They always are.
THE DOUBLE SIDED KEY TO LIFE
I have a key, for my car, it has two sides. If I just use one side it won't work to operate the car.
Our lives are like that.
God has two questions he asks every believer. It will motivate or neutralize every believer.
The first is the most important. What will you do with Jesus?
Who is he to you?
He asked that of the Apostle Paul. It was a blinding question.
He asked that of Peter who answered rightly. When others said, "some say Elijah, some say John the Baptist come back". Then Jesus (Probably looking right at Peter) asked, Yes, But who do YOU say that I am. Peter declared the revelation that motivated his life from that day till he was crucified. "You are the Christ, the son of the Living God". Jesus said flesh and blood didn't reveal this.
Thomas the Doubtful one when confronted knelt down and said, "My Lord and MY GOD". He was the first one to call Jesus GOD.
SO, that's the first question Jesus asks us because if we don't get this right, everything else is just religion.
Who is Jesus?
The second is about us. Moses in Exodus 3 comes upon a burning bush. He decides to go look. God speaks from the bush. Moses take off your shoes, this is Holy Ground. Then for the rest of Chapter 3 Moses and God argue about the message God wants Moses to bring to his people and to Pharaoh. God finally asks him the question he asks all of us in the second verse of Chapter 4.
God asks, What do you have in your hand Moses? A staff. Throw it down and I will use it.
Those are the questions he asks all of us. They are tied up in the question a lawyer asked of Jesus, Which are the most important commands. Jesus gave him the answer to the two questions God is always asking of us. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. When the lawyer asks who is my neighbor Jesus answers with a very familiar story to all of us.
The Good Samaritan.
It's interesting in reading the story, in the original text from the Greek, Jesus says, A CERTAIN SAMARITAIN and speaks of a Certain Man going from Jerusalem up to Jericho. This was a rough road with lots of robbers. This was also a road that needed to be traveled for commerce.
Jesus never says "A Certain Man" unless it was a certain man. In fact I'm guessing the crowd hearing this story didn't see it as a parable, but as a story they had heard before. It was a familiar part of local lore. This was a real man that was mugged on the road to Jericho and a real Samaritan came to his rescue.
We think of this as a natural thing. But, what about real life today in Chicago IL, or Lincoln Nebraska or even St. Charles IL.
If we saw a man bleeding and lying on the side of the road left for dead, what would the response be for many today?
Be critical of him for traveling this dangerous road. He deserved to be mugged. Blame the victim and give advice to not travel there anymore alone.
Call 911 as you drive by.
Assume he is drunk and sleeping it off
Pray for him. (Lord bless that poor man laying back there I drove by)
Pick him up and drop him off anonymously at the ER not wanting to get involved.
Stop and tell him what government agencies are available to help him, give him a web address
Or with good intentions consider going back and helping and then as time goes on get distracted
Call the cops who if he is laying there because he's erratic from a diabetic coma will taze him
My brother in law was in a serious accident some years ago. In Lincoln Nebraska. He was thrown from the vehicle. He lay along side the road in winter on a busy highway, not a freeway or interstate, just a busy artery. Only after an hour in the cold did anyone stop. This is supposed to be the heartland. Lincoln is headquarters for major ministry. No one stopped.
In New York City a woman fell down in the road. Cars kept coming. They drove over her, thump thump until the cops came. No one called. No one cared.
This is not to place guilt, but we are not far from the villains in the story. The priest and the Levite. They didn't care, they didn't help. Are we any better?
So what did the Samaritan do that we are unwilling to do?
He stopped, he was going to late for his meeting.
He used his oil and wine to clean the man's wounds. This was probably merchandise.
He tore his own clothing to make a bandage. I don't think he carried a first aid kit.
He placed the man on his Donkey. He had to walk to the Inn. He was inconvenienced and put out to be helpful.
Then he paid the innkeeper two days wages in advance to keep the man till he came back. Two days wages in todays dollars would be about $150. See that a dinaerias was one day's wage for those chosen to work in the farmers vineyard.
