Love Your Neighbor, Tell Your Story
John 9:25 and context
Some titles just make you want to read the book:
They Like Jesus ... Not the Church
It is a book that delves into the attitudes and perceptions of 20-30 year olds about the church (US!!!)
1) The Church is an organized religion with a political agenda.
o More interested in building bigger buildings raising money for the poor
2) The Church is judgmental and negative.
o Why is it that we in the Church focus on the negatives? Why do people on the outside know us only for what we stand against?
o Important to remember that how we express our beliefs is at least as critical as “what” we express.
3) The Church is dominated by males and oppresses females.
4) The Church is homophobic.
o This is said by people who both don’t think homosexuality is wrong, AND they have formed an impression that the church is uncaring, if not downright hostile toward them.
o Sometimes I think they are right.
o Is it possible to communicate tangible love, while maintaining homosexuality is a sin?
5) The Church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong.
6) The Church is full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally.
(I Like Jesus ... Not the Church—Outreach Magazine article by Dan Kimball, based on his book, They like Jesus but Not the Church)
The point today, is NOT to debate whether these views are right or wrong. But I ask you this:
Are these perceptions of the church (+)positive or (-)negative? How does their perception of the church compare with that of the Jews in the early days of the church: [They enjoyed] the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily.
o Notice how little Jesus mentions "hell" as a motivation for people to change? Instead, he offers people . . .
• rivers of living water
• my words are "spirit and life"
• he who feeds on me will live . . .
• His harshest words are for religious people who think they know God, but reject Jesus
It seems to me that many “unchurched” view “us church people” as controlling or angry isolationists. We stick to ourselves, except when we are sticking our nose and egos into other people’s business.
If that is true, that is not a principle of a healthy, growing church.
A healthy church does not bash people into the kingdom. That is not to say we won’t need to be bold, or at times confront. But the consistent Biblical approach to evangelizing—and one that a healthy church needs to follow is the principle (Condition) called:
Condition #2
Need-Oriented Evangelism
Put simply: it is taking care of people’s needs to open the door for them to believe in Jesus.
Warning: We are NOT JUST to “be nice” so they will believe in Jesus. We need to love them from our heart, as Jesus did. And yet, as we love people in real ways, they are often more receptive to hearing how Jesus loves them.
We are going to focus today on the observation that:
Big Idea: We are more effective in reaching people with the good news of Jesus when we love them according to their needs.
We communicate need-oriented evangelism when we are SHOWING the good news of God’s love as well as SHARING it.
(SHOW CARTOON of man teaching “original sin” to babies in a nursery)
o As this cartoon depicts, we often have no clue what the needs of people are, and we push our own agenda. We may be right, but clueless.
This isn’t cool!
One way to employ “need-oriented evangelism” is to “Love Your Neighbor and Tell Your Story.” (L.Y.N.T.Y.S.—thanks to Dr. Troy Bush, a good friend of my former mentor, Doug Kostowski in Miami)
Let’s take a look at a man in the book of John, 9:25
25 He replied . . . One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
His story, and other examples in the book of John will open our eyes to the Biblical example of “LYNTYS!”
Transition: rather than launching into trying to “save souls” by quoting scripture or warning of hell, we can open ears to the good news by learning to first . . .
1. Love Your Neighbor!
It is like reaching out with our hands and saying: “how can I help you?”
The first thing we notice in this man’s story is that LYN
requires us to go!
Now what happened to that man?
o John 9:1 As he went along. . .
It is hard to love your neighbor unless you go out among your neighbors! For years people have talked about how we live in “cocoons”, hunkered down in our homes with TV and internet and private lives, hardly knowing our neighbors next door.
Q: “who is my neighbor?”
A: “the one who needs your help.”
Jesus was always on the go, starting when he left heaven and began his life in the womb of that humble servant Mary.
John says simply in his gospel:
John 1:11 He came to that which was his own . . . 14and made his dwelling among us.
LYN also
requires us to observe people
(9:1 cont’d) he saw a man blind from birth.
Jesus was always one who noticed people—especially those overlooked by others
o Zaccheus up in the tree
o The woman with the “issue of blood” who touched Jesus to be healed
o The lepers
o The children.
He does not just ‘run his life’ independently of others. His life IS noticing those in need.
Is it ours? I am worried that it is not. I recently became aware of a debilitating phenomenon that overcomes men. In fact, I would highly recommend all of our Christian men get rid of their internet and tv and other communication devices—the debilitating phenomenon is called “televisiphonernetting” It’s true! I saw it on TV. The man is just sitting there comatose—wrapped up in the trifecta of TV/internet/telephone, as his father in law tries to get his attention by snapping his fingers . . . doesn’t work.
But the question still stands: Is our daily life marked by noticing the needs of others, especially those outside of Christ?
LYN also means we
meet their need, being creative—and open to God’s means and purposes
They asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me . . .
6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
This man can’t see. Hasn’t since birth. Jesus does the loving act and heals him.
Now, most of us don’t have the power of healing, or the money for Lasik surgery . . . and it probably wouldn’t help a blind man if you invited him over to watch the Jesus film, but we could
o visit for a spell
o drive him around to help him take care of errands
LYN
can be in the least "inconvenient" and at most, costly,
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath . . .We know this man is a sinner.”
Jesus’ own ministry was not trouble free: despised, persecuted, hounded by crowds, helping people long after the sun set, unable to move about freely . . .
