In Earth as it Is in Heaven, Part 2

Today on Summit life with Jeannie Greer.

What if the primary person were supposed to identify with them the story is the guy bleeding on the side of the road and what is somebody who had every reason to hate us chose to walk down the path that we put ourselves on and stopped to help us one of the really good Samaritan in the story is Jesus puts himself in our path and ignores the suffering that we had caused ourselves only minutes safe to say that most people are familiar with the parable of the good Samaritan is a nice story about loving others and being the bigger person right today. Pastor JD shows us that Jesus actually had much bigger purpose in mind when he told the story and before we jump and I wanted to let you know that we've introduced a new exclusive resource this week so make sure that you listen and find out how to be one of the first, let's join Pastor JD in Luke chapter 10 I want you to see God you to bring heaven to those who are around you looked up to verse 25 yourself the setup of the story goes, behold, an export of the Jewish law stood up to put Jesus to the test. We said teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life noticed a couple things. Their first the context of the question is the guys asking how we can never sure he's going to heaven.

That's the most basic of all religious questions right now.

I know that I'm going to go to heaven second thing you should notice is that it's not entirely a sincere question.

He's doing it to try to trap Jesus to put him to the death.

So Jesus says to him in response when you tell me what's written in the law. How do you read the law Jewish extra law answered.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength with all your mind and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus says in verse 28 you have answered correctly so verse 29 but he all expert desiring to justify himself. So to Jesus and who is my neighbor see he feels the squeeze of that impossible standard and so Jesus is going to tell a story that is subtly shift the question and you turn it on its head in the process. He's going to show you what it means to love your neighbor have anything to show you maybe more importantly how you can actually do that. So let's go verse 30 Jesus replied a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and so is this guys going down the balls among robbers stripped him and beat him in a party leaving him half dead. Or you could read that leave him for dead. I thought it killed.

Now I chance a priest who is of course the most religious person is a side of the legislator.

The best of the best he's going down that road and when he saw all this beat up Jewish man he passes by so likewise a Levite. He came to the place and saw him, he passed by on the other side but a Samaritan, as he journeyed, feels compassion then he binds up his wounds for non-oil and wine that he set him on his own animal which means, by the way that he would walk the other 70 miles and the other guy would've written and he brought him to an enemy took care of them so Jesus then turns and he asked this Jewish expert. He says which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to be a neighbor to the man he fell among robbers, so the Jewish expert said well course thought he showed immersive Samaritan he so hates the guidance I will immerse it. Jesus said to him you go and do likewise. Now here's what we got going on in the story Jesus shows us what it means to love our neighbors.

Then he shows us why we do that which is a bar nobody ever gets versus is also what discuss the why and then at the very and I want to give you a few practical insights on how we can do that.

Let me divide up the what and when and how much. A who the answer is anyone we see in the Samaritan that you could not of had less in common. In order to meet the need.

Samaritan had to cross an incredible social barrier. Jesus here teaches that we are to help those, especially those with whom we have little in common.

Even those who might have wronged us. If anybody that is in the midst of me that's the answer to the answer to the wind wind we help that answer whenever you see the need, when you see the need, when you got the ability to meet the need the opportunity to meet in the you also have the responsibility to meet the need the answer to the winners whenever you see somebody you need. The third question how much how much are you obligated to the answer is in a way that takes their burden onto yourself. You see, in order to help this beat not Judah Samaritan put himself at great personal risk. This is the great commandment to love people like you love yourself mommy say something to us in particular believers and churches like this one face a particular temptation that Jesus is taking direct aim at like this priest in this Levite were all into religious duties I were talking about reading the Bible and tithing volunteering in small group but when you look at our lives.

There is very little giving away of ourselves were talking to a group of people that we are in a privileged part of the most privileged part wonderfully part of the world and were very conservative.

Just like up recently by that would fit that profile. And Jesus said you got a danger and that is you perfect the marginal you ignore the essential. The weightiest part of the law.

The waiting is for the lost love your neighbor as yourself.

Which means if you want to evaluate your walk with Jesus and asked how many Bible verses you know don't have to know how often you come to church. The question is what amount of your resources and time are being poured out for others like Jesus board is out for you. Believers and churches like ours can tend to studiously emphasize the marginal while neglecting the essential which is loving people. That's what it means to love our neighbor. Now, more importantly, number two why we love our neighbors why we love our neighbors as were Jesus turns the religious man's question on its head.

