Coastlands Church, Love through Service
Seeing People Through Christ's Eyes
Intro…So far, I'm beating the odds with glasses and not wearing them…
There are a lot of things that can affect the way you see (or don't see) things. For example, there is …
Amblyopia: This is more popularly known as "Lazy Eye".
Color Blindness: The inability to distinguish between some colors.
Dry Eye Syndrome: The inability to produce tears.
Hyperopia (Farsightedness): The inability to see near objects clearly.
Myopia (Nearsightedness): The inability to see distant objects clearly.
Presbyopia: Greek for "Elder Eye," difficulty to see close-up for those in their 40s and older.
Strabismus: Misaligned eyes (like the actor Marty Feldman)
Not only do most people suffer from physical vision problems, many people also have spiritual vision problems too.
Spiritual "Lazy Eye": We may see a problem but don't do anything about it.
Spiritual Color Blindness: We may not pay as much attention to the plight of some people because of their race. (i.e. we may recognize that people in Africa are suffering ... but do we give it as much priority?)
Spiritual Dry Eye Syndrome: We may lack compassion, we don't "cry" for people who are hurting.
Spiritual Farsightedness: We may give to overseas missions but don't see the pain in our local community.
Spiritual Nearsightedness: We may not see the pain of people in impoverished countries, whether it's South America, Africa, Asia, etc.
Spiritual Presbyopia: Our compassion for people may have grown weak as we grow older.
Spiritual Misaligned Eyes: We may have our eyes focused on worldly things.
Jesus spoke of vision problems too…. Text: Luke 4:14–21
Our theme this month has been love for others through service. Serving/helping others is one of the best ways we can live out our Xian faith.
Today I want to talk to you about seeing others through the eyes of Jesus.
In this text, Jesus was saying that he was the one Isaiah was writing about. He was the Messiah. And that this passage was his mission statement.
This is what Jesus came to do, and this should be our mission too.
Jesus' mission was to preach good news to the poor.
People thought that being rich was a sign of God's favor and being poor was a sign of God's judgment.
Jesus said—absolutely not. He turned the tables and gave the poor good news; they were favored by God.
Have you felt out of favor with God? Jesus has good news for you.
Jesus' mission was to proclaim freedom for the prisoner.
Whether you are literally imprisoned or imprisoned spiritually, Jesus has come to set you free.
Jesus' mission was to give sight to the blind.
The blind were thought to be blind because of some sin they had committed (or their parents committed).
The religious leaders figured they deserved to be blind. Jesus came to heal and show mercy to people who were physically handicapped and spiritually condemned.
Jesus' mission was to release the oppressed. Jesus came to set wrongs right. He came to help the helpless. He came to bring justice to those who experienced injustice.
Jesus' mission was to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
This is a reference to the Old Testament year of Jubilee when slaves were freed and all debts cleared.
Jesus came to proclaim that if you are enslaved by and in debt to sin, that you are free and all debts are paid, because of what he would do on the cross.
Jesus' mission was a people-focused mission. It was an outward-focused mission. It was a mercy and compassion-driven mission.
Jesus' mission was the secret to his vision. His mission guided his vision. His mission was the lens that made him see people the way he saw them. People were Jesus mission. His lens was compassion.
The word for compassion in the New Testament is only applied to one person, Jesus (except for the fictional "Good Samaritan").
Scripture tells us that Jesus felt compassion when He encountered the sick (Mt. 14:14), the blind (Mt. 20:34), the demon possessed (Mk. 9:22), those who lost loved ones (Lk. 7:13), the hungry (Mt. 15:32), the lonely (Mk. 1:41) and the bewildered (Mt. 9:36).
His lens of compassion guided his action, reaction, and interaction with everyone he met.
And that is the lens of compassion we need to wear whenever we look at other people.
Matthew 9:36: When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Everyone has a certain lens they use when they see others… What is the lens of these people?
What we believe about our mission in the world affects how we see the world. When looking at your world, what do you see? A world in need? A world worth saving? A world worth serving? You will if you are looking at it from Jesus' point of view.
When you see people, ask the same kind of question Jesus would ask. "How can I help you?" "How can I show you God's love?" "How can I touch you with grace?" "How can I heal you?" "How can I right a wrong?"
Conclusion:
Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
Name 10 people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
Name the Academy Award winners for best actor and actress in 1982.
The point is none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These were no second-rate achievers. They were the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
List a teacher who aided your journey through school.
