Your Personal Ministry is All Around You

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All right. Take your Bibles, if you would, this morning and open to Luke chapter ten, Luke chapter ten. And I’m going to, share just a few thoughts with you this morning. I keep praying about what I’m. How many of you remember? This has nothing to do with sermon. I’m just giving you time to get to Luke chapter ten.

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Okay. How many of you remember on October 8th and I said this two weeks ago, how many of you remember October 8th of this past year? I told you, just buckle your seatbelt. Things are about to get real crazy in this world, and that. By the way, October 8th was the day after October 7th when, Hamas attacked Israel.

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You remember that? And then, shared with you the beginning of the year. I said, look, if you think things are crazy in the world and in our nation, get ready to buckle up. It’s about to get even crazier. And I was thinking, driving here yesterday, back into Texas. And of course, every time I got in reception, I’m trying to keep up with news because in one week of being gone, it’s like there’s a lot of news unfolding.

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I mean, and it’s it’s been crazy. In the last month, we had, one running, one one person running in one political party, Donald Trump, and he gets an attempted assassination. And then we have, the leading candidate in the Democrat Party, President Biden. And he he’s not going to now run for reelection. And now Kamala Harris, the vice president, is in.

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And there’s just a lot of stuff going on. And listen, I need to tell you, if you think things are crazy now, buckle your seatbelt. It’s about to get even crazier. I woke up this morning watching the news and actually noticed it last night going to bed because you’re in a different time than we are. Hezbollah, which is in the northern part of Israel, Gaza, Hamas, the events that unfolded in October 7th last year.

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And we’ve all heard about the war with Hamas in Israel, which I hope you’re praying for you. My point is, this morning, I want you to pray for Israel. Yes. Why is Israel so important? I even heard this past week and saw the images. Where in Washington, DC last week there was a Hamas protest in the United States of America, people standing out there and literally took down an American flag and raised a Hamas flag in Washington, DC in the name of protest.

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And you say, well, what difference is that making? Why is there all this fuss about Israel? Remember what I preached to you several months ago about Israel? Why does this matter? Why is what’s going on in Israel matter? Why does the fact that Hezbollah just attacked Israel last night, and they say that could even broaden the Middle Eastern conflict and possibly war, even when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was here this week, meeting with Congress and President Trump at Mar-A-Lago and the vice president didn’t want to meet with him, that’s all I’m going to say about that.

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But you say, why is this important? Because Israel is God’s timetable. If you want to know what’s going on in the world, like the real stuff, watch Israel. If you want to know how close we are to Jesus coming again, how close, how much we’re living in the end times, just watch Israel and specifically watch Jerusalem. And the Bible says, and promise that all who stand with Israel, God will bless them.

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And those who are against Israel, God will curse them. And I want to encourage you as Christians to pray for Israel today. Pray for God’s people. You say, why does Israel matter? I thought they didn’t even believe Jesus was the Messiah. They don’t yet, but they one day will. But here’s why it matters. God made a promise to Abraham, and he promised him that he would be faithful to the nation of Israel, and that through that nation, Israel would come to Savior Jesus Christ.

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And God promised that even to the very end of time. Do you realize that you’ve heard of Armageddon, right? You’ve heard that you’ve all heard those terms, and it’s not a movie, you know. Yeah, they’ve made a lot of movies named Armageddon. But Armageddon is really happens in revelation. And that’s at the very end of of time on earth as we know it in Jesus comes to make war with all the armies of the world, because they have gathered to come in the valley of Megiddo to make war against Israel.

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Israel is important because God promised he would be faithful to that nation to the very end. And so you should look at Israel. And when you think of Israel, it’s not really about the Jews. It’s not about the Israelites. It’s about the faithfulness of God. And if God doesn’t keep his word, then what makes you think he’d keep your word to you?

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Right? But the fact is, he will keep his word and we should pray for Israel. So you pray for them. Pray for our nation. Pray for our words. Pray for our leaders. We’re living in some crazy times today, but it’s not a time for Christians to be silent. It’s a time for us to step up and speak up, and it’s a time for us to lift up the name of Jesus.

