Worship Service

Good morning. So glad to have you here this morning. I have a pastor friend of mine who have a guest Professor preach in his church once and I may have told you the story but the professor pulled him aside before the service and said I've had surgery recently and one of the byproducts of that surgery is this week. I have uncontrollable flatulence.

So my friend meant to tell he intended to tell the choir but he forgot so during sermon time the pastor the guest gets up behind the pulpit and he's sitting a few feet behind him and a chair and behind him is the entire choir and he remembers I forgot to give them a heads up and sold the whole time that this guy breaches silent but loud enough for him in the choir to hear but no one else is this guy's stomach issues related to surgery on and on and on and he's just think at all. I should have told the choir. What are they going to think about? This guy? Share that story to share. I'm a little under the weather this morning now, let me make something clear. I do not have uncontrollable flatulence. But I I'm on a lot of medicine. So if you see me Grimace, or I don't have the same energy. I want to give you that explanation. So you'll know and not think what he's not happier. Something's making him. I'm happy and I'm fine. I'm just a little fatigued because of all the medication. I'm on right now. I have the same. I think my wife had she got over it. Now. I'm taking the medicine to get over at 2. So we're beginning a sermon series this morning about looking and the idea that I want to build this series on is the popular thing a few years ago was what would Jesus do as a little bracelet or a little reminder that it was a good thing to kind of remind yourself to just stop and think what would Jesus do in this situation that I'm in but it occurs to me that maybe wdjd is the question that needs to be asked first. What did Jesus do because the way to answer the question. What would Jesus do is to be people who know what Jesus did so I want us to in the series to go through the gospels and look at passages that that model for us what Jesus called and what he modeled about loving others from our own kids to strangers because loving God and others is first. above everything

think about the implications of that is first about church attendance.

Its first above the Bible. If you read your Bible and study it but you don't love God and you don't love others. Where have you gotten yourself? Its first above giving is first above so many things it is the very first thing that's what Jesus teaches himself and models in scripture. So it's a vital importance for us to say. Okay, then what did Jesus teach and model about loving others? And that's what we want to do throughout this series this morning. I want to look at a parable that Jesus shared parables are simple stories meant to change how The Listener thinks and they're often given in response to a question and we can see this pattern in the parable that I'm going to read to you this morning from Luke. It says just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus teacher. He said what must I do to inherit eternal life. He said to him what is written in the law? What do you read their the answered? You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself. He said to him you have given the right answer do this and you will live but wanting to justify himself. He asked Jesus. Well, who is my neighbor is loving God and loving my neighbor are the essentials and who is my neighbor Jesus replied with a parable? Don't remember parables are designed to challenge to change to turn upside down to twist conventional thinking in order to change our thinking to teach us a lesson. So Jesus says a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers who stripped him beat him and went away leaving him half-dead now by chance a priest was going down that road and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. so likewise a levite when he came to the place and saw him passed by on the other side but uh Samaritan while traveling came near him and when he saw him he was moved with pity he went to him and bandaged his wounds having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal and brought him to an in and took care of him the next day. He took out to daenery gave them to The Innkeeper and said take care of him. And when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend. Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? To which the lawyer answers. He said the one who showed him mercy and Jesus said to him go and do likewise. Now here's the first twist in the parable.

The priest looked away and the levite looked away. That is not what anyone listening to this Parable would have expected. They would have expected the priest and the levite to have been the ones who were representing God who were the good people there religious people that God following people, you know, they're good or bad in. So here comes those two Good People by the common definition in the culture and they cross the street and go to the other side to avoid helping this person. It's kind of like this image.

