Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
Good morning and welcome back!
This morning if you would start turning in your Bibles to .
In just a moment we are going to be looking at and finishing our series on neighbors.
And this morning we are going to be looking at the question, when should I be a good neighbor?
And that may seem like somewhat of a silly question but the reality is, there are times when we just don’t like being “neighborly.”
Maybe we’ve had a bad day or maybe we don’t feel well and we just don’t feel like being nice.
I’m sure everybody has had those days when they just didn’t feel like being neighborly.
And it is those days when we tend to fake it a bit.
We put on a fake smile and pretend that we are so happy, but deep down we are just not feeling it.
Or, we have that one neighbor who is so annoying that we go out of our way to avoid them.
We see them out of the corner of our eye in Walmart and we head down the other aisle.
Or we see them coming out of their house and we pretend we don’t see them and hurry back inside.
Or the whole time we are interacting with them the only thing we can think about is how we wished they would go away.
Or, we have that neighbor who isn’t very neighborly themselves.
They are rude, mean, and just plain difficult to get along with so we just try to stay away from them.
And I know that all of us at one time or another have felt this way, but if we are going to be honest this morning, is that really okay?
Should we be basing our behavior or how other people act?
After all, we can’t control other people and their behavior.
I am reminded of what says . . .
Proverbs 25:
And even in doing this I am afraid we get it wrong.
We tend to read this and think, “Hmm, I will get my revenge!
I will be nice just to make them miserable!”
Is that really being a good neighbor?
Shouldn’t our motivation to be nice be the Holy Spirit and not a revenge tactic?
The real meaning of this verse is that if we are nice and loving toward other people, the Holy Spirit can use that as a witness.
And that witness also convicts them of their sin, as a natural consequence, thus the burning coals.
They come to the realization of the fact that the way they are living is not in line with God and are confronted with a choice.
That’s the intended purpose.
Jesus also teaches us . . .
Now, that’s some tough stuff, but Jesus goes on . . .
So, that really doesn’t leave us a lot of wiggle room, does it?
And the reason is, we are supposed to be different.
We are not like the world, we are supposed to be the example of the world.
Which brings us to our focus for this morning.
So, if you have found in your Bibles, I’d invite you stand with me as we read.
Again, we are in .
Paul writes . . .
Scripture Focus
Ephesians 5:
Being Wise
So, lets start out by breaking this down a bit.
Paul begins again in verse 15 . . .
Which actually exposes one problem that many people face today.
We have a tendency to do the exact opposite of what Paul says here.
He tells us to be very careful how we live.
Careful how though?
Well, we are told we should be wise and not unwise.
In other words we probably should slow down a bit and think before we act.
Look before we leap.
We live in such a fast paced and busy society that we have grown accustomed to making quick and sometimes snap decisions.
We are in such a rush to do everything that we do no think about things like the consequences of our decisions.
One thing I have heard Bro.
Larry Nichols say many times is with any big decision he gives it at least three days to think about it.
And honestly that is good counsel.
Now, I know there are times when we have to make a fast decision in an emergency but for the most part, most big decisions can wait at least three days.
We need to take time and think about it, take time and ask God about it, and then take time and let God direct us.
And really, this is the key to being wise.
We think that you have to be old to be wise, but the reality is who is older than God?
Who is wiser than God?
No one…So, the key to wisdom is being in tune with God.
Take Solomon for example . . .
2 Chronicles 1:7-
Solomon could have asked God for absolutely anything, but what did he want?
He wanted wisdom.
He wanted to be able to seek God’s counsel and have God’s understanding in matters.
And because of that God honored Solomon with both wisdom and success.
So, if we want to be wise, then we have to be in tune with God.
So, ask yourselves this morning am I in tune with God or do I make snap decisions?
And the other part of wisdom is being careful with how we live.
Not living loosely or dangerously.
Not tempting God, if you will.
Also, it includes being aware of others around us.
And I am not talking about caring about what other people think about you.
Because frankly, the only opinion that matters is God’s.
But, what I am talking about is being aware of how we are representing the Kingdom of God.
And again, it goes back to being in tune with God.
Are we loving?
Are we kind?
Are we longsuffering?
Are we patient?
Do we represent what God’s kingdom is all about?
Because like it or not people are watching us wanting to see how we react to situations, wanting to see if we truly are different.
Wanting to see if all this Christianity stuff is worth buying into.
So, we should live our lives in tune with God, because God will show us what to do.
Something else Paul said was . . .
1 Corinthians 9:19-
And sometimes people criticize Paul for taking this stance, but what he is saying is that when he was with Jews he respected their traditions and when he was with Gentiles he respected their traditions.
He did not hold himself up above anyone else and tried to understand their perspective.
And tried to tie the Gospel back to their everyday life, showing them that Jesus is for everybody.
He didn’t roll a joint with them or belly up at the bar with them, but he also didn’t shy away from them.
He was careful with how he lived so that he ALWAYS accurately reflected the gospel of Jesus Christ to others and we should be doing the same thing.
So, what does this have to do with when we should be a good neighbor?
Make the Most Out of It
The simple answer is ALWAYS.
We should always be a good neighbor.
We should always live a careful and wise life, recognizing opportunity to be a good neighbor.
We should be like State Farm, who’s motto is “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.”
Now, I don’t know how true they are to their jingle, but the idea behind it is that we should always be there and always be a good neighbor to others.
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