"The Good Samaritan"

Hi there this is on Solomon and I like to welcome you to our program today. You know it's a tremendous honor that God is given us to be on stations all around the nation bringing the truths of God's word as it is uncompromising and straightforward and I'm so glad you tuned in to listen and be part of them. Thanks again for your support and your generosity that keeps us on the radio and now let's get to the word of God. Now when you think of the term good Samaritan. What comes to mind.

Good Samaritan. If that's the word that comes out of the Bible. It comes out of the story that Jesus told in the Bible and its languages, to become part of our culture.

We talk about people being good Samaritans where good Samaritan Hospital is good Samaritan, Mercy institution, but folks know Jesus did not tell this parable or this story so that we would have a nice name to use for hospitals.

He told the story because there's a truth in it that he wants to change our life with nothing. We want to talk about this morning were at verse 25. On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus teacher, he asked him what must I do to inherit eternal life.

Now the parable of the good Samaritan actually flows out of a confrontation that Jesus had and a confrontation was with a theological expert in Israel who came to asked Jesus a theological question and his question was, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life. There is an assumption that lies under this question and the assumption is that eternal life is something that I earn. So the real question is asking is what works do I have to do Jesus, so that I can earn or merits eternal life that Jesus says to him, well, what's written in the Old Testament law you're an expert. How do you read it.

He answered and said well the way I read it is you need to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength and all your mind and you need to love your neighbor as yourself.

And Jesus said you answer correctly, and course Jesus had said that himself. Matthew chapter 22.

Jesus said if you remember on these two commandments. Loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang up the rest of the whole Bible.

So Jesus says to him, you're absolutely right. Do these two things and you will have eternal life, and I want women to hold onto second timeout.

You telling me that Jesus Christ is endorsing salvation by human works is that what you're saying will now listen the second. What I'm saying is that a person wanted to know how to work their way into heaven, and what Jesus says to them is if you want to know how to work your way into heaven. This is the way. Just don't forget. It's all or nothing affair. What I mean by that is, the Bible says James chapter 2 whoever keeps the whole law and yet violates it in one point, he violated the whole law is 100%.

You keep these commands 100%.

And yes, you can earn your way. But if you don't keep him 100% is just like you did zero now pause for a moment and ask ourselves question.

Can anybody love God with all their heart and all your soul and all your mind and all their strength every moment of every day of their life can make. Can anybody love their neighbor the way they love themselves every moment of every day of every month of every year of their entire life can it be done. Can you do that why believe the answer is absolutely not. It can't be done, you can be, not it's impossible you bone and I blown up the theologian blown it and what Jesus was looking for was humility and honesty about the fact that we can't do this. What he wanted the theologian to say to him was, you know Jesus, I've really tried to love God with all my heart and I really tried to love my fellow man like myself by giving them my best shot. But I can't do it. I failed miserably and so what I need to ask you. Jesus is his or some other way to get in heaven. That was the point that Jesus was trying to get this man to see that yes there is a way to earn your way to heaven, but nobody can meet the demands of getting that way. So we all need an alternate way, in a way that doesn't depend on our good works and that's why Jesus Christ came to this earth friends. That's why he died on the cross to provide an alternate way for people who can't work their way in which means all of us, you with me that you're here and you're still trying to work your way to heaven. Let me just take a moment to say to you, I hope you'll listen to what God saying to you this morning in the Bible.

He's telling you that no matter how hard you try or how sincere you are. You can't do it. You need Plan B just like the theologian needed Plan B just like we all need Plan B and Plan B is that we confess that were unable to do with Plan B is that we throw ourselves on the mercy of God.

Mercy is something that God gives to people who don't deserve it and that's what we're looking for because we can't deserve heaven and that we trust Jesus Christ to do something for us to forgive our sins and get us in the habit something for us that we can do for ourselves if you're here and you're still trying to work your way into heaven. I hope this morning.

You'll really seriously consider the fact that God is telling you you can't get there. That way you need the other plan now to come to God the way Jesus wants us to means that you have to humble yourself. That means that you have to admit you can't do it and that's exactly what this theologian would not do look with me. Verse 29. Let's get back to the story but the theologian wanted to justify himself, so he said to Jesus, and by the way, Jesus is my neighbor anyway. Now look what's happening here. There's two alternatives you've got.

When you're faced with a standard you can't keep listen. The first alternative is to humble yourself, lower yourself and admit I can do it. The other alternative is to lower the standard to someplace where you can keep your understand what Jesus was looking for is for this man to lower himself and say I can't that's not what the man wanted to do. He said I'm not lowering myself and my self-righteousness on the term and I'm still going try to work my way and haven't what I want to know is cannot lower the standard, so by the way, who is my neighbor anyway that I'm supposed to love the way I love myself. Where does neighbor stop that I have to love them like this to earn my way into heaven.

