INTRO.- Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). He came to do good, to heal, to soothe hearts and calm fears. He came to help people. His focus was on people. People were His highest priority and should be ours.
ILL.- Robert Henry went to a large discount store one evening to buy a pair of binoculars. As he walked up to the counter he noticed that he was only customer in the area. Behind the counter were two salespersons. One was talking on the phone and refused to acknowledge him. The other was at the end of the counter, unloading merchandise.
Robert became very impatient and walked to the end of the counter where the salesperson was and asked for help. She said, "You got a number?" "I got a what?" asked Robert. "You got a number? You gotta have a number."
Robert replied, "Lady, I’m the only customer in the store! I don’t need a number. Can’t you see how ridiculous this is?" But the lady insisted that Robert take a number before agreeing to wait on him. It was obvious that she was more interested in following certain procedures or rules than helping the customer.
So Robert got a number from the machine. It was number 37. He walked back to the lady. The saleslady looked at her number counter, which revealed the last customer who have been waited on was number 34. She called out, "Number 35...number 36... number 37."
Robert said, "I’m number 37." "May I help you?" asked the lady without cracking a smile. "No," said Robert as he turned and walked away.
COULD YOU BLAME HIM? Any time we are more interested in procedures or rules of order than caring about people we have missed the mission of God!
Jesus often broke all kinds of rules in order to minister to people and demonstrate love to them. Jesus crossed boundaries and broke the law in order to minister to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4).
People need people. We humans need one another. This truth came home to me again last week when my twin sister and I attended our 40th high school class reunion in Webb City, MO, on Friday and Saturday night. Let me tell you about some of my former classmates.
ILL.- Bob Foster and I went to school together for all our 12 years. Bob now has MS. He’s been battling it for 20 years. He went on disability in 1990. Bob told me he has chronic MS, which means he is in constant pain. However, he did not show it at our reunion. Bob has to walk with the help of a cane. He is quite thin and aged looking.
He has a morphine pump either implanted in his side or plastered to his side. I don’t know which. He said it pumps a certain amount of morphine continually into his body to help dull the pain. And that’s all the morphine does. It just dulls the pain.
We talked about several things and he told me how he felt the Lord was helping him to get through life. He talked of praying often and who wouldn’t in his condition? Bob had a smile for everyone at that reunion. I never once heard him complain.
People need people. Bob needed me and I needed Bob. I needed to hear Bob’s story to make me realize how blessed I am in regard to my health and he needed my listening ear and compassion. And Bob, like many others, needs our prayer support.
ILL.- Linda Glassburner lost her husband 15 years ago and has stayed a widow. Couldn’t blame her after hearing her story, but I’m sure that in some ways, she’s lonely. Kathy Barr just lost her husband a year and a half ago. She said after they discovered her husband had pancreatic cancer he lived only three weeks. She was devastated. Still is in some ways. Bless her heart.
ILL.- Chuck Thornberry is retired. I think his health made him retire. He was working for some company that flew him around the world in regard to sales. Chuck is way overweight and looks far older than his 58 years. He told me he had a massive heart attack some years ago and should have never lived through it. He had five bypasses. He said prior to his heart attack he was smoking 4 packs of cigarettes a day and drinking coffee by the gallons, or so it seemed. The stress of life and work got to him and his health broke.
Chuck said to me, "I now know that the Lord has a purpose for my life. I just don’t know what it is." I said something like, "Yes, He does. Keep searching and the Lord will show you."
I needed Chuck and he needed me. I needed to hear his story and he needed to hear concern from me. We are people who need people. WE NEED ONE ANOTHER! We need one another for support, encouragement, help, etc.
PROP.- There was two basic thoughts about needing one another that I want to share.
1- Stop judging
2- Start loving
I. STOP JUDGING
ILL.- Lawrence Spivak, moderator of "Meet the Press" for 30 years, once got a telegram from a viewer just before the show, reading: "Why don’t you smile? I’ll be watching today, so please smile."
Spivak said: "I made what I thought was a very fetching smile. After that program I got another telegram, reading: ‘Don’t do it again. It was better the other way.’"
Some people are never happy with anything or anyone regardless of the changes that are made. Critics often become harshly judgmental which is very dangerous territory.
Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge..." What part of "do not" do you not get? Do not judge others.
