Tender Loving Care

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Heavenly Father, thank you. Thank you for another great moment with you, Lord. Can't imagine eternity. Hard to conceptualize. But we're thankful that we've passed from death unto life. We've passed from darkness into the light. And we are children of the kingdom of God. And we thank you for that. Thank you for the word this morning. Thank you for pouring into me, Lord, your word, your spirit, that I can give back to your children as you have given it to me. In Jesus' name. Amen. My sermon this morning is entitled Tender Loving Care. TLC. TLC. Tender loving care. In Luke chapter 10, verse 25, and behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right, this do, and thou shalt live. Verse 29. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor? You know, people like to play with God. They like to play with his word. They like to sort of put their spin on it. And here's a man of great intelligence and knows what he's talking about, about what he's supposed to be doing to love God. But in the last sentence he says, willing to justify himself. What does that mean? To justify ourselves, it means to render righteous or such he ought to be. It means this such as he is, and wishes himself to be considered of those who seem to themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves in their virtues, whether real or imagined. We must ask ourselves this morning: do we justify things in our life? Let that settle in for a moment. How much justification do we have in our lives that we justify things? Are we being honest or dishonest about ourselves and to others? People like to make themselves more than they are. We like to present this presentation to the world that man, I am really spiritual. I walk on water. My ears to heaven, I can get a prophecy every hour, give it out. That's how close I am to God. What do we justify? Let me give you a parable here. In Luke 16 and 10. It says, if you are faithful in little things, you'll be faithful in large ones. But if you're dishonest in the little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people's things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him, and then he said unto them, You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God. Think about that for a moment. This world is moved by money. This world is in love with money. But here's a parable where Jesus says, you can't serve both. Now we're Christians. Do we justify what we do, what we serve, what we buy, what we don't buy, what we give, what we don't give? We justify. Because the word of God says certain things and we bypass it. If you work with someone and you tell them, listen, you're in a situation where you're violating the word of God. They have a choice to be honest or dishonest. And when you give them the word of God and they leave your presence and they go and do exactly what they've been doing, disregarding the word of God, they justifying their behavior. We can't do that. We cannot justify our behavior if it's not based on God's word. It just doesn't work. We fool ourselves, we lie to ourselves. Listen, listen, every parent thinks their kids are gonna be, you know, go to MIT. Every parent thinks uh that their kid's gonna play center field for the New York Yankees. And sometimes we judge look look how we play, look, look, look, look at that, look. Really? Is that truthful? Is that honest? Is that an honest assessment of the abilities and talents of a person? A lot of times it's not. We do that to ourselves. We like to present ourselves to the world and pose to the world and say, hey, look who I am. Look how many likes I get, look how many friends I have on Facebook, look what I can post. And it gets ad nauseum after a while. You know, it's like a psy-off that comes against your mind. It's like the silly little games I preached about two weeks ago. The games that we play, the games people play, and we justify those games. Do you know why I'm an alcoholic? Because you make me mad. Really? Do you know why I cheated on you? It's because really is that the real reason? Or is it because of your lust? It's because you wanted to do that and you wanted to violate God's word. And so many times we justify our behavior. And Jesus is telling this lawyer, hey, listen, get off of it. You can give me all this spiritual stuff, you can give me all this nonsense, but you're not being honest with yourself, and you're not being honest with my father. And Jesus told him. He didn't tell him hatefully. He told him, You're playing games with God. And that's what a lot of people are doing. In Luke chapter 10 and verse 30, and Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment and wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead. So here we have the story of the Good Samaritan. Jericho was situated somewhere between 8 and 15 miles northeast of Jerusalem. And Barnes' note says this from Jerusalem to Jericho, the country was rocky and mountainous. And it had crevices where the gangsters could hide, the the looters and the and the pilfords. And it afforded many people to stay in those hideaways, in those strongholds, a convenient place for them to stay and then come down and rob people and beat them. It was very frequent. On the road to Jericho. There was a lot of crime and so on and so forth. Now, this man fell among thieves. Now I want