The Means Versus The Mission

There are so many organizations, clubs, activities and events we engage in over a lifetime. In the infancy stage of involvement we begin with pure motives in mind. But as time progresses we lose can lose insight of the objective that was the original motivating factor that caused us to engage initially.

Let me explain:

In the summer months after graduating from Jeff Davis H.S., I was enrolled to attend the University of Alabama to go to college. I had planed to room with a close friend from high school named Steve. Steve was killed in a terrible car accident on Bell Road that summer and I ended up going to AUM in the fall. I was determined to be engaged in college life and get the most out of my college experience so I went to Rush to join a Fraternity. Pi Kappa Phi was the fraternity that invited me to pledge, play intramurals football with them and I was initiated and became a brother after fall semester. Out of approximately 45 active fraternity brothers we had a 2.45 average GPA on a 3 scale. 60% percent of our fraternity was pre-med, the other 30 % were pre-law, and I was the runt of the litter majoring in business administration. There were idealism's to strive for in the fraternity. In fact, my church adapted the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and about once a quarter we would all show up at the church I grew up in. The fraternity performed community projects for the good of the community. I was pledge #26 meaning that I joined the fraternity in the infancy stage of the fraternity's charter or conception if you will. My big brother in the fraternity, Ben was my big brother in the fraternity and his member #1 of the fraternity. Our fraternity participated in every intramural sport, we attended and participated in all school activities including watching the collegiate sports and supporting our school, we joined all of the professional fraternities in our majors, we participated in the Student Government Association, and most of our fraternity brothers were in Omicron Delta Kappa which was a scholastic fraternity that represented high marks in grades and overall leadership in campus life. Was there partying in college? sure. But we majored on school and minored more so on the social aspect of the fraternity life.

Its my understanding that 10 or so years after I graduated, the fraternity lost its charter at AUM due to excessive partying and the cumulative GPA fell below the standards of being on probation with the school and the fraternity today is defunct at AUM. Somewhere along the journey, the fraternity lost sight of their mission.

Think for a quick minute of the times for example joining a PTA was for the good of the school and the students and along the journey, politics, election battles and competitiveness and factions and debate became the emphasis of the gathering.

How about families that get behind their children to play sports and bring a sense of community to the families and the kids and the focus becomes greater over winning, bashing the referees, having harsh discussions with coaches about not being fair to let their child or grandchild play or criticizing the players who are children and they listen.

How does this relate to the text we will be reading this morning? How does what you are describing fit into church life this morning? We can do something for so long that we forget why we do the things we do.

You take a young child that was raised in this church all their life, you could ask them why they come to church? We have always come to this church as long as I can remember. Its become habit. I do not know any different. Yes, but why do you come to church? Well, these are my friends. I enjoy our time together, singing together, enjoying Life Groups together. Their kids have grown up with my kids and we go out to eat and play at the ball fields together. Its just a part of our life. Yes, but why do you go to church? My week just doesn’t go well when I do not go to church. I feel a great sense of completeness, an uplifted spirit when I go. To have all my family together on the pew and to share the highlight of Sunday, can I tell you? We all go down to Red’s and eat that Fried Chicken, I have a piece of their homemade pie and drink the Sweet Tea. It’s to die for. Then, the kids go play and we take an hour nap and enjoy the four wheeler, the pond, or the pasture. The whole day is the icing on a cake to a great weekend. But, why do you go to church?

This morning we are studying the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Turn in your Bibles this morning to Luke 10:25-37.

We will read about Jesus having conversation with a lawyer, a Scribe, a leader of the Synagogue who was knowledgeable of the Mosaic law. The lawyer was a leader of the synagogue of Jesus’ time. On this day we look at this morning in God’s word, the Lawyer was confronted with a response to a question that shook everything he understood to this point in religious life.

Luke 10:25-37

Luke 10:25–37 NKJV

25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” 27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” 29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” 37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Prayer

Message

Over the course of months as we have studied the book of Luke intermittently, we realize that the focus of the Physician Luke’s Gospel moves from recording the miracles to emphasizing the message and the mission of Jesus and the Good News. Jesus is attempting in the interactions to penetrate the people that are followers in an understanding of what being a disciple of Christ is really all about. Jesus is training up disciples to understanding that a life in Christ is a changed life.

A Quandary of Confusion VV. 25-29

I would imagine you have heard many sermons on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. And, in most cases, the lawyer, the Jewish Scribe gets a bad rap. A this point in the Bible times , there was not a separation of church and state and the lawyer interpreted the law to apply to needs of the church, but needs of the Jewish community as well. In fulfilling the vocational call as lawyer, He would have been a rabbi that was well versed in the Mosaic law, meaning the first five books of the Torah or our Bible. Furthermore, he would have known not only the Torah, but the Mishnah and the Talmud which were supplemental writings to gain further explanations of interpreting the laws.