You understand what's going on with the question is all about is an attempt by the self-righteous man to bring the standard down to a level where he could keep it. So where's the line Jesus and that's why Jesus tells the parable. Remember the parable is meant to answer the question, how far does this word neighbor really go.

Okay, let's look at it Jesus that a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers and they stripped him of his close impeding and went away, leaving him half dead.

There on the road and a priest. The highest religious office in Israel. A priest happen to be going down the same road and we saw the man across to the other side of the street and went on by and a Levite who was the second highest office in Israel came by and when he saw the guy he went on the other side of street and he walked right by into a lifting there in the road and so while he was laying there beaten and bleeding, a priest came along Crossville South Road goes right on by.

Levi came along because of sorrow goes right on by Lotta religion and no compassion will then comes the next character.

Verse 33 but a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was next nephew been here for a while. You know I told you about how Jews and Samaritans felt about each other and we could sum it up by saying if the priest and the Levite were regarded as the filet mignon of ancient Israel society Samaritans were regarded as dog food that gives your basic comparison Jews just despised Samaritans and Jesus could not have picked a more despicable character in the mind of Jewish people to bring into this parable, but as big as the difference was between priests and Levites and Samaritans in social standing. The difference between the heart response of this man and the response of the priest and the Levite was a bigger look and when he saw the man he had compassion upon and he took pity upon him, and he went to him and he bandaged his wounds and he poured oil and wine on them and he put the man on his own donkey and he walked. Any talking to it in and very took care of them that night and the next day we had to go about his business. He took two silver coins out and gave them to the innkeeper and said look after this guy do whatever he needs to getting well and when I returned on my way back home and I finished my business.

I'll reimburse you for any extra expense you've incurred taking care of this God. That's a slightly different response in the priest and the Levite, when you say here was a guy who had compassion here was a guy who took some risk. I mean, how did he know this wasn't a trap and the robbers were hardline rocks wait the jump only when you stop here was a guy willing to be inconvenienced.

Willing to even financially have to pay something to help another human being and you know it's really interesting is that even though he knew how the Jews felt about him. And even though he knew he was in Israel and even though he knew the chances were. This was a Jewish guy even though he knew that it was him lying in the road.

No Jewish person would stop to help him. Isn't it interesting that he never inquired to see whether this man lying on the ground was Jewish before he helped. He said here's a man who has a need out of here with Reese Jewish or is not Jewish.

I don't care whether he would help me or whether he wouldn't help me. Here's a man who has a need and I'm going to help.

Now Jesus makes this theologian give the final conclusion to this whole thing. Jesus says, verse 36.Dr. so-and-so which of these three men, do you think was a quote on quote neighbor to the man who fell in the hands of the robbers will be expert in the law said I guess it's the one who had mercy on Jesus said you're right. So you go and do likewise see when it comes to loving your neighbor as yourself.

The theologian question was who is my neighbor. How far does this go, what are the limits and Jesus's answer was, who isn't your neighbor that at the end of our passage but you know it leads us to ask the really important question and that is so, what right as I look at this parable, I see a great message here for us as Christians. I want to talk to those of us that were Christians we know Jesus Christ. He lives in our life. We know that we know him as a great message here for us and it's all found in the last four words, what are they go and do likewise.

Why so that we can earn our salvation know we've Artie got it moving, keep our salvation.

No, we can lose when they wash away because we want to imitate Jesus Christ, who loved us the same way you know there's a song that says that Jesus Christ look beyond my fault and he saw my need.

I love that song because when I came to know Christ as a college student.

That's exactly what Jesus did for me. I had so much fault. You wouldn't believe divided pendant hanging all over me and Jesus Christ. Look beyond all of those faults in my life and saw my need on the inside. Starting with dying on the cross to pay for my sin and then coming into my life and revolutionizing my life. Jesus is and see my need.

He did something about and this is the kind of lifestyle that Jesus Christ calls everyone of us who claim to be followers of Jesus to live as imitators of him that whereas the priest and the Levite had Lotta religion and they did have any compassion. I find that the spirit of God living inside of us as Christians provoke sausage your true Christian. He provokes you to want to care about other people. But the problem is that it's not that we don't want to care for other people as Christians is just that we don't often follow through very well. Sometimes the church we as a church of often been accused of having a lot of religion and not a whole lot of compassion. Why is it because the spirit of God doesn't make us the kind of people want to care for others.

I want to care for others.