It's really not anyone with what anyone would have expected. No one expects to see nuns all in a circle light and cigarettes and smoking it up. And when Jesus says, well, here's what happened the priests and Levites saw it. What's your expecting is? The priest says, let me help this person God's word tells us to help those who are needy those were wounded those who are in Imperial or the levite at least and neither of them help. Here's the other twist in this passage a Good Samaritan would have been a difficult to understand concept for all of his listeners because Samaritans were automatically considered no good worthless Traders because of the history of Israel were they stayed in the land and intermarried with foreigners when Israel was in Exile because not everyone is scooped up out of the land and exiled because they just don't get 100% and the ones who stayed when they came back later had intermarried with locals and they said on you you're not pure you're not Jews your Samaritan's and soap use would even avoid walking through Sumerian. So for him to say, here's your this Good Samaritan in the story is a big twist. It's kind of like saying there's this intellectual hillbilly. Right. We just don't think in those terms. Remember Jethro Bodine from the hillbillies. No one would think in terms of Samaritan automatically the good guy in the story the priest and the levite are supposed to be the good guys. The Samaritans supposed to be the bad guy and Jesus turns it all on his head. What did the Samaritan do in this story? Think about it? He looked it says he saw him. He was moved with compassion.

Andy helped it's a fairly simple straightforward thing but it does start with the looking and the seeing the priests and Levites said I don't want anything to do with this. I'm crossing on the other side of the street and the Samaritan looked was moved with compassion and help it cost a Samaritan around $150 to $200 of his own money. It cost him his time in relation to whatever business commitments he had while I was traveling his clothes were probably bloody from helping the wounded man and more money when he returned to pay the Innkeeper because in that day and Keepers weren't always thought of as trustworthy and so he kind of extended himself and said here's money now and I will give you more you take care of him. You take good care of him and I'll pay whatever you tell me you spent to take care of him when I come back now, it's a way of assuring that he would be taking good care of. It's also dangerous one scholar said a Samaritan would be like this scenario of a Samaritan helping someone would be like a Plains Indian in 1875 walking into. City with a scout cowboy on his horse checking into a room over the local Saloon and staying the night to take care of him. It would have been very dangerous for the Samaritan to have help this man shown up at the end and said you take care of him because people would have automatically said I bet the Samaritan did that

No Good Samaritan Let's follow him and see where he goes. Maybe he needs to be left by the roadside half dead and bloody. So he's been himself in such a way that cost him money and time and was even dangerous for him. We look away most often to avoid the cost getting involved is messy and costly and at least that's the primary Temptation for us when you see somebody in dire need and then you're tempted to look down at your feet and just kind of hang out when I hate that that's happening. I sure. Hope somebody help them out. I haven't got time. I mean, I've got a commitment that's I'm a priest or levite on my way back home after being hit the temple serving God. I don't have time to do this sort of thing more tempted to look away. What did Jesus do in his life? Think about what we see in his life when he saw the crowds he had compassion for them. See what he's teaching in this Parable is what he's modeling in his own life. This is the way you love people you see them. You look at them as opposed to looking away as opposed to not looking too long so that you feel obligated or get connected or see what's wrong. Suddenly you realize they need this or they need that you see it throughout the scriptures when he saw the crowds he had compassion on them because they were hassled and helpless like sheep without a Shepherd. You see it again. Jesus looked at him and loved him and Mark 21 or and John when Jesus saw his mother there and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby. He asked his closest friend John to take care of his mother. He sees her and have compassion on her and arranges that care 40 times throughout scripture. You see Jesus that phrase where he looks and has compassion on them. And guess what? He's continuing to do that through his church. In that one Mother Teresa did that was the purity of her calling. She kind of dropped everything else inside. You know, what I'm going to go to Calcutta and everybody that my eyes fall upon who needs something I'm going to care for I'm going to feed or clothe or bathe or find a bed for that night and she spent her whole life trying to follow what Jesus modeled and taught that you look and have compassion on others Tim Tebow. Does that having compassion on another might be as simple as having a party? He has a prom for kids with special needs every year. I think John Lewis follows that same example and does it here locally and compassion can be that same sort of think he didn't look at somebody who has special needs and thought wow, that's hard. Their family boy. I'm glad I don't have me that my family. Okay Honda life flying over here for a photoshoot, or I'm going to a big sports event. I want some point. He looked and he saw and he had compassion and he said what can I do to help and he figured out what he can do and started and his model for this party this prom for special needs kids is duplicated all over the United States in churches again, and again and the Tim Tebow foundation will fund it and local churches and volunteers will come and put on these sorts of parties and have a blast for those who may not ever get that sort of attention and Care anybody seen this recently. I posted on my Facebook yesterday that the ABC show. What Would You Do you ever seen that show where they set up moral dilemmas? Did you know they were right here in Kentucky right down the street and Wilmore That's the IGA. That's Fitch's IGA in Wilmore. That's a scene from the clip. You can see it on my Facebook. They went in they always set up these different dilemmas and see how strangers will respond to somebody leave their purse and have somebody else get along and take it and they wonder if the other person table or say, hey, wait a minute, that's not you know, and some people just and they don't get engaged. They had a teacher buying extra supplies school supplies in this scenario and some bread and milk and eggs and the person interacting with her was part of the plan and said hey why you buying some Portugal spice are always need to buy extra. We have to buy these out of your own money out. There's just no money for extra for kids who have those kind of need and then when she pays her card gets declined and so she gets out what little cash she has and then she said we'll put the eggs in the milk and the bread back. I want to get the stuff for the kids. I can't I don't need all that you that sort of stuff and the question is what will the other people around do now to Wilmore and Methodist at Asbury, which Maurice, the headquarters for that to their great praise and even the show said this nearly every time they did it somebody in the line said hey, let me just pay for that and it was everybody from great big guys in Army and in garage mechanic jumpsuits to sweet little ladies, who's that? I taught and I know what it's like everybody reached out and helped they saw

