In Earth as it Is in Heaven

Today Jeannie Greer first cleared your story and export of the Jewish law stood up to put Jesus to the test. What shall I do to inherit eternal life. Jesus is going to tell a story that is subtly shift the question right on it said in the process is to show you what it means to love your neighbor have anything to show you maybe more importantly how you can actually do that. That's what were learning today on Senate life. The Bible teaching ministry of Jeannie Greer I Molly bit of it in your joining us for the beginning of a brand-new series called in earth as it is in heaven. Pastor JD is unpacking the story that Jesus told to an expert in the Jewish law, getting right to the heart of the difference between man-made religion in the gospel of Christ were discovering why religion and good works will never be enough to save us. So let's get started. Here's Pastor Jane were going to do a two week series called in earth as it is in heaven.

And I want you to see that how God intends to use you to bring heaven to those who are around you just label like this in earth as it is in heaven. You are part of the earth and you got a circle all your family friends place you were up as you go to school. I want you to substitute wherever that is, into that phrase I wanted to be in blank as it is in heaven at UNC at Duke in the research Triangle Park wherever your neighborhood in blank as it is in heaven. Luke chapter 10 of the gutter Bible. I hope you do. By the way, is a curiosity helmet you brought your Bible this weekend. Got hold out role loud and proud, here all right digital or paper is fine.

I can say this officially, but I prefer your paper because I know you can play games on it, digital.

But I know that when I see one like this that's Angry Birds that is not taking notes or this writer Pokémon goes so just so much more dynamic when you can look at the Scripture in front of you as I walk you through it so that's a good practice to pick up okay right so just pretend this is one of the most famous stories of Jesus ever told. It's one of those stories that even if you have not grown up in church, you know the basic just of this story though I have found that very few people understand even in the church understand the real meaning of the story for much less its implications. Luke chapter 10 verse 25 yourself the setup of the story goes, behold, and 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 track Jesus to put him to the test. 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 do this and you will live. I almost laughed out loud when I read Jesus is response. That's a big old do love God supremely love God supreme make God the highest passion in your heart when you think about first and most make sure he is the undisputed champion of your affections. You should care more about pleasing him, and anything else in your life when your mind is idle, it's automatically turn to the light in the should never tire of that should never be distracted from it on to dominate your life and you love everybody else is like you love yourself to care about your neighbor's needs much you care about yours be rejoice in their happiness is worry about their futures but their sorrows just as much as you do your own wants to raise her hand. I got that describes my weekend. That's my attitude come in here this morning and here's the dilemma of that commandment I messages report how you command that you command love.

Love is one of those things that you do naturally rebel if you love something you don't need to be commanded to love it. For example, I told you you don't ever have to command me to kiss my wife eat a steak take a nap or enjoy my dads. I need no commands to do the things I do them instinctively and on the flipside, if you don't love something that no command can change that. I hate with a deep dark secret passion mayonnaise. I just hate mayonnaise and I hate tomato raw tomatoes. So if you want to make me a role tomato MNA sandwich you can command me to eat it and if you are big enough you might coerce me to eat it but no command of yours is going to make me love it. Love is one of those things that if you have it you will need to be commanded to do it if you don't have it.

No command will change that.

There in lies the dilemma.

Do you see that so verse 29 but he all expert desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor see he feels the squeeze of that impossible standard and so he is trying to justify himself.

He's trying to wiggle out of that standard by limiting the scope of what Jesus said and keep in mind this man's primary concern is still his own soul, which she presents another dilemma. A lot of atheists have pointed this out and I think it's a very important observation. Here's a limit. If you think that you have to earn your way to heaven. Then every good thing you ever do your actually operating out of self-interest right if I have to earn my way to heaven, and about the love you to go to heaven then loving you is actually loving me to have illustrated that you before, is the story is told of an ancient king who was beloved in his kingdom and so one day one of his subjects.

A poor Terran farmer showed up in his court.