I bet you do too. If you're Christian, but we don't always do such a great job. Why not well I got three reasons to suggest, as I close this morning how we can do better in being good Samaritans for other people because if you're really a Christian. I guarantee you that you want to win your heart.

Three reasons number one because too often we don't take our theology to work with us.

What I mean by that is that Jesus didn't tell this parable to be a story that we just told on Sunday morning church. He told it so that we would have a philosophy to live our whole life by, and there's so many of us as Christians, we walk out the house on Monday morning we walk out and say well you know that was great for yesterday, but I put my Bible back on the shelf this morning, but everything else I learned church back on stroke this morning on me. When you walk in the world are different. You lock and load all that Sunday. Talk is nice for Sunday talk, but as a lock and load country out here pal and I say that's ridiculous.

Jesus Christ gave the Bible to teach us how to live Monday to Saturday, not just on Sunday morning. Yes, this is for Monday to Saturday and we need to walk out of our house every morning saying to ourselves.

God didn't send me in the world today just to take care of me, God sent me out here to take care of people and help people and care about people that he brings across my path web need because he put me in this world to be a good Samaritan go and do likewise.

That's what he said you don't, why don't Moody was one of the greatest evangelists. America ever produced may be the greatest in 1899.

He was in Oakland, California, preaching a series of messages and he finished up one night and then he and his song leader, a fellow named DB Towner, Mr. Towner got on a train to go from Oakland to Santa Cruz.

And as they were on the train. It was early in the morning like want to clock in the morning and had a sleeper compartment but in those days you did have private compartment. There were, like semiprivate and so there was room for three or four people in these apartments was they were traveling and made a stop and into their compartment.

The train was very crowded, comes this young drunk God. He got blood all over me was filthy had on my swollen shut. Could he been in a fist fight in a brawl. He stunk of whiskey. It was a mess and economy came in the Moody's compartment. Somehow we recognize Moody and he said to Moody's and of the more I want to sing to you some of the hymns. I learned as a little boy and he starts singing every song he knew Moody was just getting more irritated and more irritated filing. Moody picked up his stool suitcase and said the Towner Towner, were getting out a younger city with this guy Thomas. It will moody the trains path is no place else to go. There are no more sleeper cars follow the conductor came by. He got grabbed the conductor reported this young drunk out to him and said you know I got thinking zoom arm dry, don't Moody I got appreciative. All I need is God here. I need my sleep getting out of here so the conductor came in and put his arm around the young man spoke a few quiet words to him and took him back to the baggage car were he cleaned off his wounds and without conductor took his own handkerchief out made a bandage to put across the guys swollen. I found them a comfortable place where he could lay down and put them asleep and then he came back and told Moody what he had done and everything was taken care of Towner telling the story says he got real quiet in their birth. About 15 minutes later after no one said anything.

Moody spoke up and said in my quote he said Towner is a what the conductor did is an awful rebuke to me personally.

I preached against Pharisaism last night to a crowd and I exhorted them to imitate the good Samaritan, and now this morning God gave me an opportunity to practice what I preached and what I found is that I have 1 foot in the shoes of the priest and the other foot in the shoes of the Levite and the rest of his ministry. Why don't Moody would tell that story against himself as an example of how easy it is to separate and disconnect preaching from living folks were no different than moody years, and God sends us out the door every morning, not just to go to care number one but to care for the needs of people. Number two. While we have a hard time doing this is because were too busy to slow down for people you know to be a good Samaritan means you've got to be inconvenienced.

It means that you're going to have to put out extra effort. It means you have to flex your priorities that you have for the day so there's room to fit in the need of a person that maybe you didn't plan on and I find it one of the greatest enemies of my being a good Samaritan is not that I want to be nice to people. It's just that I'm running such a crazy rat race days that I always seem to be in such a hurry to get something done on time. Slow down to talk anybody or care about anybody that started my schedule folks TO come along and remind the office that people are more important than schedules that the most important thing I will ever accomplish in any day is to care for somebody who has a need for longer lesson than this one time a few years ago my son and I my son Justin who was about six, then was a Thursday night.

We were coming home and also in a hurry to get home we stopped at a 7-Eleven not far from my house in Fairfax and right where I pulled up this is drunk, sitting right in front of us leaning on the wall a 7-Eleven drinking peach one so I got out the car and I got just now we started walking 711 discusses to be said Kaiser cookware you got me a pack of cigarettes and I said no and I walked on and got my coffee up just got his coat and we come back out when I walk by this time he says to me had he said hey could you help me get home and I said I will like to help your son but I can help you.

