The Compassion and Power of Christ - 03.08.2026

Title: The Compassion and Power of Christ

Texts: Luke 7: 11-17,   Key Verse #16

1.) The heart and compassion of Jesus Christ is revealed and experienced

      as He gives us hope, comfort, and abundant blessings in every trial, tragedy

      , and triumph in life

2.) The power and purpose of Christ is revealed, demonstrated, and experienced

      as He heals our infirmities, strengthens our faith, and expands our Kingdom vision

      throughout life

---Trust Him completely today

Trinity Baptist Community Church International is shepherded under the direction of Bishop Dr. Michael J. Love. Trinity is a preaching, teaching, and reaching church. Under the direction of Bishop Love, Trinity has over 100 ministries, as well as global expansion, church planting in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and 37 churches in India. Please come out and join Bishop Dr. Michael J. Love as he critically imparts the Word of God at Trinity Baptist Community Church International www.trinitybcc.org

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:14

Amen. Can you give the Lord a hands up praying? Amen. I had to do a quick tutorial over there with my grandson. Well, he had to give me a quick tutorial on Palmer Patrol. So turn with me in your Bibles, if you will. To Luke chapter 7. We are continuing our march toward uh Palm Sunday and Easter Sundays coming up on the 5th and first Sundays. As we take a look at some events from the life and times of Jesus. And on this Sunday, we're we're turning our attention to once again a very familiar episode recorded in verses 11 through 17. In this particular powerful chapter that Luke Luke outlines for us, records for us. I jotted down the 16 first. We're focusing our attention really on two aspects. The theme is to focus our attention on the compassion of Jesus Christ and the power of Jesus Christ as it's relayed in this particular event in the times of Jesus. And for 16 is the one that I jotted down, I think, for our reading together. And then we're going to spend our time in this and dissect it a little bit and pull out, see if we can pull out a couple life lessons that the Lord has blessed us to take away and apply to our daily walk, if that's okay. So if you don't mind standing with me, if we're able to get 16 out. And such the tone. As we read it together, it says, and there came a fear on all, and they glorified God, saying that a great prophet is risen among us, and that God hath visited his people. Let's do that one more time for the streaming audience. And there came a fear on all, and they glorified God, saying that a great prophet is risen up among us, and that God hath visited his people. As you take your seats. Let me read this story to you very quickly, and then let's just go back and break it out a little bit. And uh Verse 11 says in the King James translation, and it came to pass the day after that he went into a city called Nain. And many of his disciples went with him and much people. Now, when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the by, and they that bare him stood still, and he said, Young man, I say unto thee, arise. And he that was dead sat up and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all, and they glorified God, saying that a great prophet has risen up among us, and that God has visited his people. And this rumor of him went forth throughout all Judea and throughout all of the region round about. Let me give you the two life lessons, and then let's go back and step through this very quickly. I jotted down this. The heart and compassion of Jesus Christ is revealed and experienced as he gives us hope, gives us comfort, and his abundant blessings in every trial, every tragedy and triumph in life. And secondly, the power. Trust him completely today. Trust him completely today. Let me step into this uh with these first few verses because it begins to lay out when he talks about as he comes, comes into the city of Nain. He makes the Luke Luke makes such powerful imagery. He lays out a visual, if you will, uh, that invites us to step alongside Jesus, the disciples, the crowd, and the grieving mother. As they as they are out, as he's entering this towards this gate of the city, and and they're beginning to walk, begin to march out to the funeral march of this young son. It tells us two interesting things. It tells us a couple of interesting things. It tells us that, first of all, this was the only son of a mother. And that she was, secondly, a widow. And when you begin to put those couple of things together, that that you you begin to get a glimpse without going into deep explanation of just what type of uh environment is taking place in the family, in the household. This this this mother has gone through the process of grieving the loss of her husband. It doesn't give us the background, it doesn't tell us what has happened, what the causation might have been, uh, what the situation might have been. Was it a health indication, was it a uh uh something that happened, uh an accident that happened, just tells us that that she's a widow. And as such, she's now in a situation where the husband who had who in this in this society and this setting would have been a primarily form of provision for the family and