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Because as I shared with you the last time I preached here, Jesus is the only hope for our country. He’s the only hope for our world. He’s the only hope for each one of us. And so I pray that when you see the things unfolding in our world today, that you don’t lose heart. As a matter of fact, instead, it ought to make you, as a believer, excited because it means we’re just getting that much closer to Jesus coming again.

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And I read the back of the book, folks. It says we win. It says we win so that no reason to be afraid, no reason to lose heart. It’s a time to be excited, to be a believer, that the darker things get, the brighter God’s people should shine. Amen. So don’t don’t lose heart over that. All right, Luke chapter ten.

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And I want to share as quick as I can this message with you. Most of you are probably familiar with this story. You’ve probably heard of the Good Samaritan. We hear that term often used when we see someone do something that is good or kind for someone else. We think of a good Samaritan in a person who are helping out someone else.

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Well, here’s the story from the Bible where it comes from, and I’m going to share it in context with you, because when you see it in context, you see the real meaning of what it is to be a good Samaritan. What the the Good Samaritan that Jesus spoke of, who he really was. So read with me first, beginning in verse 25, and it says, behold, a certain lawyer.

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This is Luke chapter ten, verse 25. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? What shall I do to inherit eternal life? I want you to notice the question. First and foremost, he’s asking a question about eternal life, but he is also asking what is his responsibility?

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Or what can he do to inherit it? What can he do to earn it, to get it? And he said to him, Jesus said to them, what is written in the law? What is your reading of it? Now? This guy’s a lawyer, and by that means he was a student of the law of God. He was a student of the Bible.

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He was a student of the Old Testament. Anytime you hear a reference to the law in the Bible, it was always especially the laws written by Moses and even those included that we call the Ten Commandments. And so this guy knows the law’s been back. Let me just tell you, there were 613 laws in the Old Testament alone.

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And this man is he’s he knows all of them. He he’s he’s an expert. If you would on the law or so he thinks. So that’s why it says when he had the church, he tested Jesus. He’s going to see because Jesus claimed to be God and he claimed to be the one who wrote the law, and he’s testing him on this.

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And then Jesus says, what is written in the law? And what is your reading of it, or what your understanding of what your interpretation of it? Verse 27, he said, so he answered and said, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

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Now he had it boiled down pretty good. Jesus later taught, and it’s taught in the New Testament, that if you wanted to boil down the entirety of the law, 613 of them, if you wanted to break down, those, you could break them down into ten basic the Ten Commandments. The first four deal with man’s relationship with God.

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The last six deals with man’s relationship with man. You can never be right with man until you’re right with God. You understand that? And that’s a principle from Scripture. But then he goes on to say that, hey, I know that it really comes down to these two things. If you love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and all your strength, and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself, that that kind of sums up the law right there.

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And so and he was right in verse 28 and he said to him, Jesus said to him, you have answered rightly, do this, and you will live. In other words, do this, and you’ll have eternal life.

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There’s a problem with that. How many of you know all the all of Scripture? Me either. How many of you can keep it? Let me just pull this down. How many of you have ever broken you had to raise your hand? One of the Ten Commandments. Did you know that the Bible says if you’ve broken one, you’re guilty of breaking them all?

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Did you know that? That you’re a law breaker? Why did we need Jesus? We needed him because we’re all law breakers and none of us could keep the law. None of us could could perfectly keep God’s law. Instead, the law, the Bible says, was given to us to show us our sinfulness. In other words, you’ve heard me say this often when I read the Ten Commandments.

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Any one of them. Actually, I don’t get warm fuzzy feelings in my toes. Okay, I get a little bit. It’s like, oh yeah, oh, that one’s tough. Yeah. That one. And by the way, it’s a God bless the state of Louisiana for saying it ought to be posted in their schools, and they ought to be at all over the United States, because even our civil laws are based upon those ten laws.

