DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT – TUESDAY: Ministering To The Needy

"No system of doctrine, preaching and worship which fails to develop prayer, faith, spiritual labor, and success in converting souls from sin, can long have the face to claim to be the religion of Jesus Christ!" -- William W. Patton.
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In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away." -- Mark 8:1-3.

There is a world that needs Christ and our responsibilities as Christians is to meet that need. How can we be involved reaching our world for Him? Our world consists of where our ministry will take us; our family, our employment, our community, our City and it may even be in our Church. One of the sure ways of getting involved is to ask the Lord to grant us daily opportunities to minister to the needs of others.

What do we do when the Lord grants us an opportunity? We look to the word of God for guidance in this and as we look at our Mark 8:1-3, we have the example of Jesus and His response to an opportunity provided by the Holy Spirit...

"Why does the Church stay indoors? They have a theology that has dwindled into a philosophy, in which there is no thrill of faith, no terror of doom and no concern for souls. Unbelief has put out the fires of passion, and worldliness garlands the altar of sacrifice with the tawdry glitter of unreality. The Holy Ghost cannot conquer the world with unbelief, nor can He save the world with a worldly Church. He calls for a crusade, a campaign, and an adventure of saving passion. For this enterprise He wants a separated, sanctified and sacrificial people." -- Samuel Chadwick.

Our Response…Is To Have Compassion
Jesus had compassion on the multitude, not only for their physical needs but also for their Spiritual needs… When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. -- Mark 6:34.

Nobody who comes to Christ is sent away empty but they receive fullness from Him in every way. Our compassion for the needy must be met in the same way as Christ.

We will do nothing to reach the multitudes, unless we care that those without Christ are bound for eternity in Hell… "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. -- John 3:16-18.

The love and the compassion of God is demonstrated in the fact, that He allowed His one and only son to be a sacrifice for our sins. How the unbeliever must be suffering, by not knowing His great love, not knowing what it is like to enjoy the presence of God, not knowing what it is to live in the peace of God in difficult situations, not knowing what it is like to belong to a loving father who always provides and will never leave us or forsake us.

These are some of the reasons people turn to alcohol, drugs, illicit sex, and depraved behaviour. This is only changed when we, the children of God, have the same love and compassion as our Lord Jesus. By demonstrating the compassion of Christ in us to them, we can turn them away from this horrible penalty of sin...

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. -- Revelation 20:11-14.

"Are we, the Christians of to-day, awake to these facts and responsive to the claims of this glorious work? Do we understand that this vast responsibility rests upon us? That it is possible now, as never before in the world's history, to preach the Gospel to all the nations? And do we mean; God helping that this work shall be done ere we die? This is the deep significance of the hour to this generation." -- Dr. Judson Smith.

When we are involved we have to respond to their needs with compassion, and as the word says… Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. – Psalm 126:5-6.

Loving Father, I want to be involved in the ministry of needs to my unsaved family, to my unsaved colleagues at work, to my unsaved community and to my unsaved City. Help me by the Holy Spirit’s power to meet these needs, as the opportunities that you daily give me occur, for your glory! In Jesus mighty name I pray! Amen!