A Modern Day Samaritan – Dr. Charles Stanley

[Music] now there are always other people who have more than we do that's not the issue the issue is what does God want me to do with what I have how does he want me to share my life and how does he want me to treat others [Music] four decades ago we started in touch ministries to lead people worldwide into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ throughout the years we've seen God's greatness his love and his blessings in such awesome ways that we just want everyone to know him so let's open God's Word and seek Him together next on InTouch a modern-day Samaritan a text is one of the most familiar in all the Bible in fact people know about this text have not even Christians you know very little about the Bible but they have heard of the Good Samaritan so I want us to look at this passage of scripture from the modern-day perspective because these are certainly days when the Spirit of the Samaritan needs to be absolutely evident and all of us who are believers so if you'll turn to the 10th chapter of Luke I want us to read it so we'd have a good background you understand where we're headed here and the title of this message is the modern-day Samaritan that's us we all of us so beginning in this 10th chapter and let's start with verse 25 Jesus was speaking and a lawyer stood up and put into the test but in Jesus to the test say teacher what should I do to inherit eternal life now this passage is not about how to get saved it's about revealing to this man what his true attitude was and help him to see what the issue was in his life while he thought it was something else he said what must I do to inherit eternal life and so he said to him what is written in the law how does it read to you and the answer you should love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself it's interesting that Jesus said it that way and so he said to him you have answered correctly do this and you should live but wishing to justify himself he said to Jesus and who is my neighbor jesus knew exactly what the problem was and so when you're look at that it's a beautiful setting for what Jesus wanted to teach this man and that is it's not just the matter being good following laws and so forth it's a matter of the heart it's who you really are deep down inside and he got the point when he said and who is my neighbor so then jesus replied and said and this is where he answered the question he said the man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho which is about 17 miles and rugged very dangerous territory and a 3,000 foot drop from Jerusalem down to Jericho and he fell among robbers and they stripped him and beat him and went away leaving him half dead now that was not an uncommon thing in those days because that stripper road had a lot of caves in places you could slip away and get away in so it was sort of common for people to be robbed especially probably at nighttime and whenever it was and by a chance a priest was going down that road and when he saw him he passed by on the other side now here's a person who was offering sacrifices and being very religious in the synagogue and so forth and when he saw this man half dead stripped naked and he just looked and sermons kept going scripture says likewise a Levite who was also a person who was responsible for the tabernacle and so forth when he came to the place and saw him he passed by on the other side so now if I had been the man who asked this question I'd be getting real uneasy where Jesus was headed because here two religious leaders people who serve the Lord every day probably live down in Jericho somewhere and going back up to Jerusalem to serve and so both of them either one of which should have slipped over and said to the man of what's going on what can I do to help you they just looked and kept going now the excuse probably was half dead and if you touch the dead person you were defiled and therefore you couldn't do your job in the temple and sanctuary and so forth and so whatever the reason the scripture said they looked and kept going now Jesus had some reasons for placing this here then he said but a Samaritan who was on the journey now the reason this is his because he probably is an important person he was on a journey that is he was going something we had a destination probably had a time limit whatever it might be and so when he came upon him when he saw him he felt compassion all three men looked two of them kept going one of them stopped two of them just looked and one stopped and he came to him and bandaged up his wounds pouring oil and wine on them and he put him on his own beast probably a donkey and brought him to an inn and took care of him now the other two fellows were the religious guys and so they just kept going there is a man that is hated by the Jews who goes to the Jew who's about to die and does so and so on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said to him take care of him and whatever more you spend when I return I will repay you and listen to this this must have been a very convicting statement which of these three do you think prove to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers hands and he said the one who showed mercy told him then jesus said to him go and do the same now what I'd like to do this passage is this I want us to look at this Good Samaritan and I'm going to ask you about five or six questions and I want us all to ask ourselves the question would that fit me does is that's what I would do how what am I really like as a Christian everyday not just on Sunday and listening or preaching or whatever it might be but what kind of a Samaritan are we it's a 21st century I know things are not the same it's a lot worse in other words this is one incident on the Jericho Road which there were many no doubt but think about what happens in our country and how many people are in need and so forth and so with that in mind I want us to think about what the Good Samaritan really did in other words his rightful place would have been he could this was a Jew he could just the last thing he wanted is the tangle with a Jew being a Samaritan and especially giving him anything you're helping him let him die I hated each other but Jesus chose that Samaritan and that Jew for a reason they get across so I want you to think about this and ask yourself the question now is this characteristic of your life on a day to day basis as you go on first thing the Good Samaritan did he opened his eyes he looked and he saw this man was in critical condition he'd been badly be stripped of his clothes and