“Turning the Corner Part 4; God is Your Neighbor”

Luke 10:25–28 ²⁵And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷And he 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.” ²⁸And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

            If you can keep these laws first given to the Hebrews in Deuteronomy 6:5 (loving God) and Leviticus 19:18 (loving your neighbor), then you will live.  Jesus did not tell this lawyer everything though.  To live by the law one (the lawyer) has to follow the law perfectly, and then he will live the eternal life he is asking about.  It’s not surprising that a lawyer would try and dig deeper to throw off Jesus whom he is cross-examining. 

The lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?”  Most people would say our neighbors are those who live close by on the street we live on or on the other side of our back yard.  Jesus teaches us that everyone is our neighbor, especially those in the immediate proximity of where we are at any given moment.  So where is God in all of this?  I’ll give you a hint; He is always with you.  Lest we forget and we do, God is with us everywhere we go and all the time.  But, we do forget, and what is worse is that we will eventually forget again that God is with us always.  The next time you swear, gossip, or do anything that is a sin you might want to look around to see if God is there with you before you do it. 

Leviticus 19:12 ¹²You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

This is how we love God; we forget that God is always with us.  We sin, thinking no one is looking, and because we can’t see God we forget He is there right beside us.  Drat’s! He sees us in our captivity of sin, and now the broken law cannot save us.

Have you ever poured coffee in a cup that had a hole in it, or water in a glass that was cracked?  The only way the law can hold water is if it is not broken, in other words there can’t be a crack or hole in the law, it must be held perfectly to save us.  Do you keep the greatest command perfectly, do you love God with all of your heart, soul, strength and mind.  If you said yes you might want to read 1 John 1:8.

Leviticus 19:16–18 ¹⁶You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

¹⁷“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. ¹⁸You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

            Do you love your neighbor as yourself?  This is the question that Jesus asked the lawyer, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”  We read/interpret most things to our advantage, even the lawyers interpret to their advantage for their clients.  It’s all about what’s in it for me, what will I gain?  Very seldom is it about our neighbor and what will they gain for their benefit.  To the Priest and the Levite, seeing this man on the side of the road beaten and stripped of his belongings, this man could be anyone and maybe one who is unclean.  It was very important that they kept ceremonially cleaned especially if it was the Sabbath or a festival.  After all the law is more important then loving ones neighbor.  The word of the law can entangle us at times and get in the way of doing what is right, that is, loving our neighbor. 

Luke 10:36–37 ³⁶Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

            Jesus told the law keeper (lawyer) go and do likewise, that is, keep the law of the gospel and show mercy.  Maybe it would be better to know of God’s mercy and help our neighbor rather than think our works and the law will save us.  The one who shows mercy follows the true law, of loving God and loving our neighbor, the gospel. 

Jesus Christ allowed himself to be put into the hands of those whom the Jews said were unclean.  This was to show that it was not just the sins of the Jews that crucified Jesus; rather the guilt belongs to the whole world.  Never the less Jesus died for all sin offering mercy to a world of all sinners.  When Jesus could have stepped away and crushed us all for our sins, He stands firm in His love for us and took the punishment we deserve for our sin. 

Yes God is your neighbor, and He shows us mercy every day, and then gives us His grace too.  Through mercy though we are unclean, God saves us through His Son, sparing us from the means of the law.  Through grace though we are unclean He washes us clean with the blood of His Son, giving us eternal life and relationship with Him.

Colossians 1:13–14 ¹³He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Amen.

Written by: Pastor Curtis A. May

Let us go forth in the Peace of our Lord and Serve the Lord who loved us first.

“Turning the Corner Part 3, Go Therefore”

Luke 9:57-62 The Cost of Following Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶² Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

            Jesus had just turned three possible followers away, or they thought it over and stayed, Luke 9:57-62. However, those who did stay got a different speech from the One whom they still followed. 

There is a price to pay when you follow Jesus and it’s not $19.⁹⁵.  The question to be asked is it too costly to follow Jesus?  Well, are you ready to leave your previous priorities behind to put Jesus as your first and most important priority? 

To paraphrase Matthew 6:33, seek God first and all your needs and good wants will be added unto you.  But, when do we do that and think that putting our desires first is not a sin, or have we forgotten the first three Commandments, Exodus 20:3-11, or even the greatest Commandment Mark 12:30.  Oh well, what does it matter there is of course forgiveness.  Of course forgiveness does come with repentance.  What would it look like in every congregation if we did put God first?  Now that would be turning the corner.

Luke 10:1–3   ¹After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. ²And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. ³Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

            Jesus did not guilt people into following Him rather He told them the truth, if you are to follow Jesus you might lose some of what you have, and certainly you will lose your life as you live it now.  Believe me when I tell you I know this first hand, my life is nothing compared to what it was before I was called to be a pastor. 

Actually my life is better than when I had more of the earthly wealth; because I count the heavenly wealth God has gifted me to be much more valuable.  (It lasts forever)  You do not all have to become pastors to follow the call of Jesus, but you do have to listen to what God has called you to do, hear His message for you, and have no anticipations.  Oh yah, and be aware of the wolves out there, as well as the wolves within the congregation of all believers too.

Luke 10:4–6   ⁴Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. ⁵Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ ⁶And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.

            What Jesus is saying here is not to be taken too literally. It is that Jesus tells us what is important is staying on task and not deviating from the task that is set before us.  What we do, we should do in peace, and do not return attitude with attitude.  If you are not received in peace then do not force your way, but go and offer your peace to others who will receive it.

            Luke 10:7–11 ⁷And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. ⁸Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. ⁹Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ¹¹‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you.

            Again do not take this too literally, however if they offer you refreshments be kind to accept them because you show that you accept them too.  Staying in the house means for us to be the nurturer of those whom you are helping to seek out the Lord.  Again remember it is the work of the Holy Spirit working through you that is doing the nurturing.  Therefore do not abandon those you sought out as if you are putting notches of accomplishment on your belt.  Rather be part of their walk with Jesus and let them be part of your walk with Jesus.  Once they are mature in their beliefs then both of you can go to different houses to cultivate and grow more believers as the Holy Spirit works through them and you.

Luke 10:16–20 ¹⁶“The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

¹⁷The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” ¹⁸And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. ²⁰Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

            All glory to God who first saved us.  Christ came to save a world not just a few.  Jesus died on the cross for everyone’s sin not just those who believe.  The Gospel is to be shared as Jesus Christ shares His inheritance of eternal life and relationship with our Father in heaven.  Our Father in heaven adopted us back into His arms through the great love He has for us even though we have all fallen away.  And that we have fallen away Our Father in heaven helps us turn the corner towards a better life, an eternal life and relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, the cross and Christ’s resurrection.  Go therefore and serve the Lord only out of the love you have for the one who loved you first.  Amen.

Written by: Pastor Curtis A. May

Let us go forth in the Peace of our Lord and Serve the Lord who loved us first.