On this day, I do not believe He was one that had become so highly irritated with Jesus upsetting the status quo or one that had disturbed him as one teaching a different doctrine. I believe the lawyer’s desire for debate was more innocent than that. Here was a recognized lawyer of the day of the Jewish doctrine and here was one that people had raved over His ability in the things of God. Everyone had been was calling Him “Rabboni”. The lawyer is thinking this under his breath, “let’s just see how good He is.” Let’s see if he can debate with the likes of me. That was the competitive, prideful side working in him.

But there was another variable at work in the life of the Lawyer. The lawyer saw something, heard something, the touch of the Holy Spirit at work that began to make the lawyer question the status quo of his life. I sense that what felt normal in religious life, the status quo had caused him to question his religious beliefs up to this point in his life. The solidarity of his understanding of the law was being shaken.

“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Everyone of us has an innate hunger to live for eternity. People that lived in Bible times wanted nothing less. They as well wanted to know if they would live forever.

Psalms 37:18 “18 The Lord knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever.”

Daniel 12:2 “2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

“I do” is all this lawyer had ever known all his life. I have worked my entire life to gain greater and greater knowledge of the Scriptures. I pray at the various times of the day ascribed by the law. I give my tithe. I attend the temple gatherings, I have attempted to be a good family member, a good neighbor to my fellow Jews that live by me, that attend synagogue with me. I have tried to be a model citizen, but the very fact I am asking you Jesus these questions, something inside of me is causing me to question what I thought I had all the answers to.

The lawyer responded with what we term a works comment. He thought his works, his goodness would gain him eternal life.

Jesus asked Him a Law 101 question from the very first week that He might have gone to someone like Gamaliel that taught Paul as a Pharisee. His first few days in Hebrew school He would have learned the answer to the question Jesus asked.

Luke 10:26 “26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?””

In fact, he would have worn a phylactery and these verses would have been stored in its compartment.

Deuteronomy 6:5 “5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

Leviticus 19:18 “18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

Okay, young man, keep the law and you will live. There was a reason this lawyer pressed on. He knew he had not been able to keep the entirety of the law. He knew how he felt when he failed. He knew he did not have the liberated feeling the other disciples of Jesus received.

And so Jesus replies, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

The Quest for Clarification V. 29-36

Luke 10:29 “29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?””

Justify

δικαιόω dikaióō, dik-ah-yo'-o; to render (i.e. show or regard as) just or innocent:—free, justify(-ier), be righteous.

There was a battle raging inside this lawyer with multiple forces at work. He had his pride at work and the competitiveness of outwitting Jesus was at stake. By the touch of God, a battle of conflict with his former beliefs and what He was sensing in the love of Jesus and the touch of the Holy Spirit was at work and the pull to conform to Jesus was weighing heavy on Him.

Do you find yourself where this lawyer was on this day that he confronted Jesus? For you see this is what is happening in the life of the lawyer. Everything in this lawyer’s life and everything he stood for up until this point is being confronted. He is questioning everything about his life to this point. He is experiencing inner turmoil as to whether he has been on the right course all this time in his thinking about the things of God. His norm, his comfort zone was being destroyed as to everything he thought he understood was God’s desire for his life.

It would have been too easy to stop right there and walk off and never confront the real questions of life to this point, but the burn to find answers was so distinct and defined that he had to press on.

So, the lawyer still attempting to save face by justifying his actions, must surrender and find the answer he is looking for.

“Who is my neighbor?”

Luke 10:30 “30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.”

Jesus is accomplishing a two fold objective in sharing the parable of the Good Samaritan. Firstly, He describes real life of a follower of Jesus Christ. He is teaching that everyone is our neighbor. Listen closely, everyone is not a child of God because everyone has not been adapted into the family. But, everyone is a neighbor of God. He created them. He loves everyone and we are called to love everyone.

Furthermore, Jesus is describing the life of the lawyer that is attempting to justify himself through works. We never measure up. Sin will expose us as naked and we feel robbed of the vitality of life and we walk around as half dead from the guilt unless we meet a redeemer, one to forgive us and give us life a new. Jesus described the lawyer’s very life without the saving knowledge of Jesus in his life.

Jesus is making clear that the Christian life is much more than theological reflection, but the life of a Christian reveals itself in the day in day out real life issues we face. Being a follower of Christ is a move from a book looked at as a curriculum to a life changed by what we read and are directed by the God we love.

The lawyer asked a question that was innocent enough, but deep within our being we all want to live eternally.

The Quintessential of a Christ Follower

So Jesus shared the story of the parable of the Good Samaritan. A Jew was traveling by himself in the 21 mile stretch from Jerusalem to Jericho which is a very dangerous remote stretch. The country is wild, rugged and a rocky pass most of the way. The traveler did not show much wisdom because the place had a reputation for marauders raiding people. Marauders would jump out and ambush you. You would normally travel the region with a caravan. He was beaten, robbed and left for dead.