In 17 I'm a poor care farmer. I have very little bites. I dug up a 4 1/2 foot ^ and when I saw that Karen I thought about the care that's only fit for a king. And I love you and I am devoted to you and you are an awesome king and I want to give it to you is and is an emblem of my devotion will the King was generally move the symbol where do you live in the got told me should you not have known all the farmland around your little farm and because you're such a good subject because you so bring delight to my heart, give you all that farmland and he basically quadrupled the size of his little farm will one of the noblemen will stand in the back of the court in the year, watch this thing, he thought, wow, if that's what the king would give in response to a ^ imagine what he would give in response to a real gift like a so he went out, he found the most magnificent horse in the kingdom and he brought the horse in the next day he said okay and you're at all something that I love serving you and your so wise and I thought you should have this magnificent horse as an emblem of my devotion to you and so the king who is seen as shrewd and wise on his own right. He says he said well, yesterday the care farmer was giving the carrot to me today you're giving a horse to yourself. You see the dilemma of religion is that if I'm serving God as a way of earning heaven that I might actually loving God or people not you loving me. That is what APS point out about religion and they are 100% correct and is the dilemma of all religion. Here's one more thing that you ought to read as you get into it while read it based on what you know about the Bible, can you actually do something that could earn your way to heaven know me know point of Jesus's life was that we couldn't earn our way to heaven. That's why Jesus had to come to earth to do for us what we could move ourselves to come live the life we are supposed to live so we could die the death we recommended.see all these things are at play in this question. Which means you read the whole story to the lives of those problems dies and get this, Jesus is going to tell a story that is subtly shift the question and turn it on its head and in the process.

He's going to show you what it means to love your neighbor and anything to show you maybe more importantly how you can actually do that to look over starting.

Jesus replied a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, by the way, going down literally means down between Jericho and Jerusalem.

It was a 17 mile journey drops 3000 feet in elevation and all along the side, there are these it's really straight path for all these rocky outcropping that are perfect for robbers and thieves. The hog using C for a long way and is lots of places for them to set up an ambush and so is this guys going down the balls among robbers stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Or you could read that leading him for dead. I thought it gilded.

Now I chance a priest who is of course the most religious person in society. The religious leader the best of the best he's going down that road and when he saw all this beat up Jewish man, he passed by on the other side. Now we tend to really give this guy a hard time because we get the image of some guidance stepping over a bleeding man on his way into the doughnut shop but Jewish audience that heard this would have immediately recognized a few things in this story that would've made this guy a little more sympathetic of a character. First of all, the Jericho Road was a very dangerous path literally in those days it was called the passive blood because it was such a natural place for robbers to hide the one thing was true. If you had to travel to Jericho Road. You certainly did not stop it. If you stop in the robbers could figure out where you were making him ambush you. Second, the priest was returning from Jerusalem where he had purified himself. That's why he would've gone to Jerusalem so we could return back to his hometown and perform religious duties. There according to Jewish law. If you touch the man who died or was in the process of dying after you been purified. You had to go back to the temple and go to another purification process which could take up to seven days. The point is, it would have been massively inconvenient and dangerous and really expensive for this please stop and help this guy. So he thought someone else you have to feel called to do this and he passes by so likewise a Levite Levite like JB Preece. They were out of the precinct landed us wonderful. They were they work to priest what mall security are the cops that help okay so likewise a Levite.

He came to the place and saw him, he passed by on the other side of the Jericho Road long straight you could see for miles because he threw 4 miles ahead of which means the Levite loosing the priest due to seen in past body with all of my religious leader.

The varsity can handle of the JV shouldn't touch it. So he just follows his leader and he passes by on the other side also.

But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, we came to the place where he was and when he saw him notice it and see he did something personal to what he felt he felt compassion. If you know anything about the Bible you know the Samaritans were the sworn enemies of the Jews. Jews regarded Samaritans to be unclean because Samaritans were the half Jew half Gentile offspring of the Assyrians when they come into the northern kingdom of Israel and taken Israel captive. They forced the Jews there intermarry and they spawn this race of half Jewish half Gentile half bloods, mud bloods, for you Harry Potter fans.