protection for the family is no longer available in the house. And she has to now go through the process of providing uh direction and support for this only son that's listed here. It also tells us that this being the only son now has to step into the role to some degree of reaching out and providing, perhaps providing some financial report, support for the mom, because it doesn't tell us that she's that she has a vocation, it just tells us that she is a widow and an only son. And when you pull up begin to think about pulling up a seat beside her, you begin to wonder what has gone on inside of the heart of this of this mother. First of all, losing her husband and dealing with that dramatic loss in life, and going through the process of thinking, now what but what do I do to make sure that my family is taken care of, that the household is provided for, that indeed uh we can we can we can sustain ourselves and that there's emotional and intellectual support that's needed for for my son doesn't give us the age in the process. But she's gone through that that that emotional upheaval, highs and lows, in dealing with this particular episode of life. And then on top of that comes a situation where her son dies. And if you've ever been around uh uh a setting where um a mother has to deal with the loss of a child, then you you just know how deep and how strong this emotion can well up in a situation like this. It's uh you've ever sat down and done any type of encouragement or comforting or or befriending or walking alongside, you know that it's a very difficult moment. It's one thing when you think about your children. The natural order of life is that you think about your children having to deal with the loss of their parents. But the but a mother who's lost her, but a wife who's lost her husband and then turns around and loses her child is a very difficult moment. And we don't want to read past that so fast that we don't appreciate the power, the difficulty, and the setting that's taking place. And now she's going through the grieving process and walking through the whole general aspect of now uh it says a large group of people are walking along as they're going through the f the funeral procession along with their son, along with the dead son. And she's going through the highs, uh, going through the difficult moments of feeling the grieving moments of the separation of the and and beginning has to wonder all over again. Now, what do I do? What do I do in a setting where I no longer have lost the red winner in the house? But now the son who is probably raised is grown up to the point is taking on responsibilities, some of these responsibilities of providing and protecting for his mom is no longer on the scene. And what is the stage of grieving that's taking place here? Where is she in that process of feeling the loss, grieving the loss, and begin the process of healing? And into that moment steps Jesus. And the text says, and when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and he said to her, he spoke to her, and said, We've not. And for those, and for those who who've ever felt like that, uh, you've been in a setting there where you're wondering, uh, does anybody know the trouble I feel, the sorrows I feel, the pain I feel. I'm gonna get I'm gonna get beyond this, but somehow you gotta at least relate to the mom here. Is it possible for anybody? I I know the crowds are full and they're walking and we're doing the funeral march and all that kind of thing, and they're trying their best to encourage and to to uplift and to comfort and to provide peace and to help help you walk through the moment that's such a devastating moment. But at that midnight hour, to be able to have uh Jesus to step into the moment and demonstrate compassion from divinity. When it feels like that not only have do you see me out here, Lord, when I'm struggling, you know, it answers that question, it speaks to that question. But I'm alone and I'm struggling and I'm dealing with the things in life and I'm burdened down by them and I'm confused and fear is welling up, and I don't know which way to turn, and and I'm I've drawn from my own strength, but I can't find enough to deal with the moments that I'm dealing with. I'm I'm trying to muscle up enough emotional strength and integrity and intelligence to get by this situation that I'm dealing with, but yet I'm still struggling in this situation. And I've got people who are standing around me telling me, praying for me. I know that they're praying for me, I know that they care for me, but it's just not quite enough. It's not enough to get me over the moment and get me through the hardship that I'm dealing with. And in the midst of that, Jesus steps in and reminds us that we're never alone. We're never alone. He steps into the situation and he primarily says, I see you in this moment. I I I see, I know what you're going through in this moment. I know what you're dealing with in this moment. I know the depth of the situation that you're wrestling with in this moment. And and first and foremost, you need to know that God is not sitting up, God, God is not sitting up in heaven someplace, watching us struggle and our and our difficulties and our tragedies down here on earth, and and and and and with a sense of separation, not caring