Being judgmental toward others is a killer of people and churches. Being judgmental, harsh, and critical toward others kills and destroys. It dampens people’s spirits and does nothing but damage churches. It may well be the number one killer of churches.
One of the games all people play (including Christian people) is called "labeling." We all label people: short, tall, fat, skinny, ugly, handsome, beautiful, dirty, dumb, neat, courteous, rude, crude, etc. Most of the time our labels are not complimentary. They are critical and negative labels. And labeling is nothing more than judging.
Jesus said, "Do not judge or you too will be judged..."
Prov. 11:17 "A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself." Being harshly judgmental is a terrible form of cruelty. Those who dish out cruelty will get it in return.
ILL.- A man was driving his car in Milwaukee some years ago became very angry because a car was following too closely behind him. When he slowed down he noticed that the other car slowed down. If he speeded up the car behind did just the same. In fact, it was keeping exactly the same speed as he had.
Finally, he became so disgusted that he stopped a police officer to make a complaint, only to hear the officer tell him that he had hooked bumpers with a parked car about two blocks back. Yes, it was his own fault, although he had been blaming someone else. JUDGING OTHERS WILL ALWAYS COME BACK AND BITE YOU IN YOUR BUMPER!
James 5:9 "Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door!"
James 4:11-12 "Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you - who are you to judge your neighbor?"
We all need to learn to stop judging people and let God deal with them. The Lord is the only perfect Judge of all people.
Psalm 37:1, 2, 3, 5 "Do not fret because of evil men...for like grass, they will soon wither...trust in the Lord and do good...commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this..."
God will do what? God will take care of evil men in his own way and in his own time. Don’t fret over them and don’t try to change them. We can’t change anybody. We can influence people for good or evil, but we can’t change people. Only the Lord can change people for good.
Sometimes we think we can "fix" certain things in people’s lives, but we can’t. There is really only one "fix it" person and that’s the Lord. If anybody can change someone for good, it’s the Lord. We need to learn to let God deal with people instead of taking matters into our own hands.
Rom. 14:1 "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgments on disputable matters."
We are supposed to accept one another, not pass judgment on one another. Many times we judge others in regard to matters that don’t amount to a hill of beans to God. We tend to make mountains out of molehills or something out of nothing.
ILL.- Preacher John Wesley told of a man he had little respect for because he considered him to be a miser. One day when this man gave only a small gift to a worthy charity, Wesley openly criticized him. After the incident, the man went to Wesley privately and told him he had been living on parsnips and water for several weeks. He explained that before his conversion, he had run up many bills. Now, by skimping on everything and buying nothing for himself he was paying off his creditors one by one. "Christ has made me an honest man," he said, "and so with all these debts to pay, I can give only a few offerings above my tithe. I must settle up with my worldly neighbors and show them what the grace of God can do in the heart of a man who was once dishonest." Wesley then apologized to the man and asked his forgiveness.
Many times we are guilty of judging people and we don’t know all the facts.
ILL.- F.B. Meyer once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. And third, We really don’t know what we would have done in the same circumstances. WE MIGHT WELL HAVE DONE WORSE!
Don’t Judge Too Hard
Pray don’t find fault with a man who limps
Or stumbles along the road,
Unless you have worn the shoes he wears
Or struggled beneath his load.
There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt,
Though hidden away from view,
Or the burden he bears, placed on your back,
Might cause you to stumble, too.
Don’t sneer at the man who is down today,
Unless you have felt the blow
That caused his fall, or felt the shame
That only the fallen know.
You may be strong, but still the blows
That were his, if dealt to you
In the self same way at the self same time,
Might cause you to stagger, too.
Don’t be too harsh with a man who sins,
Or pelt him with words or stones,
Unless you are sure, yea, doubly sure,
That you have not sins of your own.
For you know, perhaps, if the tempter’s voice
Should whisper as soft to you
As it did to him when he went astray
Would cause you to falter, too.
Stop judging others.
II. START LOVING
Rom. 13:8 "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law."
Paul is saying that we should pay our debts. But there is one debt that will never be fully paid and that is the debt of love. It is a debt that we have all our lives, even to our dying day. We should love people to the end; to their end and to the end of our lives.
I hope that on my deathbed I will be able to express my love to my family and to all people, saying, expressing, demonstrating, "I love you."
Considering Jesus, I would say we have not loved too much. Considering His life, His deeds, we have not touched the hem of His garment.
