to manipulate others with the word of God with Jesus name I hate it when somebody comes and asks you food and say God will bless you Just because you need the food I hate that. I hate it with a passion. Just ask me for bread and I will give it to you. But the moment you ask me, oh please give me bread. God will bless you so much if you can give me that bread. Sorry you've lost me. I will not help you. I guarantee you now I won't because that to me is manipulation I hate it with a passion somebody telling me how God is going to bless me just because he wants something in his hand I'm not with you I won't I don't I'm sure you can feel the passion I have for this. Because I'm passionate about helping people, but I'm passionate about not helping the one that is manipulative. Manipulative or whatever that English word. Because when you do something, you do it because you want to do it, not because what you want in return. Can I tell you something? When you want something in return, before you ask it, make the person known or aware. I would love to help you with this, but I would love to have in return this. Be specific. that will make the person have more respect for you because that is where comes in it's where one hand wash the other hand because if you make your intentions known People will see it from the beginning. Will they help you or won't? That's an easier way. The Bible says in 1 John 3, 1 John 3, verse 17 and 18, But whoso had this world's good, and see his brother had need and shut up his bowels of compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him my little children let us not love in word neither in tongue but in deed and in truth that's James 1 verse 3 17 and 18 John 1 John then James James 2 verse 15 and 16 says if a brother or a sister be naked and destitute for daily food and one of you say unto them depart in peace be here warmed and filled nowwithstanding he give them not those things which are needful to the body what doeth it profit can you see it's no use of saying to somebody go be warm without giving a jacket what's the use I love you without showing the love it's useless the good Samaritan was the one who acted he went to him bound his wounds paid for his care and other two felt and walked on do you know the story of the Samaritan two people went past this Samaritan went and he go and help the guy, he even paid for the guy's hotel let's call it that way B&B or the inn, you know yeah he didn't just say oh sorry may God bless you may God heal you he didn the one thing you must remember you will always be remembered what you did to somebody. What you have done for somebody. How you have done something for somebody. But you will never be remembered for how you felt like you wanted to help and you did not. How you felt like you wanted to help but you did not. Nobody even remembered that because even you, you won't remember even if it's your intentions that you had. But a certain Samaritan and he journeyed came where he was and when he saw him he had compassion on him and went to him and bound up his wounds he had compassion on him and bound up his wounds this story you find in Luke 10 Luke 10 verse 33 Luke 10 verse 33 but a certain Samaritan as he journeyed came where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds. Yeah, you were saying, the 37 says, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. how many of us would love to take care of somebody and does not have the means to do it can I change the whole how you look at things if I can't give you bread can I tell you what I can give you the Bible says a certain Apostle came to the gate and the guy say give me something that guy says hey man I am sorry gold and silver I do not have but in the name of Jesus why Okay, yeah, why wasn't the word that time. Please don't get me wrong. I'm just saying. But you get my point. By the time he doesn't have the money, all he had, he used. because when you look at somebody's need when somebody is in need of something I can guarantee you now there's certain people there was a story about what's this guy's name? Muhammad Ali there was a story about Muhammad Ali I wrote it also as a what do you call it as I was doing this I wrote that story also this is what happened okay let me say it out of my out of my head something happened somebody was about to kill themselves have suicide or something like that jump off a balcony or whatever the case may be but Muhammad Ali was in the rounds so what happened first there was a doctor that came and speak to this guy then there was a police that came and speak to this guy then there was somebody else so a psychologist that came and spoke to the guy the guy still didn't wanted to get off still wanted to kill himself Muhammad Ali went up there no formal indication of how to negotiate somebody out of suicidal thoughts nothing the only thing he did is he went there and he spoke to the guy and after 10 minutes they walk out the two of them it is not what he had at that time was maybe he couldn speak to the guy about whatever he the guy wanted to hear but what he had at that time helped the guy not to kill himself So the thing I'm saying to you is that sometimes use what you have and don't think, I cannot help of what the guy wants, because that is what makes you to look at the symptoms and not the root cause of what the issue is. If somebody looks for a job, tell me somebody in today's life are just looking for a job because they want to be helpful. let me say 90% of people looking for a job they looking for an income it's probably only 10% that look for a job just not to be bought you know when I say bought like the person who sits the whole day doing nothing feel like ish no no no i can't take this anymore let me just go and look for a job i don't worry about the money all i want is just to be busy somewhere and this is where the 90 percent i mean the 10 percent comes in into the voluntary side of society, where they work for NPOs, volunteering just to have some sort of a doing something. Mandela Mandela had a whole situation. When I say Mandela, I must actually say Nelson Mandela, because there's other offspring. Nelson Mandela In 1995, he drove to Orania. Now we all know Orania. He drove to Orania and he had some tea with Betsy Verwoord. She was a 95 year old widow of Henrik Verwoord. now Verwurz's government jailed Mandela in 1963 and kept him for 27 years and here Mandela went to this Verwurz's wife now you might ask the question how does that come into the message here it is a proof that sometimes your thinking shouldn't be I think I should do this just do it it might help somebody because he did not send a message he didn't even send money he drove there and drank tea in her house. And that is what Jesus did. He went down to them. He went out to them. I am guilty of not going out. Ma, there was somebody that asked me to go pray for them. You know what I did I can be come and pray for me while I know at that time it might happen in the next three years I be going there I called immediately I said let make conference call so all the people that he wanted me to have the prayer would we connected and I say conference call I must say whats up group call you see whats up group call and we had that prayer there and then can I tell you why I had it not because of I thought it will be better quick week it's a it's over and done I knew if I can tell them I'm coming next week next week will be the next three years from now. Come out of that, help wherever you can, but make the ways and means on how to. It's never necessary to have the money. When you help people, it's no need to just look at what they are looking for. Look at ways how you can better what they want. I think our time is up. As you see why I like that clock so nicely. Because our time is up. Now, there's so much more that I want to add on to this. But I will water down this message. but look at your life and look at the times where you wanted to help and you have not Going forward whenever you want to help don't look at your shortcomings. Look at what you have that might make a difference. If I ask you, come and help me, I can make an example. if I ask you come and help me to carry this if your strength is not strong enough if you are not strong enough if you are not strong enough you have a friend that you can call that's also helping Pastor Edgar is the one that when I need strong hands I know come you'll be able to help not even going far Pastor Abraham have the same those people they have hands like they have they can carry engines please come help you get my point it's not necessary that you might be the one that needs can help but you can get somebody who can help and I've made some stupid mistakes mistakes. I've made some stupid examples. But I want you to think far beyond just the help that somebody ever need you Next week the people the world calls the biggest the greatest the most important have it completely backwards I'm going to show you the night the king of kings took off his outer rope wrapped a towel around his waist and got down on the floor to wash dirty feet so if you have ever wanted to be great you need to see how he defined don't miss that next week's service. Heavenly Father, I come to you tonight or today in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. And I ask you, sometimes we don't know how to help. Sometimes we don't know where to help. Sometimes we don't even know if help is needed. But today I pray in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, where you have appointed us to help, please put us into places that we can help more often. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen and amen. Can we all share the grace? now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest and abide with us all until Jesus comes surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever in Jesus mighty name Amen and Amen