for what we're doing, and that Peter said to us in his writing, cast all your cares on the Lord. Because he cares for you. And so the first and most powerful, it says that he saw he saw her, he saw her, and he saw her, and then he had compassion on her. And the powerful term, the past compassionate term he used is not just it's not just a pity from a distance moment, it's a it's an empathetic type of a moment. It's it's a it's a stepping into your emotions, stepping into your difficulty type of moment. It's a not only do I understand, but I can I can relate to it and I can I can help you work in and through the difficulty of your moment. And so not only do I see you, not only do I understand what you're doing with, but I've come to encourage you. I've come to give you words that speak to you, speak to you right where you are in this struggle, right where you are in this moment of difficulty. Now, that that would be a nice beginning to a point of healing until you realize who is making the statement to you. I can say that. I can say that to somebody, I can say that to you, I can say that to family, I can say that to people I care about. But there's a tip, impact, influence that my my possibility have. But when Jesus says it, come on, talk to me. When the creator of the universe, creator of all things, says to you, I see you, you're not alone, you're not in this struggle by yourself. This struggle is not too big for you. I've given you strength and prepared you, I've positioned you and prepared you for this moment of time. You're not going through this all by yourself. I'm with you. The God man, the creator of the universe, is with you, walking alongside you, caring for you. And I've got I've got a solution for you. I've got something. You don't need to weep. I'm gonna get the secondary back up, if that's all right, guys. And he speaks words of encouragement into her that are powerful. And I guess our life lesson, I'll take away from that is to understand and appreciate the reality of what God is doing in your life today. As you look back over your journey and you think of where am I right now in the midst of my my walk of faith and fellowship with the Lord, what take what types of things are beginning to uh putting points of uh fear or anxiety or confusion or even uh uh just this just this sense of maybe even grieving in your life. Maybe there have been losses, not just people losses, maybe that maybe there have been situational environmental, uh uh educational, financial, whatever, losses in your life that you need the Lord to speak into. You really would like him to touch that area of your life. Can I go to here? And this word gives us a powerful example and model that we can we can lean in and trust on that indeed, no matter what we're going through, Jesus has given us in his word the instruction that we need, and through his word the modeling that we need, that we can trust in the same God who stepped into this widow's situation with her only son being lost, that same God, that same Christ Jesus will step into your situation, no matter how big or small it is, with an eye to let you know that you're not alone. I can't I see what you're going through. Don't don't don't don't be fearful or whatever, don't be anxious or overcome by your circumstances and your situation, because I am with you, particularly on this side of the cross, and now the Spirit of God is now dwelling inside of us and reminding us of who we are and the purpose God has for us, and that indeed He's walking alongside inside us, beside us, and in front of us, and behind us, and before and taking care of the things that are going on in our lives, and that every trial, every tragedy, and even every triumph in your life, God is a very present help in time of need. Very present help in time of need. And he alone has the can can have the audacity to say into our lives, I see you, I feel what you're doing, and don't worry, don't weep, don't be overcome by it. And then Jesus turns his attention to the funeral march. And the text says that he came and touched the buyer, and they that bear him stood still, and he said, Young man, I say unto thee, arise. Let me break that into a couple of components here. The text says that he came and he touched the buyer. Now, the audience standing around there, the those who are not only walking and and carrying the buyer, but those but the crowds that were around them, and the disciples are in the midst of them who are growing up in Jewish tradition, had to begin to reflect in their minds, oh, wait a minute, you just you just touched something that a dead person is laying on. And you know what the Old Testament law has to say about that. They'd have flipped back to Numbers and flipped back to Leviticus and without singing. It says when he touched that buyer, they stood still. It's like, whoa, whoa. You have just become ceremonially unclean. And Old Testament says, now you you know, you know what the law says. You know, there's a seven-day you you you read that numbers, read that Leviticus, read, read what those references to that. There's a process you you would have to go through ceremonially, and yet Jesus, in making a powerful statement and point before them, I'm getting to this who Jesus is component. Not only can he bring compassion and care to