you to listen to this for a moment. And you know how much I love divine providence, and I love how God moves in our destiny. You never know what situation you'll be in or you will experience on a certain day. You'll never know. Divine providence and destiny is always at work in God's kingdom. Some of you might be sitting here this morning thinking, why am I in this situation? Why did this happen to me? Well, let me give you something. A certain man, that certain man is any of us, okay? Going about life minding his own business as we do. So I turned to Solomon, who was the wisest man in the Old Testament, and it's in Ecclesiastes 9 11. I'm going to read two versions. He said these words. He says, I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill, but time and chance happen to them all. Okay. Let's stop there for a moment. Let's read the easy version. He said this I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. And it's all decided by chance by being in the right place at the right time. Think about that. Think about that fender bender. Think about what happened to you in ailment or sickness. Think about some setback in your life. And immediately we think, oh, God doesn't love me. God isn't with me. But everything that happens to us in increments helps us if we don't become bitter, but become better closer to the Lord. God will use adversity, God will use trial and tribulation. He warned us through Peter concerning the fiery trial. Don't think it's strange concerning the fiery trial. And we are so amazed sometimes. I can't believe this is happening to me. Why? Time and chance happeneth to them all. We are that certain man. And we have to ask ourselves what happens to us as we leave Jerusalem to go to Jericho? Ask yourself that question. What are you saying, Pastor? As we leave church and enter back into the world, we're going from Jerusalem to Jericho, and it's evil out there. It's evil. What temptations exist as we travel toward Jericho that need to be avoided? What choices do we make that sets us up for an ambush by the enemy? What and who do we allow to strip us and wound us? And what causes us to lose peace and the serenity of God in our lives? Because every time we leave this church, or you leave your home, you're leaving Jerusalem, which means double peace, if you have peace in your home, and I hope you do, and you're walking toward Jericho on your job, among people, in the stores, you have no idea what's going to take place that day. You have no idea. Time and chance. Happen it to them all. God orders our steps. God knows when time and chance are in play. God knows everything about us, even the hairs upon our head. And the Bible said he went from Jerusalem, which is the place of double peace, to Jericho, which actually means a place of fragrance. Oh, it was a city noted for its balsam, its honey, its cypress, and all the smells. All the fragrant products came out of Jericho. It was near the north shore of the Dead Sea in the tribe of Benjamin, between Jerusalem and the Jordan River. This was the first city conquered by the Israelites upon entering the promised land of Canaan. Well, it was an accursed city by Joshua. It was a very wicked and evil environment that people traveled on that road, going from Jerusalem to Jericho. So what happened? What happened to this guy? He's minding his own business. He's not bothering anybody. He's probably on an asylum going to visit his grandmother, who knows what he's going through, but the Bible says he fell among thieves. What does that mean? It means to fall among and to be encompassed by them. It means to be surrounded by robbers. And it was a common experience to this day on the road to Jericho. The Romans actually placed a fort on this, listen to the words now, red and bloody way. They were bandits, not petty thieves. And when the Bible says he fell among thieves, he was thrusted down. He was overcome by terror. He was overcome by astonishment and grief. He lost his authority and no longer had force to fight back. Think about it. Think about the enemy of your life. You don't see him physically, but man, he wants to bring you to the place where you fall. He wants to bring you to the place where you lose all your authority and you have no force to fight back. He's not a figment of our imagination. He's real. He's real. And the Bible says, and he fell among thieves. Okay? Now listen to this. In the way to Jericho, there was a place called Ad Adaman, A-D-O-M-I-M, which signifies, in parentheses, this is a quote from Guild's commentary, Bloods. Now, a lot of you who work in the prison system know the Bloods, the gang. Okay? This did this didn't start in Auburn Correctional Facility. This didn't start in a Five Points Correctional Facility. This started way, way back. This actually started in the days. Oh no. This started way, way back, my friend. There were gangs, there was groups, there was cliques, and so on, okay? Because they named this place because much blood was shed there by their frequent incursions of thieves and robbers. Praise the Lord. Listen to what he's saying now. And it was about a four-hour journey from Jericho. And by the man's falling among thieves may be expressed, mankind coming into the hands of sin and Satan, which are robbers that steal, kill, and destroy. Since these have robbed man of his honor, defaced the image of God in him, and deprived