How to Love Your Neighbor
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Welcome
It is good to see everyone this morning
Today is the first day of August
I don’t know about you that just excited me!
I love the fall time and the Holiday season
And I love the cooler weather
The sermon this morning is “How to love your Neighbor”
Has anyone ever had a hard time loving someone?
Some people are not very lovable are they!
The Scriptures teach us we have a God given responsibility to love our neighbors
Who would classify as your neighbor?
We would like to think our neighbor is someone we like
But Jesus showed us that our neighbor is anyone we cross paths with in this life as in the Good Samaritan
So our neighbor would be your actual neighbors
It would be your friends
It would be those behind you in the line at Kroger
It would be that person walking down the street
Anyone God places in your path would be considered your neighbor
So how do you love the unloveable? How do you love a neighbor that hates you? IS it humanly possible?
NO it is not
But it is possible for those who are born of God to everyone
I want to give you some ways this morning that you can love your neighbor in a godly way and it will literally change your life!
Proverbs 3:27-30
Look for opportunities to meet Someones Needs
Look for opportunities to meet Someones Needs
(v 27) “Do not withhold good from those whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so”
A Good Neighbor does not withhold good to those whom it is due
It could be someone who works for you that deserves to be paid fairly
It could be poor person God has placed in your path who needs help
It could mean that we need to loan someone some money
It could mean we need to assist our neighbor in fixing something the storm destroyed
But a good neighbor is always willing to give
God places us in situations to do good to others
And if we are aware of the opportunity to do good then it is not longer an option but a responsibility
How easily can we turn our heads and ignore a chance to bless someone
How often do we miss opportunities because we say to ourselves someone else needs to do that
Doing good is not always great big things, sometimes its the small things that make big differences
I went to check my mail the other day and i found this envelope in it
No stamp and had my name on it
I opened it up and found this letter written with three gold dollar pieces in it
It was clearly written by a child, who had parents that taught them to love neighbors
“When it is in your power to do so”
God often times blesses us with things just so we can be in a position to bless others
Do you know that everything you have is from the hand of God?
Everything that I have is because God has blessed me with it
And so when God places a person in need in my path who is in need my first reaction should be to meet that need
There is a sense of discernment in this command
“Do not withhold good to whom it is due”
Not everyone who appear to be in need truly is in need
And people often attempt to use the kindness of a Christian to take advantage of them
But we are not required to just give to anyone, but “to those whom it is due”
If we tried to meet the needs of everyone who crossed our paths we wouldn’t be able to meet our own needs
USE DISCERNMENT!
This is not a call to be selfish, but a call to be wise
We use discernment in this church
Not everyone who comes into this church and asks for help really needs help.
And believe it or not there are people who will milk a church dry if the church will let them
Some people come to a church just to get their bills paid
Use to have people come to church and ask for money for food and when they were taken to the churches food bank they turned it down
I had someone call me when I first became the Pastor and asked me to sign their marriage license and I had never met them
I had someone else try to get me to pay their house payment and when that didn’t work tried to get me to pay their electric bill after they had made some large purchases and posted them on FB indicating they clearly did not need money
You don’t have to give to everyone who asks
The alcoholic doesn’t need money to buy more alcohol
The drug attic doesn’t need money to buy drugs
Some panhandlers do not need money because they are too lazy to work and begging for money pays better than working for it
Give when the need is obvious and let the Holy Spirit guide you when it is not
When I don’t know I follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit of God
When I still don’t know I err on the side of grace
When we see someone panhandling who has a 40 lb backpack on in their mid thirties in better shape than I am probably not going to give them money
The Spirit of God will move you when you juts don’t know
The New King James Version Chapter 16
Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of hGalatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in 1Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the 2Spirit did not permit them
The Spirit will surely guide you if you stay sensitive to Him
Meet others needs Promptly!
Meet others needs Promptly!
(v 28) “Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you.
When the opportunity arises don’t delay!
Remember wisdom is a heart issue
The heart requires choice
When the need is obvious and you can help them do not delay doing so
Do you know what happens when we delay?
We often lose the moment
Ashley and I left church last week and turned on 9th street
There was a man standing there with a sign asking for money
Ashley wanted to give him money I had my doubts but I follow her when I doubt in giving bc she is a giver
I said we we will go and get food then come back and give him some money
Do you know what some of us think when we delay?
