TEXT: Luke 10:25-37
TITLE: CHOOSING TO GIVE!
SERIES: The Giving church!
TOPIC: Stewardship
OCCASION: Burnside Christian Church, June 29, 2008
PROP.: The Good Samaritan gave his time, talents, money to a stranger because he first gave his heart!
INTRODUCTION: This month, our focus has been drawn towards the topic of becoming the…what? I want to hear you say it. What are we working at becoming? The giving church! That’s right! I want to remind you that this Sunday and next, there is a table out in the fellowship hall marked as the ‘giving table’. You can bring your clothes, canned goods, and money to help people in our surrounding communities. Won’t you choose to give? In fact, that is the title of this morning’s message: CHOOSING TO GIVE!
Our text today comes to us from Luke‘s gospel; the tenth chapter starting in verse 25.
The story I am about to read is a familiar one. But I pray that it’s familiarity will not cause us to write off the story but instead that we will pick up on the how revolutionary this message is.
As we read our text, I will pause from time to time to comment and highlight certain important background information that is important to fully understand the historical context of the scripture this morning…
Luke 10...are you there? Good. Let’s read.
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" -- This is the question of the month! This sounds very familiar doesn’t it? This is the EXACT question asked of Jesus by the rich young ruler that we studied last week!
26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" Again, this expert in the law is a Pharisee…an expert at following the Law to the EXACT letter! No room for failure! He knew the law…he had it memorized. He carried around scripture in little boxes around his wrists to constantly remind him.
27He answered: " ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]"
28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
This expert in the law knew many things, but did he not know who he was talking to? He was talking to the master mind and heart reader! Jesus knew exactly the meaning behind this question.
Perhaps there was a family issue where this expert in the law was not showing love or kindness to someone he was related to? Whatever the situation, this expert in the law was having relationship issues with someone or some race…
And so Jesus answers this man’s question of by telling him a story.
30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
I. He gave his heart!
Did you notice something? It fits perfectly with what you’ve all ready been told this month. Giving ALWAYS starts with your heart!
A. The real difference between the Samaritan and the other two
--You see, the Priest, the Levite and the Samaritan had a lot in common concerning this man who was beaten and left for dead.
All three traveled down the same road
All three saw the man
But the Samaritan was the only one who had compassion!
Jesus’ story is once again revolutionary. You remember how much hatred there is between Jews and Samaritans. The Jews hated the Samaritans because the Jews saw themselves as pure descendants of Abraham, while the Samaritans were a mixed race produced when Jews from the Northern Kingdom intermarried with other peoples after Israel’s exile.
When the Samaritan looked at this Jewish man who had been beaten, he didn’t see race, or color or a social status. He saw a human in need.
B. The difference between Christians and the rest of the world
Giving your heart to those in need is what separates Christians from the rest of the world!
The Bible tells us how the world will know we are a follower of Christ…
By the size of our Bible?
By how many songs we can sing?
By how long we’ve been attending church?
BY OUR LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jesus Himself said: “They will know we are Christians by our love.”
I’ve met a lot of Christians who didn’t show a lot of love. Are you one of those?
I would like to believe that we are beyond racism today in our culture. But I know we’re not. I have racists in my own family. Let me just say this so it’s clear this morning: It is absolutely ridiculous and wrong to ‘hate’ someone based on the color of their skin. The color of your skin is something you have NO control over! And furthermore, in heaven there won’t be different colors…there won’t be different languages spoken…we won’t be known as White…or black…or Mexican…or Indian…or whatever…we are going to simply be known as Children of the King! There won’t be different languages spoken…there won’t be English, Spanish, Burmese, Chinese or even pig latin….there will be one language spoken - PRAISE TO GOD!
This Samaritan man, chose to give his heart to this man who was in need!
Giving is always a choice…let’s see what else this man chose to give…
34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
II. He gave his talents (verse 34)
A. Dr. Samaritan
The Samaritan was able to care for wounds. He had oil and wine and bandages with him. Was this Samaritan a doctor by trade? We don’t know. But we do know that he had doctor’s tools with him! Bandages, oil and wine.