him of the glory of God, and were murderers of him from the beginning. What's Gild's commentary saying? We were that certain man that fell among thieves, and the thief was Satan, and he wounded us, and he hurt us, just like he did in the Garden of Eden. Adam was wounded in the Garden of Eden. He was wounded. He was wounded. What does that mean? He was plundered by the serpent. He was stripped of his authority. He had no force to fight back against the powers of hell. He had to depart from the Garden of Eden and leave that garden and leave the splendor of what God had given him. Think about that for a moment. What do people forfeit? What do people forfeit when God comes into the garden of their soul and saves them by the blood of Jesus Christ? What do we forfeit when we walk away from this book and we decide that our sin is greater than God's word. And we think there will not be a consequence. Man, we have got this thing wrong. We have got this thing wrong. We are accountable to his word, not our opinions, not our beliefs, not our thoughts, not our own commentaries. We are accountable to the word of God. And we're either going to be honest or dishonest with the word of God. That's what the word says. That's what he's saying. He fell among thieves. Adam was wounded. We were wounded in sin. And what does a thief do? He's a robber, he's a plunderer, he's a free boater, which means he's an opportunist. The enemy is always looking for an opportunity to cause you to fall wherever you go. We think out of sight, out of mind, I don't have to think about it. These thieves were gangsters. They were gangsters, they were outlaws, they were felons. They were felons. And what do these thieves do? They steal, they rob, they take what belongs to other people and claim it for themselves. They steal the dignity and respect of other people. It's one who steals ultimately the public humiliation of others. The enemy wants to steal your dignity and your respect. Wants to humiliate you. He doesn't want you to have the esteem that God desires to give you, not human esteem, but the esteem of God. And we leave Jerusalem, we go to Jericho, and we say, Hey, nice sermon. But the Lord opened our eyes. Lord opened our ears. Because what happened to him? He was stripped. He was not only stripped of his garments, he was not only stripped of what he was wearing, but he was stripped of his soul. When you knock a man down and you rob him and you wound him, you take away the man's dignity, and you take away the man's authority and the power to fight back. He has no recourse because you give him none. But we have recourse with Satan. Because he wants to do exactly the same thing to us to our homes, to our marriages, to our business, to our finances, to our church, to our country. But we can resist the devil. We can resist the devil, and he says he will flee, but we have to have a constant war against him. It's not a one-time deal, it's not a once-a-week deal. It's daily. Sometimes it's moment by moment. It's not a game that we're playing. This is eternal life. He stripped him of his raiment. And the Bible says he wounded him. What does that mean? He hit him. It was a public calamity, it was a heavy affliction. It means this in the Greek through the idea of flattening out. Laid him out. To strike him, to smite him. But it also means this. It means to form or to mold something from clay or wax used like in a potter's house. This is what people do. They flatten you out like a mold that they that that can't be changed. They try to change your mindset, hence your identity, into making you believe that what they say or do is right and you are wrong. This is very typical of an abuser. An abuser will bring a woman to the point of making her believe that she is crazy and out of her mind. Because what does an abuser do? He flattens her out. And he steals her identity and he steals her dignity and he steals her respect. That's what abusers do. And that's exactly what Satan does. You see, this desire to craft or fur or fashion another person according to your control is actually witchcraft at its best. It's a psy-up. It's a psy-up, it's a game. It's a stupid, silly little game. Listen, when I went into the prison system and I was no big deal, I was a chap for 20 years. But they gave me a yellow book. How criminals think. And I had to study the book and learn how criminals think because they don't think like we do. And I have oodles of information in my files, even in the church here, that I that I have at my disposal on how criminals think. You know why I had to learn that? Because they play PsyOps against you. They want to play games with you. Hey, Chaplain, that's a nice pen you got in your pocket. A week goes by. Chaplain, what happened to that nice silver pen you had in your pocket? It's none of your business. You see, what it says is they're looking at you, they're framing you up. They're setting you up. They want to know if you could do a favor for them, and so on and so forth. So you have to think ahead on how they think. Isn't it sad as Christians? We have to do that sometimes with one another on a Psyop game that's coming against you, and you have to figure out how's that person thinking and what's he trying to say to me, and what game is he playing? And how does he want to warn me and step on me? See, that's the games people play. We even play those games in church.