IF I wait someone else will come along and take care of that
If I wait then that will just go away
If I wait then I will forget and be released from that burden
If you wait you may miss out on a great blessing
The New King James Version Chapter 27
Do anot boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth
You can delay in many things that really don’t matter
Mowing your yard can usually wait
Doing the dishes can usually wait
Watching a movie or taking a nap can usually wait
But waiting should never be a part of helping someone
You may not get another chance if you procrastinate
Never be an adversary to your neighbor
Never be an adversary to your neighbor
(v 29) “Do not devise evil against your neighbor, For he dwells by you for safety’s sake”
It is never our place to plot evil against another person for ANY reason.
It is never our place to hope that something bad happens to someone
It is never our place to devise wickedness against anyone
Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
The Wise neighbor lets God fight his or her battles
Vengeance belongs to God
We are to be children of the light
We are to be characterized by love
We are reflect the love of Christ to the world and therefore there is no room for to take vengeance
How do we respond to an evil neighbor?
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the Lord will reward you.
If you will bless those who curse you it is very likely they will repent
The hope of every believer should be that their neighbor comes to a saving faith in Jesus
We should pray for them
We should show them true Christ -like love
We should give them food when they are hungry, water when they are thirsty
And whether they ever like you or not really doesn’t matter, because God will bless you for it
We should always seek the position of Peacemaker
We should always seek the position of Peacemaker
(v 30) “Do not strive with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm”
Conflict should never be our desire
We should try to avoid it at all cost
Matt 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”
We are to be people of peace, and in every circumstances we should try to be peacemakers
There are some people who have a supernatural ability to make peace
My mother is one of them
But we are all called to seek the position of peacemaker
Application:
I want to give you a principle I have learned over the past year or so
James teaches about wisdom
And he teaches that there is heavenly wisdom and demonic wisdom
James 3:16: “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits”
True Wisdom is willing to Compromise to keep peace
There are things OK to compromise if it fulfills our role as peacemakers
Ideas
Opinions
Things that do not contradict the faith
Things that cause more harm than good
If our faith allows choose to compromise over the fight
If you will follow this principle God will vindicate you in the end
God will make things go in your favor if your willing to humble yourself and take a loss
Sometimes conflict is inevitable “without cause”
Never compromise the Word of God
Never compromise to sin
Never compromise your faith
Trust the leadership of the Holy Spirit in your life to give you that inner peace and be still!
When God says let it go, then let it go
We can be so critical, so bull headed at times, we forget that Jesus called us to be peacemakers
Peace is a godly characteristic
God gives peace to those whom show the fruit of peacemaking
Don’t create conflict unless it is absolutely necessary to do so
Why should we follow these principles?
What’s in it for us?
If we give the money
If we compromise on our dreams?
If we never take vengeance when others deserve it?
Verses 31-33
Because God punishes the wicked but blesses the just
Because God punishes the wicked but blesses the just
(v 33) “The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the home of the just”
Who is the wicked man?
He is the man who does not help those who need it.
He is the man who ignores those who God sends to him for help.
He is the man who sees a need and ignores it until tomorrow.
He is the man who plots evil against his neighbor
He is the man who takes vengeance on those whom he hates
He is the man who likes conflict
He is the man who who is cursed.
AND NOT ONLY THAT MAN BUT HIS HOUSE
This man believes he is getting ahead in life but truly he storing up a life of misery
I would hate to be a man who lives in a cursed home
Who is the just man?
He is the man that helps those who are in need
He is the man who does not hesitate when he spots a need in someone’s life
He is the man who understands that he is blessed to be in a position to bless
He is the man who prays for his neighbor rather than devises evil against them
He leaves the vengeance of a wicked man to be in the hands of the lord
He is willing to compromise petty things to keep peace
He loves what God loves, and longs to please God over himself
And in doing so this man’s house is blessed!
“But He blesses the home of the just” (This is the Wise Neighbor)
He is the wise neighbor because he comes out on top in the end
He is the one who experiences God supernatural blessings in his life
God gives him back all that He gave away and then some
Not only is he blessed, but his entire house is blessed
His children lived a blessed life
His wife lives a blessed life
And God’s hand becomes evident over the entire household
How do we truly love our neighbors like God calls us to?
To truly love our neighbor we must truly love God first
To truly love our neighbor we must truly love God first
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus told us to two greatest commands Love God and love our neighbor
When we get the first one right the second one comes natural
No man can truly love their neighbor without the supernatural love of God pouring out of them
God is love
The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
You cant give someone something that you do not have
And that love manifest itself in the form of Jesus Christ
“For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” John 3:16
To believe is not just with the mind but with the heart
Believe is just another word for faith
When you believe in Jesus, you put your faith in Him
You trust in Him to forgive your sin
He removes the curse
He makes you His son or daughter
And then and only then can you truly love your neighbor
~PRAYER~