And furthermore, we know that he was willing to use his talents where he could, when he could.
B. Burnside’s got talent!
I am constantly amazed by you here at Burnside Christian Church. This church has so many different people who are blessed with so many different abilities that it just simply amazes me! And the fact that you use your talents to serve others amazes me more!
I want to give just a few examples if I may this morning:
Luke Thomas & Albert Harrison- spent hours working with the soundboard and ordering just the right equipment so that we can function even better here on a Sunday morning. Luke knows electronics and computers better than I ever will. And he is willing to use it for the Lord’s service!
Craft ladies - several ladies in our church are very crafty individuals! BCC has some of the most amazing crafts during VBS and it’s because we have creative ladies who come up with quality crafts!
Carpenters - This past week, I asked David Prior, Shane Moore, Dusty Grotts and Brigham Dion if they would be willing to help lay some wood laminate flooring at my house. Each one showed up after working a full day and help me lay wood laminate flooring!
Do you see how this Samaritan man CHOSE TO GIVE HIS TALENTS?
Let’s continue reading…verse 35
35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ’Look after him,’ he said, ’and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
III. He gave his money!
A. Two extremes in giving
--The widow Mark 12:42ff
Had little…but gave it all!
--The rich young ruler.
Had much…but gave none!
B. The difference between these two:
With one, Money was their master…while the other Mastered their money!
ILLUSTRATION: I’m stealing this illustration from Andy Stanley, because Andy Stanley masterfully illustrates how God would desire me to use money!!!!
Take ten $1 bills. Here’s how God would desire for money to be used.
First things first. God gets what He deserves! He only wants 1 of these! Only one? Yeah. Only one! “But God, You’ve been so good to me. Are you sure all you require of me is one of these?” “yep.”
Wow…So I still have 9 of these left for me? Not exactly. Our government will come in and take their share.
ILLUSTRATION: Can I just say something else about tithing if I may? When you go out to a sit down restaurant, and after your meal, you get the bill. You then will leave a tip. What percentage is the standard tip these days? 15%. 20% if you’re generous. Do you find it odd that we give more of a percentage to our waitress who fills our glass and brings our food than we do to God who gave us Jesus and offers LIFE THAT WILL LAST FOREVER?
The Samaritan chose to give his money!
Also…
IV. He gave his time
It is a GIVEN. Whenever you choose to give, it’s going to take your time! Is your schedule so tight that if someone was in need and needed your help that you couldn’t give because you are so consumed with so many other things?
A. The wrong way to manage time…
--We try to cram more into our schedules than merely choosing the best! We are led to believe that if we don’t have anything on the calendar for that particular night that we are free.
B. The right way to manage your time…
Choose the best! Notice what Luke records immediately following this story -- the story of Mary and Martha. Martha chose to work in the kitchen while Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet. Which was a better use of time? Jesus says that Mary chose what was better!!!
It’s ok to say no to good things…as long as you say YES to the best things!
CHOOSE TO GIVE YOUR TIME!
Conclusion: As we conclude this month’s topic on giving, I want to do so by concluding with our text:
Let’s finish up our text this morning…verse 36...
Jesus asked:
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise
I want to encourage you to follow Jesus’ words: GO AND DO LIKEWISE! When we see someone in need, God help us! Help us to be willing to give time, talent and even our money! Regardless of race and social status, give us hearts that we are willing to give!
Be a neighbor to someone in need!
Sherry Bliss gave a devotional on our missions trip and she reminded me of this thought: Jesus never asks us to do what He Himself was not willing to do. Jesus gave His all!
Jesus gave everything He had while living on this earth to show us how to give!
We come now to our time of decision. What are you going to do as a result of this message? How is your life going to be different? Will you look for more opportunities to give of your time, talents and money?
May I remind you that whatever your decision is about CHOOSING TO GIVE; Giving your heart MUST be the first step in giving! --If Jesus has your heart, chances are, He also has your money, your time and your talents!
WHY DID THIS Samaritan man choose to give his time, talents and money to this Jewish man? Because God had his heart! Can you say the same?
GIVE JESUS YOUR HEART!!!!!!!!!!!!
