EMBRACING GOD’S HEART FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING:
FULFILLING THE SECOND GREATEST COMMANDMENT
I. OVERVIEW OF LUKE 10:25-37
A. In this passage Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. The passage begins with a lawyer questioning Jesus,
and attempting to justify himself:
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said
to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” 27 so he answered and said, “‘You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as
yourself.’” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly: do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanting to justify
himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” – Luke 10: 25-29
Jesus avoids a philosophical debate with this guy and places his question in the context of a story to illustrate what it
looks like to love our neighbor. (Read Luke 10:30-37)
Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who
stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came
down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the
place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he
was. And when he saw him he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine;
and he set him on his animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he
took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when
I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.” – Luke 10:30-37
B. The first feature about this parable that grabs my attention is the response of the religious. Why didn’t the priest
or the Levite stop to help this person? They were the spiritual people. They were the Godly people. They were the ones
to uphold a standard of righteousness. Here are some possible reasons:
1. Religious Duties – It’s possible they were preoccupied with religious activity. Religious leaders have tremendous
responsibilities. These men could have had an ecclesiastical meeting, a speaking obligation, or temple services in
Jerusalem. Maybe there was a religious ceremony, "One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a
human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony."
2. Better solution – We could speculate that the approach they wanted to take was to get to the causal root of the
problem – Maybe they thought they would hustle back to get working on a measure to improve the safety of the road,
rather than to get bogged down with an individual effort.
3. Fear – It’s genuinely possible they were afraid. The Jericho road is a windy road that goes from about 1,200 feet
above sea level starting in Jerusalem to 2,200 feet below sea level by the time you get to Jericho. This treacherous road
was very conducive for ambushes and was notoriously dangerous. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the
"Bloody Pass." They could have feared that if they helped him they too would be ambushed. Or maybe they thought he
was faking and would seize them if they came near to help.
C. Conclusion – The basic sentiment of the Priest and the Levite was, "What will it cost me if I stop to help this person
out?" The Good Samaritan had the exact opposite perspective. He concluded, "What will it cost him if I do not stop to
help?" That is the essence of compassion and the heart of the second commandment. It is an identificational concern
for those in need. Are we willing to let our agenda be rerouted for the sake of the one?
D. Looking at verses 33-34. According to this passage there are 3 components to fulfilling the Second Greatest
Commandment to loving our neighbor.
1. “He saw” – He sees the injustice.
2. “He had compassion” – His heart response to what he saw.
3. “He went to him” – Demonstrates compassion in action.
E. The first step in embracing God’s heart for Human Trafficking is seeing the injustice.
II. SEEING THE INJUSTICE
“…he saw him…”
A. Seeing past the veil – During the trans-Atlantic slave trade people wanted to believe that life working in the fields
was better for the Africans than living in the harsh conditions of Africa. They referenced kind slave owners who fed their
slaves well and allowed them to have families. They believed it was a good and necessary part of the economy, after all
how else would they harvest the sugar, tobacco, and cotton, which comprised 80% of the economy?
Nobody wanted to acknowledge “how” these slaves were brought into the trade or the “conditions” afforded slaves on
their 3-6 month voyage across the middle passage. They didn’t want to know that slaves were stacked in quarters 4 ft.
by 18 inches, or that there was no sanitation and the galley would quickly fill up with vomit, blood, and bile. That many
would become infected with amoebic dysentery, scurvy, smallpox, syphilis, measles, and other diseases. Or that the
conditions were so perilous over the course of this journey that many would use any opportunistic means (refusing food,
medicine, or throwing oneself overboard) to commit suicide. By the time the trade had ended some 200 years later at
least 11 million had been torn from their homeland and forced into slavery.
In our world today, Satan has once again done a good job of hiding injustice, in this case the injustice of sexual
exploitation. It has been said, “to talk about Human Trafficking without talking about prostitution is like talking about the
African slave trade without talking about cotton.” Satan has masked the sex industry with a veil of glamour and seduction.
