(90% of my messages have an accompanying Powerpoint presentation already designed…to receive one jwatts@hueytownbaptist.com)
LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR
Luke 10:25-37
* (SING) “And like a good neighbor…who is there?” Most of us would say or sing “State Farm.” Well this week I did an internet search on “Like a Good Neighbor” and was surprised at what I found. State Farm was the lead link. The second link was titled “State Farm wants to steal your money and send you to jail.” That page told a story about people who had their car stolen and burned. The insurance company refused to pay and charge the owners with fraud. The case is open but it doesn’t look good.
* This week I was in the doctor’s office and saw about 5 minutes of “Little House on the Prairie”. I heard Michael Landon make a case to the banker that “I’m a hard working man, honest, and a good neighbor.”
* We have already read the story which we call “The Good Samaritan”, but it seems to me that we have focused on the wrong thing. Jesus was not so much highlighting the lineage of the Samaritan as much as He was answering the question that He was asked. Let’s revisited this story and pull out some helps.
* The story opens with a very learned person, a religious person, and a church goer, trying to find out exactly what had to be done to go to heaven. To read this story is to understand that he was trying to do “just enough” to get in. While he didn’t want to miss eternity, he certainly didn’t want to do more than just the required. To answer this man’s initial question, Jesus turned to the law which the man knew so well and asked, “What does it say?” His response is admirable and shows a great command of knowledge of the Pentateuch. He quotes two sections of Old Testament writings. First he quotes Deuteronomy 6 and says, “Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” Without taking a breath he then quotes Leviticus 19 and says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” To this, Jesus probably nodded and gave His approval knowing all the while that there was more to come. And there was, but;
* Let’s pause just for a second and consider this “Royal Law” as James calls it. To love God like has just been spoken is to give Him everything we have. Moses finishes this thought for us in Deuteronomy 6. (Read and explain). The first step in being a good neighbor and fulfilling the Royal law is to invite Christ into your life, not as an insurance policy but as a Savior. There is no way to love God without coming through His Son.
* Leviticus 19:18 is a telling verse. (Read) Have you ever truly considered the teachings of Jesus about LOVE? At the end of His earthly ministry he taught, “Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for a friend.” This is piggy backed on the teaching that even the pagans love friends, “Love your enemies.”
* Make no mistake; being a follower of Jesus’ requires attitudes and actions which are foreign to us and impossible without Him as our personal savior and guide.
* Perhaps you have not made this decision in your life. Why not do it now? This second.
* Now we arrive at point of asking the same question which the lawyer ask, “Exactly who is my neighbor and how do I become a good neighbor?” Since we are familiar with the story Jesus told, let’s see what we can learn from it.
* When we see someone in need how do we respond? Candidly, this church, as a whole, responds to dire physical need about as well as any ‘body’ I have been associated with. Most recently, the young family who was burned out of their house has been responded to in a great way. This is Christianity at it best. This is what give the church influence.
* Chuck Colson has observed that when the Communists took over Russian in 1917, they did not make Christianity illegal. Their constitution, in fact, guaranteed freedom of religion. But they did make it illegal for the church to do any "good works." No longer could the church fulfill its historic role in feeding the hungry, educating the children, housing the orphan, or caring for the sick. What was the result? After 70 years, the church was largely irrelevant to the communities in which it dwelt. Take away service and you take away the church’s power, influence, and evangelistic effectiveness. The power of the gospel is found in combining the life-changing message of Jesus with selfless service of His followers.
* For the sake of time, we will not consider the Priest and the Levite in this story. Think about this; they are irrelevant to the gospel because they made a decision to be uninvolved. Their legacy remains that they were too busy to reach down and lift up. The result is this, let’s not waste our time on studying them and learn how to do “nothing.” Instead, let’s consider the action of the Samaritan and learn how to be a good neighbor.
* I’ll offer you three thoughts about being a good neighbor which I read somewhere. We’ll then place the application for these thoughts on us at HBC, paying particular attention to this afternoon’s community meal.
1. OPEN OUR EYES & SEE PEOPLE – Before the Samaritan could help the man in the ditch he had to see him. When Jesus said, “Open your eyes and see the fields” He was talking about people, all kinds of people. How long has it been since we looked and saw someone as God’s creation in need of a personal relationship with Him? As we serve the food, encounter guests, and walk through the crowd, we’ll have three opportunities.
a. Renew Old Friendships. As small a community as we are many will encounter people whom you haven’t seen in a while. They were friends in High School whom you haven’t seen in years and you cannot believe it has been so many years. These are folks you ran with, played with, got in trouble with, grew up with, and yes even went to church with. You think back over the years and wonder how, living in the same town, you became so separated. Take time to renew that friendship. Just sit & talk.
