The Parable Of The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

In the parable of the good Samaritan, there are several characters. Behind the parable, there is Jesus. He is the Storyteller. We look at the story Jesus told. We look at the characters in the story. consider the characters in the parable. We also focus our attention on Jesus. He is our Saviour. He is our Lord. The parable begins with the words, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho" (Luke 10:30). There were others who were also travelling on the road to Jericho - (a) the robbers; (b) the priest and the Levite; (c) the good Samaritan. In these characters, we see three very different attitudes to life. As we look at these characters, we are challenged concerning our own attitude to other people.
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Here's a link to the rest of this sermon - Sermons on Luke's Gospel - Luke 10:25-37

Open Your Heart To Christ - And Let Him Pour His Blessing Into Your Life.

Jesus' words - "Give, and it will be given to you" (Luke 6:38) - are full of wisdom. He calls us to be generous and consistent in giving ourselves to Him and to others. he shows us the way of generous and consistent giving. Throughout his whole life, he gave Himself for us. In His death, He gave himself for us. In His self-giving, in His life and His death, we see the God-given pattern for our giving. We are to learn from Him. We are to become like Him. In the Story of Jesus, we read of His death. We also read of His resurrection. God raised Him from the dead. In Jesus' own life, there is the perfect fulfilment of His promise: "Give, and it will be given to you." Jesus gave His life for us. God gave Him His life again. God can give life to you and me - the life of His Spirit of life; the life of Christ, risen from the dead, but we must give ourselves to Him. If we are to receive His blessing, we must open our hearts and let Him pour His blessing into us.

"Give, And It Will Be Given To You" - God-Given Wisdom In A Few Simple Words!

The importance of choosing the way of whole-heartedness rather than lapsing into the way of half-heartedness is emphasized very powerfully in James 1:5-8 - "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." These words of James are concerned with asking God for wisdom and receiving wisdom from God. Wisdom is not the same as intellectualism. There are many people who have learned a great deal about many different subjects. Sadly, they have still to learn that truly God-given wisdom can be expressed in a few simple words, which can transform our way of thinking and our way of living - "Give, and it will be given to you" (Luke 6:38),

Give God The First Place - And The Blessing Will Return.

Our giving is to be whole-hearted, generous and consistent. It is to be the giving of ourselves to the Lord. Once, we were whole-hearted in our commitment to the Lord. We have allowed ourselves to become half-hearted. Is this the sad story of your life? How sad it is when our zeal for the Lord grows weak. This is the sadness of a joy which has been lost. Once, there was joy in our hearts. Once, there was joy in our lives. Now, the joy has gone. Is this the sad story of your life? How sad it is when we lose the joy of the Lord. Can the times of joy come again? Yes! Jesus says, "Give, and it will be given to you" (Luke 6:38). When we give Him His rightful place - the first place - in our hearts and lives, the blessing will return. God gives His blessing to those who are whole-hearted. Those, who are content to remain half-hearted, will miss out on God's blessing.

God Has Blessed You So Much. He Wants To Bless You Even More.

We learn to trust in the Lord as we take time to remember how much the Lord has done for us. It's easy to forget. Some of us have known much of God's blessing in the past. We have been hungry for God's blessing. God has poured out His blessing upon us. Somewhere along the line, we have become complacent. We have begun to settle for less of God's blessing. We have walked more closely with God in past years. With the passing of the years, we have allowed things to slip. Our desire to know and love God is a lot weaker than it once was. God is calling us back to himself. Remember how much God blessed you when you walked more closely with Him. Come close to the Lord again. He will bless you more than ever before. To each of us, Jesus says, "Give, and it will be given to you."

You Won't Be The Loser If You Give Yourself To The Lord.

When Jesus says, "Give, and it will be given to you" (Luke 6:38), He means it. If we are to learn to live a more God-centred life, a more other-centred life, we must learn to believe God's promise to those who are living by the values of His heavenly and eternal Kingdom. To those who are getting too attached to the things of this world, God's Word comes as a Word of challenge: "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have." To those who are hesitant about committing themselves to the Lord, God comes with His Word of promise, "I will never leave you. I will never forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). You won't be the loser if you give yourself to the Lord. He will bless you abundantly, as you give yourself to Him. If, however, you hold back from giving yourself to the Lord, you will miss out on so much of the blessing He wants to give to you. Trust in the Lord, believing that He will bless you greatly as you give yourself, more truly and more fully, to Him - "Give, and it will be given to you."

A Call to God-Centred Living And A Strong Warning

"Give, and it will be given to you" (Luke 6:38). Along with Jesus' precious promise, we have His strong warning. We must take care that we do not become like those to whom Jesus says, "You hypocrite" (Luke 6:42). If we give little of ourselves in the service of God and others, we will know little of the blessing of God in our own lives. "Give, and it will be given to you." Whenever the word, "giving", is used in the Church, people think about money. It is right that we should think about the giving of money, since it is a part of of our giving to the Lord. It should, however, be emphasized that it is only a part of our giving to the Lord. It is sadly possible to give money to the Lord without really giving ourselves to the Lord. When we think about giving, we are to think about the giving of money to God, but we must not stop there. God is calling us to give ourselves to Him.

A Call to God-Centred Living And A Precious Promise Of Blessing

Jesus' words, "Give, and it will be given to you" (Luke 6:38), are followed by a precious promise. To those who choose to live a less self-centred life, choosing to live a life which is more God-centred and other-centred, God gives this precious promise - 'You will not be the loser. You will be blessed by the Lord. His blessing will be poured into your life.' "Give, and it will be given to you." This is God's promise. God has given great promises to those who will "trust and obey": "Trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey." Sadly, however, we are often much more self-centred than God-centred and other-centred. Very often, when we are called to give ourselves in the service of God and others, we react in a self-centred way. We don't ask, "Will I please the Lord, if I do this?" We ask, "How's this going to affect me?" We don't ask "Are other people going to be blessed, if I do this?" We ask, "How's this going to fit in with my plans for myself?" Jesus says, "Give, and it will be given to you." Will we take Him at His Word? Will we live in obedience to His Word, convinced that "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35)?