John state clearly that from the start:
his own did not receive him. . .14 The Word became flesh
And his love would one day cost his life.
To the question
Q: “who is my neighbor?” [we would need to add to the answer]
A: “the one who needs your help . . . no matter the cost.”
LYN also has
fruit in that it opens the door to joy and eternal life!
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
How do you think Jesus’ healing opened the door to this man’s accepting salvation?
o His healing power and miracles were often used to back up his Word from God with power
o chapter 4: unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe: (Jesus said)
Jesus met needs in many ways, from
• water to wine, 2
• Healing a man, lame for 38 years. "take up your mat and walk!"
• feeding of 5,000: they are hungry
• Even Jesus himself cannot convince people—some turned away from him after he told “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. . . .
What examples can you think of?
More importantly,
What are the needs of our community? How can we meet them and open the door for the good news of Jesus?
• Job market
• House foreclosings
• Abuse?
• Single parents, etc
Each person around us is unique in many ways. How can we meet their needs? Do we even know what they are?
Transition: Now, even if we do identify and meet people’s needs, we must not forget the second part of the equation:
2. Tell Your Story!
The Religious leaders were hounding this poor man, just healed of blindness, as they tried to brand Jesus a blasphemer and sinner. The man replied:
John 9:25 “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
In a certain way, I identify with this man. There are a LOT of things “I don’t know.” I don’t have a great command with scientific facts that support the Biblical world view. I can’t often answer, on the spot, objections by atheists, and Muslims, and agnostics. In fact, sometimes all I feel I can say is “you have a good point there . . . I will need to think about that some more.”
o But instead of letting that keep me from stepping out, let me focus on what I DO know! Who knows how our Lord will use our story.
o And it seems often people will respect Christians when we show our faith in the midst of frailty more than they will a “know it all attitude” and our command of facts
One thing I do know. . . I was blind but now I see!”
What is it you know?
• In the deep south, a traveling salesman, lost in back country, came upon an old man chewing tobacco on his old porch rocker. He peppered the old farmer with many questions about “Do you know where to find this or that,” to which the old man would always reply by spitting out some chaw and saying “Nope.”
o “Well now, no offense, but it appears as though you don’t know much of anything,” he replied in disgust.
“Wellllllllll, I know fer sure I ain’t lost!”
• We may not know much at all, but what we do know can be used by God
• The woman at the well in John 4 didn’t have a mountain of scientific facts or a lot of scripture memorized, but here is what she did:
29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him. . .39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
What is your story?
o Some of us have come to know how wide is the grace of God, covering a lifetime of rebel living and sin
o Some of us can engage quite ably the skeptics who see the world through the eyes of evolution, seeing how it is quite possible to believe in a loving Creator who reached out to the world he made with his unique son, Jesus
o Others of you have experienced the power and presence of God through your intimate prayer life with Him
o Some of you have grown up in a loving family who know and model the love of Jesus—something many in the world do not know
I feel like I am still developing my story. One of the ways I think God uses me
o Is being open to meeting just about anybody, trying to treat them with respect, whether they look different or talk or think differently.
o also in reaching out to people who experience disappointment with God. My own despair sent me searching the scriptures where I discovered a wealth of stories, Psalms, and writings where people like me encountered difficulty in life.
o I drew comfort from those who were like me, and also in the fact that God allowed them to tell their stories in his word—a sign to me that it is normal to go through those times, and yet I
o also began to see a God who controls things in the midst of my uncertainty, and in his time gives us hope, as the good Father that he is.
o Ultimately I discovered a God who was not above us, but who stooped to our level of life, walking, talking, eating, sleeping, and SUFFERING, just like us—in fact perhaps MORE than many of us. A God who loves like that, I am happy to let others know about.
Whatever our story is, however God is shaping and using us: THAT is the story we can tell, and we can let God do the rest.
CONCLUSION
There is a wide open world out there to be reached. What Jesus said during his ministry in Roman times is still true in his ministry through us today: The Fields are Ripe for Harvest”
DO we SEE it? The Harvest?
• Take a ride through the neighborhoods of Monroe.
• Ask God to give you a heart for the lost
• Reach out your hand and meet somebody new
o One man said he joined a “non Christian” mountain biking club instead of one at his church just to get to meet new people
Churches that are “jumping into the harvest” and aren’t waiting around are doing some creative things to address people’s needs
• Some are getting involved with, or hosting, support and recovery groups
• One church in Cincinnati that specializes in “servant evangelism” has come up with many creative methods:
o Wash cars in the winter for free
o Huge umbrellas on rainy days to escort shoppers to their cars
o Clean downtown bathrooms with professional equipment
o One woman came to Christ after the church fed quarters in the downtown parking meters. One man quipped “Her conversion “only cost a quarter!”
• Home repairs for the needy
• M.O.P.S. groups and single moms
• Reading program
• Financial University program for people with Money Problems
One of the simplest ways is for small groups (like we are forming) to plan outreach
• Open chair (symbolic) at meetings
• Praying and planning ways to reach out to their neighbors
o Invite them to the study
o Help with needs of neighbors that they know, etc.
• The genius of this approach is that it doesn’t require a ton of church wide planning. As the group grows stronger and focuses on the needs of the “whole person” both saved and unsaved, they are bound to discover ways to “LYNTYS.”
The possibilities are endless, but one thing they all have in common: Healthy churches make it a priority to
Love your Neighbor--Tell Your Story,
in the name of Jesus!