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And if we taught children today just to try to observe those ten laws, it would change the dynamic of our culture. I said that I’m not sorry for it. If you don’t like it, God bless you. Have a good day. But I’m telling you that the Bible is truth, and in those laws we find truth and we find morality that is universal, and we find morality that is eternal.

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And so God’s law was always right. And so this guy in the Bible that we’re talking about, he’s he’s a lawyer, he’s he knows all the law, all the points of the law. He’s answered the question rightly. I always love how it when someone tried to trap Jesus, you ever notice if you read your Bible, you’ll find out.

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They’ll ask him the question and he always responds with a question. Did you notice it? And in other words, say he asked him, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? In verse 26, he asked, well, what is written in the law, and what’s your interpretation of it? So Jesus was very smart. They weren’t going to trap him.

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He’s going to give them truth and give it to them in a way that they understand it. So look at verse 29. But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, okay, well, who is my neighbor? In other words, you love the Lord thy God with all your heart, your mind, and your strength, and you love your neighbor as yourself.

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Well, who is my neighbor? In other words, who is the person, the neighbor that I’m supposed to love like myself? And Jesus answers it with a parable, and here it is, he says. And Jesus answered and said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among thieves who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

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Now, by chance, a certain priest came down the road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, he came, and he looked, and he passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.

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So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. And he set him on, set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn and took care of him. And on the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, take care of him, and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.

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So which of these three do you think was a neighbor to him who fell among thieves? And he answered, he who showed mercy on him. And then Jesus said to him, go and do likewise. So you see this story, this this certain man, it says he’s he’s traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho. It was very well noted that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a very dangerous road, and it was one of which there were bandits and thieves and people who would lie in wait and rob you, steal you, kind of like some of our American cities today.

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Like you don’t want to go there in the middle of the night or the day. And the problem with this area he was traveling in was dismantling was obviously a loan. They robbed him. They stripped him of his clothes. They take everything he has and they leave him for dead. Pretty precarious situation. But the Bible says that. Then Jesus tells them.

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He says, but these two guys come walking by once a priest and one’s a Levite. Now you’ve got to understand, the priest would be equivalent to like a preacher. They were the priest in the temple. They were. Their job was to administer the sacrifice license and then offer those sacrifices on behalf of the people before God, so that God would would be pleased with their sacrifices.

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The Levite. The Levite was one who would take care of the temple. They would administer the things in the temple. So both men were very religious men. Both men were people who represented, to know God. Both people were involved in churches. You would know it into Jerusalem or the the Jewish custom in that day. These were very religious guys.

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But by all means, these would be the kind of people you would think would stop by and help somebody if they were in trouble. Right. You would think these of all people, would be the ones that would offer something of help to a man that was in such a bad condition. But the Bible says that both men, when they came out of the priest, when he comes by, he looks at him and moves over to the other side of the road and just keeps on going.

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And then the Bible says that Levite comes by and he sees him, and he just hurries on down the road to why? Maybe they were busy. Maybe they had some things going on. Whatever their issue was, they were so involved in the things of God that they had no time for somebody in need. Can I just say something right here?

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Don’t ever let yourself get so busy that you forget about people. One of the things I had to learn when I got in ministry is number one, I can remember going to my pastor after about my second year of of pastoring. I might. This pastoring gig is not what I thought it was going to be. This is a lot harder.

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And I made this statement. I said, you know, I think pastoring would be a lot easier if it wasn’t for people. Think about what I just said. In other words, I was running up against some things in people’s lives that were just wearing me out. And if I do it without people, there’d be no need to be a pastor.

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And I’m like, oh, well, that’s true too. And it was a good lesson in my life. And and I had to learn that. But I want to remind you, don’t ever get too busy. Don’t ever get too heavenly minded. In other words, Bible studies are awesome and you ought to come to on Wednesday night. Understand it by Wednesday night, Bible study ought not be the only time you pick up your Bible or on Sunday.