your life, but that's the compassionate side of Jesus. Now let me talk about the powerful side of Jesus that has the audacity to reach out with a dead body stretch across the mind and touch the mind and not worry about being contaminated by the mind about the dead individual. I'm talking to somebody, use the community of mind for someone. All of them all of the needs for me, Jesus. He cannot be contaminated, he's gonna take all the sins of the world. But this is the this is the moment he's saying, I've overcome all of that, I've come to fulfill all of that law. So his his touching of the leper, he doesn't get leprosy, he heals leprosy, he heals leprosy. I'm trying to get the examples out. It's the power of this, these these moments that we can read by so quickly and and and just become a part of the storyline. And then he said that when he touched it, they just stood, they stood still, and then he spoke. He touched the buyer. Why, why touch the buyer? It's a powerful symbol that indeed this this in front of you is the God man who has the power over life and death. And and and and and fulfill fulfilling all of the the law. The law was pointing towards Jesus, pointing towards the fulfillment of the Messiah who is to come, this Jesus Christ. And then he speaks to the young man and says to him, Arise. And he doesn't reach out and take him by the hand, doesn't touch him, he speaks a word to him. Uh the only son of a mother who has lost her husband and now lost her only son. Caring for her, demonstrating his compassion to to all who are there, and now he demonstrates, gives them a glimpse of his power. He got them as he as he now you can project it. In the last sermon, he said to them, There's gonna be a time when you say to me, physician heal thyself when I'm stretching, you know, when I'm stretching out on that cross. There's gonna be a time when it comes when I'm gonna demonstrate to you the power I have over the death itself. I am the resurrection and the life. And now let me just give you a glimpse of this power, but and as it operates in the in the cosmology, in the cosmos here, in the world setting that we're in, so that you can see what it looks like. And so the very the very voice that the very logos that indeed created all the heavens and the earth now speaks a word to this individual and tells him to rise up. Do something you cannot do, do something that nobody else has been able to do in your life, young man, or you wouldn't be laying here dead. You you he speaks to him. And he says he the the and the dead, he that was dead, sat up. This feels like almost one of those Mark moments when he uses the terminology that that is a that it was almost like an instantaneous situation, that a response that was that was not progressive in his nature. It is a response that came. When he said rise, the dead had to rise. Anybody talking to me? When Jesus speaks, everybody's listening. Oh, heaven's gonna everybody's gonna respond. He sat up and began to speak. Now, don't you don't this is this is just my moment that I don't you just want to know what's the first thing that's gonna come out of your mouth when you set up from the dead man, and then it says he does something else, he tells him to arise, he sets up, he begins to speak, and then Jesus delivers him to his mother. And when you begin to see, when you begin to see the impact of the audience around him, I started wondering to myself, are they now reflecting back on Old Testament? Did the Elijah moment just kind of pop up in their memory if they were students of the Word of God? Did they go back in their mind to that 1 Kings 17 moment when Elijah is now dealing with the widow of Seraphast? You know, it looks kind of similar here. When as as indeed, you know, you know the storyline. As the widow of Seraphaz lost her husband, has a son, son suddenly dies, and she calls on the prophet, and the prophet goes and lays over the child. Until the Lord then delivers, brings the child back to life. After having experienced going through famine, and the Lord said, Bring your pot, bring your oil, and I'll free all of that. Now you've got a son, the son dies, the farmer said the son dies. Now they're thinking that this looks like a prophetic story that we've heard about with Elijah. You got a widow, you've lost her husband, her only son has now died. And this Jesus tells him to get up. He doesn't lay on him, he doesn't touch him, he speaks to him. He just says a word. And that the word of Jesus, life invades, or just overcomes death. And he sits up and he speaks and he gives him to the mother. And I love the reality as we as we think about how does God operate that, and we think about how he compassionately brings him to his mom, to the mother. After having told her to weep not, after having dealt with the fact that I know that I know what you're dealing with, I know that your heart that you're struggling with, I know what you're going through, but there is hope and help available in Christ Jesus that is not like anything that you could have possibly experienced anywhere else. And what does that say to you and me as we go through our journey today? Where are you gonna put your hope? Number one, I'm I'm thankful, I'm thankful that God not only loves us enough, that he hears our prayers. I mean, he's an