When we think of prostitution we think of the movie Pretty Woman, or we think about the girl taking a shortcut in life to
get ahead. But we don’t really know “how” women are winding up in prostitution or the “conditions” for them there. Many
assume these girls want to be there, and by all outward appearances it seems they do, but that is because we don’t
know their story.
We don’t know about Sre Neang who was sold by her parents when she was 7 years old, or Katrina who was promised a
job as a waitress cleaning rooms in a hotel by her boyfriend. When we think of prostitution we don’t think of slaves on an
auction block, and we conclude that these women have made a choice. But is it really a choice? I think when we
examine the issue closer it becomes far more complex.
B. Pulling back the veil of the Commercial Sex Industry – In order to see the injustice of Human Trafficking, we must
pull back the veil of the commercial sex industry.
1. Mass Media – With just two words, “sex sells,” the mass media has dramatically transformed our world. The
medias “sex sells” agenda has been used to hyper-sexualized a generation. Women are presented as sexual objects,
and men as mindless, sex mongering beasts. By media standards women are beautiful based on looking a certain way,
dressing a certain way, and acting a certain way. The media has redefined love, beauty, and intimacy, by glorifying and
glamorizing irresponsible sex. This widespread sensual influence has awakened an unprecedented demand for illicit sex.
2. Demand – In some countries up to 70% of men admit to purchasing sex on a regular basis. Once considered
marginal, the sex industry has come to occupy a central and strategic position in the development of international
capitalism. It is the fastest growing commercial enterprise in the world. Germany has approximately 400,000 women
exploited in prostitution. Each one averages 5-15 customers per day. That means there are between 2 and 6 million
men purchasing sex every single day, just in Germany alone. In Thailand there are 2.8 million prostituted women,
generating 4.3 billion dollars per year. Pornography is a 57 billion dollar per year industry, Human Trafficking is a 32
billion dollar per year industry, and prostitution is generating untold numbers.
3. Organized Crime – It’s no secret that the seedy business of prostitution is run by organized crime. And like their
other two most profitable businesses, drugs and arms trafficking, it is all about supply and demand. As long as you have
a demand there are those who are eager to profit by providing the supply. The reality in the world of prostitution is that
there are not enough women lining up in any particular area to meet the overwhelming demand for illicit sex. This is why
women are trafficked into the trade, and why Human Trafficking is on course to become the most profitable industry for
organized crime.
C. Human Trafficking – In any major tourist destination there is always prostitution, and in almost all cases large
percentages of these girls are from other countries. This is one of the telltale signs of trafficking.
1. Trafficking Methods –
a. In Eastern Europe traffickers typically set up false employment agencies, mail order bride operations, or
employ “loverboy” strategies to lure girls into prostitution.
b. In S.E. Asia children are routinely sold by their parents into prostitution. Satelessness is also a problem in
S.E. Asia.
c. Situation in America – 800,000 children go missing in the U.S. each year. Here is a story of one who was
recovered.
ABC News Story – Debbie's story is particularly chilling. One evening Debbie said she got a call from a casual friend,
Bianca, who asked to stop by Debbie's house. Wearing a pair of Sponge Bob pajamas, Debbie went outside to meet
Bianca, who drove up in a Cadillac with two older men, Mark and Matthew. After a few minutes of visiting, Bianca said they
were going to leave. "So I went and I started to go give her a hug, and that's when she pushed me in the car." As they
sped away from her house, Debbie said that one of the men told Bianca to tie her up and said he threatened to shoot
Bianca if she didn't comply. "She tied up my hands first, and then she put the tape over my mouth. And she put tape
over my eyes," Debbie said. "While she was putting tape on me, Matthew told me if I screamed or acted stupid, he'd shoot
me. So I just stayed quiet."
Unbelievably, police say Debbie was kidnapped from her own driveway with her mother, Kersti, right inside. Back home
with her other kids, Kersti had no idea Debbie wasn't there. "I was in the house. I mean, it was a confusing night. I had all
the kids coming in and out. The last I knew she had come back in," Kersti said. "It was just so weird that night. I mean, I
normally check on all my kids, and that night I didn't. I should have." Debbie said her captors drove her around the streets
of Phoenix for hours. Exhausted and confused, she was finally taken to an apartment 25 miles from her home.