SPEAKER_03 22:31

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 22:32

We play those silly, stupid games. You know, one of these days it'll all be over. One of these days it'll all be over. All the games, all the psyops, government, all the all this stuff, lies. People are on tape. You're a serial killer. You go to court and you plead not guilty. Who's that guy there on tape? Who is that man?

SPEAKER_00 22:57

Is that you? Do you have a twin? I don't think so. But you plead what? Not guilty. How do you do that? It's you. You robbed a bank.

SPEAKER_02 23:10

You killed another human being. It's a game. Judge, I'm not guilty. Okay, you're not guilty. What does this mean? See, people desire to pollute your psyche, to pollute your mind. I mean, I I've seen this over and over in the church world. I've seen it especially in homes and marriages where there's abusive relationships. And it's really sad. Because a lot of times, I give you an example of a woman, she doesn't ever recover. Because she is made to believe it's all your fault. You're crazy. Look at you. Everybody knows it. And I'm gonna tell everybody. And I'm gonna give you a bad reputation. What kind of a cruel human being does that? What kind of a pro-human being does that? It's the same cruelty that this man experienced on the road to Jericho. And the Bible says in Luke 10, 31, they left him half dead to die, okay, leaving him. What is the word departing leaving him? They separated from him, the thieves, okay, leaving him. It means to divorce, it means uh to expire. You know, some relationships, people put an expiration date on it. I'll love you as long as you give to me. And there's an explanation date. And will you stop? I'll stop what they left him. Left him to die. They deserted him wrongfully. They abandoned him, left him destitute. And Luke 1031, and by chance there came down a certain priest that way, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Now here's a man of God. He sees a guy half dead. Our WP commentary says this he came alongside, and then he stepped over to the opposite side of the road to avoid ceremonial contamination with a stranger. A vivid and powerful picture of the vice of Jewish ceremonial cleanliness at the cost of moral principle and duty. The Levite in this verse, the priest in this verse, did the same thing that the Levite's gonna do. I can't touch it because you know what the law says you can't touch a uh a wounded body. Okay? Let's stop here for a moment. Here's another commentary. And when he saw him naked, I mean they took his clothes, in such a bloody condition that he might take one really dead, therefore across the way on purpose, that he should anyway touch him and be defiled by him, and so break the law and incur the penalty of it mentioned in Numbers 19 and 16. Now let's look what the law says. You see, people want to interpret this book according to their way, not God's way. Numbers 19 and 16 says this, two different versions. To shun so a horrible sight, or rather through hardness of heart and want of compassion. Numbers 19 and 16 says this, and whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open field, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. Okay. Alright. So the priest of the Levite is going to have a legal case and say, Do you do you know why I didn't help that guy? I didn't help him because I couldn't touch a bloody body. And he was half dead, and you know, maybe he was dead. I don't know. He's justified. But they failed to look at Deuteronomy chapter 22, verse 1. Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them. Thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. If its owner does not live nearby, or you don't know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it. Do the same if you find your neighbor's donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses, don't ignore your responsibility. If you see that your neighbor's donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on his feet. If God tells us to help a donkey that's on the road that's fallen, how much more does God say, hey, this guy is dying? You need to do something. You're in the ministry and you're a man of God.

SPEAKER_01 27:51

I can't touch.

SPEAKER_02 28:00

Listen, what does Acts 5.27 say? And when they brought them, they set them before the council, and the high priest asked them, saying, Did we not straightly command you that you should not teach in that name?

unknown 28:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 28:16

And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Look what Peter said. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than man. Can I remind you of what happened a few years ago? When they thought we were crazy. Because we wouldn't put a certain substance in our bodies? And there was a big hullabaloo about it. And some people say you have to do that because of Romans 13. No, I don't. If it bypasses God's Lord and it trespasses against his will from my body, no, I don't. You do what you want. But now the government has come out and said, you know what? It was bad. It was so bad that millions upon millions of people died in the world. That's how bad it was. That's what the CDC says now. The Center for Disease Control. But we were crazy. Sometimes we're gonna have to stand up and obey God in spite of everything else, and whatever consequence comes, we'll have to pay. It's not forever. The Bible says in verse 32, and likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, looked on him, looked on him, and passed by on the other side. Priest and Levite are mentioned partly because they were the most frequent travelers on the road. Looked on. Yeah. I don't know. You might have a pulse. Man, guys, buddy. They beat the slot at him. Mercy, mercy, mercy. But you know what? I got things to do. I got places. You know, no, they don't want to be inconvenienced. Same thing. People don't want to be inconvenienced. Oh, I want to follow God. I want to do the will of God. I want to walk in the light until God gives you an assignment. I don't quite like them. Can I have a different one? No, it's not three doors. You don't you don't get to pick the assignment. He gives you the assignment. And when you reject the assignment, he'll go to the other person.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

Well, come on.