I read that today the Samaritans on their part. They retaliated by saying that they were actually the true people of God because they lived in the land of Joseph. If you have read the Old Testament you know that Joseph was like the start of the Old Testament and he was the best of the best light. We live in his land where his descendents were the real Jews not you and so they set up their own altar. They said they were the true people of God. They were either they claim themselves that they are the right ones are those all this racial animosity going back and forth to achieve. The only good Samaritan was a dead one. Get this Jewish people considered just eating the bread that it touched the Samaritan has equal to eating the flesh of a live pig, which was the most defiled animal to them of all and Samaritans were not the nicest people. Either they would frequently rob caravans of Jews on their ways to Jerusalem. They were known to desecrate the temple on the eve of the Passover by him should laugh about this, but they they would launch dead pigs that catapult on the eve of the Passover into the temple where they would splatter and get you know all this to file blood all over it, which is coming up on the couch right but the Jews did not think it was funny that all those all this strife and animosity that went back and forth between them. That's the Samaritan he goes out to him, however, feels compassion any bonds of his wounds, born on 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 in the next day he took out two denarii. I've his own money be given to the innkeeper.

He said you take care of him and whatever more you spend will repay you when I come back gives an open line of credit to the hospital, not the dangerous situations. You will know what happened because an open time of credit. I 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, the one he showed immersive Samaritan he still 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 the bar nobody ever gets sold under versus assess the what and discuss the why and then at the very and I want to give you a few practical insights on how we can do that. She got double what the why and the amount. Number one what it means to love our neighbors. Let me divide up the what and who, when and how much is a confusing probably is confusing but it's all I can do. So what it means loving neighbors. I might give you who is our neighbor when were supposed to love them and then how much is worth the cost. A who the answer is anyone we see in the Samaritan that you could not have less in common. In order to meet the need. The Samaritan had to cross an incredible social barrier. You see, it is natural for us to help those who are like us those with whom we identified thought we have a lot in common. But 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, which could mean the person you barely know the person on the other side of the political aisle from you.

Those whom you feel are suffering because of mistakes that they or their family have made the boss at work. He was taken advantage of you.

It could be Muslims fleeing from Aleppo.

It could be the illegal immigrant who broke the law to get here by the way, always point out when I say that I'm not trying to make a statement on what I think the government should or should not do. The government has its own questions it asked answer about that and I pray that God gives them wisdom, but I'm saying that for me as an individual I know exactly what I'm supposed to do when I see someone made in the image of God in need. I'm not asking questions about how they got there. I'm saying that I want to love them, the way that Jesus love me with me that when I put myself in the path of sin. Jesus came to rescue me, it's anybody that is in the midst of need that the answer to the answer to the wind wind we help that answer whenever you see the need for Christians come up with all kinds of excuses for why they don't need help somebody in the bill say things like why don't mind helping people who are truly victims of injustice people over there there suffering because of their own dumb decisions may only deserve our help, their suffering is their fault will get this Samaritan would've had plenty of reasons to believe this Jewish man deserved the suffering man was a Jew and as we seen the Jews were cruel to Samaritans that are often downright racist. This man might've thought well this is what happens when you foster a culture of racial superiority you produce a culture of violence and the violent wind up biting you. They had every reason to think that with the Samaritan just reaches out in mercy in the 1700s.

Jonathan Edwards listed out the most common excuses that people gave Americans like in the pre-American days. Most common excuses that Americans gave for not helping those who were in need a little book called the duty of charity. It is amazing to me how timely these excuses still REE identified three excuses that Christensen is they get excused in the one we only help people when they are in dire need. We really only have to help people when they're in dire need. Jonathan Edwards answer that violates the principle of loving our neighbor as ourselves because we come to our own aid long before the situation is dire. I don't wait on their death to help myself awake or merely uncomfortable and then I start helping myself excused. Number two, we identified Christians in his day would say well you know they brought that trouble on themselves. Jonathan Edwards answer, but Christ relieve the misery that you brought on yourself.

Should you not love somebody else like Christ loved you. Let me ask you to think about something liberals and conservatives in our culture have different explanations for why the poor are poor.

Why, for example, kids in poor schools continue to struggle and those who are more on the left the liberals.

They say things like, well, it's systemic evil.

It's racism. The system is rigged to support those in power and keep them in power and conservatives able now know it's their families fault their families never taught them right from wrong.

Their families never taught them responsibility, or read to them and I report them to succeed.

Even worse, they taught them to hate those who succeed, but both liberals and conservatives agree on one thing, it is not entirely the kids fault, I am nothing about like this the back of my sister and I were born a family that loved us, and parents read to me every night and taught me that if I applied myself I could succeed. That was due to nothing on my part is all I got rewarded in the afterlife of good behavior were good parents had lived in a day yet it was a gift of grace, that he gave to me in the same way the kids that were born into poor families, bad families that it has to be born there.

