Does Your Heart Break for Those In Need?

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Welcome back to the Iron Saints Podcast with your host, Dan Willis.

Welcome back, Saints. We are back at it again today. Pretty pumped to keep going in Luke.

We are making pretty decent head ground here.

So if you guys have missed the past episodes, we are working our way through Luke right from the finish all the way to the end. And then I hope to keep going in Acts. We did break through the 2,500 download mark. Just wanted to share that with you guys. Not so much just because I love size and numbers, but more so because I love that that's Yeah. 2,500 people from around the world, all over the world, really, that are taking the time to listen to God's word daily, break down God's word, and just walk through Luke with us.

It's this really cool group.

I'm loving to see the prayer requests. If you guys know people that would love to listen to the podcast and get engaged, it's never too late to join in. I do go back and check the messages on past episodes. I am seeing some of the earlier episodes starting to see downloads again, which hopefully means new people are joining in and going right back to the beginning to follow along. But without further ado, let's get down to it. We're going to continue on with Luke. So one of the really cool things with the Book of Luke is that Luke is very much the gospel that is written to the Gentiles. And we've seen some— for those of you who have read Matthew as well as Luke, we've already seen some fairly sizable differences in, in how things are being communicated and portrayed. Yesterday, what we had was an example of the centurion who had the understanding of Christ's authority from a military capacity, right? Not one from a Judaic authority, from the law. From God's sovereignty. But instead, he understood, being a general, that when one is in control and authority, they can give a command and that command holds through. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please go back and listen to the last episode. It's a really clear and pointed example where Christ not being able to find in all of Israel a faith like this Gentile.

It's a big thing and it's something to consider.

And as we continue in Luke today, we're going to go Luke chapter 7, verses 11 through 17. And today we're going to take a look at a widow.

A widow.

And this is another person that the church would typically just, you know, have there. It's not somebody who has this great depth and this great understanding. But there are a couple of things that come out here that I think are extremely pointed, that we're gonna learn about Christ's character much in the same way we did with the centurion. And I think Jesus, through these encounters, is really genuinely trying to show us his heart, his compassion, his love, his authority, his sovereignty, all of these character traits. So as always, guys, I'm gonna read along. I read it aloud for you guys, for those who can't have a copy of the scriptures in front of them. I do encourage you, if you can have a Bible in front of you, to have it. It doesn't matter what translation it is, whatever you prefer. But for myself, I will be reading from the English Standard Version. If you can't get your hands on a Bible, you're driving, you're at the office, you know, you're running on a treadmill, you just don't have a copy in front of you, no problem. Don't worry.

I'm going to read the verse and then we're going to take some time to break it down.

So let's go. Soon afterward, he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of And she was a widow and had compassion on her and had a considerable crowd from the town that was with her.

And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, do not weep.

Then he came up and touched the bier.

So the, the, the mat that they're carrying the son on. And the bier stood still.

And he said, young man, I say to you, arise.

And the dead man sat up and began to speak.

And Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all. They glorified God, saying, a great prophet has risen among us and God has visited his people.

And this report about Jesus spread him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

How's that for a doozy? Just bring somebody back from the dead. Why not? Right. What, what I think needs to be really the attention of this, guys, and the focus of this passage is in the past passage, we had another instance of Christ performing a miracle and it was done with his authority. This one doesn't come from a place of his authority, which he still has. He has the authority to tell the body to Rise up and up it rises, but more so where the call for this came from. With the centurion, he did it because he was amazed at the faith that the man had.

In this instance, he has compassion on the widow.

It comes from a place of his heart.

This lady breaks his heart, and as a result, he pours love out on her.

It's a pretty amazing thing that Christ, authority of all creation, for him, life and death are really in his control. And yet the pain of this woman, the heart of this woman being so deeply wrenched, Christ had no other choice in his character but to show compassion and mercy to this widow, to this, to this son. Obviously, the, the situation was just so terrible and he just reaches out. And now we get all that stuff that comes afterwards up and people were blown away and they were amazed and wow, look at what he did. He, he brought this boy back from death to life. And, and isn't that amazing? It's a miracle. God be praised! God be praised! And it's like, okay, yeah, that's a thing. People's response to that is legitimate. And they go and tell everybody all around town. But I find so often when we're looking at the church, especially these days, those people of note, the people that are high-profile people inside the church, oftentimes what we're seeing, and often for the worse, is that the reason for the action isn't coming from a place of compassion or a place of authority. It's coming from a place of power. Place of celebrity. It's coming from a place of they have a role that they are well known. They have a celebrity, an idol status almost. And those eyes around them are what they are doing these things for. It's out of expectation of, well, there's a crowd, I better do something. And this can range from worship, where worship has become this grandiose affair in some cases where concert tickets are being sold and, you know, it's treated more like a pop culture concert than it is worship of the Lord. You've got sermons that— sermons are being given and it's being touted while it was Yeah. To hundreds of thousands of people that bought tickets and look what a success this is. And yeah, that's worldly success.