SPEAKER_02 30:47

He'll go to the other person.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 30:50

They came and looked on him. Barnes note says it's remarked by critics here that the expression used does not denote, as in the case of the priest, that he accidentally saw him and took no further notice, but that he came and looked on him more attentively, but still did nothing to relieve him. You see, when it says looked on him, it sounds like he just no, he he stopped. He paid attention. He's assessing the situation.

SPEAKER_01 31:16

Yeah, I can't touch that guy.

SPEAKER_02 31:19

Woo! I'll be unclean for seven days according to the law. Really? So you're gonna back off, aren't you? You're not gonna obey God. You're gonna go by the letter of the law as you interpret it and not as God gives it to you.

SPEAKER_03 31:36

Hmm.

SPEAKER_02 31:36

Amazing. What does this mean? Eclectic note says this was a deliberate act of insensibility proceeding from a hard heart. When he was at the place, he came and looked at him, he considered his misfortunes, gave time for reason and nature to have awoke, saw the imminent danger he was in, and the pressing necessity of immediate help, which was so violent a case called allowed for, and after all, he turned aside and unmercifully left him to all the distresses of his condition. They let the man stay there to die. Wow. That's like a hit-and-run driver. I'm gonna hit the kid on a bicycle, I'm gonna run away because I don't want to get myself in trouble. Do you actually know what you did? Do you just leave the scene? Do you not have any responsibility? Neither the priest nor the Levites spoke a comfortable word. Neither did they administer relief to him. Neither do they assist him in any way, shape, or form. A deliberate act of insensibility proceeding from a hard heart. God, don't let us have a hard heart.

SPEAKER_00 32:52

People say, I don't care. What don't you care about? Tell me what you don't care about.

unknown 32:59

I don't care. I don't care.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

What don't you care about? Tell me.

SPEAKER_02 33:07

We have to care. Because Jesus cares. You see, this is prejudice here. This was anti-Semitism. That people don't want to hear today. In verse 33 of Luke 10, but a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion on him. A Samaritan. Let's talk about that for a moment. John 4 and 9 says, Then saith the woman of Samaria unto Jesus, How is it thou being a Jew, asketh drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Okay. She's establishing a position. I shouldn't be talking to you, and you shouldn't be talking to me because you're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan, and the Jews hate the Samaritans. John 8 47 says this He that is of God heareth God's words. You therefore hear them not because you are not of God. Then he answered the Jews and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil? Now they're accusing Jesus of being a Samaritan, but they're also accusing him of having a devil. And Jesus answered, I am not a devil, but I have honor by my father, and you dishonor me. Well now you call him Jesus' names. Okay. John 8 48 says this. The Jews responded to him in the easy version: Are we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? Man. What what audacity these people have. These are people that are schooled in God's Old Testament word. And you're calling the Messiah, a demon, a devil. Think about that for a moment. So what happens? The Bible says, as he journeyed, okay, he traveled, this this Samaritan, he made his appearance. He came before the public, he came into being, he arose. God gave him an assignment, even though he was a Samaritan. John 16 and 27 says this, for the Father himself loveth you because you have loved me and have believed that I came out from God. You see, this Bible says here that the Bible says, but a certain Samaritan, he journeyed, that means he traveled, and he came. Now I'm going to liken the Samaritan also to Jesus. Follow me. He says, I came from the Father, Jesus said, and I am come into the world again, and I leave the world and I go to the Father. What are you saying? I'm saying John 3 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. My friend, we were that certain man on that Jericho road, and we were wounded by Satan. We were left for dead by Satan and probably left for dead by a lot of other people.