all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God. He's he's all holy, he's all righteous. The reality that he hears your prayers and my prayers, you know, us us us us sin-filled folk, you know, covered by the blood. Now that we accepted Jesus Christ, the fact that that gives us access to the Father and He He hears our prayers, He notices us, He knows who we are, and He has compassion on us. You hear it, you got compassion, and you also have the power to do something about the stuff that you're dealing with, you and I are dealing with you on a daily basis. I mean, that should just fill your heart with wonder and appreciation, and appreciation to his glory. And then to be able to have that opportunity to use that setting to witness to the glory, the grace, the grace and mercy, the love and kindness, the righteousness and holiness of God Almighty, and the love that he has shown on this side of the cross, and that he would love you and me so much that he would give his only begotten son. That we who believe in him should not perish but have life everlasting. It's a powerful thing. When he reveals it and he demonstrates it, and we get to experience it, it gives us hope as we face the next challenge that we have in life, in the midst of the one that you may be in right now. How do I get out of this situation that I can't get my arms around? I can't even muster up enough strength emotionally, intellectually, and physically and spiritually to walk through this wilderness moment that I'm going to. I'm going to lean on Jesus. And so, Lord, I'm going to trust you to heal my infirmities. You promised, you promised when you when you opened up your ministry by quoting those Isaiah passages that you would give sight to the blind, you would heal the brokenhearted, you would, you would free the captives, you would do all these great things. And now you're revealing that into us through our daily life and speaking that into us as we walk this journey today. He's still healing. He's still setting the captives free. He's still giving sight to the blind, expanding the vision to those who don't have a sense of a kingdom vision here. So let God step into the moments that you're dealing with and bring healing to us. Like only He can do in and for your life, if you're struggling, and I know we all struggle, we're human. If we're wrestling with something, take it to the Lord. Peter said, cast it off. Don't try to keep it to our human ability. Let me let me let me caveat this by saying to your to our human ability, inspired and strengthened and and uh and given wisdom by the Holy Spirit and that dwells inside of you as believers in Christ Jesus. Cast all of that mess onto the altar of Jesus, of the altar of the Lord, and don't take it back. Don't say, Lord, I'm giving you my I'm giving you my struggles out here. Yeah, but can I? I mean, if you're only give it to him, give it to him. And trust him to do what only he can do with the stuff you're going with. But you say, come on, Pastor, you know it's hard to not, it's hard to not reach up there and try to pull some of that back and try to, you know. There's a standstill moment in life, in which the Lord just needs us to lean into him with everything that we that we got, trusting him with all your heart and mind, leaning not onto your own understanding type of a moment, in which we come again to the to the best of our human ability, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Do you come to the point that we just hand that over? Lord, I can't do I've done what I can do. I'm still trying to do what I think I need to do. But Lord, nothing happens apart from your empowering me and inspiring me and giving me the hope that I need to be able to do what you call me to do. So heal me from, heal me from these infirmities that I'm dealing with, these struggles that I have, and strengthen my faith in this process, Lord. Strengthen my ability to trust more in you. Uh it's not that I need to be so strong in my faith, but let my mustard see type of faith be focused where it needs to be on you, Lord. And in a childlike fashion, let me lay it there and to the best of my ability, leave it there and know that you're gonna do something about it. And know that you hear me, know that you have compassion on me, and know that you're able and willing and desirous to bless into my life. And then it, and then as you do that, Lord, on the day-to-day journey that I'm going through, as I walk through this thing, and you demonstrate to me continuously how you're protecting me, how you're providing for me, how you're positioning me, how you're preparing me, how you how you indeed are blessing me with peace. As you're blessed, as you're teaching me through these powerful moments, help me to look forward with a vision that's expanded by the beauty of what you already, who you are, and what you're doing in my life. So that I step into the new opportunities. They may actually look like obstacles, but I step into these new opportunities knowing that number one, I'm never alone. Secondly, that indeed you are walking, you're not only walking with me, but you're you're empowering me and you're indeed inspiring me to do and equipping me to do what you what you have for me to do. And thirdly, Lord, that I'm not fighting for a victory here. The victory has