She said one of her captors put a gun to her head. "He goes, 'If I was to shoot you right now, where would you want to be
shot -- in your head, in your back or in your chest?'" Debbie said. "And then I hear him start messing with his gun. And he
counted to three and then he pulled the trigger. And then I was still alive. I opened my eyes, and I just saw him laughing."
Debbie said she was then drugged by her captors and other men were brought into the room, where she was gang raped.
"And then that's when I heard them say there was a middle-aged guy in the living room that wanted to take advantage of
a 15-year-old girl," she said. "And then he goes, 'Bend her over. I want to see what I'm working with.' And that's when he
started to rape me. And I see more guys, four other guys had come into the room. And they all had a turn. It was really
scary."
After the horrifying gang rape, police say Debbie was trapped in one of Phoenix's roughest neighborhoods. In a rundown,
garbage-strewn apartment, her captors were trying to break her down. "They were asking me if I was hungry," she said.
"I told them no. That's when they put a dog biscuit in my mouth, trying to get me to eat it." After a sleepless night, Debbie
was tossed back into the car and again driven around Phoenix. She said they talked to her about prostitution, and that
one of the men forced her to have sex with him in the car and then later in a park. The same man took her back to his
apartment, and Debbie said, "I ended up in the dog kennel." Greg Scheffer, an officer with the Phoenix police department,
said Debbie was kept in a small dog crate for several days. Lying on her back in the tiny space, her whole body went
numb. "She was subject to various abuses while in there," Scheffer said. "This is all part of the breaking down period
where [he] gains complete control of this girl."
Unbeknownst to Debbie, police say her captors had put an ad on Craig's List -- a national Web site better-known for
helping people find apartments and roommates. Shortly after the ad ran, men began arriving at the apartment at all hours
of the day and night demanding sex from her. She said she had to comply. "I had no other choice," she said. Debbie says
she was earning hundreds of dollars a night -- all of it, she said, going to the pimp. Scheffer said Debbie was forced to
have sex with at least 50 men -- and that's not counting the men who gang-raped her on a periodic basis. Debbie had no
idea who the men were. "I didn't know them," she said. "But most of them were married, with kids. And every single one
of them, I asked them why they were coming to me if they had a wife at home. ... They didn't have an answer. So, like,
I felt so nasty."
For more than 40 days, police say Debbie remained captive, often beaten and forced daily to have sex of the most
degrading kind. During that time, she said she did not try to escape because her captors had done what police say so
many pimps do -- threatened her and terrified her. Debbie said that the pimps told her they would go after her family,
and they even threatened to throw battery acid on her 19-month-old niece. "After they told me that, I didn't care what
happened to me as long as my family stayed alive," she said. "And that's pretty much what I had in my head. Staying
there to keep my family alive."
For Debbie, who police said been held by her captors at gunpoint and kept in a dog cage for more than 40 days, the
chances of getting out alive seemed slim. But then police investigating the case heard tips that she was being kept in an
apartment in the Phoenix area. Police searched the apartment but didn't find Debbie. But they were still suspicious. So on
Nov. 8, police broke down the doors to the same apartment and realized with a shock why they'd been unable to find
Debbie -- she was there, but she was tied up and crushed into a drawer under a bed. Debbie said she heard Officer
James Perry calling her name but was too frightened to answer. "I didn't know what to say; I was just lying under the bed,
stiff as a board, shaking," she said "And then he opens the middle drawer, and he was like, 'Oh my God!'" When Debbie
was finally freed from the drawer, she was sobbing, and said she gave the officer "the biggest hug in the world." "I was s
o relieved!" she said. "And then that's when my ... I was standing there, and my knees started ... they gave out."
While it seems unbelievable that [she] didn't try to escape earlier, experts say it's not so uncommon. "These are human
beings who are owned by someone else, who lack the ability to walk away, who lack the ability to make a decision in their
own self-interest to do something else," said Allen. "If that's not slavery, I don't know what is."