SPEAKER_01 36:00

Jesus came. He didn't just look on me. He didn't walk on the other side of the street. And then he reached down. He reached down with love.

SPEAKER_02 36:33

Because why? He saw me. He saw my sin. This could be any of us in any given moment of life. This is Jesus. And when he saw us in our debilitated and sinful condition, he bent over. You see, the world we lived in robbed us. And the world we lived in prevented us from coming to Jesus. And the world wounded us, and the world left us for dead. And we needed someone to come along and have mercy on us and bind up our wounds and make us whole. Because Romans 5.8 says, But God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

SPEAKER_03 37:14

Thank you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 37:21

He didn't just walk by.

SPEAKER_02 37:29

And people have to think about their about giving their best to God.

SPEAKER_01 37:34

Really?

SPEAKER_02 37:44

Am I gonna give my best to God? Justifying their actions and their ways? When Jesus took you off the Jericho Road, you would die and on your way to hell. You were in death row. I was in death row. They were ready to come and inject me to kill me. He took the right hand of righteousness and fellowship and picked me up and broke me out of the miry clay. And I'm not gonna do my best to give him my best. No, I want to try my best to give him my best. For God today, not half-hearted. I want to do what God tells me to do today. Is that always easy? No, it's not. Isaiah 53 and 5 says, but he was wounded for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. My God, he took my wounds! He took a beating for me. And I have to consider holding back. For my own pleasure. Go back to the parable. He can't serve God and mammon. It'll catch up with you. He can't serve both. Either you'll love one or hate the other. It's just simple. It's a simple biblical parable and principle that people violate every week. Because they know better than God. He had compassion on us. Just like this Samaritan. Romans 5:3.24, being justified freely by his grace through redemption, that's in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 1:7, and whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. The Samaritan had compassion, but so did Jesus. And Colossians 1:14, and whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Think about it. God forgave me of my sins. That were gonna bring me to hell. And people don't even believe that anymore. We have preachers that say, I don't believe that anymore. They've come into their own, they've awokened with woke theology. That's not for today. A loving God wouldn't send anyone to hell. He doesn't. People send themselves to hell. It's God's intention for all people to be saved. That's what the word says. But it's the pride of man. The pride of man that says no to God. The pride of man says, you know what? I've got my own pleasures, I've got my own agenda, I've got my own schedule, and you're not gonna tell me what to do, and neither is the pastor who preaches the word. And I'm not telling you what to do. I'm just trying to give instruction for myself and for you. The good Samaritan and Jesus, what happens? They're similar. In verse 34, and he went to him and bound up his wounds. This is the man that the Jews hated, pouring oil and wine and set him on his own beast and brought him to the inn and took care of him. This is just like Jesus. Psalm 147 and 3. He healeth the broken in heart and binded up their wounds. And the NLT version it says this he heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. Oh my, didn't he do that on the road to Jericho when he found you? Didn't he do that? Bandages, you know what that means? Dressings, compressors, to suave. It's a meticulous process of what the Samaritan did for that Jewish man. He took care of them. And that's exactly what Jesus does to us. He bandages those wounds. He swathes us with his love. It's a meticulous process. Psalm 147 and 3 says, who is giving healing to the broken of heart and is binding up their griefs. Man, there's so many griefs in life. I want to read this commentary by Matthew Henry. It's a little paragraph. But it's worth reading. Matthew Henry says this Christ gave an example of a poor Jew in distress, relieved by a good Samaritan. This poor man fell among thieves, who left him about to die of his wounds. He was slighted by those who would have been his friends and was cared for by a stranger, a Samaritan, from the nation which the Jews most despised and detested and would have no dealings with. It's lamentable to observe how selfish governs selfishness governs all ranks. How many excuses men will make to avoid trouble or expense in relieving others. But the true Christian has the law of love written in his heart. The Spirit of Christ dwells in him. Christ's image is renewed in his soul. The parable is a beautiful explanation of the law of loving our neighbor as ourselves without regard to nation, party, or any distinction. It also demonstrates the kindness and love of God, our Savior, towards sinful, miserable men. We will like this poor distressed traveler. Satan, our enemy, has robbed us and wounded us, such as the mischief, the mischief sin has done to us. The blessed Jesus had compassion on us. The believer considers that Jesus loved him and gave us life for him, when an enemy and a rebel, and having shown him mercy, he asked him to go and do likewise. It is the duty of us all, in our in our places, according to our ability, to help and relieve all who are in disruption. Stress or in need. What's he saying? The good Samaritan is Jesus also. And he came and he relieved us of the grief and the sin. And he continues to do that as we live life, and life brings its blows to us. Life continues to bring wounds to us. But he constantly comes and he stitches us up. And he puts in that antibiotic and that oil. Listen to what I'm saying here. He went, he bound up the wounds, and he poured in, he poured in wine, he poured in the oil. He poured in the wine, the new wine. And God desires to bind our wounds and pour into us his spirit. It says in Acts 2.17, and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men dream dreams, and all my servants and all my handmaidens, I will pour out of those days of my spirit, and they shall prophesy. What does it mean to pour out? It means to do to bestow or to distribute largely. Listen, this wasn't a one-time deal on the Jericho Road where he found us. And Jesus constantly comes and says, Let me bind up your wounds. Let me relieve you. Let me give you the oil of gladness and pour it into your wound. David said in Psalm 92 and 10, But my horn shall exalt like the horn of a unicorn. I shall be anointed with fresh oil. Oh my. God sees me wounded. He sees me hurt, struggling, bleeding. And he doesn't just look behind me.