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and I say, pick up your Bible. You’ve got it on the phone. In other words, you ought to be feeding on the Word of God every day. You. If you don’t, you’re going to be a skinny, anemic Christian spiritually. Imagine if you only ate two times a week you or one time a week you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t last long, right?

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You wouldn’t have any street. So you’ve got to feed. But I know a lot of Christians who get puffed up with knowledge of the Word of God, but they lose the the, the very premise of what a Christian is supposed to be. And what we’re supposed to teach the witness that we’re supposed to be the others. And I think that’s what had happened to those two guys, the priest and Levite.

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They were so busy being religious, just they quit loving people. And so Jesus says, but then there was this third guy and he says, this third guy, he was a Samaritan. Now there’s a key word. He was a Samaritan. How many of you remember the story of the woman at the. Well? I mean, in the Bible there’s a there’s a story of a woman at the well, and Jesus sends his disciples into town to get some groceries, and he comes to this.

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Well, and the Bible says, about noon time this woman comes out and she’s she’s going to get some water. And Jesus says, hey, would you get me a drink of water? And, and she says, what are you doing? A Jewish man asking me, a Samaritan woman for a drink of water. In other words, if you think racial tensions have been something in our country in the past or even now, if you think things have been rough like that.

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No, this was this was. Jews hated Samaritans. They just did. They actually didn’t have anything to do with each other. That’s why the woman at the well was so shocked. Gee, a Jewish man asking me for a drink of water. What? Do you even talk? We don’t even talk, they would say. And when Jesus tells this story, he says, A Levite and a priest, both religious men, but both men who are supposed to represent God, both men who knew the Bible, they just walk on by.

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They’re too busy doing church things. But then the Samaritan, he comes by and he gathers the man up. He doctors his wounds. He takes him to an in a hotel. He puts him up and takes care of him. And then when he has to leave, when he has to leave, he takes that man and he says to the innkeeper, he says, here’s, I’m just going to do I ain’t got no money in that pocket.

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Well, I’m out of money. He sends him some money. Two denarii, just like you say, 40 bucks, I don’t know, it may have been 200 bucks. And he hands him some money. He says this is for taking care of him. And he says, listen until he gets back on his feet. If if he needs more care or needs anything.

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When I come back around here shortly, I’ll repay you. I’ll take care of his bill. That’s a pretty generous thing that this guy had just met a perfect stranger. And by the way, a guy who just got mugged, robbed, left for dead. So he got no clothes. He ain’t got any. He has any money. Everything has been taken care from him.

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So here’s the point I want you to get. This guy has no way to repay the Samaritan who came along to help him. See, when we think about doing good for others. It’s. And here’s the heart of the message. Here’s the heart of what Jesus is trying to say when he says which? Which of those three do you think was his neighbor?

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Remember, that’s that was the question. Well, who is my neighbor? Who am I supposed to help? And Jesus gets to the heart of it right here. He’s showing that the motive of the Samaritan, the most unlikely of all to help him, was so pure that he was helping a man who could not repay him in any way. See, sometimes we do good for others because of what we’re expecting to get back from them.

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Am I right? Let’s just be honest about our motives. But when you really want to get down to the type of a person the Samaritan was, Jesus is pointing out here this guy was doing something for someone who couldn’t in no way repay him for the kindness that he had given. And by the way, that was really what Jesus was trying to teach him.

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You want to do good. You want you want to love a neighbor. You want to love somebody. You love somebody this way. You love that you give sacrificially for them and you give expecting nothing in return. Paul said it this way. He said, oh no man, anything but that. You love them. In other words, I don’t have any expectations from other people.

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Neither way can I help you as a as a Christian, you know, you hear I hear people say, well, you know, I got hurt in this church and I can’t. I got church hurt. Can I just stand on my soapbox for me and give you an opinion? I never hear anybody say, well, I went to Walmart and I got Walmart hurt.

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I got Dollar General hurt. You ever heard that? And by the way, I’ve been a whole lot more offended in Walmart than I ever have in church. And I’ve been a pastor.

