4,22 Going to Our Neighborhood

Going to Our Neighborhood

Introduction

Church, we are the present—we are now.

Church, we are the present—we are now. We are the razor’s edge of history. The past is forever. We are all authors and we are writing our story every second of every day. We are mortals engaged.

We are the razor’s edge of history. The past is forever. We are all authors and we are writing our story every second of every day. We are mortals engaged.

One Group has been “GOING TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD” since _____.

This group is known as the Gideons!

GIDEONS

Tom Young, one of our own is an active Gideon and I have asked him to come and share how Gideons are “Going to the Neighborhood”.

Q1- What do Gideon’s do locally?

Q2- How can we, the church, a Great Commission People, come alongside the Gideons?

-Pray—school access, new members

-Give-

You have a testimony of how God used the Gideon ministry in someones life, right here in our church family.

Luke 10:25 KJV 1900

25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

-- Going to Our Neighborhood

Going to Our Neighborhood

The Good Samaritan Story

Vs25-A certain lawyer asked “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”- that was the main focus.

“what is written in the law?”- The way to eternal life is the same in both the OT and NT. It is by grace through faith that works in love.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and your neighbor as yourself.”

Vs29- “wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In other words, how far does my love have to extend?

Every relationship, Jew and Gentile, Jew and Roman, man and woman, free and slave, priest and laity, clean and unclean—every relationship was clearly defined, and the definitions determined HOW and WHEN a person could participate in Jewish worship.

His eternal life could not be based on his works.

“neighbor”=fellow human being

The Parable

He described a normal trip a person would take, seventeen miles from Jerusalem down to Jericho through a mountain pass that fell almost 3,300 feet in elevation. Herod had built New Testament Jericho as his winter palace on the same spot Hasmonean rulers had earlier built their palace. Herod included three palaces, a swimming pool, and a sunken garden. Thus, government officials frequently made the trip from Jerusalem to Jericho as did Jewish religious and political leaders.

Criminals took advantage of the upper class’s need to travel this winding, crooked road through dangerous passes. They hid behind the large rocks above the narrow passes and preyed on travelers. Jesus told the story of one victim without identifying the man by race, occupation, or reason for traveling.

Fellow travelers soon happened on the situation.

-- A priest, the highest of Jewish religious officials.

hurriedly stepped to the other side of the road and continued on his important business, even though rabbinic law expected him to bury any corpse he discovered.

--Similarly,

A Levite, who carried out the more mundane tasks of temple worship and operation.

, passed quickly by. No reason why, except not enough love for this “neighbor.”

--An Unexpected Samaritan, one who in Jewish eyes had little reason to be in Jewish territory and who would be the last person to qualify as a neighbor to be loved. The Samaritan was a member of the half Gentile people who were separated from the Jews by an old national hatred. From the dying man’s ditch, anyone who will offer first aid and emergency assistance qualifies as a loving neighbor. Thus, Jesus uttered shocking words for a Jewish audience grilled in legal interpretations and prejudiced judgments.

The Samaritan had compassion.

—a Greek expression built on the word for a person’s inner parts, the seat of emotions and feelings. It expresses Jesus’ feeling for those in need. It is the feeling and attitude of a master who cancels a servant’s massive debt ().

This is true neighborly love—a love that goes beyond anything society or religious law expects and acts simply because of the extreme need of another.

Thus, the Samaritan took the dying man from the ditch and gave him life under supervised care without cost to the suffering man. The Samaritan representing everything the Jews hated became more than one they should love as a neighbor.

Vs35- this was not a mother caring for her child, nor a friend watching out for a loved one, nor a patriotic national protecting a fellow countryman. This was a despised Samaritan helping what must have been a Jewish victim along the road—to the extent that he even left money for about two months accommodations for a time of recovery.

Love for people, or the lack of it, reveals the quality and effectiveness of the philosophy of ministry that we hold.

Our ministry is a clear indication of our theology.

The Most Important Commandment

Summary of the Most Important Commandment—

Mark 12:28–31 KJV 1900

28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

The Whole Law in One Command

Galatians 5:14 KJV 1900

14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

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Romans 15:2–3 KJV 1900

2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. 3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

The key is to be a neighbor to those in need!

The key is to be a neighbor to those in need!

Life itself shows who the neighbor really is.

The real point is NOT to define the neighbor but to be a neighbor.

If we are to be a “Local” Church who Goes to Our Neighbors, lets looks at some characteristics that must set us apart:

Marks of a Great Commission People

—

Focus

- (14-16)-

Stay focused on the most important things amid the many good things.

Paul was confident that the church was full of goodness, filled with knowledge and able to instruct (admonish) one another.

However, Paul knew that “good” is the greatest enemy of “the best’—so in vs16 he reminds them of the ministry of ministering to the Gentiles.

We must say focused on the “best things”

Awareness

- 16,19-

The second mark of a great commission people is an awareness that introducing the neighborhood to Jesus is an act of worship to God.

Christ-Centeredness

-17-19—we should boast only in Christ—

When we are Christ-centered, our thinking, speaking and living will be radically impacted.

Gospel Centered

-19-20—we must never lose sight of the centrality of the Gospel.

Urgency

- vs20-24— we must be consumed with the gospel reaching those who have never heard the name of Jesus. This is the Apex of “neighbor love”. People are just as lost in McComb as they are in Uganda or Mexico.

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- vs24—Each of us must do our part to see the Mission completed. Every believer is called to leverage their resources and talents for God’s purposes.

-Intentionally invite your neighbors to come

Culture describes who we are.

We must be intentional about developing a culture that reflects the heart of Jesus.

Our culture includes our customs and attitudes. The culture of the church will define the path and the possibility of realizing our vision.

The culture of a church is evidenced by life change.

Changed lives are the greatest evidence of God’s supernatural work in our presence. Examples will be seeing new Christians emerge from our community, Christians making new commitments in their faith walk, and mature Christians growing in application and discipline of their faith.

We CANNOT settle to be a church in the neighborhood, but rather a church that loves in, lives in, works in, and serves our neighborhood.

Share the Message of HOPE with a Hopeless World