SPEAKER_01 46:08

But he takes the time and the attention to get down on his knees and minister to me as a servant of God. Philippians 2.2 says he came and gave up his reputation. Because he came in the form of a servant. Have we lost that in that world today? It's only what you could do for me. It's only what I can get from you.

SPEAKER_02 46:42

The selfishness of people. The epitome of sin. Hebrews chapter 1-9 says, Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore, God, even thy God, has anointed thee with oil of gladness above thy fellows. What is the oil of gladness? It's the oil that causes us to be exceeding glad, to greatly rejoice, with exceeding joy, to exalt and glorify God exceedingly. That's the oil of gladness. What did he do? He sent him on his way. On his own beast. He ministered to him. And he put him on his beast to do what? To bring him to the end. You see, you have to complete the assignment. Not when you get tired, not when you don't think it's for you, not when you think it's not your calling. You got to complete the assignment.

SPEAKER_01 48:03

Because God will pass by you and give your assignment to someone else. Think about that for a moment.

SPEAKER_02 48:17

Why did God choose Deborah in the Old Testament? And nothing against women because she was a great woman of God. How many men passed up on the assignment? How about S great woman of God? But how many men passed up on the assignment? How many did God nudge and touch on the shoulder and say, you're the one? No. I'm busy. I got a to-do list. I gotta get this right. Call someone else. This is more important right now.

unknown 49:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:04

And if God came tonight and said, Set your house in order, how important would have that been? And if God would come tonight and say, Set your house in order, how important of what you did today was that important to miss the assignment of what God wanted to do? I think about this. Set him on his own beast and brought him to lead by laying hold of and this way to bring to the point of destination, to guide and direct and attach to oneself as an attendant. Listen. The good work that God's begun in my life and in your life, he will see you to the end. He will bring you to the inn.

unknown 49:55

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 49:57

He will bring you to the New Jerusalem. He will bring you to the other side of the river. He's not gonna leave you for dead. Or the enemy will come and tell you that you're dead. He'll come and tell you you're not gonna survive. You're not gonna you're not gonna get back up. Think again, devil. Not today or tomorrow. With the help and grace of God. And what did he do? On tomorrow, when he departed, he took out two pens. Now he's putting his hand in his pocket. And he took out two pens and gave them to the host and said to him, Take care of him, and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. He's making a promise. I'm giving you money to take care of this man for room and board. And when I come back, if the cost is even more, I will pay the debt. He was a sticker. Forgive. And for many years he wasn't a Christian. But I saw my dad give and give and give time after time. And he taught me. He taught me against selfishness. Taught me against greed. Oh, he taught me to save for a rainy day. But he also taught me generosity. Listen, he took out two pence, which means what? He paid the price for this man's board. But what did Jesus do? He paid our ransom with his blood. And he takes care of us because of the shed blood of Christ. He gave them to the host. He gave his life, Jesus did as a sacrifice, obeying his father. And he said, Father, this is my shed blood that you can apply to the mercy seat in heaven for the forgiveness of sins. And we take that so lightly. We take that so light that we even sit in this church week after week and hear the word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_01 52:37

And gossip, we take it light.