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Here’s the point I want to make when it comes to people.

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Listen carefully. What I’m about to say. Set your expectations pretty low. You say, what do you mean about that? look, I like coaching bull riders, and I got high expectations for some of those guys back there. Like, they’ll tell you some things I’ve told them behind the buck and shoots that I won’t repeat in here. If you quit that bull and then make you wear something in your hat and they know what I’m talking about for a week, they’ll have high expectations that way.

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But when it comes to people, you know what I learned? I learned there are no perfect people. Matter of fact, I’ve told you God gave me a revelation about just about everybody in here in prayer. One day he told me, y’all are all crazy. And he said I was the greatest one of all of you. The point I’m trying to make to you is if you put people on a pedestal, they’re going to fall off.

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If you put people to a place that you’re expecting perfection, you’re going to be disappointed in people. And by the way, if you take a good close look in the mirror, you find that you don’t want to put yourself on a pedestal. You don’t want expectations to be too high because you’re going to disappoint yourself. So this this man, the Bible says, and I’ve got to hurry this.

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The Bible says that the Samaritan comes by. He takes care of him. So I want you to notice. He gives sacrificially to him. He gives expecting nothing in return. And get this, he takes responsibility for the need that he saw. Deliver on the priest. They came by and they saw the same thing, but they just kind of eased over here and kept on going.

00:25:42:00 – 00:26:05:03
I hear a lot of times Christians say to me as a pastor when I’m talking to them, well, I know God has me here for a purpose. I just haven’t figured out what that purpose is. I’ve heard that more times. If I had a nickel for every time I heard that ministry, I’d be wealthy. I have millions, and I understand where that comes from.

00:26:05:09 – 00:26:24:17
But I also want to say to you as Christians, listen to me. My pastor used to teach me this principle, and it is ever more true today than ever before a need scene. Remember this if you write something down, write this down. A need seen is an assignment given. I see so many people run razor when I want to be in ministry.

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I’m looking to be in ministry. I want to do ministry. The ministry around you all the time. We don’t need to pray for more opportunities of ministry. Just to be honest with you. Some of you pray for God. Give me an opportunity of ministry. Know what you need to pray. Is God open my eyes to see the opportunities of ministry you’ve put around me every day.

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Think about that. How many people do you come in contact with on a daily basis? That if you took just a moment and you opened your eyes to see the need, that you would help them? I remember I was in Oklahoma City and a pretty sketchy part of Oklahoma City, and I I’ve been guilty of this. And maybe you have too.

00:27:05:23 – 00:27:26:06
I’ve been guilty of pulling up to a red light and some dude holding up a sign, you know, and they’re meeting him. And I know that there’s a lot of times you’re probably going to get scammed on the deal. How many of y’all know me? And sometimes you’re even afraid to roll down the window. By the looks of the person standing there.

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But on this particular day, I pulled up and this guy was sitting there and he looked hungry, were stunned. He was standing across from a convenience store and his sign said, I just want something to eat. And I, I thought, man, I, the Lord told me to help him and he can use money. And he run over to the 7-Eleven there.

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And I watched him go in and he was obvious he was probably going to get something to eat. Now, I’m not telling you that. To toot my own horn, I gave a homeless guy on the street corner some money. I’m just telling you, I remember that day thinking of a lot of ministry things that I was going to need to do.

00:28:06:13 – 00:28:34:11
And I got back and God said, see, Jeff, I put ministry around you every day. I pull up at this store and here in town a couple weeks ago, and I’m pulling in, and I had saw this car trying to pull out and just saw plastic kind of go everywhere. And this young lady gets out and she’s trying to pick the bumper of her car up.

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And I’m thinking, man, I obviously parked beside her and she’s like, sir, can you help me? It’s 100 degrees outside and she’s in a dress and she’s, I guess, gone shopping or to the store or whatever she was doing, and, and her bumper cars land out there. And I’m thinking, man, I’m in a hurry and I’m not a mechanic.