That's a true thing. But the same merit and the same quality can be given to those who perform those deeds for a handful of people and hearts are saved and hearts are turned by the Spirit. Right.

So I would challenge you guys in your actions. Take a look at your actions today, just in your prayer and your reflection as you finish listening to the episode and consider when you have compassion or when you act in the authority of Christ, when you're out there walking and living That Great Commandment and the Great Commission, are you doing it from a place of, am I being seen? The eyes on me, expect me to be this way. Or is it genuinely coming from a place of your heart where your desire is to serve as Christ commanded you to serve? Is it coming from a place of compassion where you genuinely love and care for the people that you're caring for? Again, I am not stating by any extent, just because I am the voice on the mic of the podcast, that I do this perfectly. I'm not. I can think of several instances where oftentimes, well, just because I'm in the environment, I'm I'm in this group of people and we're downtown and I see somebody in need, so I go and do it, then that's something that happens. I do that because of the crowd that I'm with. And that's something that I have to wrestle with, something I have to work through. And, but often I can think of many instances and I don't want to say them out loud because that defeats the purpose of this. But I can think of instances where I do things simply out of compassion for the people that I'm seeing in need that have that problem. And that comes from a place of the heart. It doesn't come from a place of, wow, I get to tell people that I do that, or wow, I get to show people off. My concern is not whether or not somebody saw me do that or there's recognition that comes with it, but instead my care and compassion is for the person that needs it. So really dial in, guys. Do you have that Christlike love that even when things seem impossible in a situation that you'd be willing to just love into it, irregardless of the fame and the hype that would follow, irregardless of who might take note?

Does your heart care simply for those that you care for?

That's it for today, guys. I am going to pray here as always. If you guys have prayer requests, feel free anywhere where you're listening to this— Spotify, iTunes, Google, directly on the, on the site, wherever you're listening. If you have prayer requests, please do not hesitate to ask for prayer, even if it's just a first name. You don't want to give me your full name. I understand that for privacy reasons. If you're not comfortable giving any name, I also understand that. I'll just pray in generality for a brother or sister in Christ. But if you have prayer requests, don't hesitate to send them my way. I'm more than happy to be praying for you.

And let's get down to it here. Lord, thank you so much for your heart, compassion, your mercy, that you would look down on us even though we are yet sinners and love us, that you would have a care for us, that our hurts hurt you, that our pain is a pain that you carry, that our sadness, our grief, our sorrow, all of these things that derive from our sin, that they would just be gone in you, that you would be able to redeem us. So thankful for that, Lord. I thank you for your word and all those around the world that are able to, to listen here and, and just Take a moment with you, take a moment of pause and listen to your word. Lord, I lift up Eric Hope to you in his year of drawing near to you, uh, as he stepped down from his lead pastor role in order to draw closer to you and hear your voice. I pray that he continues to do that in this year. I lift up Bruce and Birgit to you, Lord, as they head into the missions field in Uganda. Pray that their support team would come alongside them, um, domestically here at home. Their passion for their purpose on their arrival would be one of strength. Amen. Lift up Adam and Amara for you, Lord. These little lives born four months early. I pray that you continue to be with them and the family, the physicians that are caring for them, Lord. I lift up Martha to you. She's discovered that she has multiple tumors and lesions on her liver, Lord. Can be a very, very scary thing. That you're with her in fear, but also in healing, Lord. Pray for a sister in Christ. Positivity Pants's daughter has chosen not to attend church with her, Lord. And I just pray that she would see the merit in fellowship. In a congregation, in submission to an eldership. Pray that she would see you in the Word and realize that to separate yourself from the body is a way to kill yourself. It cuts yourself right off from the vine, Lord. And I pray that she would have a desire to be a part of that, that massive family, and that she would have that family reach out to her and, and just engage with her to bring her back into the fold, Lord. And just pray for that. Pray for all those listening that have prayers that I haven't been able to lift up, Lord. You know them, you know their hearts. Be with them. In your name we pray.

That's it, guys. Have an amazing day today, and I will catch you tomorrow with another episode.

Thank you for listening to the Iron Saints Podcast. If you are looking to share your prayer requests, check the description for social media or email to contact the show. Blessings on you all until next time.