If you remember, the question started with the law expert, asking what he needed to do to get to heaven and I explained you don't want to Jesus life was that you could do anything at like eight you came to save you. Which is why Jesus puts an interesting twist into the story by writing think women why why have a Samaritan be the hero.

Why not tell the story where just another Jew comes along as they wrote he needed to be a Samaritan to make his point, but why not say, for example, when I say the man's there. He's bleeding and that you came by. The priest came by and then the Levite came by and then really go regular to have love in his heart. He held the man… Why not let that be the point of the story. Why did Jesus choose a man who would've represented the total opposite of the man that he's telling the story to why choose a character that this man has nothing in common with. Here's why.

What if the person that we are most supposed to identify with them the story and that this lawyers was to identify with.

What if the person were most us to identify with is not the priest it's not a Levite it's not the good Samaritan. What if the primary person were supposed to identify with them the story is the guy bleeding on the side of the road and what is somebody who had every reason to hate us and every reason to consider himself. Our enemy and who was very unlike us chose to walk down the path that we put ourselves on and take upon himself our pain and stopped to help us one of the really good Samaritan in the story is Jesus who puts himself into our path takes upon himself our flesh and endures the suffering that we had caused ourselves. Jesus is asking the man what if you were bleeding to death on the side of the road and your only hope was an act of free grace from an enemy who did not owe you anything. After you have been rescued like that.

What would your life look like.

I think your life would be different. You see, Jesus is not giving the law, you're a new rule as much as he is making him aware of a new reality to see if we understand Jesus's life. We are the ones that have been saved by radical grace by a God who had every right to regard himself as our enemy and see when we embrace that we will become givers of radical grace, which is why the word that Jesus usually talks about the Samaritan seeing the man did not first relate to an action related to an emotion he saw in and he felt compassion I actually missed compassion in Greek is not my favorite record before it is in Greek.

It is the word's lot, which is onomatopoeia angry get us to that writing was teachers on mafia, where the word sounds like what it is like splash spring allotment spot. The refers to this level emotion that pity that just cannot consume your be that USA is kind of fun, right touch your your belly right here but your perjuring is right and it states that when the right block it in you don't girl you're not saying a right right you got a silica vomiting is not is not enough about here on it's this emotion that you feel when somebody you love is in pain like when it when you see when your kids hurt each of you can't control it. Jesus is talking last about an action you choose, and more about emotion you can't control because God is not and has never been primarily after people who follow the rules. These after people who love like he loves to respond like he responds to think like he thinks and that kind of change cannot be produced by the wall that kind of love in your heart cannot be compelled by law. The only way that, love can be produced in you is through a radical experience of grace.

We love we love not because he told us to. We love because he first loved us and it was when I experienced the radical grace of the good Samaritan toward me. That's when I became a loving person toward others because how can you experience that kind of grace, and not become graceful. So Jesus taught things like the golden rule right when others as you would have been doing to you if I could be so bold, I think I'm within bounds on this. Actually, Jesus one up himself. Another point, like in a story like this one where he upgraded to the platinum rule golden rule do know that you have been doing to you. The platinum rule is doing to others as Jesus has done to you. So Paul would say thesis 430 to be content how to forgive one another just like God in Christ forgave you. You know how to forgive somebody else do another standard use use the center to guide you for gave you at the bagel standard right you know what your generosity to look like second grade is a not want to remember the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. Now want to think about your needs and your talents in light of what Jesus has done for you see those who experience the gospel develop this uncontrollable impulse to be generous. They develop almost an insane inability to forgive. I was reminded of that this week again watching the latest saga in the Dillon roof tragedy that you Dillon roof the guy when in murdered those African-American believers in cold blood in the middle that worship service on Wednesday and on and you know they will remind me of was your number right after the tragedy happen when the families of these African-American believers show up on TV and they say things like men were praying for you and we love you and we forgive you and were praying for your family and even the cynical journalists are like were not really sure what's happening here. Why would they do. Why would their response be to somebody who does murdered part of their family. We love you and we praying for you were forgiving you it's not because they feel like they gotta do that to go to heaven because the center of their faith is somebody who took upon himself their pain and their suffering and died in their place. They do it not in order to be say they do it because they had been saved. We don't do these things will love our neighbor's lawn like a lawyer were not loving our neighbors in order to earn heaven were doing it because heaven was given to us as a gift and we can help her become to others what Jesus is going to us.

