“And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.” (Mark 1:41)
Although faith in God is the door through which miracles enter, there are several keys that God will use to unlock that door so that His miraculous power and glory can be manifested.
One such key is the key of compassion.
“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:” (1Pet. 3:8)
Several times in the Gospels, just before Jesus performed a great miracle, the Bible says that He was “moved with compassion”.
“And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.” (Mat. 14:14)
“So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.” (Mat. 20:34)
“And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.” (Mark 1:41-42)
“And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: 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.” (Luke 7:13-15)
The Bible teaches us that when we accept Christ and are born again, His Spirit comes and lives inside of us.
“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” (Rom. 8:9)
“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Col. 1:27)
If the Spirit of Christ dwells inside of us, and the Bible says that Jesus Christ never changes (Heb. 13:8), then the same compassion that moved Jesus to perform the miraculous lives inside of us also.
It is up to us to pray, ask, believe, and allow the Holy Spirit to change us in order that we are capable of having the same miracle empowering compassion of Christ flow out from us as it did from Him.
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2Cor. 3:18)
The compassion of Christ is simply the motivational expression of the love of God, and the love of God is the empowerment of faith.
“For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” (Gal. 5:6)
Acting upon that faith is the works that keeps faith alive.
“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:20)
It is hearing from God that directs us, it is the love of God that empowers faith and motivates compassion, it is the compassion of Christ that moves us to action, and it is the action that causes God to join His faith with ours and create the miracle needed; the manifestation of the will of God.
In the late 1970’s, there was a great outpouring of the Spirit of God upon the earth. It was during this time that I was saved and called by God.
Many great miracles were recorded and ministries were founded around the world during this great outpouring, and there was no greater outpouring of God’s Spirit than that which happened in the country of Indonesia.
Thousands upon thousands were saved as God called ministry teams to go out among the multiple islands that comprise this fourth largest nation in the world and bring the Gospel to millions of people.
As it was in the Book of Acts, God confirmed His word with signs and wonders following and many accounts of great miracles were witnessed and recorded by these ministry teams.
One such account is a great example of what God will do when the compassion of Christ is acted upon by the child of God.
The story is told that one of these ministry teams had been called by God to go and preach the Gospel to the people of a certain remote village.
However, as they approached the village they realized that the recent monsoon rains had caused the river that separated them from the village to reach an impassable flood stage.
As they stood there looking across the river and through the trees, they could see the people of the village going about their daily routine.
Suddenly, a great compassion began to well up inside the team leader as he gazed at the people of the village. All he could think of was how the Lord loved them, and gave His life for them, and that without the Gospel they would be eternally lost.
He began to feel water lapping at his feet, and as he looked down he realized that he had begun to walk on the water to go to the people of the village.
With their eyes fixed upon the people of the village and their hearts filled with the compassion of Christ, they walked on the water, crossing the river, and brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to preach to the people.
After seeing them walk upon the water, the entire village was saved and many were healed, delivered, and filled with the Holy Ghost.
Our love for God and His love for others already lives within us through the indwelling Spirit of Christ in our hearts.
However, it is up to us to ask God to fill us with that compassion to the degree that we will act upon it in His Name.
Only when we hunger and thirst to see and feel for others the same way that Christ does will we be filled to the overflowing, and the compassion of Christ will pour out of us through our actions to be one of the keys that will unlock the door and release the miracle power of God.
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Mat. 5:6)
Tomorrow– Sanctification: The Second Key in Opening the Door to Miracle Working Faith
“How to Walk in the Miracles of God” by Raymond Candy. Available for $2.99 at bn.com for the Nook, amazon.com for the Kindle, and Lulu.com for the PC, iPad, and all other e-reading devices
As Seen Through the Eyes of Faith 