I looked and I saw what's happening.

She didn't have enough cash now tri-tip is that guy? You know, you just want to just kind of do that instead of getting engaged and everyone got engaged and pay the difference for afterwards. This is on ABC national TV the commentary at the end of the episode was Wilmore is the location of Asbury Theological Seminary and evidently for these Christians their spirituality leave them to be generous to others. Amen a testimony that that's what they see in the life of Christians that they see them being generous to others. This is compassion in action. We do it on a regular basis. Not just nationally not internationally nationally. Not just locally not just Wilmore right here in Hillandale on a regular basis. Those of you who cook in the kitchen those if you could go down your feeling Jesus is wish for you to see and not just see somebody who doesn't have a home or doesn't have a meal but look at them long enough to say we can help them and figure out a way to help and so three Sundays a month we go down and feed and that's a wonderful thing, you know, these promote my kids but these are the photos I have access to but showing compassion to someone might be as simply as playing as simple as playing with someone. This is real in Mexico and the early on when he was younger. You know, he would he would be like, I guess I should be doing more of this but his personality he was drawn to the kids to play with them and I tried to remind him again again. Hey, that's as legit as everything else. We're doing that's as legitimate as swinging a hammer and as he got older he did more of that but I love this photo because I just called him one day just playing with this kid and having a good time. Call Carter 1 year playing with this little girl helping her have fun. Sometimes showing compassion. It might be having a party. It might be paying somebody's bill. It might be playing with a kid that needs somebody to play with them. We're all capable of doing this. So here's the question. Why is Jesus intent on disrupting through this parable about a Good Samaritan and and these bad priests and Levites? Because the parable is set up to do that. He intentionally wants to disrupt their thought and get them to think in a new way about who your neighbor is. Why do you think he's so concerned for that? I mean, it's a pretty significant moment because the lawyer says to him. Hey, I've got a question for you. What's the most important thing the most important thing? How do I get internal life Jesus teaches you love God with all your heart soul mind and strength than you love your neighbor as yourself will who's my neighbor? Let me tell you a parable to understand that this is a significant teaching moment and Jesus tell the parable to disrupt their thinking to challenge them to think differently about who is my neighbor and we might not use that exact language what we tend to think in terms of family first, you know, I care for family first or church members first week. We tend to have categories that we think this is the way to do it. So it's even disruptive to our thoughts because Jesus is the saying here's the answer to the question who your neighbor is is whoever you allow yourself to see