ILL.- I was humbled at my high school class reunion last week. On Saturday night we met for a dinner and a program at a banquet room. The tables seated 7 or 8 people. There were seven people at our table; three couples and one single. That single lady was Joyce Perry.
Joyce was not popular in school. In fact, she seemed to be from a poor family. Quite honestly, I don’t ever remember talking to her when we went to school together, but here we were, sitting next to one another. I wondered if the Lord had arranged that seating.
I felt compelled to talk to her. I visited with Joyce but not nearly long enough or sincerely enough. Joyce has been through more than one marriage and had 17 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren as a result of her blended and extended family. Joyce was dressed humbly. Several of her front teeth were missing. She enjoyed the meal. We exchanged words about the meal and particularly the delicious coconut cream pie we had. She seemed to appreciate it even more than I did. Humble number one.
The hostess of our meeting spoke of purchasing some item for $40. I heard Joyce say, “Who has $40?” Humble number two. I had far more than $40 in my pocket. I felt like giving her several $20 dollar bills at that time, but I knew it would embarrass her.
After the meeting we were given time to socialize. Classmates were roaming around the room visiting with one another. I looked up and one of my fellow classmates named Leonard Hughes (whom I considered no one special in school) came and sat down beside Joyce and visited with her for quite some time. He seemed genuinely interested in her. Humble number three.
After the meeting was over Joyce suddenly disappeared. I wondered what happened to her. Elaine found out and told me. My twin sister’s best friend in school and her husband were also seated at our table. This lady’s husband is a retired school principal in Webb City. His name is Ron Barton. He and his wife, Sharon, are members of the First Baptist Church where mom was a member. I found out that Ron had taken Joyce home. She didn’t have a ride to and from the class reunion. Ron graciously provided the transportation. Humble number four. I never even asked Joyce if she needed a ride.
Matthew 21:37-39 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."
I Cor. 13:13 "And now these things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
Gal. 5:13 "Serve one another in love."
Eph. 5:1-2 "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love..."
Col. 3:14 "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
I Pet. 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
We must love people always. And we must love them for their good, not our good. Jesus loved the woman caught in adultery. He loved her for her good. We often love people for what we can get in return. "I’ll scratch your back if you scratch my back" philosophy. Instead, we need to learn to love people unconditionally. Love them with no conditions, no strings attached. And love them in spite of who they are or how they are or what they are. JESUS DID. And what Jesus did in His body we are to do as His body today!
We all need to love as Jesus did.
CONCLUSION--------------------------------------
ILL.- Preacher Chuck Swindoll told about an anonymous phone call he received. He said, "Her voice was weak and fearful as she spoke over the phone. It was almost midnight and she kept apologizing, but she was so lonely and wanted someone to listen. Her story broke my heart. I actually wept after she said, ‘Goodbye. Thanks for listening.’"
Chuck said, "She wasn’t wanted by her mother and father when she was born. They placed her in a foster home and walked out of her life. She went from home to home, longing for the day when they would come back and want her and love her and accept her. THEY NEVER DID.
"Years passed. She became a teenage rebel. She lashed out at the world and then at herself by attempting suicide. Misery stalked her steps as she waited for the return of her parents. Finally, she decided she would go and find them. She did! Through a chain of events she walked back into their lives, but soon discovered she still wasn’t wanted.
"Her parents allowed her to stay for a while, but then one morning they told her they had plans to start a new life. She wanted to be included in their ‘new’ beginning, but said, ‘I don’t want to be in your way...I’d better leave.’
"To which her dad replied, ‘Okay, I’ll help you pack.’ He hurriedly stuffed a few clothes into a backpack, rolled up a sleeping bag, attached it to the pack, then folded up a $10 bill and put it in her pocket. He then shook her hand, smiled, and waved goodbye.
"Since that dark moment in her life, she’s lived in the hills, walked the streets, slept in alleys, eaten out of garbage cans, and hunted unsuccessfully for work."
Chuck said, "I shall never forget her voice. If hers was the only story it would be tragic enough, but similar situations can be multiplied by the hundreds in California..."
Brothers and sisters, instead of loving people, we usually label them. Instead of caring, we often criticize. Instead of getting close to them, we often stay away from them.
If there are two things that we all need to learn about people, they are: Stop judging them. Start loving them.