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Rick. So I thought, I’ll call Rick. No, he’s at work. And so I got down there and I put this up running. I told her I made sure, I told her I’m not a mechanic, so I can’t promise this bumper is going to be on straight. But I am a redneck MacGyver, and I can fix it where you can get home.

00:29:14:04 – 00:29:34:23
And I did. I did Karen and I were coming out of the mountains the other day, and, we see this travel trailer over and, and a pickup and a guy working on the truck and his family with some little kids are all standing out in the ditch, you know, and and we’re a long way from anywhere. Now, I’m.

00:29:34:25 – 00:29:55:16
When we left, I carried a cargo trailer with my dad’s, Polaris Ranger thing in there, and and, I was Quinn had got off where we were supposed to be leaving, and I’m still packing stuff. I’m throwing stuff in the trailer, and she’s like, why are you packing all this stuff? I mean, I had a tool for just about everything I could think of, and especially my duct tape baler.

00:29:55:19 – 00:30:16:09
One zip ties. Okay, like, if I break down, I can fix most things with those. I don’t know how far we’re going to get, but I can get us out of the mountains. So we’re coming out. We had no trouble, but we see this this vehicle. And I thought I was like, well, we better stop and help him because, I mean, like, who else is going to come along and help the stranded the guys?

00:30:16:12 – 00:30:31:07
radiator hose somewhere on the bottom of the motor key, I don’t know, you guys know until it came loose and you had a new truck and he lost all of his foot. Well, heck, I had a hole. I had just full of bottles of water. So we start putting the bottles of water, and we fixed his hose or he fixed it.

00:30:31:07 – 00:30:50:29
I said, look, man, I’m not a mechanic. I always give that disclaimer. I’m not a mechanic. I’m not. And, we took some zip ties and we zipped it up and they were so grateful for that help. I’m not telling you that. I’m just telling them to make myself look, because all I had was zip ties, okay? Of course, I had a bunch of other stuff too, but not the clamp that he needed.

00:30:50:29 – 00:31:14:22
But we zip tie it up, and and, they we followed them down the mountain. We stopped and they were like, we’re so thankful you came along. And my wife rolls down the window. He’s a redneck. MacGyver. I told you I needed that for something. Yeah. Here’s here’s the point. I’m about to close.

00:31:14:24 – 00:31:44:28
When you do something for somebody, do it this way. Do it expecting nothing in return. But do it in the name of Jesus. Why do I say that? Jesus said, who do you think of? Those three was the neighbor? And the man’s response was this. And it was right. He who showed mercy. Why? Why should we show mercy?

00:31:45:00 – 00:32:15:00
Why should we show kindness to a perfect stranger? Why should we show mercy or kindness to someone who may not even deserve it? And the answer to that is because we’ve been given mercy. I don’t give of my time, or my self, or any of my talents, or any of my moneys, so that I can get. I give because I have already received.

00:32:15:02 – 00:32:46:22
Do you see the difference? Do you understand that truth? I’m going to show mercy and kindness to others and take every opportunity I can, not for what I can receive because of what I have already received. And when you live that way, God will send many opportunities for you. And by the way, let me just tell you that there is a there is a law of God, a universal law of God, sowing and reaping, sowing and reaping.

00:32:46:25 – 00:33:07:00
You say, man, I sure wish my life would be a little more blessed. Let me just ask you an honest question. How? How much of a blessing are you being or have you been? But, well, if I had more money, I would be of greater blessed. Really? Now, Jesus said, he who is faithful with little things, God will make him faithful over greater things.

00:33:07:02 – 00:33:31:09
Here’s what I’m trying to tell you. Give to others. Give to the Lord. Give of yourself because of what you have received. You’ve received the goodness and the mercy and the kindness of God. And so if you live your life from that, and by the way, that’s living from gratitude, you live from there, you will receive blessing. Jesus said, it’s more blessed to give than to receive.