Many might think the traveler made a poor choice, he deserves what happened to him. How many of us have made poor choices and had to pay the price for our foolishness?

Proverbs 22:3 “3 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished.”

Luke 10:31 “31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.”

We have a man of the cloth that came by who did not give the man the time of day. He undoubtedly had broke out in the morning from Jerusalem to make a preaching engagement and could not allow something of this nature block him from his speaking engagement. He found his worship of higher importance than showing love for another person. There was a religious rule that if he had helped him, he would be unclean for seven days and could not make the religious duties at the temple. The priest was not about to sacrifice his primary work and privilege for the man.

Are you guilty of placing a greater importance on the church and its gathering times and preparation, the study, over the importance of showing the love that we study about in church?

Hosea 6:6 “6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

Matthew 25:41-43 “41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’”

Then we read:

Luke 10:32 “32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.”

The Levite had within his being enough feeling to look upon the man, but he wimped out on helping. We can only assume he was fearful the robbers were still lurking. He felt that if he stopped to help it would come at too great a price. Listen dearly beloved, sharing the love of Jesus with the lost, our neighbors will come with a price.

James 2:14-16 “14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?”

1 John 3:17-18 “17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

The Samaritan the scriptures reveal showed compassion.

Compassion

σπλαγχνίζομαι splanchnízomai, splangkh-nid'-zom-ahee; middle voice from G4698; to have the bowels yearn, i.e. (figuratively) feel sympathy, to pity:—have (be moved with) compassion.

The Samaritan showed a practical expression of love.

The Gospel according to Luke (King James Version) F. The Parable of the Good Samaritan: The Two Supreme Questions of Life, 10:25–37

The good Samaritan gave up his work, time, and energy to help the man. Note what he did. Each step is significant in showing how we are to love our neighbors.

⇒ He went to him: went forth, reached out personally to help.

⇒ He bound up his wounds: eased his pain.

⇒ He poured oil and wine into his wounds: gave of his own goods.

⇒ He set him on his own beast: sacrificed his own comfort.

⇒ He provided rooming for him: provided the basic necessities.

⇒ He took care of him: nursed, looked after him personally.

Note the time, energy, and money involved in this. Showing love to one’s neighbor is putting love into action; and putting love into action requires time, energy, and money. Love is not just an idea or a feeling toward God. It is practical acts and commitment to help any who need help.

To love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your mind, with all of your soul and strength is a personal love. It is not abstract love. We see that example all through the Word of God to love as Jesus loved. Love is an action word, we can see it, we can sense it, we can feel when love is shown to us. It is an expression. If someone says they love you, but they have never lifted a hand for you, they have never shown any acts of kindness, or even told you that they love you, you question the authenticity of that love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8 “1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.”

Dearly beloved, there are times we can not do everything, but we can do something. The Samaritan began with the most basic of need. He cleaned his wounds, bound him up, got him to a place to continue the work. In other words, the Samaritan still had an agenda, he had a place he must go, but he came back to finish the work. The Lord asks us to do what we can do and what we are capable of doing in sharing the love of Christ with a lost world.

In closing, we discussed in our Wednesday Night Business Meeting the planning of another block party event at the Rolling Hills Community. The Lord’s hand in what we are doing began in the Deacon’s Meeting. Without it being said, one shared that we may need to do something different to reach the culture we have been coming in contact with at Rolling Hills. For you see, Rolling Hills has an approximate 70% African American population. Another and then another suggested that we team with Dwayne Rembert and the Flatline Chisholm Church to reach this community. The idea was God sent. Our church voted and embraced that plan.

Dwayne Rembert is an African American Pastor that the Lord has used greatly and he is doing a great work for the kingdom. He has a powerful testimony. I called Dwayne and shared what our church had decided. He was on board. We had a very frank conversation bathed in grace and he shared “the world always tries to use the race card and create divisiveness, but let’s be honest, it is a different culture.” I want to come and assist you in being able to reach that different culture group. But he made this comment, “I want to come and determine from meeting with your church if the church is ready for it.”

What is he talking about before he ever gets here on May 7th? What we just studied. Showing love, compassion comes with a price, it takes time, we will be inconvenienced. We will need to take some families to eat, or invite them to your home to eat. And I ask you, are you doing that now? When we have a new person come into the fold, do you reach out to them and bring them in by showing love. I shared at Mrs. Robbie’s funeral that I knew no family that had embraced guests like Theo & Robbie when people attended.

We will be called to disciple young people and teach them the things of God. And so, I ask you, are you ready for that before he ever comes. Are you ready to express love for your neighbor?

Acts 20:35 “35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ””

Galatians 6:2 “2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Let’s pray.