Make The Kingdom Of God Your Highest Priority.

Jesus teaches us to live in the light of the Kingdom of God. He turns the values of this world upside-down - "Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the Kingdom of God" (Luke 6:20). He calls us to make the Kingdom of God our highest priority. Living our life in the light of God's Kingdom, we will come to see that the things which we have are not ours at all. They have been given to us by God. They are to be used in His service. Living as God's servants will mean living a life of love - "Love your enemies" (Luke 6:27). Jesus teaches us that loving leads to giving: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Luke 6:38).

Come To Jesus Christ And Let The Holy Spirit Come Upon You.

God was about to do ‘a new thing’(Isaiah 43:19). It was centred on Christ, though John also played his part (Luke 1:31-33, 16-17). There were obstacles - Zechariah and Elizabeth were ‘old’ (Luke 1:18), and Mary had ‘no man’ (Luke 1:34). What were these obstacles to God? - Nothing: ‘with God nothing will be impossible’ (Luke 1:37). How are we to respond to God’s ‘new thing’? - ‘let it be to me according to Your Word’ (Luke 1:38). How will God’s ‘new thing’ make progress among us? - Through the power of the Holy Spirit: ‘he will be filled with the Holy Spirit’ (Luke 1:15), ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you...’ (Luke 1:34). ‘Holy Spirit, we welcome you... Move among us with holy fire... Let the breeze of your presence flow... Please accomplish in me today, some new work of loving grace, I pray; Unreservedly have Your way...’ (Mission Praise, 241).

Come To Jesus Christ And Say From Your Heart, “I Love You, Lord.”

There are two great ‘songs of praise’ in Luke 1:46-55, 67-79. God was doing ‘a new thing.’ His people were rejoicing in Him. Great things were happening. Greater things were going to happen. Soon, the Saviour would be born. The birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:57-66) - This was great. The birth of our Saviour - This would be even greater. Mary and Zechariah felt the touch of God upon their lives, and their hearts were filled with praise to God: ‘When I feel the touch of Your hand upon my life, it causes me to sing a song that I love You, Lord. So from deep within my spirit singeth unto Thee, You are my King, You are my God, and I love You, Lord’ (Mission Praise, 753). John was ‘in the wilderness.’ He ‘became strong in spirit’ (Luke 1:80). May God help us to grow spiritually, even when life is not very easy!

The Full Revelation Of Christ’s Glory Is Still To Come. Let It Begin In Us Now.

God is in control! Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Long before it happened, God had it planned (Luke 2:1-7; Micah 5:2-3). As we approach Christ's Return, God still has His plan. He is still in control. The birth of Christ is not merely an event from the past. It is also a message for the future. We look back so that we can move forward. We are fearful about many things. ‘What's the world coming to?’, we ask. God turns our question on its head: ‘Christ is coming to the world’. From His first coming, we look on to His Second Coming - He ‘will come to all the people’(Luke 2:10): ‘every eye will see Him’(Revelation 1:7). His Return invites us to ask another question: ‘when the Son of man comes, will He find faith on earth?’(Luke 18:8). For you, is it still ‘before Christ’? Let the ‘new age’ begin: Let Christ be ‘born this day’(Luke 2:11) - in your heart!

Glory To God In The Highest – Our Saviour Has Come.

The prophecy has been spoken - ‘To us a Child is born, to us a Son is given...’. The prophecy has been fulfilled - ‘Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you: He is Christ the Lord’. Jesus Christ is our great Saviour. He is our ‘Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’ (Isaiah 9:6: Luke 2:11). Jesus Christ has brought to us a great salvation. Through faith in Him, we enter God’s heavenly and eternal ‘Kingdom’ (Isaiah 9:7: Luke 1:30-33). This is ‘Good News of great joy’- for ‘all the people’, for ‘all generations’. Let us rejoice in the Lord, as Mary, the mother of Jesus, did - ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour... for the Mighty One has done great things for me...’ Let us join with the angels in saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest...’ (Luke 2:10; 1:46-50; 2:14).

Links For Notes On Genesis, Ruth, Nehemiah, Ecclesiastes, Zechariah, Luke, Galatians And 1 & 2 Peter

Ruth
nehemiah
zechariah



2 peter

"It Is By Grace You Have Been Saved."’

None of us can ‘escape the judgment of God.’ None of us can ‘presume upon the riches of His kindness’(Romans 2:3-4). We dare not come to God like the Pharisee, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men...’. We can only come to Him with the prayer of the tax collector, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ (Luke 18:11-13). We must not pretend that we are ‘righteous’. We must confess that we are ‘sinners’ (Luke 5:32). Sinners, lost, dead - We must hear this ‘bad news if we are to come to a true appreciation of the Good News: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), ‘The Son of man came to seek and save the lost’ (Luke 19:10), ‘God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved’ (Ephesians 2:4-5).
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This is the thirty-third post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.

God Has Visited His People.

"He that was dead sat up and began to speak ... God has visited His people" (Luke 7:15-16): - Pray for a real ‘quickening’ as the ‘God, who is rich in mercy’, pours out ‘His great love’ upon us (Ephesians 2:4-6).
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This is the thirtieth post in a series of comments on Ephesians 2.