Police arrested two people at the apartment, and Debbie was taken to a safe house for children while her mother was
called. "I remember I got the call while I was driving to work," Kersti said. "That was scary. I had to pull over. But, uh, it was
just wild, it was. I drove as fast as I legally could. I walked in and I saw her and we just flew to each other."
Within hours, Debbie was safely home. "I was so happy," she said. "I was so happy to see my mom. I was so happy to be
home. I'm able to be with my family. I don't know -- it's crazy." The two officers who rescued Debbie were so touched by
her strength and her story that they visited her this Christmas and gave her a cross -- a token of affection and
protection. "She is a very strong, amazing girl," said Scheffer. "We ran into a few other girls that are like that. I don't know
how they have the strength. They are very brave."
As for the people accused of snatching Debbie, they are charged with kidnapping and sexual assault. All have pleaded
not guilty, except for one who awaits extradition from Illinois.
Debbie has been joyfully reunited with her family, but they have put their house up for sale. They've decided to leave
Arizona and move to the Midwest, where Debbie hopes she can find some of the innocence she lost one grim night in
September. (http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Story?id=1596778&page=1)
2. Seasoning – Regardless of how young women and children are trafficked, there are consistent patterns as to how
they are seasoned to be used as sex slaves, including: torture, starvation, repeated rapes and gang rapes, threats of
violence to family members, and confinement. “Training Houses” are used as central locations to break girls down into
submission. These houses sometimes hold as many as 200 girls.
Testimony – “Stefa, a black-haired seventeen-year-old Moldovan – ‘I was with my girlfriend Katrina. We went to Romania
with her boyfriend to look for work. He told us he knew a man that could give us a job cleaning rooms in a hotel.’ Instead,
the girls were sold to a trafficker. ‘We were taken to an apartment building near Belgrade. There were many, many girls,
perhaps as many as sixty, from Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Moldova, and Bulgaria. I cannot describe the horror that went
on there. A few times a day, the owner would come and yell at us to get ready, buyers were coming. At all hours these
men arrived and we would have to take off our clothes and stand in front of them. They wanted to see what we looked
like naked. They touched us and examined us like we were cattle. Sometimes they took us to a room to see how we
performed sexually.’ Stefa’s eyes began to well up with tears. ‘My friend Katrina was purchased after two weeks. I cried
so much when they took her away. All I can remember was the terrified look in her eyes and the tears rolling down her
face. She was shaking so terribly. I remained in the apartment for three more weeks before I was bought. In that time,
so many new girls arrived to replenish those who had been sold…Many times I’ve thought about Katrina. When I arrived
at Regina Pacis, I called her home. Her parents were frantic. They hadn’t heard a word from her since she left. They
asked me if I knew anything. I froze. I did not know what to say. So I pretended the line went dead. I was afraid to tell
her parents what happened to their daughter. At night, when I go to bed, I pray. I pray my parents believe me that I was
forced, that I am not a bad girl, that I am not a prostitute. I am afraid to close my eyes to sleep because when I do, all I
see is pain. I see the faces of all those men and I see [my pimp]. I just want to forget…but I can’t.’ Stefa gets up from the
table, tears rolling down her cheeks. She goes into her room and falls onto her bed and sobs.”
D. Entering the trade – There are other ways women wind up in prostitution that we should be equally concerned
about, including: homelessness, abandonment, poverty, lack of education, statelessness, and coercion. The underlying
factor is a history of sexual abuse in the home, which is almost universal among prostituted women. Familial sexual abuse
functions as a training ground for prostitution. These girls have been defined as sexual objects since their adolescence.
Most girls, who appear to have “chosen” prostitution are those who have just decided to get paid for the abuse they
have already grown up with, assuming it is all they’re good for.
E. Culture of Abuse – What these women encounter once in the trade is horrifying. Most the men purchasing sex
have been trained by pornography on how to behave sexually. They project their perverse fantasies onto these women
and pay for the right to perpetrate acts of sexual violence against them. In prostitution women are objectified, exploited,
humiliated, and dehumanized. They are routinely abused, abducted, and raped by their buyers. They are criminalized,
and harassed by police, and in society they are discriminated against, marginalized, and stigmatized.