You see, we love because we have been love. That's why we love our neighbor. So that leaves me the number three when we show you a few practical considerations for how we do it, how we love our neighbors are two things that the story shows us that we need to think history shows us we need unity as an enemy of Leah's courage like I showed you this is the primary deterrence of the priest and the Levite engaging to stop and help would've put them at risk. I would suggest to you that fear is one of the primary factors keeping us from loving our neighbors to we asked questions I will be it will be the effect on my family if I engage hear me what's what and if I got my kids.

If we open up our lives in the home to be more problems. I mentioned that safe our family. You probably know people who have this really tight circle of friends. Men are really careful about who they let in that circle be people there say people to give their kids we would benefit their family because that's another thing I want to think who violated my life that can benefit us. Not only does that mentality cut you off the mission of God.

It ultimately destroys you last bar staff team read a book called next doors.

It is in heaven and throughout the book, the author talks about how fear keeps most Christians out of really engaging in the mission of God. He say this is what I way some typical American. I grew up thinking of my home was my castle. My home is my castle. He said so. As an adult as a Christian.

Carl was always open to people.

It was a people always come in and out but always people that we chose always people that we liked with a broader benefit to our family and was always at our convenience, he said. Then I realize that my assumption in life was that the greatest thing as a father I can provide for my family. The greatest thing I was with him about the safety then I said I begin to read the Gospels and realize the greatest thing I could supply for my family was to teach them the love like Jesus loves, which meant opening yourself up to relationships that might actually expose you to danger.

He talks specifically in this book about the call of God in his family's life to foster numbness in this is for everybody, obviously he said what kept us from fostering was also always talking about. What's the effect of fostering to be on our family was in there some legitimate questions you got asked about trying to be foolish with that, he says, but now after having foster for several years. He said I'll tell you I'm there's a couple benefits from fostering to the benefit.

The obvious one is really taking care of a kid during a time of need your also blessing the family, which is usually a single mom on through doing this you get to know them and you can begin the speak healing into their lives to some of the unexpected blessings that we read this to you, he said, providing care for these children is the single best thing we've ever done from kids. We have learned how God uses hospitality to shape and form us. That is a fascinating aspect of kingdom living as you bestow a blessing for the benefit of others you realize that you to become a recipient of God's grace. Jesus had not called shoes on the church to pursue safety. He's per called you to pursue mission and mission is sometimes costly and relationship is sometimes dangerous, and if you cut that out of your life you're going to cut off yourself from the blessing of the presence of God to this guy asked the question about the real question for me is not how dangerous is that stranger.

The real question is, how dangerous will I become if I am not more open, that's the first thing that that that that we identify the stories fear.

Here's the second one. This might be a little harder for you to see your it might be as obvious, but when I find having you see it right on margin margin just refers to that part of your budget or that part of your calendar that is not as filled, but there's room in there to respond to a person who is genuinely in the this guy says he says he has read the parable of the good Samaritan from the perspective of margin. It's very likely that the priest and the Levite had the desire to stop.

They just didn't have the ability to stop they had so much important stuff they had to do. They didn't have space for the things that God was putting in their lives that they needed to do this right here. This calendar is so filled up with things that there simply is no way to respond either financially or with your time when God put somebody in your life and you want you to minister to me today. I love this wonderful teacher numbers following this recently and I you monitor this either on Leviticus 19 is where God gives the command to love your neighbor as yourself. Leviticus 19 you have that passage memorized the denominator will right after he gives that commands Leviticus 19. He gives the most random law that seems to dislike go off a different direction, but it totally is how you're supposed to love your neighbor like this, you see how pleasant it is unaired rightly gives the command to love goddess or love your neighbor as yourself is as many farmers when you glean the harvest from your farm.

I want you to leave the corners of your field ongoing is rule number one and number two is whatever you drop what you're going to pick it up, which means if your novel if I get apple trees. You can pull apples of all the trees except the ones in horny you can't touch them and if you drop in Apple you want to get used eagerly on the ground. Why would you do that, because of the poor come along the poor to be the ones who get the apples off the corner of the tray there was a bit of the apples off the ground. That's called margin.