I'm in a hurry. I got some things I gotta get home and do. I'm sorry I hopped in my car started my car, put it in reverse. They know what I was in such a hurry to get home and do. I had to speak. The very next night to the Central Union Mission banquet and I was in a hurry to get home and prepare a message about how important it is to care for down and hours. This is true, absolutely true.

That's what I was going home to work on and I put my car in reverse and I started to pull out and I thought I can't do this thought slammed my car back up in the park got out of the car, walked up to them is that what your name is my name is Jimmy Austin know where you live. Can you find where you live I think. So I said all right come on let's go. I said Jimmy we started Walters Carson Jimmy don't feel sick. Do you feel sick to me isn't all I feel fine. I said, because if you feel sick to me will all know I said I feel fine I feel good. I said okay Jimmy to put them in the car.

We took him home, his wife and left him, she taken the kids. You never seen such a pig pen in your life. I called up a good friend of mine and reported got a lot of experience working with detox people and we got him into a detox program in Washington. This guy gave his life to Christ he went down Asheville North Carolina to a detoxification of Christian alcohol abuse program began working for them. Driving vehicles for them and I still get letters every once in a while the day from Jimmy telling me what God is doing in his life.

Can you believe that.

But I'll tell you what God taught me a big time lesson about being in so much of a hurry, I don't have time for people we need to slow down third and finally you know why sometimes would not become a good Samaritans we would like to be.

It's because many times our relationships with people are too shallow. You don't just be good Samaritans to down and out or semiauto to couple stories about down and outers, but one of the greatest place to be good Samaritan is with fellow Christians. But the problem is so often our relationships with our fellow Christians are so shallow that they don't know what our needs are and we don't know what their needs are five people all the time will say things like, will this church or that church, or even our church wasn't friendly to me didn't care about me when I had neither did meet my needs when I wait a minute.

Hold on. The question we have to ask is, did you put yourself in a position with relationships inside the church where people could have even found out what your needs were sewn on the second so I want to end by talking about, not just so what.

But now what were I want from you. I tell you what I want from you I want from you if you come to this church on Sunday morning and you're not already involved in some small group, a place where you can be real with people a place where you can get to know people a place where you can share your hearts and your hurts with people. If you're not already involved in a relational small group what I want from you is I want you to get involved in one, where fellow here. I saw news in our second service chicks from Connecticut. He moved here and within two months of moving here. His wife died. She actually died from a peanut allergy. She had a peanut allergy and she ate some food that had peanuts and it she did know it, she sees the and she died before the rescue squad could even go to the hospital, you know where that death happened. It happened in one of our home groups because when Dick shot moved here within several weeks of coming he began going to homework as he said I need people and we need relationships and we need to build friendships and they were at a group meeting with six or eight other couples from our church. When that death happened. You know, Dick shot will stand up and tell you he stood up in a membership class hotel. Anybody who asking that this church gave him the most marvelous support in the most marvelous care that any church imaginable could've ever given. He said it at the funeral, but you know why it's because there were six couples who were there when that woman God, who knew what that man needed and took it upon themselves to make this man's needs their own and they still do it. To this day.

Now he would only been come in the Sunday morning service and you to read about his wife dying in the bulletin you think you got that level of care. No way. But this man was proactive and he was smart enough to realize he needed relationships with people while amount of time. Gosh I hope your life will be changed as a result, which occurred here this morning.

I hope you do some of us pray dear heavenly father.

I'm so grateful that we can talk this morning about the word of God and talk about what it means for our lives. Forgive us Lord for being so busy that we don't have time for people because you weren't you were running the whole universe.

Forgive us, Lord, for so often put in our theology on the shelf with our Bible Monday morning letting the world tell us how to live and letting the world define our values, letting the world system define our lifestyle, teachers, Lord Jesus, that the reason you gave us the word of God among other reasons was to define our lifestyle and our priorities help us to walk out of the house on Monday morning with our theology in our back pocket and deliverance.

Finally, Lord I pray that you would work in the hearts of each of us here, you know, Lord. This Washington society is a very arm's-length society, people retreat home to their little fortress. Lord, I pray you would teach us as Christians if that's not the way you want us to live you want us to have relationships with people such that we can understand and feel their needs and and help them in and they can do the same for us and I pray that you would motivate many many people who been coming here and enjoying Sunday morning, but haven't gone any farther to take the next step and get involved in a level with people where they can do ministry to our lives and we can do ministry to their lives little scary but I pray you give people what they need to be proactive in press through that God change our life and change our whole outlook by what we've heard here this morning. May we go out to be good Samaritans Lord because that's what you were to us and we pray this in Jesus name been listening to 11 Dr. Lon Solomon said, when is an outreach of Lon Solomon ministry to listen to today's message more. For more information visit our website Lon Solomon ministry.org.

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