ALL IN Love your Neighbor

Intro

Luke 10:29–37 ESV

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, 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 a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Love Pursues

- You have a small window/time frame

- Small windows have big doors.

Prompting Proceeds the pursuit.

- Duck, duck goose analogy, when you get slapped on the back of the head, you have to be ready.

o If you’re goofing off you will miss out.

Love has Compassion

- This is a deep sympathy. Not just a sad feeling. Compassion pushes to action. Compassion lingers. Compassion entices. Compassion motivates.

- This word is used of Jesus to describe the most intimate moments of his ministry.

- It always drove Jesus to action.

- It was a compulsive compassion

- It doesn’t seek its own glory.

- It doesn’t seek notoriety.

- Why do you feel compassion?

Love takes a risk

- The social risk we take.

- “If you do good, know to whom you do it...Give to the one who is good, but do not help the sinner”

- If a man was left for dead then it meant the perpetrators could still be around.

- Do you care about what group you ride with?

- The man was a Samaritan

o Samaritans were half breeds.

o The Assyrians were ruthless marauders and when they conquered a people they would interbreed with them so as to destroy the purity of genealogical lines.

§ They were a remnant of those evil pagans.

o The Samaritans set up a false place of worship and worshipped a distortion of the Jewish God.

o They were considered filthy dogs.

- What do you want to be remembered for?

- Who do you associate with?

o Do you have your little clique?

Love Gives

- What’s your plan to look out into your neighborhood?

- Our Generosity is a platform to reach a broken neighborhood.

- Our Generosity and compassion trumps any slander someone can throw against us.

- I’m going to say something bold.

o “If your giving doesn’t hurt then something is wrong.”

o Gospel centered giving gives until it hurts.

o He dropped the man off and paid for the immediate needs but also for the needs to come.

o I’m not just talking about giving to the church. I’m talking about giving to our community and to others in need.

He went to the man

He bound up his wounds

Set him on his animal

Brought him to the inn and continued to care for him.

He paid two days labor

Whatever debt he would accrue he would pay when he came back.

Action Step:

- He comes back to check in on the guy.

- Love always has a plan.

- We love our family with a plan, we love our kids with a plan, we love our church with a plan. What does it look like to love our neighbor with a plan?

- What’s your plan to reach your literal neighbor?

- Maybe you haven’t even taken the first step and you need to introduce yourself.

o Maybe you know them but only on the surface, maybe it’s time to have them over for dinner.

o Maybe you can throw a little barbeque with the waning hours of summer and have a couple families over.

o Maybe your one of those SuperChristians and you want to organize a block party.

o Wherever you are at, develop a plan. Talk with your spouse and kids and figure out a plan to love your neighbor.

Why does this matter? Why is this so important to Jesus?

- Why should I stop my entire life just to get to know someone else?

- Here is Jesus answer – “Because someone stopped for you.”

The Acts of the Samaritan

He went to the man

He bound up his wounds

Set him on his animal

Brought him to the inn and continued to care for him.

He paid two days labor

Whatever debt he would accrue he would pay when he came back.

Put Yourself in the Story

- Here is Jesus answer – “Because someone stopped for you.”

- Jesus wants the Jewish man to put himself in the story, not as the man who stops, because he would never associate himself as a Samaritan, but rather as the man left for dead.

- If he had been the man passing by he would thought Jesus was crazy! I would’ve stepped on the gas and ended the scumbag!

- Jesus doesn’t give him that option.

Mr Dudley (Flannery O’Conner)

- What if you were that person and someone stopped for you and gave you unearned grace? What is someone like that picked you up and put you in their place? What if someone bound your wounds and dropped you off at a hospital and paid the bill both for everything that had happened, and anything that could happen in the future?

- That would change the way you look at everyone else. That would motivate you in a way unlike anything else.

- THAT’S WHAT JESUS DID FOR YOU!!!

Gospel Connection (Jesus has a plan)

- We had ignored Jesus, we had walked by him at his weakest point.

- He was crucified and no one fought for his innocence, no one stopped to bind his wounds, none stopped, yet he carried on. He hung on the cross for your sins and mine. He was the forgotten man yet he would rise again, and show us the true love of a neighbor.

Before we can be a neighbor to someone else, we must first realize our own need to be neighbored by Christ.