That's what it's called because a good businessman says every last aft. I am going to take and purpose for business that's a note not knocking and knocking him you're going to leave margin so that when I bring a poor person in your life you have something to give to what that means and how we apply it to this is that we need to ruthlessly think about the schedule and the budget that we have set up and ask if we have left the corners on glean if we've left sitting on the ground that we have dropped because for many of us. The problem is not a problem of desire. The problem is a problem of recently have no room in our budget or schedule to respond to the opportunities that God puts into our lives, which means this is what you getting you some of you. We need to audit our lives really give you a Toyota margin auditing tool. I'll make available my blog. This is can ask you some honest questions and you can look at your life and figure out how you're spending your life and if you got the margin to be able to be involved in the things that God has for you that are most important teacher for a simplified and best simplify means you're ready to cut out some things in your life and in the ones you choose to keep you can invest more deeply in them because that's a much better way to live simplified and invest recompress this is because you're never going to live the life that God intends until you intend to is not nod your head in the sermon. It's actually looking at your schedule and your budget, saying he ever got it set up a way that I need to have it set up, you'll never live the life that God intends for you until you intend to, and in the flipside of that is after you audit you gotta learn how to say no, you'll never be able to say yes to mission do you say no to some good things to make room for the essential things. The authors of this book I'm referring to apply to one area.

Hear me out on this and don't thirst for throwing things immediate they said for us.

We chose razor this never to have any of our kids playing different sports of the same time there was a season of life.

I was going one direction with one kid. My wife was going the opposite direction with another. We decided right then that each child needed to pick one sport for the year or that the sport had to be in the same geographical location. If we are serious about creating margin.

You see, there will be times that something good would need to be cut off.

Now I'm not saying that's only for all of you. I know that for some of you the way that you get to know your neighbors about playing sports, and I encourage that the point has I see a lot of parents who have no ability to be engaged in the mission of God or the church or hardly even be a family how much they're involved in family to come here about every six weeks and they call this their church.

But the other five weeks. They're not here because of soccer trips, dance recitals and be child trip to Disney World because you don't want your kids to be deprived of any essential childhood experience and then when your kid grows up, go to college and walked away from the faith, like what we do wrong.

We came all the experiences you taught them that the wrong things in their lives were essential in you so filled up their lives with the marginal that you eliminate any space for the essential. You gotta learn to say no to good things so you can say yes to the essential things that starts with an honest audit of your life and then some intentional decisions about how you're going to live in what you to make room for you. Looking room until no essential things are challenging questions from Pastor Jeannie Greer on Senate life series called in earth as it is in heaven, and if you find behind in following this teaching, you can always access, sermon, transcripts, and other resources for free@jeanniegreer.com Pastor Jamie this week we launched your brand-new devotional called assured its attending resource exclusive to Senate life. So what would you say to someone his name be struggling with that question of assurance. They're not really sure they stand with God. What you think the next step should be.

Well the first thing I would tell them is I've been there for years and I struggle with doubting my salvation. I thought I was the only one.

It was when I really began to press into what Paul was teaching about the gospel in Romans what first John teaches that I started to see that the path of assurance was different than I had in seeking it on what I realized was that the gospel was a declaration that Jesus is done everything necessary and that all I did was believing and resting and no matter how I felt or how unspiritual I felt that the fact was that Jesus had finished the work of my salvation and when I was leaning on that and depending on that is conversion. Conversion is a posture of repentance and faith that you begin at one point but then you maintain it for the rest of your life and the way that you can be sure that you are in that posture of repentance and faith is to look at the posture of your heart right at this moment I put all this into a book called salvation. Jesus in your heart.

We turn that book into a devotional called assured me to walk you through this path of assurance and show you not only you can find it for yourself how you can help people around you finding you might want to get this resource for a friend. I would love to give it to you just for becoming a partner here with our ministry. If you go to JD grid.com you'll find expiration about how you can start that conversation. Devotional comes with our thank you. Get a gift at the suggested level of $25 or more to support this ministry. The book is titled short. Your donation is so essential.

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When will discover what it really means follower of Christ he think you know the answers Wednesday on Senate life by keeping your ministry