Loving God! Loving People! Loving Life!

Transcription

1 Loving God! Loving People! Loving Life! Message Notes America At The Crossroads Part Four Life Church Smyrna Sunday, July 31, :30am Pastor Shell Osbon Luke 10: One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life? 26 Jesus replied, What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it? 27 The man answered, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And, Love your neighbor as yourself. 28 Right! Jesus told him, Do this and you will live! 29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor? (NLT) 1. Take Some Time To Notice Luke 10: Jesus replied with a story: A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. 31 By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. (NLT) Deuteronomy 22:1-4 1 If you see your neighbor s ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don t ignore your responsibility. Take it back to its owner. 2 If its owner does not live nearby or you don t know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it. 3 Do the same if you find your neighbor s donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don t ignore your responsibility. 4 If you see that your neighbor s donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on its feet! (NLT) Proverbs 25:17 Don t visit your neighbors too often or you will wear out your welcome. (NLT) 2. Take Some Time To Care Luke 10:33 Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. (NLT) Proverbs 3:29 Don t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you. (NLT) Leviticus 19:13a Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. (NLT) 3. Take Some Time To Help Luke 10: Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I ll pay you the next time I m here. (NLT) Romans 13:10a Love does no harm to a neighbor... (NKJV) 1 John 3:17 If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. (The Message) Philippians 2:4 Don t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (NLT) The big idea: America is at the crossroads and we must help guide her in the right direction.

2 part four Luke 10: One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life? 26 Jesus replied, What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it? 27 The man answered, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And, Love your neighbor as yourself. (cont d) 1

3 28 Right! Jesus told him, Do this and you will live! 29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor? (NLT) part four 2

4 Missed a message? Click on Resources Download the notes and listen Subscribe to our podcast on itunes Crossroads are where roads intersect; a point at which a vital decision must be made. 3

5 Series Review: Part One - Injustices must be acknowledged and Injustices must be addressed Part Two - We need to pray boldly, We need to speak boldly, We need to live boldly and We need to forgive boldly Part Three - Racism is arrogance, Racism is darkness, Racism is destructive, Racism is serious, We need to see differently, We need to respect differently and We need to love differently. 4

6 The most well-known phrase from the Declaration of Independence is, We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The word neighbor comes from a Greek word which means any person regardless of ethnicity or religion with whom we live or have a chance to meet. Neighbors are the people that God has placed in your life for the purpose of representing Him to them. 5

7 1. Take Some Time To Notice Luke 10: Jesus replied with a story: A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. 6

8 31 By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. (NLT) 31 By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. (NLT) The priest and the temple assistant noticed the man but didn t think they had any responsibility to respond. 7

9 The average American knows less than three of their neighbors well enough to have a conversation about personal dreams, hurts, fears or needs. A cultural phenomena known as cocooning has become the norm for many Americans where they come home, close the garage, lock the doors and do not reappear until it s time to leave the next time. 8

10 ActiveMinds.org says there are 12 concerning signs you should notice in others: 1. Hopelessness, low self-esteem or depression 2. Withdrawal from friends and loved ones 3. Extreme changes in eating or sleeping patterns 4. Anger, rage or craving revenge 5. Feeling tired or exhausted all the time 6. Trouble concentrating or making decisions 7. Restless, irritable, agitated or anxious 8. Regular crying 9. Neglect of personal care 10.Reckless or impulsive behavior 9

11 11. Physical conditions don t respond to medication 12. Thoughts about death or suicide Deuteronomy 22:1-4 1 If you see your neighbor s ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don t ignore your responsibility. Take it back to its owner. 2 If its owner does not live nearby or you don t know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it. (cont d) 10

12 3 Do the same if you find your neighbor s donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don t ignore your responsibility. 4 If you see that your neighbor s donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on its feet! (NLT) We can t ignore the problems and struggles that our neighbors face. 11

13 Proverbs 25:17 Don t visit your neighbors too often or you will wear out your welcome. (NLT) Your neighbors need you to notice them but they don t need you to stalk them or move in with them! 2. Take Some Time To Care 12

14 Luke 10:33 Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. (NLT) Samaritans had hated Jews and Jews hated Samaritans but this man didn t let that stop him from caring for the man in need. Compassion comes from an ecclesiastical Latin word which means to pass moral judgment upon something that is wrong and then to make a conscious decision to do something about it. 13

15 As far as God is concerned, caring about people should have no ethnic, socio-economic, gender, sexual orientation or skin color prohibition or limitation! Frederick Buechner: Compassion is the capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else s skin. 14

16 Proverbs 3:29 Don t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you. (NLT) Your neighbor needs to know that you really do care about them. Leviticus 19:13a Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. (NLT) Caring about your neighbor should positively impact how you treat them. 15

17 3. Take Some Time To Help Luke 10: Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I ll pay you the next time I m here. (NLT) 16

18 This man put aside all of the ethnic hatred that had existed between the Samaritans and the Jews and help this injured man because he needed help. Romans 13:10a Love does no harm to a neighbor... (NKJV) The love that you have for your neighbor should serve as a deterrent from harming them in any way. 17

19 1 John 3:17 If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. (The Message) The way you love your neighbor will be clearly seen through the way you help them. Margaret Gibb: We must move from asking God to take care of the things that are breaking our hearts, to praying about the things that are breaking His heart. 18

20 Philippians 2:4 Don t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (NLT) Helping others will require you to take your focus off your problems alone and see what problems others around you are also facing. America is at the crossroads and we must help guide her in the right direction. the big idea 19

21 Loving God! Loving People! Loving Life! we re all about part four 20