00:33:31:12 – 00:34:00:05
I’m going to close with this story and we’re done. In the 1800s, if I remember the story correctly, in the year correctly, around 1863, a young man named Howard Kelly was going door to door selling things, and this would have been, he was just a boy, and he was trying to sell a product, during this. It was during the Civil War.

00:34:00:05 – 00:34:27:04
And as he went from door to door selling, he had not sold much, had no money. I think it was eggs, if I remember the story correctly. Maybe not, but he didn’t have much money, and by the end of the day he was thirsty, he was hot and he was hungry. And he came to one house and a young lady came to the door and he said, ma’am, I don’t have much money.

00:34:27:07 – 00:34:52:02
I have been selling stuff all day. And, I just wonder, would you have anything to eat or drink? And being exhausted as he was and this, this family that he had gone to is obviously a very poor home. And the young girl came back with a cold glass of milk, a big, tall, cold glass of milk, and he drank down that cold glass of milk, and it satisfied his thirst.

00:34:52:02 – 00:35:23:09
It satisfied his hunger. It was so kind and refreshing and and sustaining. Because he hadn’t eaten much, hadn’t eaten all day, hadn’t had much to eat all week. And he went on his way, thanking her for her kindness. Years went by. Howard Kelly became a doctor. He was actually one of the four founding members of John Hopkins University, but he was later at a hospital and he was practicing as a doctor there.

00:35:23:12 – 00:36:06:09
And a lady came in with a very rare and critical disease that was about to take her life, and he was called in for a consultation to visit with her and to see her records, to see if he could help diagnose the disease and and find a cure and a treatment for it. When he was looking at her charts, he happened to notice where she was from, and he then noticed her name and he went back in the room and without saying anything to her, he recognized this young lady who was now a grown woman, and he realized that it was the same young lady who years, years ago, when he was a poor salesman,

00:36:06:09 – 00:36:37:27
door to door salesman, and was hungry and thirsty, had given him a cold glass of milk. He paid special attention and care to her for the next few weeks, and was able to treat with medication what was wrong with her. And she recovered, and the day came that she was going to get to go home from the hospital, and they were preparing the bill to give her for her stay at the hospital.

00:36:37:27 – 00:36:59:23
And through her mind, she was thinking over and over how she didn’t think she would. It would take her years to repay this bill. It was going to be so hard because of the length of time of treatment, she had had there in the hospital, but Doctor Kelly had gone to the the business office and he asked, before they give that bill to here, let him see it.

00:36:59:23 – 00:37:40:18
And he had taken care of that bill. When they took her bill to her, she received the envelope and they walked out and she opened the bill. And across the bill it stated this. And you can look this up. It’s it this. It said, paid in full with one glass of milk. One lesson to think about that. See, when you give, because yourself and you show kindness because of what you’ve already received, not what you’re looking to receive, then the blessings of God flow in your life.

00:37:40:21 – 00:38:17:22
The favor of God will flow from your life. And then Jesus says, who of these three do you think was his neighbor? And he says, he who showed mercy or kindness. And Jesus said, go and do likewise. If you want to be an example of the goodness and the mercy of God in this world to this culture today, that I encourage you to be like the Good Samaritan, take the time every day to look around you.

00:38:17:29 – 00:38:47:02
Quit praying for the opportunities to do ministry. Say God, open my eyes to the opportunities of ministry. You’ve already put around me and resume. Assume responsibility. A need seen is an assignment given a need seen is an assignment given. Think of those first two men who walked by. They saw it, but they ignored it. But then came the Samaritan, the most unlikely of them all.

00:38:47:04 – 00:39:10:07
And when he saw the need, he assumed the responsibility. But the blessings of God were upon his life. If you want the blessings of God upon your life, come from it. From a perspective. I’ve already received the mercy and the kindness of God that was demonstrated for you and I at the cross when Jesus died on the cross.

00:39:10:09 – 00:39:37:19
No greater display of the goodness, the kindness, and the mercy of God than when His Son took our punishment on the cross. He took our place, he died, was buried, and rose again the third day in all for salvation to anyone who will call upon his name and believe him as Lord and Savior. And from that, from that I can serve him, and I can serve him by serving others.