left partially naked on the side of the road to die and when he looked he didn't see the same thing that the two religious men saw he saw someone who was in terrible need about to die and he didn't look to see if he were a Samaritan or a June he just saw someone who was in great need and instead of passing by on the other side he stopped and he could have said all along this journey and I certainly don't have time to deal with this because besides that my life could be in danger because whoever did this to him we could do the same thing to me so he had lots of things he could have thought but this Samaritan not only opened his eyes but he saw something and he saw something that spoke to his heart here is somebody who's about to die robbed stripped left alone naked to die what shall I do and seeing anyway he wasn't you know with Jesus or when they tell the story so no matter what he was he stopped and the second thing I want you to know and ask yourself is when you think about this he not only saw him but he opened his heart he could have said well I don't have time for him he's a Jew he opened his heart and the reason it is because he looked and he looked with the compassion somebody's hurt somebody has been robbed somebody's dying and the only thing that mattered was his heart now when I think about that I think about his heart probably began to be a little faster because he also knew that the same people who did that to him we could do the same thing to him if they can do this and get away they could come back and attack him so listen this carefully his heart was beating faster his heart was pumping blood but his spirit was pumping compassion something was happening inside this Samaritans heart and so he saw him in the condition he was in he could have been so afraid disabled the same thing could happen to me he didn't think about that his heart was true here was someone who was done in great need and he was the one person close by who could help him and so he was consumed with saving this man's life he didn't think well what what about myself and him am I going to be late what are they gonna think they don't wonder about me suppose they said he can ask a thousand questions the only thing isn't matter this this man's dying he needs help and I'm gonna help him now thinking about this all three I'm walking on all three him saw the same thing but one person saw with the compassion that I a compassionate heart if somebody in need I'm going to help them he didn't say I will help him if he saw fellows Samaritan he didn't ask that question here's the reason because his love there no prejudice his love was neutral his love was godly somebody in need needs me and I'm gonna help them so when I think about that I have to ask myself the question do I operate with open eyes do you do you operate with an open heart that is if there's somebody in need that's the issue not what color they are what language they speak where they're from whether that's not the issue Jesus made this so crystal clear and so simple but not only did it have an open heart he had open hands because the scripture says he went to work immediately knowing the man was close to death think I died in a moment he went to work doing what doing the only thing he knew to do and the best thing he'd there to do and that was to get busy and stop the blood and so he pulled up whatever bandages he had and oil he had that he cared along with him because same thing had happened to him and so he went to work working on them physically he didn't say well I'm sorry you are feeling this way and you've been hurt I'll pray for you and I hope he get along alright and so he opened his eyes he opened his heart he opened his hands he got busy finishing up his wounds which must have been many they beat him up so so close to death and poured in or lettuce he did everything he knew how to do he was equipped to do in order to save his life and so when I think about that and think about the fact that he scripted since he put him on his donkey that's what probably what it was put him on his donkey well they had to pick him up that probably wasn't easy probably heavy and he got him on his donkey and decided he was gonna save this man's life he could have easily said well I'm gonna bandage you up that that's all I have and I hope the best for you that one has done him in the good he was almost dead and so he didn't just give a little help he was willing to take his time to do what he could do but this person who was in great need desperate need close to death and doing it in a very dangerous place on the Jericho Road full of robbers and thieves at times and none of that mattered here's someone who was in great need and he was going to do all he could it may not be enough but he was gonna try and sometimes we think well what can I do or I don't I'm not smart enough what this had never the only thing he knew to do was through the bandages and the wine and then he put him on his donkey and took him to the nearest Inn well where was that I don't know why that was he could have been long ways away but here's the issue he wasn't going to leave him by the roadside bandaged and oiled and died he could have but he didn't what do we call him the Good Samaritan I love that the Good Samaritan not just this event the Good Samaritan did you said there is no such thing as a Good Samaritan but he was a Good Samaritan because he did listen a lot of things somebody else might be able to do the only thing he knew to do was to bandage him up the best he knew hair pouring wine to help him carry him to somebody who could help him and so that that leads me to the next point that is open positions and so what did he do scripture says not thinking about himself but thinking about the man knowing that any minute he could die put him on his donkey and led him to an end you and I would say like a motel but an end and he didn't say I found this guy I hope y'all can help him he said I'm bringing him to you take care of him and just tell me what it's all about and so he did all the new to help him and when I think about that I think most of the time people want to count he gave two Denari he didn't say well how much can I do this for he gave him what everything because that amount of money would take him about take care of him for about three weeks and so he was very open realized the man was hurting he was dying he said I want you to put him in a good bed take care of him and I'll be back in other words it's one thing to say it it's one thing to feel it it's something else to do it and all of these characteristics of the Good Samaritan