Therefore, we who have been a part of blessing ought to do what we can to help them and not isolate ourselves from them. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be careful or holistic and how we help we shouldn't do it in a way that teaches dependency or in a way that ignores the family structure. But the point is we have to do something.

We can't just pass by. Proverbs 327. Solomon said do not withhold good from your neighbor when it is in your power to act when you see the need, when you have the ability to meet the need the opportunity to meet the knee.

You also have the responsibility to meet the need of 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 beaten up Jew, the Samaritan put himself at great personal risk like a surge even uses all money and open up a lot of credit.

The third excuse that Edwards identified the Christian people in the 1700s used to excuse themselves from engaging those in need is they said well I go on my own problems by Billy comedians make ends meet.

As it is and I can afford to help somebody in need.

Jonathan Edwards answer verses like Galatians 6 to tell you to bear one another's burdens, which means that you are to give and live in such a way and get involved, to a point that somebody else's burden become something that you share it, not what you see in the story of the Samaritan takes on this guys burden as his own Summit church about that explained to you. There is no magic number I can give you when regards how much to give. There's not even a magic percentage that I can give to you when I'm talking about how much your time or your money, you should give the one thing I told you that you can be sure of is that when you are following Jesus in this area.

You will feel like you are shouldering some of the burden of others try CS Lewis said the only safe rule when it comes to giving well what rule she's about to give us rules. The only safe rule. You gotta have one and only safe rule when it comes to generosity is that you want to give more than you think you can spare another word you give until it pains you into you take on somebody's burden as your own, was in a bucket that is very gently. Some of you give them based on relative measures. You give a lot, but you give it no personal cost for yourself are giving ought to be at a level that we experience some of their difficulty because of the amount that we give some of this is the core of what it means to follow Jesus understand that right. 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 Levites 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 the priest and we buy that would fit the profile and Jesus said you got a danger and that is you perfect the marginal you ignore the essential he took direct aim of this. Matthew 2223 woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you read that priests and Levites. You can read that you read that Summit church elders and deacons. Woe to you. You tithe mint and dill and cumin.

These people tied their spice rack that's varsity I would often play because I got her some oregano and some crushed red pepper amino. They tied everything, yet you neglected mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done me in the ties of God without neglecting the others. 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 gonads. How many Bible verses you know now 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 after rule followers. People who love like he lives in who respond like respond and I can only come by receiving radical grace with the first message in a new series called in earth as it is in heaven you're listening to Senate life with pastor and author Janie Greer so pastor Janie we've come to a special time of year in the church and holy week and Easter is this weekend and you are teaching us in this series about how God wants to work in our neighborhoods, our schools, our office is how he wants to work in earth as it is in heaven. But what if I'm not feeling very Christian right now. We were honest, we probably all admit that there are moments when we don't really feel Christian moments where honestly you don't I get up and pray and where you don't feel like reading your Bible, you feel more like it was coming on TV you do the spread of of God's kingdom and the way what you do in that moment, the answer is to just to renew your belief in the gospel just sent it to rejoice in the matter how I feel my salvation is not based on how I feel. It's based on the finished work of Christ, the Christian life is sustained by our faith being in the unchangeable facts of the gospel not and how we feel that's what this devotional that were giving out the series helps you do is help to show you how to believe the gospel when you don't feel it's reality in your heart. What I found through a lot of years of struggling with assurance and struggling with with these questions is that God, like any good father wants us to know that we belong to him. I love to give you this resource so that you can only find this for yourself and help those people in your life to find it. Also, just reach out to us here Janie grid are common and I would love to start a conversation with offer you a copy of pastor Janie's new 10 day devotional title surely gives a thorough biblical answers the question of assurance. How can we know for sure where we stand with God and Senate life only place to get exclusive resource just released today will send you a copy with our thanks when you donate ministry right now by calling 865-5228 6552 20 we can get a copy when you donate online.

Janie Greer.com Molly that event today and be sure to join us again tomorrow in this new series in her having Tuesday on sponsored by Janie Greer minutes