The result is devastating. To cope with the trauma of this lifestyle, many turn to drugs and others to suicide. Physically,
many wind up diseased with chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, or HIV. Psychologically, depression, anxiety, posttraumatic
stress disorder, traumatic dissociative symptoms, somatic symptoms, Stockholm syndrome, and the loss of personal
identity are some of the consequences. Prostituted women have a mortality rate 40 times higher than the national
average.
F. Isolation – Once in prostitution girls are isolated. Effectively reaching out to them presents a monumental
challenge.
1. Loss of Personal Identity – First of all they have no framework to understand they are victims; their whole identity
has been reformed. Of course no girl grows up dreaming of being a prostitute, but when abuse occurs in the home her
worldview is formed around that abuse. She begins to sexualize her pain. Appropriate sexual boundaries are no longer
perceived. She begins to feel her worth is related to what she can offer sexually.
2. Lack of trust – Trust has been severely broken. Many have had buyers who were leaders in the church, police
officers, or “seemingly” good family men. Her experience has formed a polluted view of men, of those who claim to be
religious, or those who uphold the law. Total disillusionment has incapacitated her from hoping in a savior. Despair and
hopelessness are the result.
3. Being Controlled – 90% of women and young girls in prostitution are under the control of a pimp. The relationship
that is formed is one of traumatic bonding or Stockholm syndrome. The physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse
that occurs enslave girls to a form of coercive control exerted by their pimp. Pimps isolate these girls from any kind of
support structure and establish themselves as the sole source of friendship, family, provision, and protection. Girls are
frequently moved form location to location to keep them disoriented. Girls that are trafficked from other countries often
don’t speak the language in the country they are trafficked to and are unable to communicate the desperation of their
situation even if they wanted to.
4. Result – Studies taken show that as many as 90% of women in prostitution want to escape, but feel they can’t.
G. The difficulty of seeing the injustice – During the trans-Atlantic slave trade slaves were sold on auction blocks,
they were limited in number, they were expensive (approximately $30,000-40,000), and travel was difficult. Today, there
is no legal ownership, there is clandestine transportation and purchase, there is an unlimited amount of people to be
trafficked, they are cheap (average slave $90), and travel is easy. The result is another person is being sold every
8 seconds, another child being sold every 30 seconds. This may be the most insidious form of slavery we have ever
seen. The women and children in our world today have been caught in the vortex of man’s pursuit of pleasure and power.
III. HAVING COMPASSION
“…he had compassion.” – Luke 10:33
A. Courageous compassion – We need to become a people of courageous compassion. “Courage is not simply one of
the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the highest reality. A chastity or honesty or
mercy which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful till it became
risky” – C.S. Lewis.
B. Compassion vs. Pity – When Jesus said that the Samaritan “had compassion,” he was forming an indictment
against the Scribe and the Pharisee. This phrase reveals the vast disparity between the religious men and the Good
Samaritan. It’s possible that the religious men felt pity, but this is not the same thing as compassion. Pity is feeling sorry
for a person; compassion is feeling the pain of that person.
C. Self-Centeredness – The challenge the Scribe and the Pharisee had to overcome was self-centeredness.
Self-centeredness is the biggest hindrance to compassion. The general sentiment of the religious was, “what will it cost
me?”
I have people say to me all the time, “I couldn’t handle doing what you’re doing. Those things are too intense for me.”
What they’re really saying is, “my self preserving orientation is preventing me from helping a person who is being
systematically brutalized.” This is an indication of our preference for comfort over compassion, “My comfort is more
important than your plight.” We are in essence walking past the needy person on the other side of the road. The reality
is, I couldn’t do what I am doing either, but Christ invites me to become vulnerable and allow Him to touch my heart with
the things that touch His heart.
D. True Compassion – In contrast to the Priest and the Levite, the Good Samaritan opened his heart to allow the
pain of this person’s plight to touch him.
Webster’s definition of Compassion – Literally, suffering with another; a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or
misfortunes of another; pity; commiseration.
