October 28

Compassion for the Lost

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
—Isaiah 6:8

Scripture reading: Isaiah 6

Is it possible, after we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, to be satisfied with what we see? What made Jesus weep over Jerusalem? He had a heart of compassion. There are sin-sick souls everywhere. We need a baptism of love that goes to the bottom of the disease. We need to cry to God until He brings us up to the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).

Jesus told a parable about “a certain man [who] went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves” (Luke 10:30). Who among those who passed by and saw his predicament was his neighbor? The one who had mercy on him and helped him (vv. 36–37). Are you awake to the great fact that God has given you eternal life? With the power God has put at your disposal, how can you rest as you look out upon your neighbors? How we have sinned against God! How we lack this spirit of compassion! Do we weep as we look out upon the unsaved? If not, we are not Pentecost-full. Jesus was moved with compassion. Are you?

We have not yet grasped the plight of the heathen. Since my only daughter went to Africa, I have a little less dim idea of what it meant that God so loved the world that He gave Jesus (John 3:16). God gave Jesus. What does that mean? Compassion. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). If you have no power, you have not repented. You say, “That’s hard language.” It is truth.

Who is your brother’s keeper? (See Genesis 4:9.) Who is the son and heir? (See Galatians 4:7.) Are you salted? (See Matthew 5:13.) Do you have a pure life? Don’t be fooled; don’t live in a false position. The world wants to know how to be saved, and power is at our disposal. Will we meet the conditions? God says, “If you will, I will.” God will do it.

Daniel knew the time in which he was living; he responded to God, and a nation was saved. Nehemiah met God’s conditions for his time, and the city was rebuilt. God has made the conditions. He will pour out His Spirit.

If we do not go on, we will have it to face. It may be up to us to bring the Gospel to the nations. We can win the world for Jesus. We can turn the tap on. What is the condition? It is unconditional surrender. “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts” (Zech. 4:6). Depart from sin; holiness opens the windows of heaven. The Spirit of God will be poured out without measure, until the people say, “What must [we] do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30).

Thought for today: With the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes a demolishing of the whole man and a compassion for the world.

Smith Wigglesworth Devotional: 365 Day Devotional
By Whitaker House

Smith Wigglesworth was a man who took God at his word, and God used his faith as a model for others. Explore these daily truths from Scripture and the writings of the Apostle of Faith, and you’ll quench your spiritual thirst, conquer defeating fears, be an effective soul winner, and see impossibilities turn into realities. 558 pages.

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More Daily Devotions for October 28

Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
Morning & Evening by Charles Spurgeon