SPEAKER_02 52:40

Like that was just another night sermon and another nice church service. And God is saying, do you have eyes to see and ears to hear? Do you understand what's happening in the world? Do you understand what people are saying, even in the secular world? Something has changed. The season has changed. Something's going on that they can't explain. But we can through God's word. Why? The Bible says, For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus gave more than two pence. And boy, it hurts. You drop something on your foot. You're cutting an onion and accidentally you slice your finger. And boy, does that hurt. Think about the cross that people neglect. They ignore. They don't see the tortured Christ. They don't see the body that was mangled beyond recognition. And walk away like. Yeah, maybe one of these days I'll catch up with you. Yeah, well, one of these days, you know, I'll sign a covenant with you. But you know, right now, I gotta list, man. And please, can you stole the rapture? Because I got things to do.

SPEAKER_01 54:34

Hang it on a cross.

SPEAKER_02 54:38

Beyond my imagination.

SPEAKER_01 54:42

The torture. The pain. The humiliation publicly. The son of God left the splendor of heaven to go through all of that for me.

SPEAKER_02 55:02

And I'm gonna hold back. Listen, I wanna I wanna go to heaven, man. I wanna go to heaven. It don't matter if I live in a two by four or a mansion. It don't matter if I drive a new car or an old car. It don't matter if I have a new couch or an old couch. It doesn't matter if I have a new crane or it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what I eat. That's my wife. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. I don't need a meal. I don't need a sandwich. It's okay. It suffices. Have one goal. That I may know him. In the power of his resurrection and in the fellowship of the sufferings, being made and followed even to his death. That's the goal. Not to build a kingdom, not to be rich, not to be famous, not to have my name alive. Who cares? Who cares? They're falling one by one. You see, I signed a covenant with him, and he signed a covenant with me. And as long as I obeyed that covenant, he'll take care of me. No matter what I go through, no matter what I experience, he's got my life in his hand. I want to close. Whatever how much more money it costs, I'll pay you. Jesus said the same thing. He said, In Acts 1:9, and when he has spoken these things, and while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight, and while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, he went up. Behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, listen, like the good Samaritan, shall come, so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven.

unknown 57:23

Think about it.

SPEAKER_02 57:25

He's gone. It doesn't matter if the world believes that or not. It doesn't matter if most churches don't believe that or not. It doesn't matter. The word says, he said in John 14 and 1, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. And my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. But not only will we come back, and as the Good Samaritan said, I will repay you for whatever additional charges were incurred. Jesus says, This, I will repair you, and I will bring you a reward, because it says in Colossians 3 24, knowing that the that the the that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord. Revelation chapter 22, verse 12 says, And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be. And then Jesus said unto him, Go and do likewise.

unknown 59:28

What?

SPEAKER_02 59:31

Go and do likewise. This is an admonition for the church as I read Colossians 3:12. Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourself with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, above all, clothe yourselves with love which binds us all together in perfect harmony, and let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts, for as members of one body, you are called to live in peace and always be thankful. Father, thank you. Thank you for the word. Thank you for your love. Thank you that you came to rescue us on the road to Jacob. Wow. The love of God just shed abroad in our hearts. Outstanding. Just outstanding. What you endured so that I could be forgiven. Wow. You paid my debt. You paid my debt. You bought me. You own me. I'm not my own. You bought me with a price, a heavy price. The blood of the Lamb. I thank you for that. Sometimes hard to conceptualize all that's happened in my own life. But I'm thankful for where you have brought me to where I am today. Looking forward to every other day that you might give me, Lord. And one day see you face to face. And truly look into your eyes and see that love that's so magnetic, so superlative, so beyond any love that we have in this world. Face to face with Jesus. Oh, that I might see him. Oh, that I might see him. As Paul said, that I may know him in the power of his resurrection. Father, thank you. For the word this morning, and I pray that our eyes have been opened and our ears have heard what the Lord has said through the scripture. In Jesus' name.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:42

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:43

Would you stand with us?