Strong’s Greek Lexicon – 4697. splagchnizomai splangkh-nid'-zom-ahee middle voice from 4698; to have the bowels
yearn, i.e. (figuratively) feel sympathy, to pity:--have (be moved with) compassion.
Compassion is a gut wrenching pain that identifies with the suffering of others.
“Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak,
vulnerable, lonely, and broken.” – Henri Nouwen
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn.” In context it is evident that he is talking about a vulnerable disposition that
allows one to feel the pain of all that is wrong in this world. In other words, “Blessed are those who are pained by the
injustices in society.” This “mourning” will ultimately lead to the “hungering for righteousness,” or “hungering for wrong
things to be made right in society.”
E. Three motivations for compassion:
1. To be like Jesus
2. To be with Jesus
3. To do what Jesus does
F. Motivation #1: To be like Jesus – Jesus is full of compassion.
“Jesus shows a distinct preference for those who are marginal in society – the poor, the sick, and the sinners.” – Nouwen
The Lord is gracious (to show favor or pity) and full of compassion (to love deeply), slow to anger and great in mercy (loyal).
– Ps. 145:8-9
1. Jesus as the Good Samaritan – The main reason to have compassion for the needy is because Jesus had
compassion on us. The parable of the Good Samaritan sets forth the kind of love with which Jesus loved us. We were
the poor distressed traveler…Satan, our enemy, had ambushed us, beaten us, and robbed us, leaving us for dead.
We were by nature dead in our sins, without strength, and utterly unable to help ourselves.
The law of Moses, like the priest and Levite, looks upon us, but has no compassion on us, gives us no relief, passes by
on the other side, as having neither pity nor power to help us; but then comes the blessed Jesus, that good Samaritan,
He has compassion on us, He binds up our bleeding wounds, and pours in, not oil and wine, but that which is infinitely
more precious, his own blood.
Jesus took ownership of us and He calls us to do the same for others. We are empowered to do this when we see Jesus
as the compassionate one.
2. Verses on Compassion
God is full of compassion (Psa. 78:38, 86:15, 111:4, 112:4, 145:8)
Jesus is moved with compassion because the multitudes are like sheep having no shepherd (Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34)
Jesus is moved with compassion for the sick (Matt. 14:14; Mark 1:41)
Jesus is moved with compassion for the blind (Matt. 20:34)
Jesus is moved with compassion for the hungry (Matt. 15:32; Mark 8:2)
Jesus has compassion on the demon possessed (Mark 5:19)
Jesus has compassion on a widow whose only son died (Lk. 7:13)
The Father has compassion on the prodigal son (Luke 15:20)
Jesus weeps over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41)
Jesus wept with Mary of Bethany over the death of Lazarus (John 11:35)
3. Christ centered compassion – Christ centered compassion is critical to sustaining a life of service to the poor and
oppressed. If it begins with the needy we get into humanism, which exalts man and man’s preferences above God. If I
am doing heroic acts of service for others without a vibrant connectivity to God, I can easily become angry and
disillusioned with others who aren’t as “caring” as me and ultimately imagine that I care more than God does. True
compassion is wrought out of a deep brokenness over the plight of man, and a burning passion to apply God’s love to
those in need. Our three motivations for having compassion for the needy should be: to be like God, to be with God,
and to do what God does.
G. Motivation #2: To be with Jesus – Compassion will lead you to the places where God hangs out – among the poor,
the oppressed, and the brokenhearted (hurting). Weeping word.
"The Weeping Room"
By Jennifer Miller
One day as I was in prayer the Lord began to open up my eyes to a spiritual encounter. I saw myself being taken up to
heaven. Before me I saw a huge house with many rooms. I knew instantly that this was the 'Father's House'. I could feel
the love of the father drawing me in, so I began to run as fast as I could to enter the house. As I entered, the Lord walked
with me through many rooms, each one packed with spiritual meaning.
He quietly invited me to follow Him into the most beautiful room in the whole house - the intimacy room. It was absolutely
extravagant and beautiful. Upon entering the room, I was overwhelmed with love and wanted to stay there forever. In the
Spirit I could hear other people (other believers) in all the different rooms of the house. Some were studying books in the
library; others were becoming intoxicated in the spiritual wine cellar. I was somewhat surprised that everyone wasn't in
the intimacy room since it was the most beautiful room in the whole house.