And then you choose to have mercy on them. Whatever their need is whether it's a child that needs somebody to play with them for a few minutes or was it somebody that short on their grocery bill? weather at somebody

don't have a home to live in our bed to sleep in. Were invited to see and to be moved with compassion. Here's why Jesus is telling this Parable I think in disrupting. I think he's doing it because we have to ask yourself the answer to this question. What is the cost of not looking? I think it's out of great compassion and love that Jesus challenges his listeners and you and I today with this Parable. I don't think it's a spirit of you know, what you guys are not doing enough or you're getting it wrong. So he's not tapping his foot saying let me just add another brick I owe on your load instead. The motivation is this deep compassion for us. You realize Jesus looks set up the way he did everyone in those gospel passages those 40 times. He looks at us and he has compassion on us and he helps us and one of the ways he helps us is through his teaching and his modeling in the gospels. He challenges us to think in a new way because it's good for us. It is not this burden. Look at what he says in Matthew. He says the eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy your whole body will be full of light and then he continues both verses on there. I thought I did he continues and says what if your eye is dark then the whole body will be full of darkness and what Darkness it will be and then there is a language when he's talking about. I he's talking about the difference the what in the way we see people the dark eye is the envious I the jealous I in Jewish culture and so he says the way you see whether you look and say well I'm in competition with that person from envious of that person or I'm jealous of that person or they're no good because they're you know, Cardinal fan or they're no good because whatever the category is that we put it in. That's the dark. I And the good eye is the one that sees Like Jesus Does cease and have compassion and takes action because that's the very thing he did for us. And so it's not a great compassion that he says to us. You need to look. And not turn away. And you need to look long enough to be moved with pity or compassion and you need to act not because he's got a lot of stuff to get done and he just can't do it by himself.

But because it is good for us. It is a part of our Salvation that he changes the way we see others and the way we see ourselves that suddenly were realizing I am a servant like Christ himself who laid down his life who can't who said I didn't come to be served but to serve that's what that's my identity and I look upon someone and I see their need and I moved to compassion than it is perfectly right for me to say, how can I serve that person that I may serve them by getting them connected with somebody else who can help them better than me. But the point is my heart would go out and I would ask myself. What do I do next that I would look and see them and act with compassion. So here's some applications question for us when you think about looking I like the word cherish. What do we cherish if it's not God and neighbor? How do we begin to change what we cherish this is use this whole series is based on a workbook. I did years ago called the person of Jesus and I loved it because it looked at Jesus again again and said, what's he like in relationships? We forget that he's a person we get so obsessive his divinity that we don't say how do we see him work in relationships? And so it lays out these sorts of teaching. What do we cherish think about it? And based on that verse where Jesus talks about the eye what we give our eyes to on a consistent basis can become the idol of our heart. So if we constantly watch shows about boats and the best boats and before you know, what I want a boat, I need a boat. I got to figure out how to find the money for a boat or their shows that will constantly show you houses that make you disappointed in your house, right? This is the American culture constantly. Look at this house. Look at that thing. You think I need I need I need a better house. I need a big I need a sun porch like that. I need this. I need that the things that we give our eyes to on a regular basis. Jesus is begging and pleading and teaching and modeling. This is a dangerous thing. Baby, put your eyes on the wrong things on Italy will become an idol in your heart. If you constantly look at their shows that are constantly show me that I could be in a lot better shape and show me guys my age that are fit and in muscle while I need to be so you can constantly where you direct your eyes suddenly, that will become what you cherish. It's always we want to follow Jesus example and his teaching to cherish God to love God and love neighbor. Then we've got to direct our eyes in that direction. Do you map the shared with me and have shared it with you that his father on his deathbed and said this to him all his life, but he reminded him once again. remember focus on the eternal and then he added in great wisdom. And remember that only people are eternal. That's the challenge to us that Jesus is giving us this gift of teaching in modeling so that our lives will be open and why it so that our eyes would be full of light so that our whole bodies will be full of life because you saying what's up with these other things will go away. So draw your heart draw your eyes to those things that are eternal. Let me do a little aside here for a moment because some people may be in a different category this morning. Have you ever been cherished by someone and there is anyone ever really looked at you? And seen your heart and seeing your needs and cared for you. I hope that all of us can say yes. I hope that we can say I remember my mother she could just look at me whether I was 5 years old with a fever and tell something was wrong or whether I was 55. She could look at me and say what's wrong. She saw me when she looked at me, or maybe it's a spouse and that's why you have such a deep love relationship because you see each other, but if we're not careful, it's easy to be so busy that we don't even see our kids or spouse. We don't pause in that moment.