This was all possible because when the time came God asked the Samaritan, WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR HANDS, LAY IT DOWN. Thats what he asks us.
I love the manifestations of the spirit of God in life. Tongues, Prophecy, Healing, Words of Wisdom, but I really believe that this Samaritan manifested the power of the Holy Spirit in ways we don't as we should.
He was a comforter (Jesus said I'll send you another comforter)
He came along side (Like a Paraclete)
He reassured and healed the man
He gave the man life again
All those are things the Holy Spirit does in our lives.
But there is one other thing we MUST recognized. God used him because he was available, had compassion like Jesus and he was able.
The Masthead of the Daily Herald Newspaper has a saying that the man who established the newspaper place over 120 years ago.
Our Aim:
To Fear God
To Tell the Truth
To Make Money
Fearing God has to do with knowing who he is and understanding that we will all stand before the creator of the universe someday and be accountable for everything we did or didn't do.
Telling the truth is like that. You can't lie to God, he knows already. If you lie to others it makes you a liar. If you Lie to yourself you are deceiving yourself. Besides when we lie we serve the father of lies, the devil.
But the one I want to focus on today is the last one of the three. To make money.
You and I live under a Wealth Mandate. God can't do much unless we have money to do it with.
The Good Samaritan would have been useless to show the Mercy of God without money. If he had been a poor ragged shoeless better he might have commiserated but I'm guessing the wounded man would have died.
The Good Samaritan owned a Donkey, looks as if he was in business for himself since he was carrying Oil and Wine which most likely was merchandise. He had at least a couple hundred dollars in his pocket. Something a poor man would not have hand. He was able to pay in advance and promise to pay when he returned.
God was able to create compassion for a man who could and would do something about it. God wants us to have money so we can do good. We live under a wealth mandate.
He wants his church to prosper so it can do what it needs to do. He wants every person in the church to work hard and make money so they are ready in the day of need to provide when God asks, What do you have in your hand.
The problem is many of us have lived with a promise for wealth that was given by the spirit or by a prophet. We want to believe but we can't anymore. We are disappointed in the promise of God.
God wants to encourage us to live in earnest expectation of his provision.
That means we live as if we were about to see what God is about to do in our lives with better Jobs, better health, better connections, better work situations, better opportunities. He wants us to prosper.
Somehow we were told a lie by the Church, particularly if you grew up Roman Catholic that somehow it was not God's will for you to prosper, that poverty was more holy. That's a lie.
The apostle Paul said, I know how to abound (have lots of money) and how to abase (have none).
I will add Pastor Gene's addendum. Abounding is better when you understand it.
If I asked Tim to give me some money I needed. I know Tim has it, I know he can give it. When I ask him he says, sure. I've got it in my car, I'll go out and get it. Let's say it's money I really need. Say, 5000 dollars. When Tims says sure, I've got it, I'll get it for you. When would I thank him for that money? After he delivers it to me? Probably not. Probably as he walks out the door to get it from his car I'll be trotting along behind saying thank you, thank you.
Now, he hasn't done it yet. He's just promised it. But, upon his work I give thanks.
Tim would be pretty disappointed if when he said, "I have it, I'll get it for you" I were to say, we'll see. We'll see if you are a man of your word or not. I wouldn't blame him for changing his mind and driving away. Yet we treat God that way. We wait for him to "Come Thru" before we thank him.
God wants us to thank him upon his word. Then trust him. He's directing your paths. His mandate is for you to make money, tell the truth and fear God.
I believe many of us here today need to thank him right now for what we know he has already said he would do in our lives. We may not see it yet, but thankfulness releases the power of God in our lives.
Let's rededicate ourselves to being ready to do what God has asked us the question, "What do you have in your hand". Let's go out and Fear God, Tell the Truth and Make Money.
That is the will of God Concerning You.
Let's pray.
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