00:39:37:22 – 00:40:00:02
And when I look around and see those in need, I can come from the perspective. I can come from the premise I’ve already received the goodness, the kindness and mercy of God. How can I not show it to others? Let’s pray. Let’s pray. Lord, we love you today. We thank you for your word. I pray your blessings upon every person here.

00:40:00:04 – 00:40:25:22
But Lord, I ask today that those watching online, or maybe those even in the building today who may not know you, Jesus, as our Lord and Savior. I pray today that they would believe that you are the Son of God. I pray today that they would believe that you died on the cross for their sin, and you were buried, and you rose again the third day, and you’re alive and well and coming again.

00:40:25:22 – 00:40:52:06
But today you all for salvation. Today you call their names. Today, Holy Spirit, I pray you move upon every heart, that every heart examine itself, Lord, that whether they be in the faith and, Lord, there’s anybody here that’s never trusted you. Savior, may today be the day they call upon your name and trust you. Jesus, as Lord and Savior.

00:40:52:08 – 00:41:25:11
Lord, help all of us to be like the Good Samaritan, to help us to open our eyes every day, every moment to the opportunities you’ve put all around us. The people that we meet every day. Help us to not be like that Levite or priest who just passed them by. But Lord, let us show kindness and mercy, the kindness and mercy of God to them.

00:41:25:14 – 00:41:45:28
Help us to be that kind of a witness for you. And Lord, I know if more of us would do it that way, it would change our world. And I pray you help us to be faithful and obedient to your Holy Spirit each time and every time that you speak and you direct us that way. In Jesus name I pray.

00:41:46:00 – 00:42:11:23
Amen. Amen. Coach, come on up. I’m. And I just prayed with you, but I like Cody to come up here. And I asked him to do the shooting and, be sure and get one bulletin. He’s going to pray. He’s going to say a final prayer and a prayer blessing. I’ll tell you, I believe that’s important for all of us to go out of here with the prayer of blessing God’s blessing on our lives.

00:42:11:23 – 00:42:35:12
I believe that, and I believe speaking blessing over you is important. But before you leave, we don’t pass an offering plate. If you want to give to the Lord, we have a milk carton in the back there. You can give an offering there. I think there’s a QR code on your bulletin if you want to use that, you can do that also, pray for those families that I mentioned in the beginning to Karen and Jeff Griggs and their family.

00:42:35:12 – 00:42:58:08
They lost their son. And then, of course, Keena Johnson’s family, both families are going through an immense time of grief, and I know they would appreciate your prayers. Don’t forget Bible study Wednesday night, 630 here at the church and tomorrow night, Bible study. Cody, any final words? And you pray for us. Our brother. if you would go with me in prayer.

00:42:58:10 – 00:43:22:15
Father, we come to you this afternoon. Lord, this thanking you for everything you do for us. Father God. Father, I ask that you just start to lead and guide and direct us in your path of righteousness. Oh Lord, it thank you for the understanding that you give us. Oh Lord, thank you for the message that Jeff delivered today, Father God, and it may our most inner beings be like a sponge to absorb that word, and that the enemy cannot steal or rob it from us.

00:43:22:15 – 00:43:41:12
As we walk out of these four walls. Father, and I know there’s people in here that are hurt, and there’s people that’s been in here that has been left to the wayside, that they wanted the prayer, they needed the help, but got walked over and got walked past. I’m here today to to let y’all know that y’all won’t be walked past no more.

00:43:41:12 – 00:44:01:09
And if you need prayer, if you need anything, I’m here for y’all. If you’ve been beat up from the feet, up. If you’re tired and you’re just don’t know what to do anymore. And you’re tired of getting looked over and you’re tired of getting looked past and walked around and walked over, I’ll be right here at the front to pray for each and every one of you.

00:44:01:12 – 00:44:09:15
In Jesus name, Amen, Amen and amen.