It's two things if you have been cherished then pay it forward. Expand the number of people you love. Here's a little secret When You Give Love Away God replenishes it in your own life. There's not a shortage. There's not only so much you can't say but if I start loving other people, then there won't be enough left for my kids. There won't be enough when we start loving others because God loves others. We step in that path that is his love flowing to others through us. And so it's not our own love. It's not some sort of limited resources where I'm trying to do it purely out of my own strength or my own reservoir of love if I get in line with what God is doing and I joined him that his love is already flowing in that direction and he provides the compassion and the things that I need. I just he just won't force it in my life. I have to take that step of Faith which might start by bothering to look and to see others. The pay for the cherishing that we've experienced. Listen, you might need to in. This is a little side. You might need to allow yourself to be seen. You maybe somebody who sang? I don't know that I can give anybody else compassion because I am so filled with hurt and and and broken us and need right now, and maybe that's the case and one thing one thing that you might need to do. If you're not doing this is maybe you need to allow yourself to be seen. God has his people in and around your life and they want to care for you. They want to love you. They want to help you because God's working in their heart that way but if you never allow them to really look at you if you always keep your card close if you never let anyone, you know that you're struggling because you can only be cared for as much as you allow yourself to be known. And so again when those scriptures in the one another and you just might come out and kind of sad what's confessed one another love one another share one another's burdens. They're not arbitrary commands their wisdom to the way life Works to the path toward a life that lives in so maybe your assignment this week might be to let yourself be seen. by someone else

I'm about to worship team to come forward.

Here's your here's your simple assignment. Love begins with looking if we if we want to move in the direction of loving God and loving our neighbor it begins with looking and so this week let's let's challenge ourselves to have our eyes more open than usual to notice those who might need a hug or an encouraging word or hand up. Or proverb says the wounds of a friend are a blessing. It might be somebody close to us. An act of kindness might be challenging them and that might be a great Act of love to bother to see sometimes we see behavior in someone's life and we don't want to confront it. Maybe we see somebody handle a child or spouse to roughly. Maybe the right thing to do is to set him down privately as their friend out of love and challenge that But it starts with seeing with looking and if you're in if you're not in that category because of your own struggles in these than your homework is to let yourself be seen. And a brother and sister in Christ with whom you can confide your struggles. It may simply start with prayer Ephesians 5 says that when we bring struggles and sin and shame out into the light it loses its power. It keeps its power when we bury it and keep it hidden. I've got the secret. I've got the scent of got the struggle. Nobody knows I can't believe I think that I do that we keep it very down in the adversary says that is awesome. Cuz I work best in the dark if you'll just keep it buried in the dark. It'll still be a place for me a foothold for me in your life. But if he's in 5 says if you bring it out into light because of Christ it loses its power over you. There might be a life-changing moment. Just because you allow yourself to be seen by a Christian friend and you confess your sins and they remind you that Christ forgives you. That could be life-changing.

So this week look.

Look around look at your children. Look at your spouse.

Look at anyone your eyes fall upon. Strive to show mercy and be a neighbor.

osprey by the way, thank you for your word. We thank you that you both Comfort us in your word. And you challenged us in your word and we know that both those things come from this deep love and compassion you have upon us. So we thank you. When you challenge the way we think we thank you when you turn some things we assume on their head. Father help us to draw close to you to see you in the see your eyes of compassion upon us and to let that reality give us the strength to have faith to trust to step out to see others. And to strive to love them. We pray this in Jesus name. amen