In Ezekiel chapter 34, the leaders of Israel are indicted for irresponsibility.

These unrighteous leaders cared only for themselves.

These men were fleecing the flock rather than feeding the flock. And thus, the curses of the covenant rightly belonged to them.

And yet, what should they have done? Notice what the Lord tell them:

The faithful shepherd is the SYMPATHETIC Shepherd. The Shepherd feeds His people. He protects them. He becomes weak when they are weak. He becomes sad, when they are sad. A faithful shepherd is as Paul, who exclaimed:

A Living Faith Must Be Sympathetic With The One Who Rejoices.

Rejoicing is not so much an emotion but a state of being. It is the declaration of joy on account of God's grace and mercy. And thus we read:

On account of Christ and His work on our behalf, we can be filled with joy even though we may be heavy laden with grief. Paul described himself and all servants of the gospel this way:

Joy and sorrow are not opposites. Rather, in the life of the child of God they rightly co-exist! While the world around us is perishing such that we grieve (as we will see in a moment) yet we see God (and the fact that His work continues even now) and this glimpse of our Savior causes us to rejoice!

Indeed! Christ and His kingdom are the basis of all Christian rejoicing! We can rejoice in any circumstance. We can rejoice with any believer. We can rejoice at any time. This all requires that our eyes be fixed upon God's kingdom and not ourselves. And thus when we read the words of Paul:

When we read the words of our brother James:

Rejoicing is an attribute of the believer! Though the waves of life may billow all around us, nevertheless the believer beholds His Savior and rejoices! And yet, a living faith does not simply stop with rejoicing. Notice that the living faith "rejoices with those who rejoice." Indeed, the living faith joins itself in and with any and all that rejoice over God and His kingdom!

This is because the living faith is interested not in what they receive from God but in what God receives from them: glory, honor, adoration, and praise. Whenever a child of God rejoices in the Lord, the living faith quickly participates! In this we see another characteristic of the living faith: sympathy. Because the eye of faith is set on God and His kingdom we are able to involve ourselves in the lives of others such that their needs, burdens, excitements and joys become our own.

When it comes to the first setting of the believer's life—another person's joy over God's Kingdom—the living faith rejoices with them. Now brothers and sisters, as most of you know this is a difficult calling, especially when another believer's favored circumstances are at our expense! Chrysostom penned these words:

Now notice the response of the elder brother who had stayed home all those years and tirelessly worked for his father:

Our ability to rejoice and to rejoice with another is directly based on whether or not the kingdom of God is our focus and joy! This is plainly taught in the Scriptures:

It is only the Spirit filled believer—the one who is living moment-by-moment in reliance upon God, and for God's Kingdom – that is genuinely able to rejoice with others in this life! For that which drives and moves him is not what gets out of life, but the glory and honor of God! This is because the living faith lives moment-by-moment in reliance upon and for God. The one whose life demonstrates these characteristics is truly sympathetic to God’s blessings in others –thus he rejoices.

The Living Faith Must Be Sympathetic With the One Who Weeps.

Weeping in this manner is an action of faith, trust, and longing for God's ultimate solution for our sin and misery: our final redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ! Thus when we read these words of the Apostle Paul:

There is a weeping which is unbiblical. It is any weeping without the understanding that what has occurred is a result of sin and misery. Unbiblical weeping occurs when we fail to recognize that God has provided the solution for our state of sin and misery through the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, unbiblical weeping is to weep without hope – the knowledge, longing, and affirmation of God’s answer. Unbiblical weeping is a result of self-pity.

The living faith is sympathetic because it beholds the brother weeping and sits down beside them and joins in their tears! This is what a living faith is all about! And yet, so often that is not what we are about! We behold life, and in the words of Origen:

Rather we tend to rejoice when our interests are met, our rights are upheld, and our plans are sustained. We tend to weep when our interests are not met, our rights are trampled under foot, and our plans are ruined. Our sympathy very often is partial, shallow, inconsistent, and selfish!

Now brothers and sisters may I ask this: of the above which are you? Who ought you to be? From the text this morning it is obvious that of all people, we must be the sympathetic Christian! We must be the one who genuinely weeps over that which demands weeping. We must be the one who weeps with those who weep! We must be the one that weeps with those who should weep, and yet do not! Indeed! Life is not a game that simply requires positive thinking here and there. Life is tragic because sin is tragic. Therefore, as believers who possess a living faith, we must "weep with those who weep!"

Conclusion

An ancient custom was practiced in Jerusalem upon the completion of the Herodian temple of Christ’s day. You see the temple had only one entrance, located at the base of the southern wall. And yet, farther east on the same wall was the exit. The practice was that the people would enter through the opening that allowed them to go through the wall. They would ascend the stairs to the temple area. Then they would worship and then leave through the exit.

Now on a typical day huge crowds would flow in and out in steady streams. And yet there was one exception to the above. One group of worshippers was to go the opposite way. They would enter by the exit and leave by the entrance.

Why? You ask. This makes no sense for crowd control or safety. You see, as the worshipper's bumped into and squeezed by each other, the two groups came face to face with each other. The sad faces of those who were experiencing sorrow could be seen by those going the opposite direction, and the joyful faces of those who had just been before God and thus were filled with joy and rejoicing, could be seen by those going the opposite direction. Thus, in those brief moments that the worshippers came face to face, their grief and joy would be shared!

This is a beautiful picture of the living faith, and thus the body of Christ. As we see and hear of the effects of this state of sin and misery, all must weep – even the ones who are rejoicing. And as we see and hear of the workings of God and His glory, all must rejoice – even the ones who are weeping.

This constitutes the living faith!

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