The Weeping Room
As I was admiring this intimacy chamber, I noticed a little wooden hatch door on the floor adjacent to the bed. It seemed
really odd to me, because it wasn't fancy and hardly seemed to fit with the rest of the room. I asked the Lord why it was
there, and He told me that it led down to another room in the house. I asked Him why He would put this door so close to
the most beautiful thing in the whole room, the bed. He responded, "I keep it here, because down there is where I spend
most of my time". Instantly my curiosity was stirred so I asked what was down there. He said it was called the "Weeping Room".
Although it hardly sounded like a room I wanted to be in, there was a cry in my heart that said that if that is where the
Lord spends His time, then that is where I want to go. I asked Him if I could go down there with Him, and He responded
"Very few will choose to go down there, it's not extravagant like this room, it's lonely, it's not comfortable, and you have
to get very low to fit through the door." I told Him that I didn't care what the conditions would be like; I just really wanted
to be wherever He was.
So we opened the little hatch door and began to slowly climb down a dark staircase until we came upon the tiny room.
I had to get on my knees to fit through the door because it was so small. As we entered the room it was very simple. All it
consisted of was a small wooden chair. One of the walls had a small window in it. The Lord took His seat on the chair
and turned His face to look out the window. Instantly I became aware of why this room was called the weeping room.
You Could Hear Every Cry
As you looked out the window - you could see and hear every single cry coming from people on the earth. You could see
every single act of injustice all at the same time. Every starving child crying out to God, every woman being raped, every
moan of the rejected ... you could hear every prayer, every cry all at the same time. The Lord sat in His chair and
watched and heard it all.
At once I was overwhelmed with intercession and began to weep. I wept for hours. I wept for those who were hurting, but
even more - I was undone by this beautiful King who would choose to spend His time in this place; This King who paid
such attention to every cry and who was so full of compassion. As I sat and wept with the Lord, I began to 'feel' His heart-
and all my selfish ambition began to fade away
H. Motivation #3: To do what Jesus does – Throughout the gospels we’re told that Jesus was moved with compassion
just prior to performing a great miracle (Matt. 14:14, 20:34, 15:32; Mark 1:41, 8:2, 5:19; Lk. 7:13). Compassion is the key
that unlocks the anointing.
IV. TAKING ACTION
“So he went to him...” – Lk. 10:34
A. We need to become people of resolute action – The final demonstration of authentic love shown by the Good
Samaritan was to go to the one. In contrast the religious chose to ignore the plight of the one.
B. Exposing Complacency – Have you ever wondered why Jesus did some of His miracles on the Sabbath? Take the
man healed at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-15) for example. Here is a man who has lied for 38 years with his infirmity,
totally unable to help himself, and when Jesus heals him, the religious get in an uproar because he did it on the Sabbath.
I think Jesus was pointing His finger at a religious system and structure that would allow someone to lie there for 38 years
without helping him.
C. The Shock of God – God is shocked at this kind of stuff. The only place in scripture where God is astonished is in
Isaiah 59. It doesn’t say He’s astonished because of the injustice, but because no one is doing anything about it.
D. God’s heart for the sexually broken and exploited – This is revealed throughout scripture in the lives of Rahab,
Gomer, Mary Magdalene, and the Samaritan woman.
“I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your brides when they commit adultery; for the men
themselves go apart with the harlots, and offer sacrifices with a ritual harlot. Therefore people who do not understand
will be trampled.” – Hos. 4:14
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me
to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”
– Isa. 61:1-2
“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed
go free, and that you break every yoke?” – Isa. 58:6
E. Jesus’ invitation into friendship – In the hour of Jesus’ greatest crisis He called His closest friends to pray with Him
(Lk. 22:39-46). His disciples, however, fell asleep during an hour that called for intercession. This is where much of the
church is at today. Jesus called the apathy related to prayers for justice a “fainting spirit” (Lk. 18:1). We are in a time
of crisis that demands intercession and Jesus is calling for His friends to join Him in prayer.