should be true of us has opened the people in need a heart open because we care for somebody else and our open hands because sometimes there are things that we can do make a difference in our possessions listen most all of us have more than a whole lot of people in the world they don't have anything and sometimes we probably are more selfish than we realize and what we have we have to remember where it came from everything every single thing every single one of us had came from God he's the source of every good and precious gift the source of our salvation the source of our good health and if you think about it there's not much you and I can brag about we are so blessed it's real easy it's real easy to be so blessed and not thinking about people who need a blessing it's easy to fall into that because we have what we need now there are always other people who have more than we do that's not the issue the issue is what does God want me to do with what I have how does he want me to share my life and how does he want me to treat others and everything if there was ever a time when we should be thinking the way the Samaritan thought this is it and then there's something else he opened that's this time when he says he was on a journey Jesus meant that to mean he definitely was on his way somewhere and probably had a time situation involved but he took the most important time to help somebody to keep him from dying there was a need watch this carefully he saw the need and then here's a big question can we feel the need it's one thing for me to see it but can I feel it can I feel the need can I feel it deep enough to forget what's mine and to forget where I mean going at this particular time and forget what my schedule is and one of tho what does it take he felt something he felt something they would not let that man live and die he felt something that he didn't have to count he says here is enough to take care of him for three weeks I'll be back he felt something that made him say whatever you have spent on this man I will repay you when I return that's true genuine godly christ-like attitude and I wonder when I read this passage having two people do not pass every day here in need they don't tell us they're in need some people won't tell you when they're in need how many people we talk to how many people we listen to how many people who have needs but sometimes that person is trying to get our attention on a deeper level than we hear it first and the reason they keep telling us is because they want to feel they've been heard I think all of us have been that way about something in their life I just want to be sure that you feel what I feel that you understand my hurt and my pain my suffering my loss my misunderstanding I want to be sure you feel it then I'll know that's what matters when you say I'll pray for you I know you will if you feel it and think about this it's easy not to feel somebody else's hurt and I think all of us need enough hurt and pain in our life that we don't forget it we don't forget it and I can think of things in my own life and suffering and so forth or not this has nothing to do with me compared to them that's not it but I think about times when they I realized how God has used them for my good to help me understand what somebody was really feeling and I won't give you that necessarily the incident but something that happened in my life that changed my whole attitude and I began to feel that but the other people were going through and sometimes they don't need anything they just need to know that you can feel what they feel and that's the beginning of healing for a lot of people find this somebody's heard me finally somebody knows how I feel I just want to feel like they understand of course when you're not free we know the Lord understands but there a lot of people out there that people in every Church everywhere who go through all kinds of painful things but you know what as bad as it was painful as it was God used it for my good because he opened my heart to a level that I had never felt before a good Samaritan has feelings and that's what makes a good Samaritan the able stop and take time for somebody else to listen and to feel what they feel and then when Jesus concluded all of that he simply he simply said to add to the man go and do likewise and when I thought about this and I thought about how simple this parrot passage of Scripture is but had deep and how demanding it is we're not talking I had to get saved by being good we're talking about living a godly life includes helping people who need the Lord Jesus Christ and who have other needs in their life people suffering untold suffering losing somebody you love losing your home or your children or whatever it might be it's heartbreaking listen carefully when your heart can't break you are in trouble a broken heart all of us should be available for a heart to break we should be able to feel and touch and though in a heart what real pain is have a guess and so when I look at this passage and it's a simple story but reason it is so familiar is because it happens all the time so I would ask you to think in your own heart would you fall in the category of a Good Samaritan could it be said of you that you feel that you understand and knowing and feeling and understanding you have helping hands open eyes and a heart it really entirely goes out that should be true of all of us amen and father we thank you for this simple story thank you that Jesus knew exactly where to put his thing in this man's life and I pray that you'll put that awesome finger in our life that you'll speak to all of us whatever you want to say to us whatever you demand of us require of us free the Holy Spirit will bring us to be willing to say yes Lord I'm available here my here's what I have Lord we want to be true as your follow us and so we humble ourselves and say yes part in Jesus name Amen [Music] if you've been blessed by today's program please visit us at in touch dot o-r-g in touch leading people worldwide into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and strengthening the local church this program is sponsored by in touch ministries and is made possible by the grace of God and your faithful prayers and gifts

Channel: In Touch Ministries

Views: 38,674

Rating: 4.8888888 out of 5

Keywords: Charles F. Stanley, Charles Stanley, In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley, In Touch Ministries, Preaching, Bible teaching, Dr. Stanley, Intouch ministries, intouch

Id: lwt65rsspqg

Length: 27min 2sec (1622 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 28 2018