Text: Ephesians 4: 29 – 32 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. “
John 15 : 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. “
Colossians 3: 12 – 14 “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
Theme: You can count on me like 1,2,3…
Introduction
- Bruno Mars sings a song called “You can count on me” [e]
- In this song, he mentions a few scenarios
- He says that if you are stuck in the middle of the sea, he will sail the world to find you [e]
- He also says that if you are lost and in the dark, he will be like a light to guide you [e]
- Let me ask you a question this morning…if any of your brothers or sisters from the church needed you, will they be able to count on you? [e]
- I was watching a Youtube video some time back where a few young people decided to conduct an experiment to see if people really care…
- One of them pretended to collapse on the side of a busy street to see if anyone will help him. [e]
- He lay on that sidewalk for about 10 minutes….
- People passed by him [e]
- People stepped over him [e]
- Some side-stepped in order to avoid him [e]
- And only after about 10 minutes, an old lady who was passing by bent down to see if he needed help [e]
- Then they moved the experiment to a more affluent part of the city [e]
- A part of the city where rich, executive type of people worked [e]
- Here he lay on the sidewalk….and no-one helped him [e]
- It actually seemed as if no-one even saw him [e]
- Some times we feel the same…as if no-one even sees us [e]
- We cry out for help, but no-one even wants to hear us [e]
- We need to stop!
- Stop what we are doing!
- Stop where we feel we want to go to in life!
- And start to take notice of others around us!
1. To inherit eternal life
- Ask the person next to you: “Do you want to inherit eternal life?” [e]
- Now ask the person next to you: “Please explain to me how to inherit eternal life?” [e]
- I said this year we are going deep into the Word…
- I am sure your explanation to each about how to inherit eternal life was absolutely correct [e]
- But Jesus added another dimension which we will discuss here this morning:
- Please turn with me to Luke 10 : 25 – 37 “25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He 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’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii 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.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
- We all know the story of the good Samaritan [e]
- But there are parts of this story that must speak to us today….
- Let me enlighten you..
- The question that was put to Jesus was about inheriting eternal life….it had nothing to do with being good to one another [e]
- Eternal life is a fundamental teaching of Christianity [e]
- We all are taught that we must do all we can to attain eternal life [e]
- We would expect Jesus to give a lengthy theological discourse explaining eternal life and how to receive it [e]
- But as always Jesus spoke to the heart, not the head [e]
- He used the parable of the good Samaritan to explain receiving eternal life…
- Lets discuss the characters:
- The traveller…a man travelling fro Jerusalem to Jericho [e]
- This man fell into a situation that he did want to be in [e]
- It was a situation that he never desired nor planned to have [e]
- Many of our brothers and sisters fall into situations that they don’t want to be in [e]
- Most of us who have been through or are going through problems and difficulties have never desired or planned them [e]
- The traveller represents all those from inside and from outside the church who need help [e]
- Then we encounter the priest….someone who was in charge of the temple [e]
- If anyone was in a position to help this man, it was the priest [e]
- The priest had access to funds and resources that had been specifically set aside for this purposes [e]
- But because it would have inconvenienced him, the priest walked on by [e]
- The priest represents you and I….people of the church [e]
- God has called us to help each other out [e] [I am not talking only about financial help]
- God has called the church to be the extension of His love to each other and to the world [e]
- Next we encounter the Levite….someone who was important in the temple [e]
- In fact the Levites were set apart by God for duties of holiness [e]
- They were supposed to be holy [e]
- The Levite in all his holiness…in all his knowledge of the scriptures…walked on by…because stopping to help would have inconvenienced him [e]
- After all he had more important things to take care of…[e]
- Then came the Samaritan….someone who was reviled and hated by all the others [e]
- In those days the Samaritans were the hated of all people [e]
- They were considered low castes and outcasts by the Jews [e]
- No self respecting Jew would associate with a Samiritan [e]
- They were treated with disdain, disgust and disrespect [e]
- The Samaritan had all the right to walk on by [e]
- This man who lay on the side of the road hated and reviled him [e]
- This man who lay on the side of the road had probably said all sorts of nasty things about Samaritans [e]
- If this man had been well, he would have probably spat on the ground if the Samaritan had walked by [e]
- The Samaritan, we could say, had all the right to hate [e]
- He had the right to walk on by [e]
- He had all the right to enjoy the misfortune of this injured man [e]
- But the Bible says he “took pity on him”…he felt sorry for him [e]
- He stopped his journey….he gave the injured man his time [e]
- He treated his wounds with antiseptic and he bandaged them….he took a personal interest in the wellbeing of the hurt [e]
- He gave up his donkey for this man to be moved….he never considered his own comfort and dignity [e]
- He then transported him to a place where he could recover and paid for his care….he gave from his personal, private resources [e]
- He left with the assurance of returning….he wanted to make sure that he who had been hurt recovers completely…he went all the way [e]
- Jesus then asked the question “Who do you think was like a neighbour to the injured man?” [e]
- The answer is simple [e]
- But Jesus’ statement thereafter is powerful and thought-provoking…
- “Go and do likewise!”
- This tell me this morning that Eternal life has so many more dynamics and requirements [e]
- If we cannot count on each other here, how are we going to sing together up there? [e]
Conclusion
- It seems as if we have become insensitive to the needs of others [e]
- We have also fallen into error when we say that taking care of those who need our help is exclusively the responsibility of the church leadership [e]
- Yes, we do take responsibility….we even admit that we could do so much more! [e]
- But God is speaking to us all this morning….can we count on each other?
- Can I count on you?
- Lets purpose in our hearts the following:
• Where I can help, let me help [e]
• Let me not wait for the time to be “right” to help someone in need [e]
• Let me bless without expecting anything in return [e]
• Let me build up and not break down [e]
• When it comes to someone to has made me upset, if I don’t have anything good to say, let me say nothing [e]
• Lets be encouragers [e]
• Lets be builders of lives and relationships [e]
• Let me be the light of Jesus to everyone [e]