Name a friend who helped you through a difficult time.
Name someone who taught you something worthwhile.
Think of someone who made you feel appreciated and special.
Conclusion:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards.
They are the ones who do the little things with a big heart. As Mother Teresa once said, "We can do no great things; only small things with great love."
April 6th, 2008
Love for others through service: Love for others takes detours.
Luke 10:25–37
Intro… How do you feel when you see this sign? SLIDE of detour sign
(Pressed for time? "I can't believe this, what a hassle…")
Soledad Mtn. Rd…
But what if you were driving and saw two road signs—one said "Detour Ahead" but the other said, "Take Your Usual Route." Which would you take?
You would probably take your usual route—especially if you knew that the detour would cost you time, money, and personal frustration.
Some detours in life come at you, and you can't choose to take your normal route—an illness, a layoff from your job, a spouse that walks out of your marriage.
But there are other times in your life when you have a choice to get off your normal path and take a detour—a detour that can help someone.
Let me warn you, it may mean getting knocked out of our comfort zone.
I want to talk to you about 4 personal areas that hit us all in a place that could make us uncomfortable: risk, personal involvement, time and money.
The Example of the Good Samaritan Text: Luke 10:25-37
v. 25-28 Jesus encounters this "expert in the Law." In this encounter between Jesus and the lawyer, the Bible says that the lawyer had an underlying motive.
Did you catch the motive behind his question? (That's right, to test Jesus.)
Sometimes we have a chance to help someone and we say, "I don't think Jesus would ask ME to do that!" It's almost like we're testing Jesus, "Do I really need to do that?"
v. 10:29 The lawyer's motive to the second question was to justify himself.
This parable isn't just about "We should help people in need." The parable is also about excuses.
If we're not careful, we can be the King and Queen of excuses as to why we don't help someone in need.
What are some typical excuses people have? (Not any of us of course…)
v. 30-33: The Cast of characters.
Priest, a Levite and a Samaritan…kinda like a joke…
Except for this isn't a joke. It's a sad commentary on the state of how most of us react when someone needs help.
The Priest represents the church, religious people and Christians. - - 84% of people in the United States identify themselves as "Christians."
The Levite represents a privileged group of society, maybe the rich or those who look down their nose…
The Samaritan represents those we despise. They actually were despised by the Jews. They were a mixed race, not of the pure bloodline most Jews were.
By using a Samaritan as the hero, Jesus is pointing out that it doesn't matter what you call yourself. We all have a responsibility to help others.
For the Jews hearing this parable, a Samaritan would be the anti-hero. Jesus makes him the hero to prove a point.
The Good Samaritan chose to get off his usual route and decided to take a divine detour on his highway of life. And here's where we see the risk, personal involvement, time and money.
The things that are near and dear to us and hard to give up for others.
Serving others will hit us (sometimes) where it hurts most.
What the Samaritan did took a Risk (v. 30)
Who can name this Ski Resort in CO? Telluride is known for being a great resort and ski town. But it didn't always have that reputation. Back in the wild west days, the road to Telluride was so full of robbers that the town got its name from the contraction "To Hell You Ride."
In this story of the Good Samaritan, The 17-mile road from Jerusalem to Jericho descends over 3,000 feet through desert and rocky country that could easily hide robbers. Because of the number of robbers along this road, it was known as "The Way of Blood."
The first question the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But the good Samaritan reversed the question: If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?
It also took Personal Involvement. (v. 33–34a)
Picking up the stripper…there is no easy way to tell your wife…
It's also going to take Time (v. 34b)
I know it seems like SUCH an inconvenience at times…most often we really do have the time…
And it will take Money (v. 35)
We do need to be wise with how we give money to those in need…John the scammer…
Pray and ask God to give you the wisdom with the risk, personal involvement, time and money that you have.
However you help, just do something!
Jesus changed the focus of the question from "Who is my neighbor?" to "How are you as a neighbor?"
Would you want yourself as a neighbor?
Are you always staying on your normal safe route and not allowing God to give you a divine detour?
We have the privilege to disadvantage ourselves to advantage others.
Get off your normal beaten path of life. Be open, be ready, and decide to take a divine detour!
Love is the trump card!
Conclusion:
So Jesus said, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor (to the man who fell into the hands of robbers) to someone who needed help?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
GOSPEL We can't do these good deeds on our own, we're too selfish…
Prayer, silence, come up for prayer….