F. Courage – In I Samuel 30, David was confronted with the reality of ALL the women and children being taken
captive by the Amalekites. In this hour of crisis David goes before the Lord, and asks, “Shall I pursue?”
Or like in Hosea’s day, is God saying, “Buy her back!”?
G. Final Exhortation –
1. Dream by IHOP Intercessor – I was in Las Vegas with a group from IHOP on a Ministry Trip (The dream didn’t
specifically say what we were there for). So we all were under a tent that we built and I remember that we were in the
median of the road where cars on both sides were going opposite ways. On one side there were girls lined up all along
the road. This side of the road had such a gloom to it and I had such a sick feeling in my stomach the whole dream.
I was sitting in a chair where our stuff was set up and I saw a girl with tears in her eyes kind of wandering along the road,
she was walking in the middle of the road so I went up to her but I didn’t say anything and she looked at me and said,
“I am sick of being dirty I didn’t make this choice, women walk by me and spit on me and I used to be one of them.” Then
She said, “everyone considers me dirty and they think I chose to be a whore, but I was made one out of force.” I
remember she was dirty and not pretty but not because of her features but because of her abuse and lack of care. She
had a paper in her hand that she held with great care. There was writing on it but I couldn’t see what it said.
Then I looked to my right and a truck was coming, a dark grey old truck with a cage in the back on the bed of the truck.
A really small black woman was driving the truck and stopped it on the street where all the women were. She got out and
opened the back cage up and about eight girls under the age of fifteen came out. The little woman told the girls “look
lively, look lively,” but as they walked out they were very small and unbecoming they had dark garments on and tears in
their eyes. I looked at the first girl and as I did Benji walked up. She looked at him and for the first time there was hope
in here eyes. As I looked at Benji I began to cry and said “we can’t do a thing, what they do is legal, we can’t help them,
we can’t help them, everything they do is legal.” Then I went and sat down weeping in my chair, but Benji stayed.
The girl began to walk up to him but one of the other girls grabbed her and said “Elizabeth stop you’ll get in trouble!” But
she pulled away and went to Benji, handing him a paper with writing in red that read, “HELP ME!” Then Benji shouted to
the little black lady who was in charge and said “How much?” I can’t remember the price but he paid her and took Elizabeth
(I looked up Elizabeth and it means God is my oath) back to our tent and made someone take her in a cab. The next
thing I knew we were at IHOP. Benji told Elizabeth that her trust had been scourged but this would be her sanctuary and
she was safe now. Her eyes were dark, but in the midst of her dark broken eyes I could now see a glimmer of hope.
2. Hitting Home – Just this week there was a man here in Kansas City who pled guilty to charges of child sex
trafficking. Here is a quote from the ads he placed on Craig’s list to sell the girls, "'Looking for a playmate ;-) 18; Hi guys
new in the area (visiting) and would love to meet a guy to have fun with. Its me Kelly and my girlfriend Beth...We will leave
you with a smile on your face. ;-) P.S. were both cheerleaders.'” Interesting Note, I typed in “child sex trafficking” on
Friday, and this article popped up that was posted on Thursday. The Lord is trying to get our attention. There are young
women and children out there and we need to go get them. The I-35 has been called a “pipeline” for trafficking victims.
One of the things I didn’t tell you on the front end is that all the girls that were rescued in the raid here in Kansas City,
were all picked up by traffickers the next day. The proper infrastructure is not set up to house and protect these girls.
3. Beginning with the “one” – With such a huge issue like this it’s easy to get overwhelmed, but like the Good
Samaritan, starting with the “one” is a good place to begin. Mother Theresa said, “If I hadn’t picked up the one, I never
would have picked up the 40,000.”
4. Our actions will determine whether we are people of pity or people of compassion. No one person can do
everything, but everyone can do something. Mike prophesied at the One Thing, “Help is Coming!” IHOP you are the
help. Remember the words of Jesus after telling the story of the Good Samaritan, he said, “you go and do likewise.”
Please help us fight this injustice.