b. Reach Out to Strangers. Additionally, you and I will meet people we do not know. For some, this seems like a frightening proposition, but when they enter the community center, they expect us to be friendly. Let’s introduce ourselves just like we would at any other place. Believe it or not, strangers are not necessarily bad people, just people we have not had the opportunity to meet. In the spirit of Christ, let’s open our eyes.
c. Repair past Relationships. This can be a frightening group of people. Yet, if we approach this opportunity in the way Christ desires, this one area could change our lives. Our Lord is all about relationships. Consider the “one anothers” of Scripture and then apply them to your life. He wants us to be all about one another. Many, if not most, knows of someone with whom we have “gotten crossways.” And instead of working through the problem, we walked away and ignored it and today it is an open wound. My prayer for us is the Spirit of Grace to permeate the HBC family that we will become a people of peace, not peace at any cost—but rather, people who strive for peace in the context of God’s divine will.
2. OPEN OUR HEARTS & CARE FOR PEOPLE – The Samaritan obvious saw the man lying in the ditch and needing help (as did the other two), but He second mile and took it to another level. He had compassion or pity as some translate the word. In fact, one paraphrase says, “He felt very sorry for the man.” Today, we will open our hearts and care for people. No, they may not have been robbed, beaten, and left for dead; at least not visibly. However, you may speak a kind word to someone today who feels robbed by life, beaten up by his circumstances, &/or left alone by a mate or family. You and I do not know what is in the heart of some one. Three types;
a. Fellow Believers – Today some will come who attend other churches. Guess what, that’s okay. If they and their church believe the Bible, we are on the same team. Admittedly, sometimes there gets to be a little rivalry among churches, but let us not be the instigators.
b. Fallen Believers – Next we’ll see and meet people who USED to be a part of the Kingdom’s work but something happened. It could have been something horrific or hardly worth mentioning, but it was big to them and their lives became “derailed”. Paul writes to Timothy about a ship-wrecked faith. A shipwreck is a big deal which most of the time has casualties of some kind. You may well run across someone who says, “You know, I used to attend church.” In just a moment, I would like to offer help for a good way to answer this statement.
* OKAY, so we’ll meet fellow believers, those are the ones who are actively involved in a sister church. We’ll also meet some fallen believers, those are the “used to’s”. And for some reason, they became distracted, disillusioned, and disinterested. There is one more group;
c. Future Believers – It should go without saying that some will come for the food only. In fact, they may ask for “to go” plates because they don’t want to or care to spend a few minutes with us. Maybe they’ve had a bad experience or maybe they have a bad opinion Christians and Christianity. The easy thing to do is to view these folks as disruptive, trouble-makers, and not worth our time. But listen, it is people just like these who Jesus came and died for. By the way, Paul reminds us in Romans that “of such were some of you.” But listen, these people WILL be believers one day. They will either believe here or there, while there is still time or when they are out of time, and the truth is – when they become believers may well depend on us. Our attitudes & interaction could make the difference.
3. OPEN OUR HANDS & SERVE PEOPLE – The Samaritan opened his eyes, his heart, and his hands. He got down into the ditch and did a little “ditch patrol.” Based on His actions, may I suggest our actions?
a. Take a Personal Interest. – For those who come to eat there will be those with their suspicious antennas raised. You see, our community believes they have us figured out. All we want is them and their money. Today is not about putting the collar on a bunch of people and making them feel like they OWE us a visit. Today is about us showing our interest in our friends and neighbors. If someone says to you, “I used to attend church” may I offer that your first response not be, “Well we’d love to have you,” but maybe, “Really? How long ago was that?” Take some honest interest in them. Find out about them. We live in a culture dying from loneliness. Let us take an interest and be a friend.
b. Make a Planned Investment. Have you ever considered what it is you have to invest? Most think of money what the word investment is heard. May I suggest that the greatest possession you can invest today is yourself and your time? I pray that everyone who is physically able will be in place for the entire event tonight. Some of our men begin cooking at 1pm, others will gather at the community center at 4, and even more will come and help serve at 5. Your investment today has the potential to give to this church family a new face in this community. Your investment of love, time, and work, will speak to a community who I think is watching us. Most of us like secure investments. Whatever we invest in the Lord’s work will never return void.
c. Break a Popular Idea. – To the hearers of Jesus’ story it was amazing that a sorry, trashy, no-good Samaritan would do anything good to anyone. The popular notion was that they were the scum of the earth and this “Good Samaritan” broke the mold. Today across our land, all of the pollsters tell us that Christians and Christianity have a bad name. How sad. Jesus loved us so much that He was beaten, spit upon, cursed, crowned with thorns, and nails to a cross. He taught us to love one another as He loved us. He spoke words of hope to the hopeless, compassion to the crushed, help to the helpless, and healing to the hurting, and to think that the people who follow HIM and HIS way have a bad name. Let us change that today. Let us become and be good neighbors. And that doesn’t just mean today.