already been won. I'm operating, I need to operate with a mindset that the that this that I can I can wait patiently and expectantly, hopefully and assuredly, that you're gonna accomplish what you set out to accomplish. If I just I just walk along trusting. If I just come alongside and believing. So you're expanding my kingdom vision to our life. Give me those two life lessons, Di, and I'm gonna go home. And this one little caveat statement here as you as he as you pivot into this next section when you begin to read your Bible. I didn't put 18 down here. But 18 said, it's almost like it's in the background. The disciples are there, the big cloud is there, the the widow's there, the sun has been risen from the dead. The audience has seen the powerful works of Jesus. They they don't quite fully understand who this is, they just they realize that this they glorify God, their fear overwhelmed them. My goodness, the man sat up and started speaking. He was dead. He he was sure enough dead. This one, he wasn't swooning over there. And he got up off the buyer and started talking to us. I mean, I mean, just give me a moment here now. Give me a moment. I mean, this this this this this isn't the audience. It's hard for us to step into that setting and understand just how miraculous and powerful that situation is. We we we get we get desensitized because we can look on TV and we see them doing trying to do all these fantastic things with AI and all that kind of stuff in the movies and all that kind of thing, you know, they they can they can do all that kind of stuff and say, well, you know, that's that doesn't look like a big deal so much. But back in there, back in that day when they didn't pull out their phone and start looking at all this stuff here, the fact that that brother got up off that buyer and started talking to them was a big deal. This was a big deal, and I can imagine them some fear and awe well in the mind. Wait a minute, Jesus, you just spoke to the man and he got up. I mean, your word, and he just got up. And they glorified God, and they said that a great prophet had risen among them. You know, they're thinking about it, you know they are, and that God has visited his people. They don't know how profound that statement was that God had visited his people. Emmanuel, God among us, and Jesus' eyes are pointed toward the cross, and then this one little caveat statement, and the disciples of John showed him all these things. As if Jesus is now projecting forward to the questions that even John is gonna be asking as he's in the prison. That's another sermon. As he's struggling with his own situation, about to give up his life, and he'll ask the question Are you Are you the one that we'll be looking for, or should we look for another? And his disciples say, Well, let me tell you, let me tell you, he sends him out later. You'll see the storyline, but they've gone back to him and say, Let me tell you how he raised this widow's son from the dead. And somewhere in John's mind, I've got to imagine, he's got to be thinking, Well, now this, he's got the power over life and death. He is the resurrection and the life, he is the way, the truth, and the life. He said that. And therein lies a hope that no matter if I give up the life here, there will be life after life. And for those of us who don't mind reflecting, thinking about the eternal, and we walk through this finite journey here physically, the hope and assurance that there is life, eternal, qualitative and quantitative, life with God after life, should absolutely give us the hope and assurance to live out our days with God moving in our life in fabulous and fantastic ways, strengthening us, motivating us, inspiring us, expanding our vision, and our hope to share this good news. Let me let me go right there. This good news of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Here we're going on. The heart and compassion of Jesus Christ is revealed and experienced as he gives us hope, comfort, and abundant blessings in every trial, every tragedy, and every triumph in life. And the power and purpose of Christ is revealed and demonstrated and experienced as he heals our infirmities, strengthens our faith, and expands our kingdom vision through our life. Church family, let's trust him wholly, completely today. Father God, we thank you again for blessing us with another marvelous Sunday morning in which we can come together and worship and praise and fellowship and in study. The privilege and blessing of lifting up our petitions to you. Laying our burdens on the altar and knowing that you hear us, that you love us, that you desire and will be and will do something fabulous, fantastic about the things we're dealing with. It's such a such a feeling of assurance and hope. And we just thank you for who you are, Christ Jesus, for all that you've done and are doing in our lives. Continue to walk with us, continue to guide and direct us, continue to provide and protect us. And indeed, in large our time to wait for you, Lord, give us a chance to speak into as many lives as you choose to send across our path. We love you and we thank you. Give you all the glory, honor, and praise that is yours and it is yours alone. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray it all. And all God's people said, Amen.